Sad Love Story Neo Digidestined
by Hoshi Neko Ryu
Summary: Matt is at college, TK is in high school. A lady that Matt meets on the streets isn't who she appears to be, and their adventure will begin. Different languages are spoken throughout this story, though it's not really heavy wth it.
1. Chap 0 Sad Love Story

Hello, it's a fine, beautiful day. Everyone is doing his or hers normal routine, SOMETHING. The reason they're doing 'something' is that I have no idea what they are doing. That says a lot, doesn't it? I mean, I'm the one that, I guess, is supposed to get everyone together on the nice, clear days and have fun. Well, if that were one of my jobs, I would be fired for it. Let me fill you in on what has happened over the years. Joe is helping Mimi to pass college, they're engaged. Joe is a doctor and Mimi is hoping to be a cook. Tai and Sora are engaged. Tai's a sports super star and Sora a ……… I forget. See how a good friend I am? Can't even remember what she does for a living. Anyway, Izzy is in college even though he can get a degree without going, but he doesn't what the rest of us feeling low. He wants to be a computer designer, or something in that field. Mimi and Izzy are in the same college. Both, also, live on the campus. Joe moved in with her so she wouldn't feel "lonely". Sorry, I guess I'm still mad at something. Anyway, TK is in high school with everyone else. Ken is with them too. TK wants to be a writer, Kari a photographer, Davis a cook for noodles, Yolie just wants to have a better idea for computers and things like that, Cody wants something in law enforcement, Ken a detective. Why a detective, I have no idea. Man, I'm forgetting things all over the place. I guess you can tell that there's a problem with me right about know, right? Anyway, I'm a rock star that's an astronaut. I live by myself. The only thing that I have that would be the closest thing to a family would be the Digidestined. But I sometimes wouldn't call them family. If I remember correctly, TK is engaged to Kari, but I'm not sure. That tells a lot. ME, NOT REMEMBERING SOMETHING ABOUT MY LITTLE BROTHER! I was saying that I'm the one who would never forget anything about my brother. And here I'm, forgetting every thing that comes towards me. I bet you can tell that I'm not in a very good mood, right? I'll tell you what happen that made me this way, but I just remember something. I forgot the others birthdays. Sorry again, but if I remember something that's a big importance to me 'cause I remember something, I might say it during my 'beautiful' story. Though I should give you a warning, this is what got me this way……

On a morning when things seem that they can't go wrong, I was back from one of my flight into outer space. Izzy told me that they were going to have a party for me and the invention of Izzy's "Staying Young" for allowing people to be young (it works sooo well that only we have it. Don't we feel special? Sorry again. It just gets me mad when I'm thinking about this event). So after I got off the craft and talking to news people, I went to my car and headed to the campus. They were set up by the time I was there. My guitar was on stage and my band members were there too. We played and had fun. Near the time of midnight (it was 4:00 p.m. when I arrived), I left to go back to my house. I decided that I would sleep the day away (but that was going to back fire on me). On my way home, I noticed a girl walking on the sidewalk. I wouldn't have cared about some girl walking on the sidewalk, but there was something about her that made me care. Luckily I was at a red light and no one was on the road. "Hi, what are you doing up this late?"

"Uhhhh……… Oh, I'm going to my house. And you?" She looked at me then went back to staring at the ground in front of her.

"Well, I just came from a party that my friends made for me."

"Why?"

"For my trip into space."

"Are you Matt Ishida, the youngest astronaut?"

"Yep. That's me. Why do you ask?"

"I always wanted to go into space with someone as famous as you."

"That's a nice dream. If you work hard, you might be able to."

"That would be very nice. Hey, can you give me a ride?"

"Where to?"

"Anywhere."

"I thought you said that you were going home. Why the change?"

"I can't go there. My parents hate me."

In the shadow, she looked about as tall as Sora. "Aren't you a little old to be with your parents? No offence."

"Well, I came back from a trip that I took and I decided to visit them. But that turned out to be a big mistake."

"What did they do?"

"Beat me for leaving, calling me a disgrace to the family."

"I don't know anyone's parents that would act like that if they left. Why did you leave?"

"I don't want to talk about this anymore. Can you give me a ride?"

"Yea, I don't know anyplace that's open this late, but a bar and things like that, but you're welcome to crash at my house for the night until tomorrow, when you can find a hotel."

"Thank you so much."

She got into the light and I saw all the hit marks. I assumed that her parents were mad at her leaving the house or she made her parents mad at her, but either way I was going to help out. I looked at the light and it was green. She got in the car and I drove to my house.

When we arrived at my house, she was sleeping in the car with her head to the side. I thought of waking her, but then thought that she might need the rest. I got out and walked over to the side where she was. I picked her up and carried her to the house. It was a good thing that I had extra rooms. I picked a room close to mine, incase she awoke and wanted something (yea, she sure wanted something. Sorry). I laid her on the bed, a double bed. I then headed to my own room.

I awoke to the sound of running water. I checked my clock to see what the time was and found out that it was 2:00 a.m. _What is she doing this early in the morning?_ I arose slowly. The floor was cold but then it always cold in the morning. I walked around, listening to the sound. It stopped when I was near the bathroom, where the sound was coming from. I poked my head to see what she was doing, hoping that she wasn't naked or something. She wasn't, she was only cleaning her cuts.

"Why do that this early in the morning? Ya know, this house doesn't have a lot of noise in the morning, and I was planning on sleeping in all day."

"Oh, sorry about that." (Sssssssssssuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrrrrrrrreeeeeeeeeeeeee. That's what you wanted me to believe. Sorry)

"That's ok. I didn't tell you anyway. But why clean them this early?"

"To keep me busy."

"Oh ……… you might want to get some sleep. You were out when I got you here."

"I'm fine now. Thanks for your help. It's very kind of you."

"Well, yea. I'm that kind of guy. Now if you can, keep the noise down. Closing the door would help."

"Thanks."

I walked back to my room and fell asleep even faster.

The next time I woke up was at 5:00. This time it was the smell of food. I love food, but I wasn't hungry nor did I want it at that moment. I got up again and walked towards the kitchen. I felt like slamming the door wide open and saying "what the hell did I told you before" (that wasn't a bad idea now that I think about it. I should have yelled something like that. Sorry), but I was nicer than that (I wish not). I opened the door quietly (Slam!). I peeked in and saw her making bacon, eggs, toast bread, and pancakes. There were two plates on the table. None were full (I think she wanted to put poison……… Sorry). I closed the door quietly as I came in.

"What are you doing now?"

"Uh…… Sorry. I thought that you might want breakfast and I know I'm a good cook so…"

"I told you that I wanted to sleep in today. Do you think that I wanted breakfast three hours after I went back to sleep." (I love how I said that. I almost yelled at her. Sorry)

"I know but still."

"In either case, I can cook myself so that wouldn't even been an issue."

"Oh, well I didn't know. Do you still want it?"

"Since you took your time to make it sure, but afterwards no more 'waking me up', ok?"

"Right, sit down and it will be ready shortly." (I wish I didn't do that. Sorry)

So I did as I was told (The last time I'll do that). The food smelled good. I noticed that all the cuts were clean and dressed. She looked beautiful. She was wearing a tank top that came up above the belly button that was red and shorts that were blue. Her hair was short. Right then, I knew that I was in love with her (Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Sorry). The smell seemed to get sweeter.

"Can you hand me our plate?"

"Sure."

I did as I was told (Yet another mistake. Sorry). When the plate landed in her hand, she smiled at me. I smiled back, a normal reaction (I wish it wasn't. Sorry).

"It seems that you're fully awake."

"Yea, but I would like some more sleep though."

"I thought you said that you were going to help me today. How can you if you're sleeping?"

"Well, I was thinking more of when the sun is actually up not when it's coming up."

"Oh, here you go."

She handed my plate back. It smelled wonderful (That's my stupid side talking. Sorry). I decided to wait for her to have something on her plate.

"Can you hand me mine?"

I did and waited. She was very quick putting the things on a plate. We sat down and started eating. It was very quiet for breakfast. I thought that I should put music on, but thought better of it. _God, are we going to sit here and not say a word to each other? _(Yes, yes, yyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssss! Sorry)

"So what's your name?" (Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooo. Sorry)

"It's Mizu. I already know yours. So, are you the only one living here?"

"Yep. The only people that come here are my friends. Not very many people that I know from work come here."

"Why?"

"Well, I guess I never asked them to come over or they might think that I'm too young to be an astronaut. Other than, that I have no idea."

"Does that mean that you're single?"

"Yep."

"Has anyone asked you?"

"Many people have asked me but I turn them all down."

"Why?"

"If you know someone very well and they asked you out, you would say yes. But if they asked for marriage, that's something different."

"Oh."

"Why did you ask?"

"Just curious. You were a famous rock star, after all. I thought you should have, at least, dated someone. So, who was the one that was dating you then ask to marry you?"

"My friend, Sora, who is now engaged to Tai, he's my best friend."

"Isn't that ironic?"

"No, not really. They were best friends before I met them and they did date for a short while, but something happened so they part ways. I think Tai was still trying and Sora still liked him so."

"That's nice. True love is hard to break."

"You love that kind of stuff?"

"Yea, especially when they come from a friendship background." She gave me bit of a smile when she said it.

"Oh, I like reading things that had to do with space, but I will read anything that my little brother writes and wants me to read."

"What does he write?"

"Some love, but it more like we give him an idea when he asked us about something. Like if I told him something that was prodigious in space then something in his head might move and spark something that he knows would make a great story plot. Then he would ask me to go more into it. Like give him some general information about space, what's it like, and that kind of stuff." (I just noticed that using the word prodigious made me sound like Izzy. Sorry)

"How does he get his ideas for love stories?"

"I don't know where he gets it from. Maybe from something he saw or knows."

"What's your little brother's name?"

"He's name is TK Takaishi."

"Then the next time I'm in a book store, I'll try to find him."

"That would be good, but he's only in high school."

We were done when I answered her question. She picked hers and mine and headed over to the sink.

"Here, let me do that. You're supposed to be a guess."

"Ok, here then."

She handed me the plates. I walked over to the sink and started to wash them. I noticed that she was standing beside me, watching.

"Wow! I never knew any guy that could wash dishes!"

"I had to learn on my own. The same goes with cooking and cleaning up the house."

"Shouldn't your mom do that, not you?"

"She wasn't around. It was only my dad and I when I was around seven. My mom and dad got divorced. My brother went with my mom and I went with my dad. That messed up my whole life until the summer when I was eleven and there were four weeks left of that summer."

"What happen that changed you back?"

"Something. Well, since I'm done I'm going back to bed. Keep it quiet this time."

"Don't worry, I will."

I walked back to my room and slept (Hey I remembered their birthdays. Sorry). I woke up again to the sound of someone knocking on the door. Mizu answered it.

"Hello?"

"Hi is Matt home. I want to see if he needs help with anything." The voice sounded like TK.

"He's home but he wants some sleep."

"Oh… well, tell him that this is his cousin."

"I'll go and see. I think it's safe for you to come in."

I heard footsteps that stop near the front door and ones that were coming towards my room. My door opened.

"Matt, your cousin is here to see you." She was whispering.

"Ok."

I got up with sleep still in my eyes. I walked with her to the visitor that, I knew, was TK. I got to the front door and saw that it was TK. _Why did he lie to her?_ (Way to go TK! Sorry) I decided to follow TK's led until I found out why he lied.

"Hi cousin, what do you want?" I tried to sound awake but I think it failed.

"Can I speak to you outside?"

"Sure."

TK opened the door and we walked out. TK knew that the only way someone inside could hear is if that door is opened, so he closed it when I step out.

"So TK, what did you come here for? You knew that I wanted to sleep in today."

"I thought that you wanted to read my new story that I've been working on. Kari doesn't even know that I've been working on it."

TK handed me his story folder that had all his new stories in, but this one had the word 'secret' on it. I took it.

"Sure thing little bro, but why did you lie to her?"

"There's something about her that I don't like."

"So very time I see you and she's around, I have to call you cousin."

"I guess so."

"What is your name?"

"Kibo. Why is she in the house?"

"I saw her walking on the streets. She had cuts on her. I don't know if her parents did that or someone else did, but she's going when I feel like getting up on my own."

"Sorry, I would have opened the door but it was locked. I know you and the only way you would lock the door if you were out."

"You have a key. Why didn't you use it?"

"I had this feeling that I should knock. I guess it was a good thing too or she might've thought I was a robber or something."

"She might've. I'll call you when she's gone, ok?"

"Cool. See ya later."

TK got into his car, waved bye, then droved off. _My only question is when would I let her go. Sorry TK, I don't think she's leaving for a while. Wonder why you don't like her. Well, if you're the only one then I should be ok, but I have to be careful. Bros knows each other. _I walked back inside. When I opened the door, she was standing front of me. I hid the folder that TK gave to me.

"You never told me that you had a cousin."

"And what made you think I didn't?"

"Your parents were the only kid in their family. What's his name?"

"Kibo. He's from my mom side."

"What did you two talk about?"

"You don't need to worry about it. Do you have cousin or siblings?"

"No, I'm the only child in my family and my parents are the only ones in their family."

"I'm going back to bed. Why did you lock the door?"

"I know my parents and they would send someone to find me."

"Do you know who that someone is?"

"Yeah."

"Ok then, when I'm awake and if you're still here then you don't have to keep answering the door."

"Thanks."

I walked back to my room and fell asleep again. The next thing I knew, Mizu was creeping into my bed. I lifted one eye towards the window and it was nighttime again. Then I looked at her and she was naked! I was too tired to really care, but I did care a little so I turned my head the other way. She was now in the bed, her body next to mine. She turned my head to make me look at her. Then she started to kiss passionately. Then she started to take off my clothes.

(And you know the rest. We had sex and that's that. I don't what to describe it because there are other stories that had this kind of thing in them. Onwards to the morning)

I awoke with the fresh air and sun in my face. Mizu was still sleeping, so I got up, took a shower and put on my clothes. I walked to the kitchen and sat down in the chair. The phone ranged and I got up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Is there a girl named Mizu staying there?"

"Nope."

"Is there a girl staying there?"

"Nope, I'm the only one here."

"Thanks for your help."

The guy hung up. The voice sounded peaceful; it was a male's voice, that much I could tell. I turned around to see Mizu behind me with clothes on.

"Who was it?" She sounded scared.

"I think it's the guy who's looking for you. Do you have any friends?"

"No, my parents never allowed me to have friends."

"Oh, you must've had a very bad childhood. Is that why you left?"

"Yeah. I had to get out and get a life, but my parents didn't want that."

"Where do you live?"

"Here."

"Did you ever have a place to hide from them?"

"Yep, but that would've been the first place they looked."

"How would they know this phone number?"

"He knows everyone's phone number. That's how he can find me. Next he'll go to every house to make sure that I'm not there."

"What happens when he find out that someone is hiding you?"

"All depends if the person allows him to take me or not. If the person puts up a fight then he will fight back."

"What if no one answers the door?"

"He'll open it and check to see if my in that house. He can tell by smelling the house, but it only works if he's inside the house."

"Well, if he smells this house then he would find you."

"That's a good point. We have to go somewhere."

"Can he find you if he knows what house you are staying at?"

"The only way he can if he stays around that house. He can only smell close things like buildings, but at park he would have to look and his eyes aren't as keen as his nose."

"Can we cover your smell with something?"

"I think so."

"Then I think I have an idea."

I ran to my closet of cleaning products. I grabbed one that I knew had a very strong smell, but it was nice smell if you were going to use it in small amounts. I found that out the hard way. I sprayed it near the bedrooms, kitchen, living room, bathrooms, and the front door. I left a few of the windows opened, but they weren't wide. I knew by the time we got back most of it would be gone and the same with her scene. She was already in the car. I got in and drove away from the house.

"What did you do?"

"I spray something that gets out other smells. It's really strong if you spray it in large amounts, but it has a nice scent."

"That's a good idea. If it's strong then it would cover mine and I would be safe. So where are we going?"

"You're going to see a few of my friends."

"That's cool. Can I see your brother?"

"At the moment, he's in America."

"Who are we going to see first?"

"Tai and Sora, then Joe, Mimi, and Izzy."

"Ok."

The rest of the ride was quiet. We got to Tai and Sora's house; I was hoping that they would be there. We got out and went to the door. I knocked and Tai answered it.

"Hey Matt, what's ya doing here?"

"I'm here for two reasons. One is so you guys can meet someone. Two is for someone that you're going to meet safety."

"Well, who's this someone?"

"Her."

Tai looked at Mizu. She waved. "Cool. Come in."

We walked in to the living room. We sat down on couch.

"Let me get Sora." Tai ran off. Within a few seconds, he was back with Sora. They sat down in the seats near us.

"So what's your name?" Sora asked.

"Mizu. Has someone called that asked for this name?"

"Yeah, someone did. Why do you ask?"

"That person is looking for me to take me back to my parents."

"Do you live with your parents?" Tai asked.

"I know it seems silly but yes. I took a trip and when I went to visit them, they beat me and called me a disgrace to the family."

"If they called you that then why would they be looking for you?"

"'Cause of what they want me to do."

"And you don't want to. Have you told them that?" Sora asked.

"Many times but they don't care. They want me to do it no matter what."

"Do you want to tell us what they want you to do?" Tai asked.

"No."

"How did you meet Matt?"

"I saw her after the party you guys put for me."

"Is there anything we can do to help you, Mizu?"

"If you have something that can get rid of smells, it will help you and me."

"Why?" Sora asked.

"The guy who called has a keen sense of smell and he knows mine scent very well. If you can cover it then you'll be safe from him."

"Ok, where are you going next, Matt?" Tai asked.

"To the campus."

"Ok, are you going now?"

"I think that would be wise. He can move fast."

"Mizu, could you wait for me outside? I need tell them something." Mizu walked to the door and went out. "Call everyone to say that TK is my cousin and his name is Kibo."

"Why?" Sora asked.

"For some reason he doesn't like Mizu. When he came to my house yesterday he told her that he was my cousin. So when I'm going to the younger Digidestined, they would need to know that. Joe, Mimi, and Izzy would need to know too, incase TK is around and I call him cousin. Oh yea, TK is in America for a while."

"We'll call everyone." Tai said.

I walked out to the car and Mizu was already in it. I got in and drove to the campus. When we got there, we got out of the car and walked to Izzy's room.

"Hello?" He asked as he opened his door.

"Hey Izzy."

"Oh, hi Matt. What are you doing?"

"I thought that you should meet someone. This is Mizu." Izzy looked to where my hand was pointing.

"Hey, someone called me asking for you."

"That might mean he's already looking for me. How long ago?"

"Uhmmm, not long ago. Do you what want to come in?"

"No thanks. I think it would be safer if we stay out."

"Why are you being hunted?"

"'Cause of my parents. They want me back to do something that I don't want to do."

"When did you meet Matt?"

"When I was going to my house after the party." I answered.

"Oh, well Joe and Mimi are in their room. So if you're going to visit them, you can."

"Thanks Izzy. See ya later."

We walked to Joe and Mimi's room. I knocked on the door and Mimi answered.

"Hey Matt. What's up?"

"I guess you can say a lot of things."

"Really, oh and who are you?"

"My name is Mizu."

"Cool, are you Matt's new girlfriend?"

"No."

"Sure, let me get Joe. Hey, Joe, Matt's here!"

"Hi Matt."

"Joe, this is Mizu."

"I think she's Matt's girlfriend." Mimi whispered loudly.

"She's not Mimi."

"Sure." She smiled.

"What are you guys doing here?" Joe asked to change the subject.

"I thought you two would like to meet her."

"Ya know, someone called asking for that name."

"We better get going then. Who knows how far he is." Mizu looked at me, pleading.

"Matt, what's going on?"

"Her parents are looking for her to make her do something that she doesn't want to do. The guy that called is the one they sent to look for her."

"Then you better get going. See ya later."

"Yeah, see ya."

We left to the car and drove off. I wasn't sure where I was going but I thought it would be best if we kept on driving until something happen or I got in idea on where to go.

"You have nice friends."

"Thanks." Then she moved quickly down to the floor of the car. "What are you going?"

"I saw him."

"What's his name?"

"Senso."

"That's a very nice name."

"Are you even worried that I saw him on the sidewalk and he might know where I am?"

"Of course I'm worried but if you allow fear to control you then you'll never allow your dreams to take control. Since I can't look to see if he's gone, and in either case I don't know what he looks like, can you look?"

"Sure." She moved to see if he noticed then she went right back to the floor.

"I'm guessing that he's either following us or he's doing something that means he knows where you are?"

"You figure that? How?" She sounded surprised.

"By the way you moved right back to the floor."

"He can drive so the following us part is the right one."

"Is there any way to lose him?" (It just hit me… How could she see him on the sidewalk and then say that he's following us in a car? Sorry. I just know that she's not trustworthy.)

"No, once he knows where I am, I'm basically his."

"There must be a way to lose him."

"If you have an idea then you can try it."

"Ok then, hang on."

I then turned to an alley that I knew was going to be crowded at the end.

"This is your 'great plan'?" She didn't sound too happy with the idea.

"Wait a while. I hope he can't find you in a crowd.

"He could, but that would expose something that I know he doesn't what anybody to know. I'll be safe there but what about your house. He'll be able to find it while we're in the crowd?"

"Well, I'll think about that when the time comes."

"I know you'll have to think about it around now. He's someone that likes to move one step ahead of what he's looking for."

"Then I guess he's not doing a good job at it."

"What do you mean?"

"So far, we have been one or two steps ahead of him."

"I doubt that. He knows me very well. He knows how I move."

"If he ends up at my house, I'll deal with him then."

We got to the crowd of people. It was a good thing that cars were allowed to go throw it and that a lot of these cars were like mine. After minutes of driving around the festival, I thought it would be wise to see if Senso was still following us.

"Check now." She got out her spot, again, and looked. This time she sat down on the seat. "That's a good sign. Now since we're in a festival, what do you want to do?"

"This is the first time that I've ever been seen a festival before so I think we should get out and see what this is all about."

"Ok, but we don't really need to get out. We can drive around and see what's going on. I don't remember what this festival is about but we're allowed to see it in a car."

"That's cool, and if we see him then we can get away fast."

"You mean if you see him. Remember, I don't know what he looks like yet so you're the one that says whether we go or not."

"That power is mine?"

"Yep. Besides, I'm now a host since you never seen a festival before. It would be rude of me to call all the shots."

"This is sweet of you. Is it ok if I stay at your house again tonight?"

"Sure."

We drove around the festival. Mizu seemed happy, seeing all the activities that happen in a festival. As far as I seen her, she has never laughed. She kept looking to see if Senso was around. I think that there's something more to what she told me than she's willing to tell me (Hey I remembered what Sora's job is! Sorry). It was getting late and I remembered what I promised TK. _Man, sorry TK but it seems that she's staying another night. _

"Mizu, we need to get going. It's getting late."

"Oh, sure thing."

"Hopefully tomorrow we can get you a hotel or something."

"I hope so." She smiled sweetly at me. I got out of the crowd and headed for home.

When I got there, the sun had almost set. The house seemed to be okay. We got out of the car and walked to the house. I unlocked it and opened the door. I saw TK inside the house, sitting on the couch.

"Hi Kibo, what are you doing here?" He didn't seem too happy.

"I thought I would see if you were done with my request. I'm guess not, right?"

"Sorry, I was busy today. I'll fulfill your request tonight."

"I guess then it's ok for me to come here tomorrow morning to see?"

"You can come anytime you want. You know that you have a key to the place."

"I know but you wouldn't be asleep this time."

"If I am then you can splash cold or non-cold water on my face or whatever you want to do to get me up."

"Don't get mad tomorrow if you're sleeping."

"What time should I be awake?"

"Around the time that I came today."

"And that was?"

"6:00."

"Ok then. Is that all?"

"Yep. See ya tomorrow." TK walked out the door and started to walk down the street.

"There's something different about Kibo." I said more to myself.

"What makes you think that?" Mizu didn't seem too worry about him.

"He would have brought his car if he was coming over. He lives far from here."

"Is that all?"

"No, there was something in his eyes that made him not himself."

"Maybe he wanted to try something new. We better go to bed."

"You're right. See ya tomorrow."

We walked to our rooms. When I got into mine, I decided to call TK to see if he was home.

"Hello, this is TK Takaishi."

"Hey bro, were you over at my house a few minutes ago?"

"You know that there's a festival going on and it would next to impossible to get from here to there in minutes."

"There was someone here that looked like you and even knew about the story that you left here. He even knew that I'm supposed to call you Kibo."

"I know I wasn't over there. Why did you call?"

"I noticed that he didn't have a car and something about his eyes that told me that he's not you."

"Glad that you could tell me from someone that looks like me. Do you have an idea on who this person is?"

"No, not really."

"Then can you tell me the 'not really' part?"

"I think it might've been the guy that's looking for Mizu. His name is Senso."

"I guess you know the parents' name too?"

"Not yet."

"So are you done with the story?"

"I'm going to read it tonight."

"What time did I say that I was coming and I'll come earlier?"

"6:00, so I'll see you at…?"

"Hmm…5:56 sharp."

"Why then?"

"I want to know whose wants to be me."

"Oh. Ok then, good night."

"You too."

He hanged up the phone and I sat down the phone, lay on the bed, opened the folder and started to read the story that TK was working on secretly. I made few corrections, which is how it's usually. The stories that he makes are always good, minus the first one because he was just starting, but after that he had great stories. Sometimes, he would put them in a comic to show the characters and places. That was one of the things that he likes to do. One would be writing and the other is drawing. He makes lots of money from the sales of his books and comics. I know that some are put into movies too. He has a pen name for both so no one would know that a kid, that's still in high school, is writing bestsellers. In fact, his identity is so well hidden that only I know that he does. Everyone knows that he's a great writer and everything, but none have never asked why he hasn't made money off of it. Guess they think that he thinks that he's not good enough to be a novelist. I finished the story at 5:30. _WAIT A MINUTE, 5:30! TK WILL BE HERE IN 26 MINUTES! I wished I got some sleep. Well better get ready. Hope Mizu isn't up_.

I took a shower, put new clothes on and combed my hair. I looked outside the door to see if Mizu was up, good thing that her room was close. I tipped toed over to her door and opened it very quietly. She was sleeping as far as I could tell. I closed it as quietly as I opened it. I walked to the front door. I looked at my watch to see how much time I have to sit back and relax. Before I look at it, I remembered about TK's story. I walked back to my room, grabbed the folder, and walked back. I looked through the peek hole to see if TK was here and he was just walking to the door. I opened the door and stepped outside.

"Hi Kibo."

"Is she up!"

"No, well I don't think so."

"Then why?"

"Just incase. Anyway, here's your story." I handed it to him.

"Thanks. Are we going to go in?"

"Yep."

We walked back inside and waited for the other TK to come. At 6:00, the phone rang. I picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Matt, we need your help. Do you know where TK went?" It was Tai and he sounded like he was worried about something.

"Yeah, what's the problem?"

"The Digital World has a new enemy and we all need to get there, now!"

"What about Mizu? I don't think I can leave her with that guy out for her."

"Then bring her too. We're meeting at the park."

"We'll be there."

"Where's TK?"

"He's here with me. We'll be there."

"Good, see ya there."

Then he hanged up the phone. I sat down the phone and looked at TK.

"Did he come?"

"I saw no one that came close to this house. Who called?"

"Tai, he said that the Digital World needs us again."

"How would you explain this to Mizu?"

"I'll just say that you came back. Now I have to wake Mizu so we can go to the park."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you have to wake Mizu?"

"I can't leave her here with Senso out there."

"Fine, I'll yell if there's someone at the door that looks like me."

I walked to her room and knocked. The door opened and she looked tried. "What is it?"

"We have to go. Something has come up."

"Oh, ok hold on. Let me get ready."

She closed the door and within seconds was out. We walked to the front door and she noticed that TK was looking out the peek hole.

"Hi, I don't think we meet."

He turned around and said, "Hi, I'm TK. Matt's little brother. He called me yesterday saying that I must come to meet this beautiful girl that he found. So I got on the first plane and here I am."

"Oh, Matt told me that you're a great writer. Are you thinking about being a novelist?"

"Yep. Now let's get going."

We walked to my car and I drove to the park, it was silent the whole way. I parked the car and we walked to the center, thinking that that's where they would be and we were right.

"Good, now that's everyone's here we can get going." Tai said.

"Hey, who are you?" Cody asked looking at Mizu.

"My name is Mizu. I'm a friend of Matt."

"Why are you here?" Yolie asked.

"Well, my parents want me to do something that I don't want to do, and they sent they're guard after me. He knows that I'm here because he saw me yesterday. It was a good thing that Matt was with me. He helped me lose him so he doesn't know where I staying at."

"How are we going to get to the Digital World?" Joe asked Tai before Mimi said anything.

"Izzy's got his computer."

Izzy opened the laptop and put up the Digital Gate that leads us to the Digital World. Ken took out his D-3 and held it to the computer then he yelled, "Digiport open!"

Then the light that was red was now green. This big light shot out and grabbed everyone. When we opened our eyes, we saw the Digital World (that was the worse thing we could have done. Sorry). We walked around for a while looking for the danger that we were sent here to defeat. Mizu was been surprising quiet, helping us look around. Then our Digimon came into view.

"Tai, we think we found where the evil is." Agumon said as they were coming up (Yep, you sure did. Now if only you didn't bring us there. Sorry).

"Great, can you bring us there?" Tai asked.

"Sure," (Nnnnnnnnoooooooooooooooooooooooo. Sorry) "but who's this?" Agumon pointed at Mizu.

"My name is Mizu. I'm here with Matt." (And for something else. Sorry)

"Oh, I heard that there are four of them. Like the Dark Masters." Biyomon said.

"Do you know their names?" Sora asked.

"Nope, the other thing that we know is that they're missing something and they were looking for it but I guess they found it." Tentomon said.

"Do you know what that was?" Izzy asked.

"Something that was going to be use to kill you guys." Gabumon answered.

"I say we get going so we don't waste time standing them. Show us the way guys." Davis announced.

Everyone agreed and followed the Digimon (I really wish we didn't. Sorry). We found ourselves at a mountain.

"What's this called, Gatomon?" Kari asked.

"It's called Mercury Mountain." Gatomon answered.

"How do we get in?" Cody asked looking around (We don't. Sorry).

Then a door opened in front of us.

"Guess that's how." Armadillomon said.

We walked up and went inside. Tai and Sora were leading the way; Mizu and I were near the back. TK was near us too, since he didn't trust Mizu. Then this light came out of nowhere and we were in this bright room. A sweet voice was singing, very happily. We were looking around to find the source of the voice. I noticed that there was a shadow that was falling on us. I looked up and saw a bird like person flying over us, "Guys I think I found where the voice is coming from." It lands on an edge that came out of the wall. I now got a good look at her. She was a half bird, half human.

"I see you like my music."

"What's your name?" Tai asked.

"The name is Sirensmon."

"Are you the one of the evil Digimon?"

"Yes… and you'll meet the others."

Then another door opened a little bit lower than Sirensmon. A man came out that had a dog's head and feet.

"My name is Anubismon."

Then another door opened but this time it was next to Sirensmon. This huge man appeared with a giant staff.

"Titanmon, now Digidestined glad you could make it to your graveyard." His voice was harsh.

"There's supposed to be one more." Davis said.

"It's good that you know that. In fact, the last one of our group is staying next to Matt." Anubismon said.

"What?" I turned to see that Mizu wasn't there. There was another edge that was behind me. This girl was standing there with some of her dark blue hair in front of her, she was wearing one of those outfits that people in the old, Western times wore and it was blue, lighter than her hair.

"And you are?" I asked a little bit afraid of what happen to Mizu (God! Sorry).

"I am Styxmon."

"And where did the girl that was with me go?"

"I'm right here, Matt." She opened her eyes and I saw Mizu's and sadness in them.

"So who's Senso?"

"That would be Anubismon."

"Your parents?"

"That would be us." Titanmon said.

I kept my eyes on Styxmon. All the Digimon Digievolved to their highest form, Agumon to WarGreymon, Gabumon to MetalGarurumon, Biyomon to Garudamon, Tentomon to MegaKabuterimon, Palmon to Lillymon, Gomamon to Zudomon. The ones that can DNA Digievolve did. I didn't see it but I heard it. I'm guessing that everyone was paying more attention to the battle with the others than what I was doing.

"I'm guessing that this is what you didn't want to do?"

"Yes. I didn't want it to be this way."

"Well, it is. That name of yours fits."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean Mizu and Styx."

"I don't know what either one means so can you tell me?"

"Mizu means water and Styx was the name of the river that led to the lower world where Hades was located. Hades is the god of death and he rules Hell. Hell is where the bad people go after they died."

"But you're not bad people."

"That what your name means. What level are you?"

"We're all higher than a Mega."

"What level is that?"

"I want to tell you, but I can't."

"What was the real reason you ran away?"

"I told you, they wanted me to do something and that something was to kill you but I couldn't."

"Why? You seem perfect for the job."

"I'm perfect in killing your friends and your brother but not you."

"Why?"

"Because she loves you, Matt. You took our daughter away for us." Titanmon said.

I turned to see that everyone was in some binding. Then I was too.

"Daddy, please. Can't I talk to him? I'm betting he has lots of question that I could answer."

"One question might be on how to kill us, dear and we can't let you tell him that." Sirensmon said.

"I know what I can and can't tell him."

"Sister, let him go. There are lots of other people you can love that are not a Digidestined." Anubismon said.

"You do know that love has to work both ways to make it strong. How do you know that Matt loves you?" Sirensmon said (they're making it sound like I'm not even in the room with them. Sorry).

"I don't, but what happens if he does love me?"

"He might say he does to get him and his friends out of this then attack, or he means it but his friends attack us. Either way it looks like we're going to be attacked upon." Titanmon debated.

"You're being attacked because they believe that you're planning on doing something bad to the Digital World."

"And you're not going to tell them what that is?" Anubismon asked.

"If I was, I would have. We could live a different life in the Real World, far away from Japan."

"We could but we like living here."

"I have a question. If you all are family, how can that be if Digimon come from eggs?" TK asked (even in a dying situation, he still finds time to ask fundamental questions. Sorry).

"That's simple, we created Styxmon and Anubismon's Digiegg so that's why they are brother and sister. We're their parents because we raise them." Titanmon answered.

"Did you know what they were going to be before they hatched?"

"Yes, with their Digiegg we could name them whatever we wanted. Like naming a child." Sirensmon answered.

"Planning on making a story TK?" Styxmon asked.

"It's an interesting topic."

"Who was at my house last night?" I just remembered about the guy that looked like TK but wasn't.

"That was me." Anubismon answered.

"How did you know what Kibo and I were talking about the day before?"

"That's part of my powers."

"Matt, I knew it was TK. I know what everyone looks like."

"That's good, at least we don't have to do introductions."

I heard Sirensmon singing again and fell asleep.

When I awoke, I found myself in an almost dark room. _What happen, where's everyone else?_ I got up and looked around. I noticed that the light didn't reach some parts of the room.

"Matt?"

_That's Styxmon's voice. _ "What?"

Then she appeared in the light. I couldn't find where the light was coming from. "How do you feel?"

"Let me think about that for a second. Hmm, we walked into a trap, I'm locked in a room that might not have a way of getting out, I don't know where my friends are, and I don't know if your family is doing something to them or not."

"Sorry about all this." She looked really sad.

"When did you start loving me?" I lightened my tone a bit.

"Ever since I saw you, when they were training us."

"That was?"

"When you first came to the Digital World."

"That's how long you were training? If you are a level higher than Mega then why didn't you guys attack us then instead of attacking after two battles for the Earth and the Digital World?"

"We had to increase our powers. We're different from other Digimon."

"I guess your names should have been the first clue. So why am I here?"

"I can't say."

"How where you guys created?"

"And I thought you would have known how human babies come."

"That's the way. Then why did they say Digiegg?"

"So then you guys would think that we were actually Digimon."

"Are you sure that you can tell me that?"

"I know what I can and can't tell you. It's ok if I tell you this."

"How long were you watching me?"

"We were supposed to watch you guys every time you went back to the Digital World. That was first time; Tai came back after the battle with Etemon; after the battle with Myotismon; the battle with Diaboromon; and every time the new kids went in. That's a lot of times, but I watch you through everything you experience."

"Then you know that I love my brother and would do anything for him. So why can you kill him but not me?"

"I know that. I could kill him and your friends but I don't want to that either. Watching you allowed me to see what having friends really meant. I never had that. I always had my family with me but never friends. I noticed how the girls act and they always went with someone because they like to be in groups. I wanted that but never got it. Anubismon was fine because he was more into the plan than I was."

"So what you're saying is that you were trained to kill everyone but you never went through the training that was meant for me, and since you watched me through everything and saw that I had friends, you wanted them too. Why did you come to the Real World when I saw you?"

"If you were wondering that I came there as part of this plan, no."

"Then why are you so important to them?"

"I would like to tell you but I can't."

"Were you using any of your powers on me?"

"No."

"Why were you beaten up?"

"It was apart of the training for you but I didn't go through it so I got badly hurt. Anubismon was the only one watching me so I got out and went to your world. I've been there many times before but I never ran into you. I did run into TK many times. I thought that he would recognize me when he saw me." _So that's why TK doesn't like her. He met her before. Wonder what he saw? I'll ask him later, if there is a later._

"Since I'm running out of questions, do you have any for me?"

"Why did you and Ken go back your crests?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Why did you go back your crest after that cave and why did everyone helped Ken get his crest?"

"Gabumon helped me get mine back and no one ever thought that Ken was a Digidestined or at least one with a crest. Some of them thought, well more like Cody and Yolie, that Ken wasn't one of them. Why do you asked?"

"If you guys kept the darkness inside you, both of you wouldn't have to be on the death list. They were planning on using you two with the plan but since you got your crest and the same with Ken, you have to die."

"So you're saying that for me and Ken to get on the living list, we have to go back to the way we were?"

"Yes."

"What does that mean for everyone else?"

"There were always on the other list."

"You said that you wanted friends. Who were you planning on being friends with?"

"I don't know. It was you and Ken but now I guess it's you."

"And since the others are my friends I can't let them die. Plus I love the way my life is now the same goes for Ken. We're happier that way."

"That means that you won't go back to the way you were?"

"Yep. If you truly love me then you would let me do whatever makes me happy. Want makes you happy?"

"Loving you and being closed to you. Mom says that love isn't true love if it doesn't work both ways but it can still be love if one loves the other."

"I bet you were pretty mad at Sora when we were dating?"

"Yea."

"And what about Jun?"

"Well, she was ok since she didn't ask you and by the way, you were acting it wouldn't have matter if she did or not."

"Did you do anything during the adventures?"

"Giving you guys the phones, of course that was a waste; giving the train thing and making sure that you got the food you needed; making sure you guys found each other, of course when I got to TK there was no one left so I watched him to make sure that he didn't get into trouble that Patamon couldn't handle; leading you to your crest; leading Tai to everyone; making sure that Agumon and Palmon were ok when they were in Myotismon Castle; making sure that you got through the gate; giving the arrows the power to help Agumon and Gabumon Wrap Digievolve; making sure the arrows didn't kill you; helping you guys get back to the Digital World; helped Angemon Digievolve by giving TK hope through you and your voice; got you back to the Real World, but the gate thing wasn't mine, it was mom and dad's idea; making sure that the new kids got their Digiegg; letting Tai to go back to the Digital World to help Agumon; creating the D-3s; allowing the Digimon to go to the Real World; giving Ken the idea of the Dark Spiral; making sure that when the Destiny Stones got destroy nothing too serious happen to the Digital World; making it easier for you guys to get the other Digimon into the Digital World; giving you a bit a power when you were defeating MaloMyotismon. That's it."

"With all your helping, did your parents think that it was you?"

"No, they thought that it was Gennai."

"Then why do you want to kill everyone if you helped them?"

"I did?"

"Yea, so far the only thing that I got from your list that was remotely bad was giving Ken the Dark Spiral."

"Well I could have helped more."

"But you helped enough so that we learned. Thank you for helping so much."

"You're not mad at me?"

"I was never mad at you, just at your brother and parents."

"What would happen if we let you guys go but still plan to do what we wanted to do with the Digital World?"

"What do you think? I don't know your plan and I know that you won't tell me."

"I don't know."

"Then I don't know either."

"Do you love me?"

"Yep."

"The way that my mom said it has to be?"

"Yep."

She smiled and the room disappeared. We were standing at the same spots when the battle first started. I turned around and saw everyone was lying on the ground. I looked up and saw that Titanmon (Slash Styxmon's dad. Sorry) was holding MetalGarurumon by the neck.

"Titanmon put him down!"

"So you're done. What was it that my daughter wanted to speak to you alone?"

"I wanted to know if he loves me the way mom says and he does. Can you let them go?"

"What! A human can't fall in love with a Digimon." Sirensmon said in surprise.

"He must have figured if he said that then he and his friends would be let go." Anubismon figured.

"I didn't even know what was going on here. For all I know you guys already killed them."

"Please tell me that they're still alive." Styxmon begged.

"They are for now. We just made sure that they were sleep until you two got out. Now that seems to be a mistake." Titanmon said. He let go of MetalGarurumon. I thought of running over but didn't know if that's what Titanmon wanted.

"What were you doing to MetalGarurumon?"

"Seeing how that Digimon was able to get you out of the Dark World and back to the light of your crest. So far I found nothing. You tell me how he was able to."

"He was able to because I didn't want to be alone."

"But it was your wish to be alone. I know that the crest has the same power as the holder. If the holder is strong then the crest is strong and the same with the Digimon. I know that you had that power before the divorce and afterwards you lost most of it. You only had enough friendship to allowed Gabumon to go to Mega, not to get you out of the darkness."

"And what about Ken?"

"He lost the same amount but he was thought to have less. Both Digimon helped get you in the light of the crest and out of the darkness. Both wanted to be alone and both got it."

"Then I don't know. I know that I wanted to alone but I don't know how I got out and I don't know how Ken got out of it either."

"But you had something to do with the escape. Ken got out by the purest Friendship and that would be you."

"How do you know it's me? Davis has Friendship too."

"I know but the purest Friendship is the one that holds the crest. Tai is the purest at Courage, Sora Love, Izzy Knowledge, Mimi Purity, Joe Faithfulness, TK Hope, Kari Light, and Ken Kindness. Yolie, Cody, and Davis are nothing when it comes to the purest. That's how you defeated all your enemies. Unless….."

"Unless what?"

"What are you planning to do to us if we go along with our plan?"

"Before I give an answer for that, I would like to know what the plan is. I don't want to give an answer to a question that I don't fully know."

"Gennai didn't tell you?"

"He barely tells us anything. The only thing he does is give a thing to solve the problem but never teaches us on how do to the problem. You said that our Digimon helped us get out of the darkness but what about Sora? She was in there too."

"She was but that was because she had fear in her heart and it still wanted you. Since you were close it grabbed her to see if it could still get you."

"How would you know this? I was told that that was from the World of Darkness. Unless you are apart of that world, but how, aren't you a Digimon?"

"Yes, I am apart of that world. Both you and Ken were there and both enjoyed it."

"Then how was Ken able to open a gateway there if you're from there?"

"That means that he is what I thought he was. Now all I need to know if you are too."

"Are you the ruler of that world?"

"No, I only live there and the same with Sirensmon. Some Digimon live there but now they're dead since Daemon is there."

"What happen to him anyway?"

"He's now dead. We made sure of that for the plan."

"What is 'the plan'?"

"You don't need to know that." Anubismon answered.

"Anubismon, he might need to know if he's going to join us."

Then everyone started to wake up.

"What happen?" Davis asked.

"Nothing soon far."

Everyone looked at me. MetalGarurumon walked up to me, "Are you ok?"

"Yea, for the moment anyway." I placed my hand on side of his mouth.

Sirensmon flew up to the ceiling. Then a bright light came out from there. I couldn't see what was going on but I heard the Digimon gasping which might have been what Titanmon wanted to find out and now found it.

"What are you doing to Ken and Matt?" Izzy asked.

Then the light was gone. When I opened my eyes I look at Styxmon to see if she still had the expression on her face. Her eyes were wide and looking straight at me. I looked around to see that her family was doing the same.

"I guess you found your answer."

"Yes, but it wasn't the one that I was thinking of. Who knew that you held – that – Legendary Crest!"

"I guess that's a compliment?"

"Greatly." Sirensmon answered.

"Styxmon looks like you picked a good boyfriend and didn't even know it." Anubismon said.

"I know."

"Great, can you tell me what you're talking about?"

"Matt, you are a holder of one of the Legendary Crest and the strongest one too."

"Ken has one too but it a little bit weaker than mine but still strong, right?"

"Yes, all the Legendary Crests are powerful but yours is the leader of them." Titanmon explained.

Then the whole place started to shake.

"What's going on?" Kari asked.

"Gennai!" Titanmon said with anger.

Titanmon, Sirensmon, and Anubismon went to the walls and were trying to stop it from falling. I looked at Styxmon to see what she was doing and she seemed to be concentrating on something. _Is she using her powers?_ Then she opened her eyes, "Digidestined and Digimon, if you go through there it will take you back to your world and the Digimon outside of this place."

"Let's get going." Tai announced.

We all ran but I noticed that the Digimon Family wasn't coming. I stopped and turned around to see Styxmon with the saddest eyes that I have seen her with.

"Matt what are you doing? You got to it out of here." She was running up to me.

"What about you guys? Aren't you coming with us?"

"No, when you get back, ask Gennai about us and what our plan was. He knows because before I was born, my parents told him to see if he liked it but he didn't and he told them that if they tried to go through with their plan that he'll get the Digidestined to stop them."

"Why don't you guys come with us?"

"I know that Gennai would try something else to keep us from you and Ken. So to protect you, we have to stay."

"What is it about Ken and me that make us so special?"

"The light that my mom put up was able to show us what Legendary Crest you two have. My dad told us about the Legendary Crest that only the special people have them. It's a common legend around the Dark World. There are many legends about the Digi-protectors and he told all of them to us. I don't know what makes you or Ken able to have one but you do and don't let Gennai know this either. If he found out about the crest then he might want to do something with them."

She then kissed me and pushed me in the door that she made. As I was falling, I saw flames coming out of the door. I knew right then and there what her powers were. The power of anything and that's why the mountain was called Mercury. He was a god with many attributes and that place was a part of that World of Dreams. _Styxmon was apart of that world too. I bet that Anubismon was from the Digital World._ _I guess that mountain was apart of their plan too but what was their plan? Guess the only way I'll find that out is through Gennai. I got to remember to tell Ken what I found out._ Then I closed my eyes.

When I opened them I found out that I was back in the Real World. TK was over me with worried eyes. I smiled and he smiled.

"You ok bro?"

"Almost, the only thing that I'm not ok with is what happened to Styxmon and her family."

"What was happening while we were asleep?"

"She had me in a room and we were asking each other questions. If you want I can tell you about it later."

"Sure thing."

I got up and looked around. Everyone was still knocked out and the Digimon weren't here. We waited for everybody to get up before we called Gennai. I told everyone that I wanted to know why we were sent to kill them. Izzy was able to get a hold of him and he appeared on the screen.

"What is it?"

"I was wondering why you sent us to the Digital World to defeat the evil Digimon. What were their plans for the Digital World?"

"Well Matt, their plans were to create a place were all the worlds have a way to get to other worlds."

"What's so bad about that?" Ken asked.

"What would happen if someone got through and was using the other worlds' powers to destroy another or theirs?"

"What if they had a plan for that?"

"Don't think it would hold out that much."

"Did they tell you what worlds they were planning on using?"

"Yes, all the worlds that the Digital World is able to go to and that are a lot of them."

"Oh, ok thanks."

"Bye." Then he disappeared.

"Matt, why were you asking those questions?" Yolie asked.

"Styxmon wanted me to so I would know what their plans were. What do you guys think? Was that plan bad enough that we had to kill them? I sure don't think so."

"I agree with you." Ken said. _I had a feeling you would._

"Well, it would have been cool to go to the other worlds. What a story plot!" _I take that as an 'I agree with you'._

"I bet I could take great shots too." Kari said.

"I agree with Gennai." Cody announced.

"Same here." Yolie agreed.

"I think so too." Davis said.

"I agree with you, Matt. Who else agrees with Gennai, raise your hand?" Tai asked.

No one did. They were surprised.

"Why don't you guys believe in Gennai?" Cody asked.

"We're entitled to our opinion. It's ok that you think Gennai was right."

I noticed that I was finished with the note that I was planning on giving Ken. I walked up to him.

"Here Ken. Read this when you get home."

"Sure thing."

"Well, I'm beat. See ya guys around."

"Bye." TK said.

Then I headed home remembering Styxmon and Mizu's face. _Two different bodies but the same person, I think I should tell TK to write a story like that and give it to me as a personal._

Well… that's the story. You know what? After writing this… I'm not as mad as I was before. It's great sharing problems with other people. Anyway, I did ask TK about that story and he did make it for me. I also come to the realization that I still love Styxmon but I guess I was mad at the fact that Gennai sent us on a mission that if Styxmon didn't love me, we would have been killed. I wished she left me something so that I would know about those Legendary Crests. I bet TK would love to write stories on that. Well Baibai for now. Hope you like my story.


	2. Chap 1 The Digimon are coming

Hello. A bit of a heads up on what's been happening since I last wrote. Panther is doing fine here. She still thinks that those people are after her, but she's been having fun otherwise. She helped us with the annual cleaning of our old houses. I found a way to get into her head … kinda … I guess. Anyway, she's going to school with TK and the others. Yolie is at college, doing something. I forget what she wanted to do so sue me. She might so I have to live somewhere else and forget about Styxmon. Like that's going to happen. I made sure that Panther's in all of TK's classes but she does have some free time that he doesn't. About five periods, how much trouble can she make in that amount of time? Anyway, she seems to like her schedule so that good. My life is going to be boring so you'll only hear/read me in side comments. It's going to focus on mainly her since her life is going to be exciting. Anyway, I think that's enough information from my side. Let's get into the story……..

I decided to drive her to the school on her first day (really, she didn't want to walk with TK or the others. She thought that was uncool or something). I pulled up to the sidewalk and she got out.

"Have fun."

"Will."

Without her knowing, I pushed the button that sets the camera on (hehe). It was small enough to not be seen and it can resist any pressure (I love my space inventions. It was originally design for it was to record things in space, but I'm using it for my own uses, even though I not supposed to).

I pulled out and went back home to sleep some more (since I had some time of peace and quiet).

(This will tell you who's point of view it is) Panther

I walked into the new school that I knew from before (this is still my spot so don't think that this is Panther's comments. Anyway, what!). I went to my first class and picked a seat. I didn't feel like talking to anybody since I didn't know anyone. I hoped that my friends would be in some of my classes. There were already two kids in the class. The girl was wearing a yellow tight tank top, a yellow skirt that went to her knees, white gloves, and low heel shoes. The guy was wearing a white T, blue jeans, and an orange jacket. They were whispering something to each other when TK came in with his friends.

"Hi Panther." Kari said.

They sat next to me. I felt like running, but I knew that I had to get use to this.

"Hi." I tried to smile.

"Do you have any friends that come here?" Ken asked, probably thinking that I had friends outside the gang, which I did but I didn't know if they were at this school. I only went to school on midterms and exams. Everything else I did it on my own time and turned it in when due. I didn't really need to learn anything (but now she has to or she'll be put in jail).

"Don't know. I haven't talked to them in a while."

"Hope you see them."

"That or make new ones." TK said.

"Meaning?"

"That you meet people that you like to be your friends. I know that Matt wouldn't mind if you brought them over. He might think of it as a way to show off his cooking skills."

"Good. If I see them then they'll be the first people over."

"Wow! I never thought that we'll see you on the first day of school."

I turned around to see Ryan, one of my friends, and Lily Dawn, the other one. Ryan was wearing a baseball cap that was dark orange on the back and white on the front, an orange windbreaker, you could only see a part of his white T under the breaker, tan shorts, and brown sneakers. Lily Dawn was wearing a "V" neck, elbow length sleeves, greenish shirt that showed her stomach; purple pants; a small purple belt; and pink shoes.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't have to."

"And they are?" Lily Dawn asked, looking at TK.

"They're new friends. The one that you're looking at is TK, the girl is Kari, and the other one is Ken. They have other friends, but they're not in this class. Who else is still at this school?"

"Cody and Davis." Ken answered.

"And it's a good thing that they're not here. They would get annoying hearing them talk about the issue." Kari said, hinting to me not to mention about it to my friends.

"What issue?" Ryan asked.

"It's nothing big, but it gets annoying."

"Oh." They sat down next to me.

"So why are you here?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Almost everyone in my gang is in jail. Killer was killed."

"What?" Ryan sounded a bit mad, knowing that he was my boyfriend.

Lily Dawn would have grabbed my hand in comfort but she knew me to well not to. "Sorry, why didn't you call us?" She asked.

"I was in court jail and I couldn't make any calls. TK's brother was the one that I told them to call. Now I'm working my time and he's taking care of me."

"How long are you working your time?"

"I'm almost done. Tonight is the last one."

"Then she goes out on her own." TK said, knowing the story.

"What he said. Oops. Digi's, this is Lily Dawn and Ryan." (Digi or Digi's is her short way of saying Digidestined)

"I was wondering on when you were going to say their names." Kari said.

The teacher came in. "Hello class, I hope that you're ready to learn because it's going to be lots of work that we have to do but I'll try to make it fun."

She started her lessons. She told us what to bring and handed out the books. She said that we were going to write a lot, but I wanted to doubt that.

When class was over, Lily Dawn, Ryan, and Kari had Geography, Ken had Civic with Davis, and we had Algebra 2 (I know that I'll have to do the homework). But we all had the same lunch period so we decided that we were going to eat together.

When lunch came, we left our books and things in the class since we had it after. We got lunch and sat down at a table. We were closer to the lunchroom so we got there first. I saw them walking in and getting their lunch. They saw us as they got out.

"How's Davis?" TK asked as they got to the table.

"Hide and I'll tell you."

"Why?" Panther asked.

"Do you want him to sit here when we talk?"

"Guess not."

We kept the talking low as Davis walked by. Lily Dawn thought that is was fun. It did seem that he was looking for them though. He spotted them.

"Kari, Ken, TK. You guys picked a good spot. I couldn't find you." Kari was on my right and Davis sat next to her. Ryan was across from her, TK was across from me, and Ken was across from Lily Dawn.

"Yea." She sounded like she didn't want him that close and she showed it by inching toward me.

"Ken, TK, why don't you sit down here?"

"We like it right here." TK said.

"Yea."

"You can sit here but you have to be our friend." I said, wondering what he would say. I motioned to Lily Dawn and Ryan not to say anything.

"Why?" He looked over Kari to me.

"Incase you haven't noticed, TK and Ken are near this end. If they were only here for Kari then they would be over there. If we're mixed then that means we're friends. So if you were our friend then you can sit there and talk to everyone."

"And what if I refuse?"

"Then you might as well find another table and make other friends too."

"Are you guys going to take this?"

"Ummmm, Davis, she's only doing this to you." Kari said quietly.

"TK, Ken?"

"Kari has a point. Besides, she doesn't talk to us like that so maybe you got on her bad side?" Ken looked at me for that answered. My smiled said that I'd tell later.

"Fine, the next time we have lunch together, let's sit next to each other without the extras." He got up and walked to another table.

"He doesn't seem to be happy." Lily Dawn said.

"He's mad at us for agreeing with Matt on a few issues." TK said.

"What are these issues?" Ryan asked.

"Panther, you could tell them. I'm sure that Matt wouldn't mind and if he does then tell him to blame it on me."

"Great, I'll tell you after school. Is it ok if I walk home?" I asked.

"We're not the babysitter, but I'll call him to let him know. He might be asleep for all I know."

"That's ok. He needs the wake ups."

"I believe that. What was Davis saying at class?" TK looked over to Ken.

"I hoped that you guys aren't thinking about disobeying Gennai. That would be bad, etc. He was annoying throughout the period and now he's going to be talking about this lunch event and about the next even day."

"Poor Ken. He's being punished."

"I hoped not. Anyway, were you mad or something?"

"No, I just thought that it would be fun to show them how three of your friends react to something new to them. They believe this old guy and they follow his orders to the button."

"Why?" Lily Dawn asked.

"And are you listening to him?" Ryan added.

"Nope, I have to fight him. But the three don't know it yet."

"Why do you have to?"

"It's part of the issue thing." TK answered.

"Oh."

The bell rang and we went to our classes. Once math was over, we went to World History II (that's more near the present time. No ancient stuff). I recognized two of the other students from our first period class. One was a girl that was wearing tight, fighting clothes. She was sitting near a boy that was wearing gang/street, lose, fighting clothes.

"TK, do they look familiar?" I pointed to the two.

"Huh? Oh, yea. Why?"

"Just making sure that I'm not having a premonition or something."

"Panther-san, do you have something to say?" The teacher asked.

I stood up, "No teacher. I have nothing to say."

She narrowed her eyes at me. I smiled and sat down. She went back to the list.

"You know that's dangerous?" TK whispered.

"That's why I did it. I had to show myself some time or I'll lose my mind."

"Ok, this should be a fun class if you keep this up."

"I knew that you'd understand."

"Panther-san, Takaishi-san, do you have something to say?" We stood up.

"No." TK said.

"Sorry, this is a question about my limits. Only Takaishi has to know."

"Fine." We sat down and I giggled a bit.

The next class was art and I only had Ryan in it. TK was at PE with Davis, Kari and Ken. Lily Dawn had science. We drew pictures and things while the teacher was taking a nap.

"Wonder why he's doing that?" Ryan asked.

"Maybe he thinks that we should learn on the first day. Never go to school without having your cup of green tea."

"Maybe, but I heard of an art teacher that sleeps during the last period for some reason."

"Then we might have him."

He woke up.

"Morning teacher." Said one of the students.

"Hi class, ok. From now on, learn from your mistakes and do your own projects. The only way you can fail is to not to art. Wake me up when a teacher comes in or someone like that, you have a question, you need something, you need a pass to somewhere. Night." Then he fell asleep again.

"That's good." Ryan said.

"At least we're not limited to anything. Wonder if he does this with all his classes?"

"Go and ask."

"Fine." I got up and went to his desk. The room was silent when I reached him. "Teacher, do you allow this in every class you have?"

"That's … right." He said in his sleep.

"Just wondering." I walked back to my seat, "That was a weird way to say an answer."

"Yea. What do you have tomorrow?"

"Science, Spanish, PE, and a free period. Matt put one in for me. TK didn't want one so that's the only time that I'm by myself other than Spanish."

"Do you have PE with Lily Dawn?"

"Yea, what do you think I should do on my first time in my free period?"

"Why don't you go to your watcher's house?"

"I'll get something to eat first then."

"How are you treated there?"

"Good. It's like he wants me to be happy even though he doesn't know me very well. He's understanding, kind, friendly, brave, hopeful, most of his friends act like that too. Only four doesn't know me 'cause they haven't been over. I know them though."

"I can see that you like it there. You're much happier than before. Like before you join the gang. The only thing you ever liked there was Killer."

"I also liked the skills. Oh yea, he said that he's going to build a training room for me. I saw him building it during the break."

"He's building it by hand?"

"Yea, he has tools and things. He gets his ideas on old fight movies and stuff like that. Where he learned to build it is still a mystery to me. He's not even asking professionals."

"Amazing."

We drew different things throughout the class period. When the bell rang, I met up with TK and them. Davis didn't look too thrilled to see me.

"Hi TK, Ken, Kari, and Davis." I said when we got there.

"Panther, Ryan, wait up."

Lily Dawn ran to us. When she reached us, she was catching her breath.

"Hi Lily Dawn. How was Chemistry?" I asked.

"Great but I would need your help. I thought since you knew Matt Ishida that he could help me with understanding the material."

"I guess it wasn't that hard to figure out. Why don't you come over and ask him yourself?"

"Really? Cool, thanks."

"Wait a minute, how the hell do you know Matt?" Davis asked angrily.

"Since I met him at the supermarket. The day after, I talked with him at his old house, and a bit at his new one."

"Why didn't he tell us?"

"Ask him."

"Then why are you going to his house? He likes to live alone."

"Hi guys….. Who are you?" Cody walked up from behind us.

"My name is Panther."

"Ryan."

"Lily Dawn. And Matt doesn't like to live alone."

"How do you know?" He was getting mad and he looked like he was ready to fight.

"Let's go. I don't think this is a place to show off Panther." TK said, seeing me getting in a challenge glance.

"Fine. See ya tomorrow Davis. Bye Cody."

We walked out. Davis was left with Cody, who was surprised to hear his name come from my mouth. We walked to a restaurant that Kari knew. It had a lot of photographs of different places in Japan and other countries.

"Nice place, Kari." Ryan said as we sat down.

"I always love coming here."

"What's your art?"

"Photography."

"That would explain it. I'm an artist."

"Cool, you need to let Matt know. He can make a room for you whenever you come over."

"Do you think he can make a dance room?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Why?" TK asked.

"I want to be a dancer."

"I see. You can ask him. Panther, what are you going to do tomorrow?"

"Eat somewhere then head home."

"Not going to hang around the school?"

"There's no point in doing so."

"So when are the issues going to be explain?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Ok, I'm part of this group that has adventures in another world. It's called the Digital World and it's full of creatures that are made up of digital information. They live inside computers and things like that. They have a symbol that symbolizes them and their strength. Matt's is Friendship, TK's is Hope, Kari's is Light, and Ken's is Kindness. Davis and Cody have two, but they're from the original nine. I have one, too, and it's Patience. We're learning about more powerful levels that are called Super. There are six first stages: Baby (or Fresh), In-training (Baby), Rookie (Child), Champion (Adult), Ultimate (Perfect), and Mega (?). Super is after Mega. There's this old guy that's name Gennai and he tells them to go to the Digital World and destroy the Supers that want to carry out a plan to combine all worlds together and let the Digital World be the gateway to all. Matt, Ken, and Kari have a special crest too. Matt's is Virtue, Ken's is Faith, and Kari's is Peace. TK doesn't have one, but since he knows all three so he knows a lot about everything. Especially since Matt tells him everything and he was the only one that ever visits him."

"Wow, and that all happened over the break?" Ryan asked.

"I learned most of the stuff over the break. Like everything about the Ishida and Takaishi family, Ken's and Kari's families, things about the other Digidestined, that's what the first group is called. I don't know the name of this group since I was never told what it was."

"Why don't you know?"

"Wait," Lily Dawn was now whispering, "Davis and Cody are listening to what you're saying. They were listening when you were at your last two sentences."

"How do you know?" Kari asked in a whispered so they couldn't hear.

"Let's go to Matt's house and I'll tell you."

"I got an idea." Ryan said with a smile.

"You've gotten better at it?" I asked, knowing what he was talking about and knowing how bad he was before.

"A bit. All the other times I had no really purpose to do so. I do know."

"Let's see. But it would have to be fast."

I called over one of the waiters and whispered to him that we would like the check. He seemed scared 'cause it was within seconds that he came back with the check. He told us that we didn't have to pay. I thought that was weird until we got outside and I looked at what I was wearing.

"That's why."

"That's why what?" TK asked.

"I didn't realize that I was wearing this jacket. I thought I grabbed the other leather jacket that looks like this one."

"How can you tell the difference?" Ken asked.

"This." It was a patch that said my gang's name on it.

"Try not wearing that tomorrow. I thought it was weird that we didn't have to pay." Kari said with a giggle.

We walked to a lonely street.

"Ok Ryan, do you're job." Lily Dawn said as she grabbed his jacket.

"Everyone grab a part of his body." I grabbed the same arm.

They grabbed the other. He closed his eyes and concentrated. We started to float and turned into sparkles of light. _He did this faster than the last time that I remember._ He caught on a wind current and we followed it until we got to Matt's house. Ken and they weren't talking or anything. That was surprising since the first time he did this with us, we were talking and moving, but they were still and calm. He landed in front of his house. We looked around first to make sure that no one saw us coming out of thin air.

"Man, you've gotten better. It was usually a while before you got us in the air."

"I was practicing for a long time to get that right. Then it was flying and landing. Lily Dawn has gotten better too."

"I noticed, usually you have to get into their heads. Or is that what you did and I didn't notice?"

"I trained myself to pick up things that we're talking about in other's minds."

"Cool. Oh, let's head in and we can tell Matt what's going on." We walked in to see Matt sleeping on the couch. "Who wants to wake him?"

"I will. You can show them to the room." TK said as he walked toward him.

"Later, I want to see this."

TK was grabbing a bowl and filled it with water. He walked over to Matt and said, "Brother, time to take your wake up bath." He poured the water over him.

Me (sad on what he does to me)

I jerked up to the feel of cold water on my face and upper body. The first person that I see was TK smiling.

"What did you do?" I noticed the bowl, "Didn't I tell you not to do that?"

"I thought that Panther would love to see a way to wake you up that's funny."

"It's only funny to you because you don't get splashed."

I looked beyond him to see Kari, Ken, Panther, and two other people (I did kept an eye on them so I do know who they were but I can't let them know that). I got up even though I was wet.

"Hi Panther. Who are your friends?"

"This is Lily Dawn and Ryan. Guys, this is Matt Ishida. Now, let's show you that room." They ran where her new room was being built.

"They are?" I looked at TK.

"Friends she had before the gang."

"Oh, that's nice. Might as well make something. Are you going to the room with her?"

"Nah, we'll serve them when the food's done."

"Ok." I walked to the kitchen.

Panther

We reached the room and it was half way built.

"Wow, he really can work. I didn't know that he was that multi-talented." Lily Dawn said.

"Same here." Ryan said.

"He should be able to do a great up job for yours. Don't you think?"

"Yea." She walked deeper into the room.

After a few minutes of looking at the workmanship that Matt did, Ken came to get us.

"Time to eat."

Me

TK and Kari were helping me set up. Ken walked back with them and they sat down, waiting for their food. I placed it around for them to reach.

"Go ahead and eat." They start eating.

"Oh, tell us why you don't know the other members in the new group?" Ryan asked, taking a bit from the rice cracker in his hand.

"Oh, Matt has this orb thing that finds everyone. That's how he got me. I touched the orb to look at it and this light thing came up. When we got back from the Digital World, he handed out the amulets that we now have around our necks. It's the symbols of the crest that we have. There's one missing that we have to find, right?" She looked over to me.

"Yea, we'll have to find everyone else first."

"How did you end up with Patience? I know that you are under any pressure, but that's a good thing. And ever since you've been in the gang, good wasn't on your mind."

"I know, it's weird that it picked me but it did."

"You're never picked from the blue. You were born with the power and the power was just connected to the Digital World." TK said.

"That sounds like her." I said.

"Yea, guess she's in my head again. How is she anyway?"

"Great, the same with her family. Oh, she did say that they were the last two on her family side. The other Digimon that we'll see will be with another ruling Digimon or working for Gennai."

"I thought that they were free Digimon, doing what they pleas." Panther said.

"They take orders from someone else. She said that there was another Super that wanted the post but Titanmon got to it first. So they're the ones that might be attacking more."

"Do you guys have Digivices?" TK asked.

"We don't get those. That's another problem. I don't know how to get you guys into the Digital World without Gennai knowing. We usually go on his word and knowing."

"Why don't you ask Styxmon if she can make some way for us to get there?" Panther suggested.

"That's a good idea. By the way, how was school?"

"Great."

"What are you going to do tomorrow?"

"Eat then come home."

"K."

There was a knocking at the door (The Raven!). I opened the door to find Yolie, Davis, and Cody in my face.

"Wooo, stand back a few feet."

"Where are they?" Yolie asked with a cold glare.

"Who?"

"The new friends that Ken, TK, and Kari have."

"I still don't know who you're talking about."

"Don't play dumb! You know who we're talking about. Panther knows information about us that you told her over the break." Davis said.

"Including about us being the Digidestined." Cody added.

"Do you think that you could get away from us?" Yolie said.

"Why would I ever run from you?"

"Why did you think it was ok to tell some stranger all about us?"

"Because I wanted to in danger everyone by putting trust in someone that I don't know so well."

"What!" Yolie was really pissed.

"I know that you were once very overprotective of TK. Are you so loose that you would put him in danger?" Cody said.

"Let's ask him if I'm putting him in danger, TK."

He came and was surprised a bit to see them there. He sighed, "What do you want? We're trying to eat."

"Where are Panther, Lily Dawn, and Ryan?" Davis asked.

"At their house."

"Where's that?" Yolie asked.

"And explain to me why I would tell you where they live? You would march like puppets to their house and say whatever angry words come to mind at first glance. You have no right on doing so."

"What do you know?"

"Lot more than you. You might be older by age but I know friends when I'm around them. They're our friends and Davis can do whatever he wants. He can't beat them nor break our friendship. I don't even understand why he would want to. One of his symbols is Friendship."

"TK, you guys have to make a choice here. If you don't want to in danger the Digital World then don't be friends with them. If you do then you might as well say good-bye to that world because you'll never see it again."

"I care deeply about the Digital World but I'm not going to let go because you say so. I have a mind of my own, incase you puppet can't handle that."

"Why are you calling us puppets? You guys are the puppets. Matt was the first one."

"We're following our hearts. One day, we hope that you'll follow yours." I said.

"We are and it's the right way!"

"If you're worried about the Digimon then don't worry. We're not going to put them in danger after all we've done to protect them. I'll get everyone tomorrow, since I'm the only one not working, and deliver every single one."

"That's not enough. You have to give them up." Davis said.

"I hope that V-mon can't use the Mental of Friendship. After what you want then he shouldn't be able to use it. You want us to give up on them then give up on Ken. After all, he was once the enemy. They're just new friends that they made in school. No evil can come from them, other than bad grades."

"I can't believe you just said that."

"Believe it. And while you're at it, give up on me too. I once fought against them before you guys came in. I hated Tai, myself, and everyone. I think that side of me should come out again and finish where we left off. I don't think no one can stop me this time. In fact, why don't both Ken and I turn back the leaf and start where we left off."

"Stop it!"

"Is that what you want? You'll be protecting the Digital World day and night."

"Stop saying that! You're not at kind of person. You and Ken." Yolie said.

"How do you know what's us and what's not? You're not living with us 24/7. Please leave. Have a nice day." I closed the door. We walked back to the table.

"I agree with you if you want that to happen, Matt." Ken said.

"And if you want, I'll help with it too this time." Kari said with a smile.

"Told ya that they get steamed when they met someone new." Panther said to her friends.

"I can't believe how cool you were under all they were saying." Lily Dawn said.

"They were arguing with me about Styxmon and her family for a while so I got use to it."

"Why were you calling them 'puppets'?" Ryan asked.

"It seems like Gennai is controlling them without them knowing. They go with whatever he says and that's it. And they only really met him once."

"And they're telling you not to trust us? That's stupid. Are you really going to get the Digimon?" Panther asked.

"Do you want to come?"

"Can Lily Dawn and Ryan come as well?"

"If they want."

"Go after school. We still have a class on her free period." Lily Dawn said.

"Hope you guys can wait that long." I looked at Kari and them.

"We can." Kari smiled.

"Matt, get the door. Tai's coming." Panther said.

There was knocked at the door. I walked over to see Tai.

"Hi, what brings you to my house?"

"Yolie was yelling that you were thinking about turning to your evil side. I told her that you would never do that and she yelled that you were threatening it. Ken was also including so she told me to come down here to knock some sense into you. So here I am."

"Where's Sora?"

"At home. Don't tell me that you want her here too?"

"No, no, no, I was just wondering. Come in and I'll explain the whole thing."

He walked in and I closed the door. I led him to the dining table where he looked surprised to see three new people sitting there. Panther smiled and waved hi.

"Tai, meet Panther, Lily Dawn, and Ryan," pointing to each one, "Lily Dawn and Ryan, this is Tai. Kari's older brother."

"Hi." Lily Dawn said.

"Want to sit down Tai?" Kari offered.

He walked over to her and took the seat next to her. "Explain."

"Panther is now living under my care because the judge granted it. She was once in a gang. I met her at a supermarket. Lily Dawn is a friend of Panther, whom I just met. Ryan is, also, a friend of Panther, whom I just met as well. They wanted us to give up on them and live a life that they want us to live. I gave them examples on things that we could have given up on, but we didn't. I said something about V-mon and I guess that got Davis scared or something. They said that if we didn't choose them then we'd in danger everyone in the Digital World. That's when the threat was made. Panther is their friend and they don't want to give up on her. They just met Lily Dawn and Ryan, but a friendship is growing. Tomorrow, I'm going to the Digital World to get our Digimon and to see if I can find some of the Digimon for the new Digidestined."

He snapped out of his shock, "Why only you? Can't I go, or Kari or someone else?"

"If they want but I'm doubtful that Davis or Cody would let them go long enough to get here and everyone else is working tomorrow. I'm the only one that's free."

"So after school is when you're going. I can't wait for Agumon to come back. So I don't have to do anything to you two, right?"

"Right, I was giving them examples."

"What's this new group of Digidestined?"

"We need to find everyone first. Once we do, Kari will tell you everything that you need to know."

"Why not you?"

"Kari's apart of it too, same with Ken, Panther, and me."

"Not TK?"

"Nope."

"Well if I can help, let me know."

"Right, actually there's something that you can do. You can help kept them three off our backs. TK isn't really apart of the group but he knows all I know. Can you and Sora help with that?"

"I'll have to tell her though."

"That's fine. Just don't tell them. They might tell Gennai."

"Right. See ya." He got up and walked out.

"Now there are three that need to see me." Panther said.

"He was nicer than the Cody or Davis." Ryan said.

"He has the original Crest of Courage." Kari said.

"Davis has both Courage and Friendship." Ken said.

"What do the others have?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Izzy, the computer genius, has Knowledge; Mimi, the fashionable, has Purity; Joe, the doctor, has Faithfulness; Sora, the mother, has Love." TK explained.

"Those are good names for them." I pointed out.

"What are your nicknames?" Panther asked, since she never heard them being addressed as those.

"Well, I would be the protecting child; Kari, sick child or connecting child; Ken, creator or the late one; Matt, the rebel; Tai, the non thinker or fight first."

"Why would you be the 'protecting'?" Panther asked.

"At the beginning, Matt always protected me. The others did the same in other ways. Matt still protects me, but less than before. Kari had this fever that appeared when we where in the Digital World. It was the first time that fever appeared since it was the reason why she couldn't go to camp where we entered the Digital World in the first place. She also had this other voice that helped out in two ways. One was to lead Sora and me to Tai and Izzy because we got separated from them and we were in the territory of one of our enemies. The other time was when Matt was fighting Tai for some odd reason. Ken created a Digimon that the second group had trouble defeating until V-mon to Armor Digievolve with a new mental. He had an original Crest, which means only one so that's where the 'late one' comes from. Matt was always fighting with Tai. Tai, almost, never thought up a plan. He usually goes in head first."

"I only ask for yours and I get all of them."

"I knew that you were going to ask for the others."

"Then explain the first group."

"Izzy, he helped out by he's knowledge on computers. Mimi always cared about her looks. Joe wanted to be a doctor. Sora usually acted like a mother to everyone. Especially me since all I had was Matt."

"What are your Digimon names? And do the other three have nicknames?" Ryan asked.

"I can think one up. Hm? Davis, the no brain; Cody, the kendo master; Yolie, the slapper."

"Explain." Lily Dawn said.

"Man TK, your good. Those are prefect names for them." Ken said with a bit of a laugh. Kari was laughing a bit too. I was smiling.

"Davis always said and did things that made you wonder if he actually had a brain in his head. Cody always practiced kendo and he was the only one that we knew so that's where the master comes from. Yolie was the one that was slapping everyone. The only one that she didn't was herself, Cody or me. I think she did it to Davis too but I'm not sure.

"Anyway, Tai's Digimon is Agumon, he's an orange lizard-like Digimon that stands on two legs and can shoot fireballs. Matt's is Gabumon; he's a blue wolf-like one that, also, stands on two legs. He has a fur coat that he never takes off. He shoots a blue fiery thing. Sora's is Biyomon; she's a pink bird that sends a green spiral. Izzy's is Tentomon; he's a ladybug that shoots electricity. Joe's is Gomamon, he's a mainly white seal loin and he controls the fish. Mimi is Palmon; she's a plant that can walk on two legs. Her attacks are vines that can hold onto things.

"Mine is Patamon, he's like a dull orange with white on the bottom flying pig that shoots bubbles. Kari's is Gatomon, she's a white cat and she strikes with her claws. She, also, walks on two legs but she can go on all four. Davis is V-mon, a blue dinosaur that can do head butts. Cody's is Armadillomon; he's an armadillo that strikes with his body when he curls up. He usually walks on all four but he can stand on two. Yolie's is Hawkmon, he's a reddish hawk with a feather on his head. He attacks with that feather and it can cut through trees. Ken's is Wormmon, he's a green worm and he attacks with a silk threads."

"They can evolve, right?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Right. There are a few names for them. One is the regular Digievolving. That's when they go up the In-training, Rookie, Champion, or Ultimate." Ken explained.

"The second way is Warp Digievolving. That's when they go from Rookie to Mega. Only Gabumon and Agumon can do this, though." I explained.

"The third way is Armor Digievolving. That's where a Rookie goes to a Co-Champion stage that is a bit more powerful than the Champion stage. The only way they can get to that stage is to have a Digimental that has one of the original Crests. Gatomon has a Co-Ultimate since she's already a Champion." Kari explained.

"Then there's DNA Digievolving. That's when two Champions, or Megas in Tai and Matt's case, fuse together through their Digidestined friendship to each other. They become a new Digimon but they listen to both. Omnimon is Tai and Matt's. Shakkoumon is Cody and mine. Paildramon is Ken's and Davis's. Silphymon is Yolie and Kari's." TK explained.

"How do you get to the Super Level?" Ryan asked.

"We haven't been able to figure that one out yet." I answered.

"Lily Dawn, didn't you want to ask Matt something?" Panther asked her.

"Oh yea! Matt, I was wondering if you could help me understand some of the material in Chemistry class. I thought that since you're an astronaut that you might know something about it."

"Sure, Ryan, do you have any problems in a subject that I might be some help in?"

"Maybe Math."

"We can have a study thing after school. Why don't you ask your folks to see if you guys can do that?" Panther suggested.

"Sure." Lily Dawn agreed.

"Yea." Ryan agreed.

"Do you three want to come too?" I asked.

"Sure, even though I don't need it." TK said.

"Ok." Kari said.

"It'll give an excuse to leave Davis and Cody." Ken said.

"Matt, can we see if we're apart of the new group?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Sure, TK, you'll tell us. Remember what you're supposed to do?"

"Yea."

I walked upstairs and grabbed the orb. I placed it in a box so it didn't affect me as I grabbed it. I opened it in front of them. "Place your hands on it."

They did at the same time and the light came back.

"You two can let go now." TK said.

The light was turned off. I looked at the orb to see nothing there this time _I wonder why it happened the last time._

"Well, were you blinded?" Panther asked.

"Yea." Lily Dawn said.

"Yep." Ryan said.

"What were the symbols?" Kari asked, looking at TK.

"An Egyptian eye and a ball with some waves and dots coming out of it. Here." He showed the symbols to me. I knew the eye but it took me a while to figure out ball.

"Honesty and Calmness. Which belongs to which?"

"Eye to Ryan and ball to Lily Dawn."

"Ryan has Honesty and Lily Dawn has Calmness."

"Cool, now we're in the group too!" Lily Dawn said with great excitement.

"Hey, we can have an after school study group for the new group." Ryan suggested.

"Of course TK will be included." Panther said.

"Of course, otherwise I would have pulled one of my secret moves on you."

Panther, Kari, and Ken burst out with laugher. TK still had his serious face on and I just smiled. Lily Dawn and Ryan were a bit confused.

"Ok tough guy, then you wouldn't mind showing me that move later on." Panther said after her laugh.

"I said that it was a secret. Not even my future wife knows what it is."

"I'm sure that she can find ways to get that secret out." Kari said with a sly smile.

"Nope, she can't. No ways that she comes up with can ever make me reveal the secrets."

"Are you sure? I'm sure that she can." Ken said.

"Positive."

"I guess that means that I'll just have to tell her then." I said just to be in the conversation.

"You can tell her all you want but nothing is going to make me say it."

"When are you going to get married?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Don't know? We didn't make that plan yet. I guess after high school or college."

"To who? Do we know her?" Ryan asked.

"Yes." He pointed to Kari.

"Kari?" Panther was a bit confused.

She showed her ring to them, "I know that we don't act like it but we are." She smiled.

"So, did you plan it and TK just forget?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Nope, we haven't planned anything yet."

"Do you think you should call your folks to let them know why you're not home yet?" I asked.

"Nah, if I tell my brother that I was hanging with Panther he'll understand." Lily Dawn said.

"Why tell your brother?" TK asked.

"My parents are never really home so he has to take care of me. He likes it when I'm out because then he has some time to himself without any responsibilities. Of course he cares where I am."

"And you?"

"The same thing with my dad. The only thing is that I have to tell him that she's not at the gang anymore and about this study group. He wouldn't mind it so much."

"Ok, only if you're sure. I don't want to get in trouble for not letting you call."

"You won't." Lily Dawn smiled reassurance.

"How was the dinner?" All the plates were empty.

"It was great. Your tales do capture all the truth." Ryan said. _Guessing that's a good thing._

"What Ryan said, is Panther learning from you?"

"Don't know. She's been sleeping or working… You better go or you'll be late."

"Is that time already?" She looked at her watch then back at me with a bit of anger.

"I thought that you would walk with your friends. That's why you'll be late. Otherwise I'll have to drive you there."

"Oh, ok. Let's go." They got up and walked out the door.

"Now that's six down and three to go." TK said.

"Hope your story's great." Kari said.

"It will. TK never lets he's readers down." Ken said.

"See ya tomorrow."

"Yea, ditto." They grabbed their stuff and walked out.

"Bye Matt."

"Hold it TK," he stopped in front of his stuff, "Since you're the only one here." I pointed at the dishes.

"Fine. So you'll have company."

"Right, you don't want your big brother to be alone again? Think what could happen."

"Yea, like that cave reappearing or the Dark Ocean."

We laughed as we made our way to the kitchen.

Panther (it stays with her wherever she goes)

"Where are you guy's lockers?" I asked as we got away from the house.

"Number 67." Lily Dawn said.

"Number 97. I wouldn't need to go to mine on even days."

"Actually, I don't need to go to my locker at all. There's this new thing that Izzy's making. He already gave it to Kari to test it out. She hasn't given the ok yet so we're still waiting. I'm sure he can make you one too."

"Cool. Do you know what the thing can do?" Lily Dawn asked.

"It's supposed to give you lots of room. You could even fit a house in it once he has the ok with Kari and you don't feel a thing. It's like you have nothing there at all."

"That sounds prefect for my art stuff."

"And the same with my dance things. Hope he can make it."

"Same here. Matt said that I could keep a small knife once he builds it. He's even going to buy it for me. Isn't he the greatest?"

"Why is he doing this for you? I mean I know he's your new guardian but don't you think that he's allowing you to have too much freedom concerning who you were before?" Ryan asked.

"I know but I also know the reason why. He says that I remind him of someone that he loves. That person died before I really met her but most of his friends liked her."

"Don't you think that's odd? You looking like someone else that you've never met before? Does he have pictures?" Lily Dawn asked.

"It was too short of a meeting for him to have taken any. Besides, he never thought that she would need to leave or died on the next day or something like that."

"What do you mean?"

"He took her to the Digital World since she was running from her family and he was making it his personal duty to protect her. He found out a secret of hers but he told her that he would never leave her. That's when he found out about the Legendary Crest and her family."

"How? That's Digital stuff?"

"She's Styxmon. He met her when she was disguised as a human. He still loved her either way."

"How did she die?"

"She was pushing him through a door that I think her folks made for the Digidestined. Matt only saw a burst of fire while he was falling and he knew that she had to be gone."

"How can he talk to her if she's died?" Ryan asked.

"He talks to her in his sleep. That's what he told me anyway. 'Sides, she can show herself in the Digital World. I've seen her there."

"Wow, now if only humans can do that then this world might be a better place." Lily Dawn said.

"Too bad we can't and it's almost a good thing too."

"But wouldn't you like to see Killer for one moment more?"

"I would love to but think about all the wrong people that were better off dead. You wouldn't like it if a rapist were floating around in your room or a murderer?"

"I see your point."

This guy appeared in front of us. Lily Dawn ran to him with opened arms. He caught her with his and they were happy to see each other.

"Ryan, who is he?" I whispered.

"Lily Dawn's boyfriend, Apollo."

"Like the Greek God?"

"What?"

That stirred my worry. _If he has a Greek God name then he might be a Digimon. All the Supers that I've met have been human. And as far as I know, they do have myth names. I remember Matt giving me a lesson on all the Gods and Goddesses he knew in Greek and Roman but I can't remember them all. What was Apollo again? Wasn't he the guy that took the power of the Sun and he was also music. Well, if I learn more about him then I should be able to figure it out, hopefully._

"Oh, Apollo, this is one of my good friends, Panther. Panther, this is my boyfriend Apollo."

"Nice to meet you." Apollo said.

"Same here. Does your name come from the Greek God Apollo?"

"I don't know." He seemed puzzled at my question.

"I was just wondering," I looked at my watch, "Man, I better go. See ya tomorrow. Apollo, do you go to our school?"

"No. I work all day."

"Where?"

"My folks want that to be a secret. As a matter of fact, I haven't told them that I'm dating."

"Mommy's boy. See ya." I ran to the place where I needed to be.

Me

Around nine-o-clock, Panther came back. TK was gone since we finished the dishes.

"Did you like the walk there?" I asked as she sat down on the couch.

"I found out that Lily Dawn has a boyfriend."

"And why aren't you happy for her?"

"His name is Apollo. I remember that has a Greek God name. I kinda can't remember his powers though."

"That's fine. You think he's a Digimon?"

"He might be. I decided not to leave that out."

"Oh, you think that he's either a Digimon, a human, or a god?"

"Why can't he be a god?"

"I'm not fighting against you on that one but remember that he would be Greek. Why would a Greek God care what happen to another country?"

"Maybe Lily Dawn went there and he followed her back here."

"You might want to ask her in a way that she doesn't know what you're asking. If she thinks that it might be toward him then she might not tell you."

"You better be prepared for anything they throw at you."

"Why?"

"They're wondering why you're leaving me to do my own thing."

"I can answer that in a heartbeat. Don't worry about me. I'm use to people asking me questions like that."

"Your friends or family?"

"Friends. TK always knows what's going on."

"Don't you think that that would put him in more danger? If someone forces him to tell then he'll know everything."

"I know the risk. Well, at least while you were working I was thinking up all the risk. I can't quite my habits. I'll have to make sure that nothing happens to him. Hey, why don't you be my eyes when you're at school?"

"But we don't have all the class together."

"There's only one that he has no one in. That one I'll have to hope that nothing will happen to him." (Watch, something happens to him during that time. One of those classics, right)

"Right, you'll have to hope."

"Want to go to bed?"

"Are you becoming an old man?"

"Nope, there's something that's about to come on. I was wondering if you wanted to watch it."

"Then why didn't you just say that?" She didn't seem pleas with that.

"I was showing you ways to ask a question to get something that you want. I wanted to know if you wanted to watch a show with me, but since I asked it in a different way, you didn't know what I was really asking."

"Oh, ok. So that's how I should ask Lily Dawn about Apollo?"

"Right, make sure that you ask it in a way that only you know what you want and it's still you. Didn't that question sounded like something that I would ask?"

"Yea, ok. Sure, I'll watch your program."

I turned on the TV to watch a program on goddesses of the moon. They mentioned all the names and where they came from. Some of the names they weren't sure where it came from. Some legends even said that there were cat and human like creatures that live there, but nothing from any civilization said anything like that. The moon was its own spirit. Though, one person said that he's seen the people from the moon. Where the cat came from, no one knows but there have been superstitions that said that moon cats have walked on Earth and they're all good creatures that try to help everyone they meet. It only lasted for an hour. So once ten hit, it was over.

"That was interesting. What did you think of it?" Panther asked.

"All very interesting, but I have this strange feeling that the last part was true."

"That's weird. Oh well, night. I do have school tomorrow. Do you have work?"

"Just paper work. Boring stuff really."

"Oh, night."

"Right."

She got up and went to her room. I went to mine and thought about the last part of the program. _Why do I think that's real? I'm a scientist, even though I believe in Digimon and monsters from other worlds, that grabbed me the most. Superstitions were a thing of the past. Powers I can believe in, and magic too, but still. That's not the point. Something about the moon people and the moon cats are what really got me. I can explain why people created the moon goddesses and gods but I can't begin to think where they would think that people could live on the moon. Most people said that it was made out of green cheese and now they want people to believe there was a civilization on the moon when there's nothing to support that. No temples, buildings, trees, or any signs that someone was there before hand. Plus, there's no way that someone can live there, there's no oxygen. Humans need oxygen to live. Then the moon cats, where in the right mind did they think of that? Oh well, I better get some sleep._ I fell asleep.

"Matt, wake up." I opened my eyes to see Styxmon there. "You like to sleep."

"I'm asleep when you come. Do you know a way for the Legendary Digidestined to get into the Digital World without Gennai knowing?"

"Their Crest has that power. Plus, they're supposed to have powers set side from the Crest."

"Can you be a bit clearer on that?"

"You have powers connected to your Crest. But they'll have powers that are theirs and not the Digital World. Plus, all should be good fighters, even if they don't want to think of themselves as one."

"Ok. That's great to know."

"Letting you know that this will have to be my last visit."

"Why?" I was getting worried.

"They have to learn on their own, like you. Kari, Ken, TK, and you will have to give them information when they need it. They'll be like you in fighting something that you have no idea on how to defeat it. They need to catch up to your knowledge. They'll be like Davis, Yolie, and Cody by they can come back to this plain. Though, it's not going to be as easy as you might think. You're not going to help them fight their last battle."

"Why?" Tears were on her cheeks.

"Something bad will overcome the Virtue and everyone will be in left to fight a battle that needs something more than they will think. The true watcher will lend the ultimate hand that defeats and brings the Digital World to peace. All the worlds will return to the center of love." She rested her head on my chest and began to cry (she found a way for her to feel real within this world). I tried to comfort her the best I could.

"That bad thing can't be really bad. I know that I'll live through it. Where did you hear that anyway?"

"In an old book that I've never seen before. It has lots of stories that are focused around all the Digidestined. I am only able to read a few pieces, but there are two that I can read fully."

"Tell me the other one."

"A powerful Digimon die at a battle. She returns to the world as an egg. As she waits to be opened, to be free again, to see the world she last remembered. She's opened at strange surroundings. Two faces are happy for her birth, but everyone else is mad. She took the two away from their goals and they hated her for that. One day, they kill her and that made them mad. They never knew what really happened, but it turned them to their original thinking and ideas. They never forgot her and she'll never forget them. She returns to the world in many forms, but goes back to highest form with her own powers. Every time, dieing. Later, she realized that she couldn't protect the people she cares too much about. She leaves with another and they die with another that came along without their knowing. She makes everyone forget, even the ones that remembers them the most. Everyone must forget so everyone can have a happier life even though they brought everyone happiness."

"And that's why you're not going to see me?"

"I don't want to but everyone agrees that it must mean me. The two faces would be you and TK. I do come back in different forms and I always returned to my highest form."

"Do you die every time?"

"It feels like I do."

"Then whom do you think will be with you when you three die?"

"I don't know but I don't want it to be you or TK. I'm sorry."

"I understand. I might be doing the same thing if I thought that was pointed to me. We'll be careful. You better be too."

"I'll try. I can't promise anything."

"Sorry to say but that didn't sound like it was directed to you."

"That's what I thought at first but I thought about it some more and the same with the others. We're sure that it was meaning me and we always listen to legends."

"I'll miss you." I held her tighter.

"Same here, I don't want to go but I can't live with myself if I got you killed."

"…… What if I really need your help for something?"

"TK has some knowledge on everyone but the rest should be in the book and orb."

"Thanks for all your help."

"Don't forget me."

"Never." She leaned on me and I just held her.

I woke up to a sudden shake on my shoulder. I looked to see Panther there. "What?"

"It's time for you to get up. Forgot about the paper work you have to do?"

"No, did you make yourself breakfast or do you want me to make it?"

"I made some myself. I got yours ready too. Get ready."

"Right mother." I said with a half of a smile.

She walked out. I got up and got changed. _I can't believe that I slept in. But I guess it's reasonable since last night was the last time that I'll see Styxmon. That's it; we'll try to quicken the search so she can come back sooner. If I can prove to her that nothing will happen to me at the last battle then she doesn't have to worry about that other legend._ I went downstairs.

"So what happened? You never slept in after a visit from Styxmon. Even if she doesn't come, you're only a minute late from waking up from your normal time." She set the food in front of me and sat down.

"You count?"

"Yep."

"How long was I this time?"

"Seventeen minutes. Tell me what happened."

"Styxmon said that last night was her last visit." I took a bit of my pancake that made me think that something was weird but I couldn't figure it out what it was.

"Why? If it's Gennai then I'll kick his butt the next time I see him."

"Thanks for that but it's not him. There was this old book that they found and decided to read. She could only read two and one of them said that she'll bring two people along with her on a journey and all three get killed. They make everyone forget about them so they can live happier even though they bring everyone happiness. Another one was about me and the last battle."

"Man, but I thought that she only brought a few people happiness. More like you than anyone else."

"That's a good point but she thought through the meaning and the same with everyone else. All agreed that it's her."

"But you're thinking differently. Like something doesn't add up."

"Is it written on my face?"

"It's something about the story that's making me think too. If she's going to take two then why try to fight it? The most likely candidates would be you and TK."

"I know, that's why she left."

"Then the book itself. Someone must've been pretty powerful to see into the future."

"Can't you do that?"

"I can but it was found in the Digital World. Do you know any Digimon that has that kind of power?"

"I didn't meet all the Digimon, but you do have a point."

"Anyway, I was thinking about the program last night."

"What? Do you believe in the moon people and cats?"

"Somewhat, it's more of what you believe."

"What do you mean? I know that's impossible for anyone to live there."

"That's because you're looking at it in a scientific view."

"What do you mean?"

"I looked at your face to see if you were going to start laughing at the idea but you looked sad. Then at any mention of the cats, you would return to that face. There's something that you're not telling me."

"I was? That's weird. The whole time I was thinking that the people who thought it up were most likely drunk or weird in the mind. I didn't even feel my face going to the expression that you mention."

"Then your heart knows and it's just not allowing you to know. Are you going to tell me how to get into the Digital World after school?"

"Yea. Oh, you better get going or you might be late."

She looked at her watch, "You're right. You better make sure that you have money for that knife you promise me."

"I do but why are you thinking about that now?" She moved toward the door.

"Izzy called. Kari says it works."

"Ohhh, ok. After the trip, we'll pick out your knife."

"Great, I found a great shop that we didn't hit. It's also new. Bye." She left. _As long as she's happy. Wonder why I was sad? I didn't feel sad. Oh well._

Panther

I ran to the school. Before I reach it, I ran into TK.

"Hi TK."

"Huh? Oh, Hi Panther. How's Matt?"

"He slept in today."

"How long?"

"Seventeen minutes. Styxmon said that last night was the last time that she could see him. Something about a legend on her and on Matt, hers is about killing herself and two other people that follows her on a trip. Matt's is about the last battle."

"Man, he's probably broken. Did he say anything about how to get you three in there?"

"He's going to tell us after school. What makes you think he's broken? He didn't seem like it."

"He has to show that so no one else thinks something's wrong with him."

"He might be sad but he's heart was broken about something else. Something that he doesn't remember."

"What do you mean?"

"We were watching this program on the Goddesses of the Moon. The last thing they were talking about were people living on the moon and cats living there too. His face got sad every time they mentioned about the cats. He didn't even realize it until I told him this morning."

"I wouldn't know anything about that. Matt wouldn't even believe in something like that."

"I know that and that's why I looked at his face. I thought that something might've happened that he didn't tell me."

"Then he didn't tell me. I think I would remember something about that if it did happen."

"Then why would his heart grieve if there's nothing to grieve about?"

"Why are you talking to her?" We turned around to see Davis walking with Kari.

"Friendship, something you should know."

"What are you trying to say?"

"That friendship is getting thinner and thinner by each argument you have with them." I said.

"Are you trying to start a fight?"

"Nope, just finishing it."

"Davis, back down. This is one battle that you can't win by a fight. If you want her to stop talking to you like that then become her friend." TK said, trying not to get me in trouble after I just got out.

"Are you protecting her, TK?" Cody walked into the scene.

"She doesn't need my protection. I'm more like protecting Davis. Let's go before you break out a battle."

We walked ahead. I heard someone coming from behind so I looked. It was Kari.

"Were you going to fight Davis if it boiled down to it?" She asked when she reached us.

"Oh yea, I, now, only fight when it's a last option."

"It would be nice to see how you fight."

"Kari, do you want her to beat up/kill Davis?" TK asked then thought upon it. He shook his head after a while. We both laughed at length it took him to think that over.

"Maybe beat up. That would teach him not to mess with her."

"And it would shut him up." I added.

"That's not the point. He could tell Yolie and then she would come here and you know how annoying she can get. She's the worst out of the three of them."

"If she wants a piece of me then let her come."

"You could be sent back to jail. Do you want everyone to think that Matt's a bad guardian?"

"You have a point there. He's the coolest. Not even my own folks would allow me this much freedom."

"See, that's why you can't beat up Davis, Cody or Yolie. Got it?"

"Yea, yea, yea."

"Ok, are they in any of my today classes?"

"Nope, I looked at his schedule and he has Art with us." Kari said.

"Poor Ken, he has to listen to him two times on an even day." I said.

"Nope, three times an even day. Once on an odd day." TK said.

"Damn. And don't you have the same last period together on even and the second to last on odd?"

"Yep, when we're together, he's there."

"Why are you cursed with him at the center?"

"'Cause the world hates us."

"And we've seen the darkness to many times." Kari said with a giggle.

"I've lived in the dark and nothing like this has ever happened to me. Well, Killer's death might be the curse from hell but otherwise I can't think of anything."

"Then you might have a rabbit's foot or something."

"That or since you're a black cat, bad luck never comes to you." TK said. We laughed at that statement.

"I would love to hear the joke."

I opened my eyes to see Ken lending against the corner of the school's door.

"We were wondering why Panther doesn't have bad luck like us." Kari explained.

"And we came up with that since she is a black cat that it never comes to her. Minus Killer being killed." TK added.

"Ohhh, ok. Well, Ryan and Lily Dawn went on ahead and they said that they wanted to talk to you only. Something about last night."

"Oh, that. Ok, see ya curse people."

I walked in. I went to the Language Arts class to see the same two there, Lily Dawn, and Ryan. I walked to them.

"What?"

"That was mean what you said to Apollo." Lily Dawn said.

"Sorry, I had to though. It was calling me. 'Sides, even though he's your boyfriend doesn't mean that I'm not going to mean to him. I'm still mean to everyone."

"Does that include Matt?" Ryan asked.

"Especially Matt, but he makes one right back. You guys never told me what you've been up to over the break. I know that I was with Matt and all but I still should've known a bit about your summer. I've told you mine."

"I went to an art camp and that's all."

"Dance camp, that's where I met Apollo. He was at a music camp next to us. He loved playing all the instruments."

"How does your brother feel about you dating?"

"He doesn't mind."

"Is music his thing?"

"He's strong, surprisingly. I never thought he would be that strong."

"Was it an all day camp or an over night type of thing?"

"It was an over night two weeks camp. His was a one week over night."

"Did you go home the same time?"

"No, he went before me."

"Did anything together?"

"What are you thinking about?"

"Wondering."

"Walked around and talked."

"Do you feel like you know him and his family pretty well?"

"Not his parents but his younger sister name Artemis."

"Ever caught his parents' name?"

"Nope, he did say that he's mother die while giving birth to his sister and that they now live with their father. They do have a step-mother."

"Ok." _Everything is adding up to him being either a Digimon or an actual god. That's all I think I can get out of her know._

The two fighters walked in. I decided to ask what kind of technique they're learning so I walked over to them. I think Ryan and Lily Dawn were surprised but since I don't have eyes on the back of my head. "Do you take martial arts or do you like dressing like that? I don't mean to mean if I'm sounding like it."

"We take martial arts. Why do you ask?" Asked the green haired boy.

"What kind?"

"We learn whatever his dad teaches us. In other words, many." Said the blonde girl.

"My name is Panther. What's yours?"

"Don." Said the green haired boy.

"Neon."

"Those are cool names. See ya around." I walked back to Ryan and Lily Dawn.

"Why did you talk to them? Haven't you heard their reputation?" Ryan asked in worry.

"And you know about mine so what's the big deal? It's not like theirs are worst than mine."

"They're trained to kill. That's what I've heard." Lily Dawn said.

"And I'm not, we're all people. Have you ever got the chance to sit down and talk to them? They seem nice enough to become friends with."

"They're not. They've hurt people just because they were talking bad about one another."

"And I've killed people just because they were looking at me funny."

"You have?" Ryan was surprised.

"That's the highlight of my dark self. A side that I can show little of."

"Was it over last school year?"

"That's when my evil was its greatest. I think that it's weird that I was found on the day that my evil was great. Oh well."

"Panther." Lily Dawn seemed offended by that.

"What? Nothing wrong with that?"

"Wrong with what?"

I turned around to see them there. "Had to lose Davis and Cody?"

"Yep, they were on us like dogs but we lost them." Ken said.

"You can't lose your curse. It'll stay with you where ever you go."

"That doesn't mean that we can get away from it for a few hours."

We sat down. Lily Dawn and Ryan were in front of me.

"Did you know that Panther was very evil when you found her?" Ryan asked, guess trying to warn them.

"Yep." TK answered proudly.

"Have you heard of Don and Neon? The fighters of this school?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Yep. You have a problem with them?" Kari asked.

"Yea, their reputation."

"There's nothing wrong with their reputation. Fighters are always a good thing."

"Were you hit on the head when you were a child? They hurt people."

"And Panther kills. Yet you're fine with that." Ken pointed out. _They're always on my side. It's good having real friends for a change._

"She never killed anyone before last school year." Ryan said.

"I'm sure she has, she just never told you until now. Panther, are you looking for new friends to talk to?" TK asked, knowing that they were in our World History class.

"Yea, since my friends have grown I thought that I should meet new people."

"See, nothing to worry about."

"You really haven't been to this school long enough." Ryan said.

"We've been going here and we do know their reputation but that doesn't mean that you can ignore them if you're curious."

"Did Matt trust Panther at first sight?" Lily Dawn asked.

"And I thought that you would too. You're the first friends that she had for a long time. We're her new friends. What's wrong with her knowing people that have about the same reputation she had on the streets?" Kari asked. _They really want me to be happy. Defending me like Killer but he would actually grab their collars to show the point. Even the people that I thought were my friends aren't really turning out to be my friends. Guess we're going to be arguing on a few things then. I've change greatly since I last saw them. They haven't change though, only in their powers. _

"Aren't you afraid that she might go back to that life?"

"Panther, they're making it sounded like it's a drug." TK said, calmly.

"Friends, it's not a drug or anything like that. The reason why I have a lot of the same classes with TK is so that he keeps reminding me about jail and hurting the image of Matt."

"Wouldn't it make Matt sad though?" Ryan asked.

"Not really, the only emotion that Matt would show is a protective side. He wouldn't be mad at Panther, me, Kari, Ken, or the friends she makes."

"Wouldn't he be fired from his job?" Lily Dawn asked.

"He wouldn't worry about that. He has places that he can go to that he can show his other talents."

"Weird."

"You'll get use to it."

Class began and she started her lesson. We were taking notes, I was drawing during some since I knew the information and I can write it down fast. You learn to do things fast when you're in a gang. I looked at my friends and TK was the only one that was doing something else on his paper. Ken was paying attention but writing everything down without looking at the paper. Everyone else was acting the same while taking notes, looking up and looking back to down to write it. The notes were on topics and how to get ideas, boring stuff (not according to TK). After class, Ryan and Lily Dawn went to math class, but they had different teachers. We went to science, Astronomy.

"Why were you supporting me?" I asked when we were in class.

"I know that you wouldn't do something that would get you back in jail and on that social working thing again." TK explained.

"Did you hear about their reputation?" Kari asked.

"No, that's was one of the reasons that I went to talk to them."

"See, there's no reason to blame you for something that you didn't know. Besides, it wouldn't be fair if we believe in Styxmon and not you." Ken said then smiled.

"Thanks."

"Class will now begin." Said the teacher.

"Are you going to do the same thing in this class as in World History?" TK asked.

"Maybe, you'll never know."

He told us all about the things we were going to do and most sounded boring. He didn't want us to worry about the small things, like books and tests, he wanted us to have fun with his class and that's what we were going to do. The next time we go into his class, we're going to do an experiment and look at the stars. After that I went to Spanish, which was one of the classes that I didn't have TK in or anyone else. Ryan, Lily Dawn, and Ken had English and TK and Kari had French. I didn't really understand why TK and Kari were in French or why Lily Dawn and Ryan were in English. I knew that Ken wanted to be a detective so that would need English but otherwise the others didn't make much sense. I was taking Spanish because I wanted to have some free time to myself. It was only by luck that Ryan and Lily Dawn weren't there. We went to lunch. I was the first one in there so I picked a good seat. I saw Don and Neon there but they didn't notice me. I decided not to bother them since Lily Dawn and Ryan didn't like them so much. TK and Kari appeared.

"Why aren't you sitting with Don and Neon?" TK asked as they sat down.

"I didn't want them to get mad at Ryan and Lily Dawn or the other way around."

"That's good but you should be their friend if you really want to. It's not like anyone is bonding you to them. You're free to live a life that you want."

"You're sounding like Matt."

"I've been around him long enough. Her death was when he was talking like that."

"I didn't know."

"I know that if you did, you would have loved her. We didn't really know her either." Kari said.

"I know, otherwise you would have a picture of her."

"Right."

I saw Ken, Lily Dawn, and Ryan walked in. They saw us and sat down.

"Were you talking about something?" Ken asked as they sat down.

"Only about Matt's new personality." TK answered.

"Oh, and you found out what?"

"That he likes lectures." I answered.

"it's not really lectures. He just has a new way of thinking."

"Well, whatever it is, TK's getting it." Kari said.

"Man, do you want to be your brother?"

"Don't know. Guess since I hang with him the most, I'm just picking up more of his new side."

"Great, are you saying that I might as well?"

"Maybe. Well, at least we can say that we have someone to look after us."

"And you think that we don't?" Kari looked playful mad.

"Maybe, do you?"

"Yes, Tai and Sora."

"I have my parents and that's it." Ken said.

"What about you two?"

"My brother and my boyfriend." Lily Dawn said.

"What are their names?" Kari asked.

"My brother's name is Stan and my boyfriend's name is Apollo."

"Apollo?" TK seemed to see the similarly in the name.

"Yea?"

"Nothing, it's an interesting name. What about you Ryan?"

"Only my dad."

We were talking about other stuff. After a while, lunch was over. We went back to the class that we were at before. _At least I'm not the only one that saw a pattern to the name. It's even weirder that his sister is Artemis. I'll have to tell that to TK later. One more period until I can leave this school for the day. Yes! _Class went by fast and I was in PE. Lily Dawn or Ryan weren't there yet but Neon and Don were. They noticed me as soon as I walked in. They walked to me when I sat down.

"Why do you want to be our friend?" Don asked.

"I wanted to make new friends. Is that wrong?"

"No, it's just that no one has tried for a long while."

"Were you two kicked out of school for fighting?"

"Nope, we're good students otherwise." Neon said.

"Then why is everyone afraid of you?"

"You would be too if you were here last year."

"I might've asked you if you wanted to join my gang."

"You were in a gang?" Don asked.

"That's why I'm not afraid of you. You only injured someone, I killed people."

"Hi Panther, I see that you have your friends here." I turned behind me to see Ryan and Lily Dawn looking mad.

"Don, Neon, meet my friends Ryan and Lily Dawn."

"See ya around." Don said before they walked away.

"Why were you talking to them?" Lily Dawn asked.

"I didn't, they came to me. 'Sides, they were wondering why I was being kind to them. I think they never had any other friends besides themselves."

"Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Ryan asked.

"All depends on what side you're on. I think it's sad and I want to be their friend. It's not a crime."

"What if you go back to your old ways of killing or you teach them to kill?"

"I know they know how to kill. You don't learn how to fight without learning some killing or death moves."

"Man, do you think that you can get away from death and killing for a day?"

"That's been my way of life for along of time. I can't change my way in a day."

"But you're living with someone that's has a good reputation with everyone. If you do one thing wrong, he'll be put down in society." Lily Dawn said.

"He wouldn't mind, like TK said. I wouldn't want to do anything that would put him down but if I do then I'll be sorry for Matt. I'm not doing to change my thinking."

"Ok everyone, get into your classes." Said one of the teachers.

Lily Dawn was in mine, Ryan was with Don and Neon was by herself. They were talking about the physical part and everything we were going to do. Boring. _I hate these boring classes. _It went by fast. I walked out of school to see Yolie on the sidewalk.

"Are you waiting for someone?" I asked hoping that her soldiers didn't tell her what I look like.

"Yea, you."

"Me? Why?"

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?"

"Aren't you?"

"I have no classes at this time."

"Same here. Now, I'm late with my meal." I moved passed her.

"You're not going to mess everything up."

"Once you give me a reason to not be friends with Kari and Ken then I might give it some thought."

"And what about TK?"

"TK is Matt's brother. I can't help but be friends with him. He comes over all the time."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought that you would listen to the news. Bye." I kept on walking.

I stopped at a convenient store for a quick bite to eat, incase Yolie went to Matt's house. I reached his house and I didn't see her at the door. I went in to see the house really dark. I didn't have a good feeling about this.

"Matt?"

"Panther, why are you here this early?"

I didn't see him anywhere and I couldn't tell where his voice was coming from. "Matt, where are you?"

"In your training room."

I walked over there, making sure that I didn't hit anything. I reached there to see it darker than any other place in the house. "Are you ok?"

"Fine, why?"

"The whole house is dark. Why are you in the training room?"

"Trying to find papers that I lost in here."

"Wouldn't it be better to turn on the light?"

"The power's been out for a while now."

"Do you want me to help?"

"Sure, you'll have to crawl though."

"Ok." I helped with the search. "Is everything out?"

"Yep, didn't have time to get it working again. Hope that if someone wants me, they call me on my cell."

"Well, hope that Yolie doesn't call."

"Why would she call?"

"She was waiting for me outside of the school. I kinda hinted that I was living with you."

"Oh, oh well."

"Why is it taking you so long to find papers?"

"A big gust of wind blew them in here. I think."

"Great, you kept the search in here and I'll look somewhere else. Do you want a candle?"

"Yea put some around the house. Incase TK or them come."

"Right."

I got up and when to the kitchen to where the matches were. I lit one up with the match I was using then I blew it out since it was really close to my hand. I grabbed all the candles and matches and went to Matt.

"Here's your light." I lit it up and place it on the ground.

I went around the house, placing the candles in different rooms. I found some of the papers. Once I was finished, I went back to Matt.

"Did you find any?"

"Some, any luck?"

"Yea." I saw his light coming closer. "Hand them over." I did and he counted the papers. "Good, I have them now. What to help me with them?"

"Why?"

"Afterwards, we'll buy your knife. Oh, here," He handed me a small metal round thing, "That's the invention that Izzy made."

"Cool. Where are we going?"

Matt sat his candle on a table, "To drop the papers off. I finished right before the black out and the wind."

"What if Lily Dawn and Ryan come by?"

"Then we'll leave a note."

I grabbed a pencil and paper and wrote,

_Lily Dawn, Ryan, we're out for the moment. We should be back in a short while. If you want to know our location then call Matt's cell. If anyone else what's to contact him or me (Panther), then call his cell. The power's out, bye._

I placed it on the front door and we got into the car. He drove to his office, this is the second time I've seen it and hardly anyone like me here. We went in and the guard at the front was surprised to see me again.

"Hi Matt and Panther."

"Hi. We're here to drop off some papers."

"Ok, isn't Panther supposed to be in school?"

"She has no class at this time."

"Head on in."

He drove in and parked his car in the parking lot. "Do you want to come on in?"

"Sure." We got out and walked to the building. I noticed that Matt was giggling about something. "What?"

"You know that you don't have to look tough around here. It's making me think that you're protecting me instead of the other way around."

"Sorry."

"That's ok. You probably didn't realize it."

We got in and took the elevator to the fourth floor.

"Whom are we going to?" I knew that there was no one that he knew on this floor.

"Someone new that's got this high position. Don't ask me how though. I haven't been here in a long while."

"Aren't the high positions for the people that work here long enough to know what that one does?"

"That's supposed to be the rules." We reached the door.

Matt opened it and it was an office. _I thought that no one gets offices? At least not on the fourth floor. _The chair was facing the window.

"Miss Atsure, I finished the papers."

The chair turned around and a happy face was with the body. She looked young and seemed to be full of energy.

"Great," she got up and walked to us, "You don't have to call me Miss. Hota is just fine. And who's this? Your daughter?"

"No, this is Panther. I'm just watching her for a while."

"Oh. Hi, nice to meet you Panther. Hope I can see more of you around here."

"Lot of the people don't like me. Why did you get an office? And on the fourth floor?"

"I see that you've been here before. Well, when I came here, they liked my ideas so they gave me a high position. I think that it's too much for a new person but that's what they wanted. As for this floor, they were thinking about making an office here so that's why I'm here. I know that Matt is a lot better than me but they like my ideas. They said that he does all his work at his house anyway."

"I wasn't questioning your brain, only your position."

"Anyway, here. We have to get going. We're meeting her friends for a trip." He handed it to her and we walked out.

We went to the car and drove off.

"I thought that she might be a Digimon too but she hasn't done anything that would make her. I even check out her story and they did like her ideas. The reason why I'm under her is because they want to keep me working. She even told me that I wouldn't get too much work unless there was a big project, but nothing more than a day of work." (the reason we're thinking that they're Digimon is because we know that they can disguise themselves as humans and since TK saw Styxmon in our world many times before I met her, we're becoming a bit on edge. Especially since we know that enemies of Styxmon will come to our world soon)

"I still don't trust her."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"If I could have something of hers or touch her then I might be able to see something about her."

"I'll see what I can do."

We went to the store that was full of knives and swords. The way I choose was the way the blade was shape, the sharpness of the blade, the design of the case, and the design of the handle. I got one that was sharp, shaped like a flame, flowers, and the handle was a rose.

"This one."

"How much?"

"That one is one of my oldest. It might be a little dull."

"How much?"

"23000 yens."

Matt reached into his pocket and pulled out that much. "Thanks, anything else that you might want?"

"Nah, this is good."

We walked out. I was eyeing it as we went back to the house.

"I didn't think that you would like flowers."

"Same here but this one is cool. The red on the flowers looks like blood."

"Evil on its side. There might be a story behind it. He didn't seem to want to give it up."

"Oh well. I like it. Thanks."

"I did promise."

When we arrived, Lily Dawn and Ryan were waiting. I put my knife in my pocket so they wouldn't see it.

"Ok, let's head to the Digital World." Matt said as he opened a portal that led to the Digital World through his laptop.

We walked in and were looking at the weird surroundings. He was able to find the others without too much difficulty. The last ones were Gabumon and ours, since he figured that we should have one. He kept us in hiding as he let the others go. He called them when their Digimon came out.

We were walking in a wood area and it was getting late. I didn't care but Ryan and Lily Dawn started to worry. He stopped in his tracks. I got closer to see what he was looking at to see Gabumon tied up by some Digimon that looked kinda like Palmon, except that this one had vines for feet and hands and the flower was a cherry thing. A purple dog-like Digimon was growling at him and a weird looking plant Digimon was at the other corner of the triangle. There was this guy that was dressed in all black. He was wearing a cape, hat, gloves, boots and a wipe. Matt walked up to him.

"Hi, can you let this Digimon go?" He asked, acting like he didn't know the Gabumon.

"And why, may I ask?"

"Just let him go and you'll be fine." _Why is Matt making a threat? He wouldn't be able to fight back._

"Oh yea? Well, Breomon doesn't think so, right?" He looked at the dog-like Digimon. He jumped between them and growled.

"That's nice, but I'm not going to fight your soldier. I'm going to fight you."

"That right? Breomon, attack him!"

He launched at him. He avoided that so quickly that it seemed impossible. We went up the try to get the vines off of Gabumon. I thought that the Digimon were going to fight back but they weren't.

"What are you doing! Fight them! Don't let them take that Gabumon."

Matt launched at him and was avoiding his wipe. I was surprised to see him with that much agility. The Palmon like Digimon let go of her hold and ran to me.

"Take us with you, please?"

"Huh? Why?"

"We don't want to work for him anymore. If you delete him then we'll be safe. We could even be of some help. Please?"

"Stay with them for the moment." I didn't know why I wanted to help them, but I ran to Matt's hearing range. "Matt, delete him."

"Why?"

"Just do it. I'll explain later."

"They think they could get rid of me that easily?" His wipe came at me. I jumped back to avoid it. But it came at me from the sides and it got me around the neck. I was pulled into him and the wipe was starting to squeeze me. I was trying to fight back but it wasn't working. I heard someone coming straight forward. He placed me there as a shield but the person moved to the side and deleted him. I was breathing hard.

"Panther?" I heard Matt's voice.

"I'm fine." I got up to see a bit of worry on his face, but it went away quickly.

"Tell me why you wanted me to delete him?"

"They didn't want to work for him anymore. They said that they have useful information." Matt walked over to them and I followed.

"I'm happy to get rid of him for you but what kind of information?"

"It's really dangerous for anyone lower than them. He wanted Gabumon to work for him but he had to break him first and train him to listen to him." The Palmon like Digimon explained.

"Thanks. Let's head back, I'll go first to make sure that it's safe for you guys."

We walked back to a TV that acts as the portal and we landed on the lawn. Everyone was there but TK, Kari, and Ken were keeping them busy long enough for us to get into a spot to hear them but not be seen.

"Hi guys, found Gabumon." Matt said as they walked closer.

"What took you so long?" Yolie asked.

"I couldn't find him."

"I didn't know he was looking for me." Gabumon covered.

"Fine."

The three warriors walked away. The others lingered around a bit longer, though we alone appeared when TK and they were left.

"Well?" TK asked.

"Gabumon was tied up by a Super Level Digimon that had a wipe. We had to fight him but he's deleted now." Matt summarized.

"Oh, ok. Night then." They walked away.

Matt turned around and looked at the Digimon.

"Where are you guys going to go? I have room if you want to stay here."

"I'll take her home. My brother isn't home that much anyway." Lily Dawn said.

"And my dad would think that he's just a weird dog." Ryan added.

"What are your names?"

"I'm Plantmon." Said the Palmon look alike.

"Bellimon." Said the weird plant.

"And you know mine, Breomon." Said the dog.

"Right, are you guys happy with the choosing?"

"Yep." Bellimon said.

"Yep." Breomon said.

"Sure." Plantmon was acting a little like me.

"Gabumon, you have another Digimon to talk to. How are you guys going to do about school? Wait, I'll call Izzy to come and gave me more of those more-room thingies." He grabbed his cell and called him. In minutes he was here. He gave them to him and walked back to his house. He gave them to us when he came back inside. "There, now they can come with you to school."

"Thanks Matt." Lily Dawn said and they walked away.

Gabumon was giving Plantmon a tour of the house, even though I knew it was his first time here.

"Panther, are you ok?"

I turned to face him, "Yes, I'm fine."

He hugged me. Before he did, I saw worry in his eyes. "I know I shouldn't but I was so worry."

I allowed him to rock me. For some reason, it felt right.

He pulled back and walked to them, correcting Gabumon's mistakes. The power seemed to be up so that was good. I took a shower and went to bed. Plantmon was sleeping with me.

Ok, that's it. Cool? Anyway, to explain some of things that happened. I don't know how I was able to avoid them? I was never that fast before. As for hugging her, I don't know. Something was so strong that I was worry about her. Like a parent would worry about their kid or an older sibling to a younger. The moon cats are still getting me though. Then those legends sound familiar from somewhere. Anyway, we're happy that our Digimon are back with us. I wonder who the others are. I think the three that we have now are their Digimon so it's ok. Anyway Baibai.


	3. Chap 2 The Beginning of the Crest

Hi everyone! It's me, Yamato but you can call me Matt for short. I know that I have already written a story but that was just the starting point of my long journey. I'll tell you about that in a minute but first I wanted to let the new readers know that this story is based on another one that I (Yamato "Matt" Ishida) wrote. It's called Sad Love Story (by Yamato Ishida). If you like romance in a story then you can read it and you'll have a better idea on this story. For the old readers that did read the other one, I'm not mad as I was in the first one. You can kinda say that I'm in a good mood today. Anyway, I'll write a story on every major event on my journey. Wait a minute, I told you that I would tell you what that is and I haven't. Sorry about that. The journey is about looking for some new Crest and Digidestined that goes with them. As far as you know that would be Ken and me, but as you'll read as this story and other ones that will come after the Crest and Digidestined. Oh yea, letting you all know that I might put in the side comments. It was fun so I thought that I would do it again. Anyway, onward with the story…….

It has been a few months since – that – day. The only one that I told anything of what I've learned was my little brother, TK (oh yea, TK has told everyone that he is a novelist but he's still under the same pen name. He hasn't told them anything about his manga career yet). The school year was coming to the end today. Only a few minutes until everyone were free for a few days. Styxmon was always on my mind. I couldn't stop thinking about her and what Gennai did to her and her family. _What level were they anyway? They couldn't be a Mega 'cause they were myth people. Everything about them was based on a myth, legend. They had to be more than a normal Digimon since they called each other "family". I have heard of sibling Digimon but none that had a dad and a mom. Plus, they are able to look like humans to walk around freely in the Real World. No other Digimon could do that. I bet that even Gennai can't do that. I wonder what he feared from them. Hmmmmmm? They said that they were planning on creating a gateway to other worlds. That ain't so bad. I mean that would be nice to visit other worlds and see what they look like. I wished that they had fulfilled their dreams, but Gennai had to collapse the mountain they lived in. We were also in it and he still tried. Guess he feared their power. Having more than his might've put him at an uneven feeling. The sad thing is that Yolie, Davis, and Cody are the only ones that think that what Gennai did was the right thing. Wonder if Ken read the note that I gave him? Oh well._ Right then the bell on my clock rang. _They're out and TK is supposed to be coming over. Well might as well wait outside._ I waited for only a few minutes. These days TK is very worried about me since the event. TK came running up to my house and we went inside.

"So Matt, how are you?"

"Fine. You?"

"The same. So what should we do? Camping? Fishing? Swimming?"

"How about finding those Legendary Crests that Styxmon and her family told me about? I'm sure that you can make a story out of it."

"Sure, but we don't have any idea where to look. All we know is that you and Ken have two of them and we don't even know how many there are."

"Speaking of him, how is Ken doing?"

"I did tell him if he didn't understand the note to come to me or you for the answer. So far he doesn't seem to have a problem, at least not one that he'll tell us."

"Maybe we need to find someway to get us three together to talk about this. I know that Ken can't handle everything that I gave him all at once. It was even hard for you."

"But not for you."

"That was because Styxmon was there to explain everything to me and so were Titanmon, Sirensmon, and Anubismon."

"Even though you only met them for a few minutes and they didn't give the best impression about them, you still think of them as friends, right?"

"Styxmon will always be more than a friend."

"It's sad that it ended up the way it did. I know! I'll get Ken over here tomorrow so you can talk to him. That's one way for him to talk about it."

"Good idea. Tell him that I'm having a cook out and he was invited to come."

"He might be wondering why only him. Have anything for that?"

"Everyone will come later, but I need help with a few things. That's why he's coming early."

"He might call someone to make sure."

"I can't do anything about that. Guess telling him the truth would work."

"With that, we can only hope he's going to show."

"That's why you're going to help me."

"Oh ok. So after we find the Legendary Crests, what are we going to do?"

"That all depends on when we finish the search. I'm only hoping that I'll get something that will help us out a bit."

"Right. Anyway how it you like the story that I wrote for you?"

"Great as usual. You really knew what I wanted in it."

"It wasn't that hard to figure out where you got the idea for it. I got a new story that I want you to read."

"What is it?"

"It's about the Legendary Crests. Even though I don't know anything about it, I knew that I had to write. Like Styxmon wanted me to or something."

"Oh, well maybe she's trying to hel…"

The whole room was silent with the words that were never finished. We both just looked at it. The papers in his hands, the ones that were really written by Styxmon though it was being placed into TK's head and making him to write it down.

"Do you think we should read it together?"

"How long is it?"

"Not that long. Only three pages."

"It must have been Styxmon or one of her family members."

"I think that family likes you, Matt."

"Hope so. That way they can help when I really need it. Do you have it saved anywhere?"

"Yea, at home on my computer."

"Good. I'll read it before I go to bed and you do the same."

"Right. What are we going to do now?"

"Don't know."

TK laid the papers on the table that was near us. Then he got up, "I might as well get going if I want to catch Ken before he goes somewhere."

"Where might he been going?"

"Don't know. That's why I want to catch him before he does anything that will interfere with our plans."

"Good thinking. See ya tomorrow."

"Later bro."

TK walked towards the door and went out. He closed the door so quietly like he was a robber or something. _Now that I'm thinking about it, TK has been acting weird lately. Oh well, it might be because of me. Well, better make something before my stomach starts to growl. _I walked over to the kitchen and made me something to eat. Afterwards, I went to take a bath and headed to bed. As I read what TK had left, it really did seem like it was Styxmon, or one of her family members, who wrote this. It told of warriors that will rise from the ashes of both the world and previous warriors to fight against a force that has no shape. It looked to be in a legend style (incase you couldn't tell, I like mythology. So of course I would know if it would be in a legend style or not). After I was done, I placed it on the table next to me and fell asleep.

I woke up all of a sudden and noticed that I wasn't in my PJ or in my room. I was outside in a meadow. The grass was moving but I felt no breeze. The sun was out but I couldn't see it. There were white clouds in the sky, but I knew that they weren't the reason why I couldn't see the sun. The outfit that I was wearing was my high school uniform. I heard something coming towards me. I stood my ground, hoping more that my ears were playing a trick. Then the figure came into view and it was… Styxmon! Styxmon was standing right in front of me and somehow I knew that I couldn't do anything but talk, "Styxmon?"

"You have forgotten me already? I'm surprise."

"Humans have the worst memory of any creature that ever lived. I remember you. Just wanted to make sure that it was you and not someone that is trying to trick me." (Letting everyone know that at this point I almost cried but I was strong so I held it back. That was every hard to do)

"I didn't know that. Aren't you going to run towards me?"

"I know that it would be fruitless. Where are we anyway?"

"We're in a place where Gennai can't find us. This is the place that I always go to if I wanted to be left alone."

"Nice place. Wished I had a place like this whenever I wanted to do that. Were you the one that gave TK the idea on writing that legend about the Crests?"

"Yep. I found a book that Dad had and it had that legend it in so I thought that I'd help with the search. Oh yea, Anubismon wants me to give you something," she started to search around, "Here it is." She pulled out a smooth ball, a huge one too.

"What's that?"

"This is the thing that helps us know what Legendary Crest you had. Anubismon thinks that he saw something near Kari so he wanted you to check it out."

"How do I activate it?"

"Thinking shouldn't be a hard thing to do, right? Just think that it'll working and it'll work. Be aware that the light will go to you if you do activate. Nothing will happen but you'll be blinded until the light is off."

"Can you tell me what Ken's and mine are?"

"Yours is the Crest of Virtue. Ken's is the Crest of Faith."

"How many are there?"

"Nine, including your two. The names are Virtue, Faith, Peace, Trinity, Glory, Calmness, Forgiveness, Patience, and Honesty."

"There's nothing virtuous about me."

"There's something about you guys that gives you the power of these. We don't know what that is but whenever we do, I'll let you know."

"Thanks. How does the light help? Does it show the color of the Crest?"

"It shows the Crest itself. Virtue is an angel that's glowing. Faith is a dove that's glowing. Peace is the peace symbol that has triangles on every outside angle. Trinity is a triangle that has a hole, somewhat, near the middle. Glory is a sun rising or setting. Calmness is a nice smell. Forgiveness is two hands that are together. Patience is a tree. Honesty is an Egyptian eye."

"Why can't we see the symbol?"

"'Cause you are looking at the source, but if you look at your shadow then you'll see the symbol. There's an amazing thing there and I promised that I wouldn't tell you."

"That's ok. Do you know where the other Digidestined are? The ones for the Legendary Crest and do they get a Digimon as well?"

"Don't know and that's for both."

"What happened to you guys after that fire explosion hit your back?"

"When I turned around Gennai was holding Anubismon by his neck. He allowed him to drop to the floor. I heard his back crack and then his data was flying to the air. He turned and was coming towards me. I wanted to fight him but I knew that wouldn't be wise. So I ran to here. In this world I can hide from Gennai and talk to my family at the same time."

"But… I know that you're not alive."

"They were telling me that Gennai was the one who set the fire and they attacked. I know this to be true 'cause I'm like a ghost that wonders around with a few goals ahead of me."

"What are they?" She looked to be in so pain that I wanted to comfort her, though I stood still.

"One is to kill Gennai for killing my family. Two is to help you in any way I can."

"Is sleeping the only way that you can get me or are there some other ways?"

"I can talk to you in your sleep when you're in the Real World, but if you are in the Digital World then you can see me."

"I would like to help with your first goal."

"Why?"

"'Cause I want to help in any way I can."

She smiled, "You're going to awake now. There will be a book on the table where TK's/my story is. Good night Matt."

I woke up and I was in my bedroom. I found the book that Styxmon had mentioned. I found the ball near my bed as well. I put it and the book on the same table as the story. I fall right back asleep, smiling this time.

I woke up to the sound of my doorbell ringing wildly. I got up and walked downstairs. I opened the door to find TK there, looking at me in a weird way.

"What?"

"Did I catch you when you were asleep?"

"Yes, why? Do I look tried?" He nodded his head. "Come in." I grabbed his shirt and pulled him in.

We walked towards the kitchen and I started to make breakfast, "Did you have breakfast yet?"

"No."

"Good, then I'll make some." TK smiled when I said that (I gotten better with my cooking. I decided to because of Mizu).

I thought about how to say to TK that the story he wrote was actually written by Styxmon. _Well, if there's a time to do it, it's now._

"TK, I have something to tell you. You know the story you just made?" He nodded. "Well, you really didn't make the story."

"Did Styxmon help me?"

"I've also noticed that you haven't been acting like yourself."

"Really?"

"Yup, and Styxmon did help you."

"Why did she give it to me? Not that I'm hating it or anything, I was just wondering. How do you know?"

"'Cause she came to me in my dreams last night."

"Was it cool?"

"Yeah, she took me to a peaceful place. Oh yeah, did you tell Ken?"

"Yeah, he wanted someone else to be there to hear this other than us. One of the Digidestined, not caring who."

"Really, well, if he really wants me to get another Legendary Crest Digidestined then I guess I have to, but I was hoping that that would wait until he was done."

"You have already found another!"

"Yep. Styxmon told me. They found her when they found us but they were too focused on us to really care. I guess that she didn't notice that she had a light on her during that time."

"Well, are you going to tell me?"

"Are you sure you want to know?"

"Yes!"

"It's Kari."

"How?"

"Anubismon thinks that it's her, but he's not sure."

"Do you know any way to be sure?"

"Yep, and I'm going to try it on her to see if there is one and to know what Crest she has."

"Do you know how many Crests there are?"

"Nine."

"Do you know what they are and do you know yours?"

"Virtue, Faith, Peace, Trinity, Glory, Calmness, Forgiveness, Patience, Honesty. I have Virtue and Ken has Faith."

"Cool! Do you think that I can write a story about this?"

"I don't see why not, but ask the new people before you do."

"I know. I'm not a rookie."

"Call Kari to tell her that she needs to come over here, then call Ken to tell him that Kari will be here to hear it too."

"What if he ask 'why Kari'?"

"He wanted someone else to be there and didn't care who it was."

"Ok."

TK went to the phone and called Kari. I went to clean the kitchen and made something for them to eat and got them something to drink. Then I noticed that I didn't have anything to drink except for breakfast drinks. I had to go to the supermarket for a few more things anyway. When I turned around to tell TK that I had to go the supermarket, he was about to call Ken.

"TK, I have to stop by the supermarket for a few things. I'll be back."

"Ok."

I grabbed the keys and walked out the door. I parked my car and walked into the store (letting you know that it's a BIG store. Sometimes I think that it was going to be an one-level mall before it was turn into a supermarket. Well, it's a real _super_market). I got some drinks that I knew that Ken and Kari would like and I got something for TK and me too. I went around getting the other things that I needed. I heard the bell door ring and then the person in the front, "Oh no, what do you guys want now? You got your things yesterday and you said only once a week." The guy sounded nervous. I looked around and notice that no one else was near the front.

"We know, but my baby here wants something else that they forgot to get. And what my baby wants, she gets. Get it old man."

"Yes, yes, yes, just don't hurt me."

"Don't worry, we won't."

Footsteps came closer to me, but it was only one pair, not two. I grabbed the last thing that I need and a girl wearing baggy jeans that looked like they can hide, almost, anything. Her tank top was black. She had some jewelry on.

"Your wife sick and she's sending you to shop." I knew that was a voice from a gang member.

"I have no wife."

"Then why are you shopping for food? You can't cook."

"You're guessing." (Letting you know that I was talking to her in the same way that she's talking to me. Don't asked how I know to talk this way or why I am, I don't know)

"What's your name?"

"Matt, and yours?"

"People in my gang call me Panther." Right then her eyes widens. "Where did all the rice go?"

"I need it for my guess that I'm having over. Is there a problem?" (no, I didn't take all the rice that was there, I just got the last one on the shelf)

"I need that to make my famous rice balls with different flavor to the rice."

"I'm the one who created a new style to that."

She blinked a few times, "What did you say your name was?"

"Matt."

"Matt Ishida?"

"That's me."

"Wow, you're my favorite chief ever," her expression was now lighter than her first impression, "People say that they never see you on the streets and here you are in a supermarket."

"I like to keep a low profile."

"Killer, you got to come here. There's someone that you have to meet."

Then another pair came and it was a guy this time. He was wearing the same thing but he had a trench coat on.

"Who's this guy? And where did the rice go?"

"This is Matt Ishida, my favorite chief and he needs the rice for some guess he has."

"Mr. Ishida would you like to visit our hang out? Panther would be happy."

"Other than she likes the way I cook, is there any other reason why I should go?"

"After you stop your cooking show, Panther never got better with her cooking. It would be nice to help her."

"I stopped because one of my friends was starting her own cooking and she wanted me to stop so she'll get popular with viewers."

"Why did you do that? You shouldn't do that for anyone." Panther said.

"With that attitude maybe I shouldn't go. I'll do anything for my friends, even put my life in danger to save theirs."

"We do that too, but if two people both have the same talent then they have a contest to see who is better. Whoever wins is the one with that talent and the other is the winner's helper. That only goes for things that aren't fighting related." Killer said getting mad.

"I figure you would, but friendship is one of my strong points and I don't what to lose it. The Dark World isn't one of the greatest places to be." I walked to the front.

I paid for the things that I bought and walked out to my car. I was about to drive away but Panther came out.

"Matt, tomorrow I want to talk to you alone."

"What do we have to talk about?"

"Meet me under the Tokyo Tower, k?"

"Is that place part of your ruling or does someone else own that?"

"That's a free zone."

"Bring something to protect yourself but don't use it on me, k?"

"So you're agreeing to the meeting?"

"You remind me of someone. See ya tomorrow. Are you coming alone?"

"Yep. See ya."

I drove off. I got back and made everything for Ken and Kari.

"Matt, why are you making the flavored rice balls?" TK asked.

"There's nothing wrong with them, is there?"

"No, I was wondering why since you stop making your specials after – it – happened."

"Someone reminded me of this. Do you think the others will notice?"

"No. They never came over to see you afterwards, remember? I'm the only one that did."

"Oh yeah."

Everything was ready before they arrived. Kari was the first to arrive and she waited until Ken showed. Minutes passed and Ken showed. We ate before we talked.

"Ken, do you want to ask to me anything about the Legendary Crest?"

"What Legendary Crest?" Kari was confused.

"It a Crest that was told in legends in the Digital World but Styxmon's family is the only ones that knew about it." TK answered.

"Who has them?"

"Ken and me, as far as we know of."

"What do I have and what do you have?"

"You, the Crest of Faith and me, the Crest of Virtue."

"Those don't suit us."

"That's what I told Styxmon but she said that there's something special about us that gives us these, but she doesn't know what it is."

"How can you talk to Styxmon if she's dead?" Kari asked.

"She came to me into my dreams last night and told me. There are nine of them, including ours. There's Virtue, Faith, Peace, Trinity, Glory, Calmness, Forgiveness, Patience, and Honesty."

"Why did you guys bring me here?"

"Ken asked for one of the other Digidestined and Anubismon thinks that you might have one." TK answered.

"Matt tells him these things since he's the only one that comes to visit him, Kari. Can we tell the others?" Ken asked.

"I don't know. Styxmon didn't say we couldn't but she didn't say we could either. Until I get that answered, don't tell anyone."

"TK, are you going to make this into a story?" Kari asked.

"Yup, do I have your approval to include you in it?"

"Sure." Ken answered.

"If I have one, sure."

"Thanks."

"Ok then, Kari stand up and let's see if you do. TK, there will be something in her shadow. Draw it then after the light is done, let us see what it was."

"K."

Kari got up and walked over to the place that I told her stand. I grabbed the ball that was on the table near me.

"What's that?" Ken asked.

"This is something that Anubismon gave to Styxmon to give to me. It will help us find the other Digidestined."

"How dose it works?" Kari asked.

"You have to believe it works. Ready TK?"

"Yup."

"Kari, Ken?"

"What do I have to do?" Ken asked.

"You're going to have the light on you. Are you ready to be blinded?"

"Ready." Both said.

I closed my eyes and thought of it working. I felt something hitting me with a lot of force.

"Matt, it's working." TK shouted.

"Do you see something behind Kari?"

"Yes, is that what I'm supposed draw?"

"Described it if you can't draw it."

"It's a peace sign with…"

"Thanks, that's all I need to know. It has triangles in the outer angles?"

"Yes."

"Now here's a question. How to turn this off?"

The feeling was gone. I opened my eyes and everything was the same.

"What Crest do I have?" Kari asked impatiently.

"Peace."

"Did she tell you that?" Ken asked.

"She gave me a description of all the crests. TK did you see anything else when you looked?"

"Yea, I think it gives where to find your Digimon 'cause within the Crest it showed a dark looking castle. Ken had a desert and yours had a forest. I don't know about Ken but I do know that that's where we found Gatomon and Gabumon."

"That's the amazing thing that she mentioned. I will need your help. Since now Gennai is the one that we need to worry about we need to make sure that he doesn't know that we're going in and out of the Digital World."

"Wouldn't that be hard though?" Ken asked.

"I know but we have to try."

"Are we going to have our Digimon here like before?" Kari asked.

"Don't know but we have let it happen naturally. I'm sure that we can tell them about this."

"I'm glad that we can keep our Digimon. Do you think that the Legendary Crest will help our Digimon in someway?" Ken asked.

"Hopefully I can remember these questions when Styxmon see me again." I said with a smile.

"Kari, Ken, how does it feels to have an extra crest?" TK asked.

"The same as always." Kari answered.

"Same here." Ken said.

"Well, I got to go. I promised Tai that I'll help him with fixing his house. Bye."

"Bye Kari." TK said and she walked out the door.

"Sorry for not believing in you, Matt."

"That's ok, Ken."

"See ya later."

"Bye." TK said.

Then he, too, walked out the door. We picked up the plates and headed towards the kitchen. We started to clean them when TK asked, "Matt, I remembered that you said that someone reminded you of the Flavored Rice Balls, so who was it? That person must have had a big impact on you to make them."

"I was in the supermarket when a girl and guy walked in. The girl walked to where I was and we started to talk. She noticed that there was no rice left and was getting mad until I told her that I was the one who created the new style for the Flavored Rice Balls. Her boyfriend wanted me to go with them to their hang out but they don't understand the meaning of friendship so I didn't."

"Why did they want you to go?"

"I'm the girl's favorite chief. I promised to meet her tomorrow under the Tokyo Tower."

"Why?"

"She reminds me of Styxmon."

"Did you catch their names?"

"Panther is the girl's and Killer is the guy's."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, I need someone to know where I am in case there's something in the Digital World that needs seeing to."

"K but you do know that I'm going to be worried since you are going to be hanging with someone that doesn't know the meaning of friendship."

"Then it would worry you more that they are gang members."

"What! Well, I guess I should have figured that out. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"I'll bring my cell, if there's something wrong then call me if you think it needs me."

"Right, but what if they called you before they called me?"

"Still don't tell them. Only if it's Ken and Kari."

"K."

We finished the plates and put them away. TK wished me good luck and went home. I took a shower then headed to bed. I was hoping that Styxmon would talk to me in my dreams again (good thing that I'm a good boy or my wish might not have come true).

"Hi Matt." I opened my eyes to see Styxmon in my face. I smiled at her.

"Well, Anubismon was right. Kari does have a Crest."

"Really, which one?"

"You mean that you can't see what's going on in my world?"

"You thought I could?"

"There are digital things in my house. I thought you could use them to see."

"I couldn't when I was live and I can't do it now."

"She has Peace. Is seeing the area where to find our Digimons the amazing thing that you were talking about?"

"No, but when you woke up I remembered that it wouldn't work on you guys. When you're using it to find the next one then the special thing will happen. The area where their Digimon will still show it just that something else will too."

"Are you going to talk to me every night?"

"Hope so."

"What should I do if you don't show?"

"Wait, if I don't show within a week then start to worry."

"Can we tell everyone about this?"

"Not until you find all of them. If one doesn't show the leadership like Tai's then you can tell everyone."

"What if we need to go into the Digital World for something and we need their help as well?"

"TK, Ken, or Kari has to come back and get them. I don't know if they will be getting Digivice or not."

"Do the Crests help our Digimon in any way?"

"Don't know."

"I think that's all the questions. Do you have questions for me?"

"How was your day?"

"Fine."

"Do anything special?"

"Just made my famous Flavored Rice Balls."

"I remember those. I loved them."

"I would make them but I don't know how to bring them over to here."

"It's ok, I don't need to eat."

"Thanks for your help."

"Welcome."

"If the Legendary Crests come to the Digital World, will you and your family protect them?"

"Yes, they can move freely in the Digital World and we will protect them."

"That's good."

"Well, I guess I should leave you to your sleep. See ya tomorrow night."

"Can't wait."

I was back in my room and I fall asleep.

The next time I awoke it was 10:00 am. I got ready and headed out the door. The air was oddly cold this morning (the reason it was 'cause it's March and Japan's March is hardly ever cold).I got into my car and drove to the Tokyo Tower. I parked in the TV station that my dad worked for. I remembered his funeral and mom's. They didn't die by anything unusual but it was sad in all the same. TK was in his first year of high school and I was starting college. It was hard but we both did what we had to. He had to live with me on the campus until I had enough money for him and me to get your own homes. That's not easy but with Izzy's help, it was possible. I wish that I could tell Izzy what's going on though. He helped us out a lot and I mean **A LOT**. I guess I could say that's he's my new best friend.

Anyways, I walked around the town looking at all the places that I remembered and remembering all the good and bad memories that fell to each place. The last place that I stop by, before going to the tower, was my old house. I still pay for it since I love to come back and remember everything that I learn and did with Dad. The place looked the way I always left it. I love to clean it before the school year starts for TK. He helps too and it looks like it always did. We even pay for his old/new house (the one that's nearer to my house). All the good memories that happen here and there were so dear to us that we don't know when we'll let them go. I think the only way that's going to happen is when we both die. I went to the Tokyo Tower and she was standing there, waiting. I stopped when I saw her and looked at the tower. I remember hearing that Sora, Tai, Izzy, and Mimi had to fight Metal Meramon here. That thought made me think of the Dark Masters. I remembered how I was acting during that time and it wasn't a happy one. _Why did she have to pick here to meet? All this sightseeing is making me remember all the times in the Digital World and the time here with the Digimon. Now I wished to meet somewhere else. Oh well, this is the meeting spot and I have to keep my promise. _I walked up to her.

"Hi, sorry I'm late if I am."

"What took you so long?" She seemed to be in a bad mood or pissed at me for keeping her waiting.

"What time were you here?"

"Seven o-clock."

I looked at my watch and notice that it was 12:37pm. "Sorry, I got up around 10 and I don't know when I arrived in town. Anyways, I'm here now so what did you what to talk about?"

"Not here, follow me."

She led me to the river that separated my house from TK's, then to the beach of it. She glanced back for some odd reason (at least it was odd then).

"Is it safe?"

"Yes, but it won't be for long. Do you know anyplace where we can talk?"

"Like I know all the places where your gang rules. But I might know a place that we can go."

"Where?"

"Depends, near to the tower or across the river?"

"The across the river."

"Then we're going to my house. I bet that you would feel special?" I, for once, led the way to my old house. I think she was amazed for the uncleanness of the place. "Well, what do you think?"

"I think it needs some cleaning up."

"Well, it's not the place that I'm living in now. It's the place that I lived in at one time. So many memories are here."

"Bet you couldn't sale it." She was walking more into the apartment.

"And what do you mean by that?" I closed the door.

"That's the reason no one else is living in it. I bet that you couldn't sale and so now you have to pay for it until you find someone to buy it."

"Wrong. Many people would love to live in the house where the great Matt Ishida thought up most of his ideas for his songs and cooked some of the famous recipes ever made. People would be lining up until they reach the Tokyo Tower to even have a chance to buy this place or someone would make this place to a museum to honor me and my life"

"You wrote songs?"

"I was the leader singer and base guitarist for the Teenage Wolves."

"I love that group." Her eyes widened with joy.

"Then you love, almost, everything that I like to do or done. I guess that means that you are my biggest fan. What did you want to talk about?"

"You mentioned something about a Dark World? Can you tell me about it?"

"Why would you want to know about a place like that?"

"I think I've been there but I need to know if I'm right, please tell me."

"It's comes in two forms. One is the one that I've been to, that's the cave that was dark and seemed endless. All your sadness and loneness becomes their strongest there. You're totally lost in the emotions that you can't even tell where you are until someone brings you back. The second is a gray ocean with grayish bay. Doubts, evil thoughts, sadness becomes the greatest emotions that leads you there. I think that, almost, anyone can go there with enough connection between the person who is there and the person who is in this world. Both are located in the same place but you wouldn't know if you didn't have the knowledge of the place, like I do. Do any of those places seem familiar to you?"

"I've seen the ocean and it's what made me join this gang in the first place. I thought it was telling me that my path was with the evils in the world and the only place that I thought of was a gang." She didn't seem to be sad about this fact.

"When did you join the gang and see the ocean?"

"I was six when I saw the ocean and thirteen when I joined."

"Nothing can tell you want you can and can't do. That's for you to decide. At first I thought that I goal in life was to protect my little brother, but now I know that's not the case since I seen him grown so fast that I knew that he would be okay without me. Now he's engaged to the person he was in love with since they were eight years old."

"What age is he now?"

"About eighteen, why?"

"I'm the same age."

"Did you see anything else when you saw the ocean?"

"I saw other people that I didn't know playing in the waters but I knew that there was something wrong about it and didn't want to play in it."

"If I was the person about year ago then I would say 'good, you did the right thing'. But now I would say 'it's good that you didn't play in the waters, but I don't think that it would have done any harm'."

"Why would you say that now?"

"Something happened to me a few months ago and that changed me. I believe it's for the better, but that is still too early to be decided. Remember what I said about nothing is plan for you?"

"Yea."

"I was wrong. Somethings are put in front of you that you have to take without a single question, only after are you allowed to rebel and fight with the other people that are with you. Or if you don't like a person then it might be okay to fight, but you have to try and be friends with everyone."

"You do know that you're twisting your own words?" She laughed.

"Guess I am." I laughed too.

Then there was a knock at the door. We both stood there not making a move.

"I think it would be best if you checked it out. You would know if the person or people are apart of a gang."

Panther walked over towards the door and looked through the eyehole. She motioned for me to come closer. She moved out of the way and I looked through it. The person that was there was Izzy!

"Who's that?"

"That's a friend of mine, but I don't know why he would be here. I only told my brother that I would be here. Go hide until I find out why his here."

"I can't meet any of your friends?"

"It might be a trap and you don't know it. Don't worry about me if it is. I just want to make sure that you're safe from your enemies. Go into my room, k?"

"K."

She ran into my room and I opened the door.

"Izzy, what are you doing here?" I acted surprised (like I didn't know that he was there at my door acting).

"Matt? I didn't know that you were here. I thought that you would be at home."

"And the reason you knocked on the door even though no one was in it?"

"I was going to see if my new invention works. It's a key that can do more than open doors to homes and cars, I'm hoping that it can even open windows, stoves, turn on lights, heaters, air conditions, TV's, and more, when I think of them."

"And you were thinking about using it here? Why?"

"I knew that your house was locked and I thought that it would be the perfect place to test it out."

"Even though it hasn't been used for a while? Are you sure it will work?"

"I hope so, I thought you didn't mind."

"Yea, sorry but you know what's with me lately."

"Why are you here? I thought that you and TK come here before school starts not after?"

"I thought that I walk down memory line to get my mind off it for a while and think of similar things to it." _That was stupid to say. Yea, I wanted to remember things that she helped with and is. _

"I thought you don't want to forget anything? That's why this house is still standing, is it?"

"Guess I can't fool you."

"After TK, I'm the next person that talks to you so I know a few things."

"Ok, hold on for a minute. I'll close the door and we'll see if it works."

I closed the door and locked it. Panther appeared and started walking towards me. I tried to stop her, but then the door opened.

"It works on doo……… Who's that?"

"This is Panther, a new friend that I met at a supermarket."

"Hello." Panther said and bowed.

"Please to meet you, too." He bowed to her too.

"What are you two doing?"

"Izzy wants to check something out. Do you want to help?"

"Sure."

She walked closer and I could tell that she didn't trust him yet. _Well, at least she's polite and acting nice._ Her eyes were fixed on him with a gentle stare but that was an act. _What if she's not looking at Izzy? _I turned to look at Izzy and there was a shadow that was on his. _That means that there's someone there and I bet that that's not the only one. _As soon as Izzy was in I closed the door and whispered to Izzy, "Did you bring anyone with you?"

He gave me a worry look, "Letting you know that I didn't want to, but I did want to see what they were talking about."

"How did they get you?"

"This is what I originally wanted to do before they got me."

"Do you have a plan to get us out of here?"

"They will allow us to go, but they want her to stay. Who is she? And what do they want with her?"

"I don't know. Anyways, I'm not going to leave her here."

"I thought you were giving up on girls?"

"I am. Like I said she's a friend and she needs my help."

"Fine, TK does know about this, right?"

"Why wouldn't he? Did you have a back up plan?"

"No."

"Then we'll have to make one. Good thing that I hid me car."

"When are we going to start?" Panther asked in an, almost, low voice. I knew she must have recognized the shadow.

"Soon but we need to try something outside again. Do you want to come with us?"

"Sure." Worry crossed her face. _Guess she thinks that I don't know. She's too kind to be mean for long. _We walked to the door, "Izzy, do they have guns out?"

"No."

"When we get out, punch the person in the path and I'll punch the other person. If we're lucky then we'll be able to get out and go to the TV station."

"Right."

_Well that's assuming her boyfriend isn't around to protect her and mess things up._ Izzy opened the door and walked to the left. I heard a fist hitting a face and I went to the right and landed one too. There was no other around and I grabbed Panther's hand and ran down the stairs. When we got to the base of the building, we saw more kids around the area.

"Panther, are they apart of the same gang?"

"Yes. I'll never forget this gang."

"What did they do?" Izzy asked.

"That curiosity will have to want. We need a way to get out of here without them knowing."

"Why? I'm not afraid of them."

"Safety is more important at the moment. That's if you didn't tell your gang that you would be here?"

"Only Killer."

"That's a positive name." She gave Izzy an evil look.

"Izzy, Killer is her boyfriend. I don't think it's a wise thing to make her mad about him."

"Oh, sorry."

"You didn't know. Now how are we going to get out of here?" Panther asked.

"Hmmmm……... I know. Izzy, use the key on their things that it can control."

"That might work."

He pulled out the key and faced it towards them. He hit a few buttons and their guns began to float. They were so high that even their tallest man couldn't reach them. That gave us the time that we needed. We were near the station before we heard their footsteps coming after us. I grabbed Panther's hand to make sure that she didn't stop and fight. Then I heard fists hitting flesh.

"Matt, stop! Killer is fighting! I must help him!"

"Did you bring a gun?"

"I thought that I didn't need it."

"You were going to a free zone and you didn't think about bringing something to protect you! Izzy, look after Panther. I'll get Killer and meet at the station. You do have the key to it, right?"

"Yea, but what about you? You know that if you get involve with this it might cause some big problems later."

"I'll think about that afterwards. Go!"

I moved my hand that held Panther closer to Izzy. He grabbed her hand and ran towards the TV station. I stopped and turned around to see Killer was getting a beating. I ran towards him and started punching everyone to get him or her off him. I picked him up and held him, incase anyone was thinking about use his/her gun. As I was getting away, I heard a bang then a big pain in my right arm. I looked back to see blood flowing out of my arm.

I got to the station to see that no one else was around. As I got closer to the station, the doors opened and Panther was standing there with worry eyes. I got in and Izzy closed it and locked it.

"What happen to Killer?" Panther asked.

"They were beating him up when I turned around. Can you tell if he's okay?"

"He's fine, thank kami. Why did you go back?" She was cradling him within her arms, there was no tears in her eyes.

"I told you that you remind me of someone and that appearance is why I did it."

I noticed that Izzy was looking at Panther to see whom did I saw in her. A smile crossed his face and that allowed me to know that he knew who she reminded me of.

"Matt! What happened to you!" Izzy asked.

"What?"

"Your arm is bleeding!"

Panther moved around to look at my arm. "I can't remove it here but at the hideout I can fix it."

"Panther?" A weak sounding voice called.

"Killer? I'm here." She moved back to him and held him.

"What happened?"

"You got a beat down. Are you okay?"

"Help me stand and then we'll see." She helped him up and he was a little shaky but ok. He looked at me. "Why did you help me?"

"Panther reminds me of someone. That's why I'm helping."

"Who's he?"

"I'm Izzy. A friend of Matt's."

A sound of a car came to our ears. Izzy looked out and saw something that he recognized.

"What?"

"They're back and they can't be too happy."

"This is a great place to be." Panther said.

"This is my playground now and I know the rules of this game."

"You do know that they will either make their own rules or won't follow the rules?" Killer questioned.

"That doesn't mean anything. Let's go. I think I know a place where we can hide."

I led them to the back of the building. I looked to make sure that no one was there. I motioned to Killer and Panther to go to the car that was parked in the parking lot. There were poles between there and here.

"You two go first. Use the poles to help you hide from the enemy."

"Thanks Matt." Panther said.

"Go."

They moved through the poles like spies. Within minutes they reached the car. I heard a noise and turned around to see Izzy opening his laptop.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I got mail from Gennai."

"I would say don't open it 'cause it's not the best time, but he'll send everyone after us if you don't. Open it and I'll be in the picture too."

"Without your right arm?"

"Yea."

I moved in closer to make sure that I able to be seen when he appeared. Izzy opened the email.

"Izzy, Matt, there's something that I need to tell you guys. Please come to the Digital World so I can explain."

"Can you give us a clue on what it is?" Izzy asked.

"Please come."

"We'll be there." Then he hung up.

"Ok? Izzy, go. I'll be there after you."

"Matt, maybe I should go last? You're injured."

"And Gennai wouldn't care what happens to me. Plus, you need to get everyone in the Digital World."

"You can do that too."

"Just go. I promise that I'll follow after you."

He went into the jungle of poles. When he reached the car I started towards it, each step with quietness and swiftness. I heard another pair of footsteps. I moved quicker towards the car. When I reached the car and got in, I heard someone yelled, "They're in a car!" I turned on the car and drove out of there.

Minutes passed and we were at my house. We helped Killer and placed him on the couch.

"How do you feel?" I asked.

"It hurts but otherwise I'm fine."

"Do you want anything?"

"No thanks."

"Get some water for his injures and yours." Panther said.

I nodded and went into the kitchen for the water. Then I went to the closet that was on the next floor.

"What are we going to do about the email that Gennai sent?" Izzy asked.

"You go. I need to stay to get this bullet out of me. Tell TK what happened. Call him right now to tell him."

"If you stay you won't be able to go to the Digital World."

"TK will wait for me. Go and call."

"K, but I don't trust them too much."

"I have to trust them. I trust them when I first met them and I trust them now."

"You put too much trust into people."

"But before I didn't so that's an improvement. Be glad that I'm like this. At least I'm a little more open to my feelings than I was before."

"True but sometimes you need less trust to be safe. Remember what happened to Datamon when we put our trust in him?"

"But did we put all of our trust in him?"

"We never thought he would steal Sora but he did."

"And mistakes happen and you have to take them with the good trust."

"I'll make the call now."

Izzy walked down and I followed after him with the towels. He walked to the phone and I walked to them. The water was out so I handed her a towel to use for Killer. I noticed that the sting from the water and the towel hurt a little more than the pain itself but he was tough, so he thought, enough to handle it. That or he didn't want me to think that he was weak (of course I'll never think that of him). Then Izzy joined the group.

"I called TK and he'll stay to make sure you get in."

"Good, anything else?"

"He's going to call everyone to let them know. He'll call back to let us know where the meeting spot is."

"K."

"What are you guys going to do?" Killer asked.

"Something that we've been doing for the longest of time." I answered.

"Can we come?" Panther asked.

I looked at Izzy for that answer. "I don't think you can."

"Wished he told us what we were facing though, but what could you except from him."

"You're putting him down way too much."

Before I made a comeback, the phone ranged. For some odd reason I thought it was Anubismon calling for Styxmon. Izzy picked it up and started talking in a whisper. _Guess that's TK._ After a few minutes, Izzy got off the phone.

"TK said that the meeting place is the park. The first place we went when we came back from camp."

"Oh. Thanks, now go. They'll need you."

"Right but what are we going to say about you?"

"TK will think of something."

With that, Izzy walked out.

"Ok Killer, your wounds will heal. Now it's your turn Matt." She walked over to me and looked at the hole in my arm more carefully. "I can't clean it here but at the hideout I could. We got more stuff there than here."

"Let's go. I need this out soon."

We got to the door and Killer said, "I'll drive."

"Why? Another than for the fact that you know where it is."

"Can you drive with that arm?"

"How else do you think we get here? It is my car."

"What did Izzy go in?" Panther asked guessing that his car had to be where they were.

I looked around to see but found no way he could leave without my help since the closest bus station was really far away. The trick that Anubismon pulled on me with TK came back into mind. _I think I would've noticed that wasn't Izzy but then Anubismon almost tricked me if I didn't know my own brother. This might have been one of those tricks. Just have to hope that it was really him. I'll worry about that when new pain is running through me._

"He has his ways. Ok Killer, you can drive since I'm going to drive it the rest of the time I have it."

"Thanks."

I handed him the keys and we got in. He drove really fast. He and Panther seemed to love it, but I knew that if I were Joe I wouldn't stand it (good thing that I'm not Joe or that wouldn't be any fun).

In minutes, we stopped. I looked around to find out that we were in an old part of town, a place where most of the buildings were being put down as a waste of place. They got out and walked towards a building that had a sign. I got out and walked with them. We were in the lights that were really bright. I shielded my eyes from the light as a voice came, "Killer, Panther, who's that?" The voice was a male, but I couldn't tell where his voice was coming from.

"This is Matt Ishida. He has been injured by a bullet in the free zone. I was hoping that he will get the treatment for it." Panther said.

"You mean the one that you like so much?"

"Yes, he saved me and protected Panther. He's trustworthy."

"I'll take your word. Turn off the lights and let them pass."

The light was gone. _Man, if they kept with that light I would have looked at my shadow to see if there was an angel in it. _I opened my eyes to see lots of kids surrounding us. Panther and Killer started walking so I followed. They led me to a place that I could smell was the place where they healed their members.

"Sit there and I'll get the things need." Panther said.

"I need to rest, Panther. I'll be in my room if you need me."

"Right."

Killer walked out. It didn't take Panther long to get the things. She worked fast on getting the bullet out (that was a pain). After she got it out, she was working on closing and healing it.

"I would need to make sure that it's healing correctly. Come back here in two weeks."

"Do you think I know where this place is? Killer did drive kinda fast for my eyes to see where we were going."

"Fine, we'll call before we come over. I was wondering if I could come with you? I think I know where you're going." She was still focusing on closing it.

"How would you know that?" I was surprised by how emotionless her face can get. It was like she was almost expecting me to say no.

"It's the Digital World, right?" I just stared at her, surprised that she knew, though she didn't even stop what she was doing nor change her expression. "The reason I know is that I have the power to see into the present and future. A few days ago I saw you in a new world. I had a feeling that I was with you, but saw no signs that I was there. I heard you yelling something to someone and the only word that I heard was Digital World. I think that's where I belong, so please allow me to go with you."

"What about Killer?" Even though she was begging her face, or voice, showed it.

"I'll tell him. I know he'll understand."

"Ok then. Oh no. Man! I forgot my Digivice." I hit my head with my good hand.

"What's that?"

"Something that I need. We have to stop by my house first then we'll meet up with my brother."

"Right."

She hurried with the healing of my wound. When she was done, I walked to my car and she went to tell Killer. I was waiting for her a few minutes. I drove back to my house.

When we got there, I went inside and up to my room. I was looking everywhere for it but couldn't find it (my room isn't a mess. I don't know why I couldn't find it during that time). After a while of searching, I found it. As I was coming out of my room, I saw a big flash of light from downstairs. I ran to the stairs before the light hit me.

"Panther, are you there?"

"What is this thing and why is it giving off a great amount of light?"

"Look at your shadow and see if there's something there."

"I can't."

"Then drop the ball."

I heard a loud thump on the ground and the light stopped. I looked down the stairs to see if she was all right. She was ok so I went down to look at the ball.

"Did you know it could do that?"

I left the ball and saw a tree planted on it. As I hold it closer to Panther it was glowing brighter.

"I know why you saw me in the Digital World."

"Why?"

"You have a Legendary Crest."

"What the hell is that?"

"I can't explain it right now. Do you still want to come?"

"Let's roll."

She was the first one to step out of the house. I knew that I had to make sure that my injured arm wasn't moving a lot because it might make it worst.

In minutes, we were at the meeting spot. I saw TK standing in a worry state.

"Bro, how are you?"

"Matt! What took you so long?" He came over to us.

"My arm and I couldn't find my Digivice. Oh, meet Panther. Panther this is TK, my little brother."

"Hi, can you tell me what a Legendary Crest is?"

"She has one? Which?" TK asked.

"I see we're getting off track here. TK, do you have a way for us to get into the Digital World."

"Now I know what you're talking about." Panther said.

"Yea." TK opened the laptop that I know was Izzy's. He held his D-3 towards it and a portal opened.

"Can she come?" TK asked.

"I think so. Let's try. Panther, are you sure you're not scared of anything?"

"Yea, why do you ask?" Her confident was shown on her face.

"And you won't get mad at me if I put you in a new place?"

"I guess so." She seemed a bit confuse as to why I asked that.

"Ok then." I pushed her towards the laptop and she went through the portal.

"That answered my question." TK said.

I went and TK followed. When we landed, Panther was looking around before she turned around to face us.

"Well? What do you think?" I asked.

"Is this… the Digital World?"

"Yep. Some of my best stories come from places here." TK said with pride.

"Did Gennai tell what we were facing?" I asked.

"Yes and no. He said that it was like Styxmon and her friends, but didn't give us a name."

"Boy! I can't wait to bring Killer here. He would love it!" She was looking around, absorbing it all.

"She seems to enjoy this place." TK said with a smile.

"I noticed. Where are we supposed to meet everyone?"

"Do you think that's wise? We have someone that not supposed to be here."

"If we don't go then I won't know who we're facing and if they know Styxmon and her family."

"Do you have anything that can hide her?"

"And why can't I be seen by your friends? Izzy saw me." Panther said, letting us know that she was listening.

"That was before I knew you had a Legendary Crest. Izzy doesn't even know about that."

"What the hell is that? You never told me."

"It's a symbol that helps you know what's your strongest feeling is. Like your virtue."

"So why did that ball light up so brightly?"

"It was telling us that you had one. The reason I couldn't get down there was that it blinds everyone with a Legendary Crest that's around it."

"So, what was the symbol Matt?" TK asked.

"Patience."

I turned around to see Styxmon. I smiled and she smiled back. She looked the way she does is my sleep.

"Styxmon, it's good to see you again." I said.

"Me too."

"How do you know what the symbol was?"

"I could feel it. Plus, it's easy to tell since she was patient for the answer."

"Can you help us? We need a way to hide her from the others." TK said.

"I thought that you hated me, TK?"

"How could I when Matt loves you too much? He even asked me to write a story about what happened."

"I can help. Do you want everyone with a Legendary Crest to see her or just you two?"

"Everyone. Do you know who we're facing?" I asked.

"Yea, it's Auroramon and Irismon."

"Who are they and what are they able to do?" TK asked.

"I'm guessing that Auroramon has something to do with dawn and Irismon has something to do with a rainbow, right?" I asked.

"How do you know that?" Styxmon seemed surprised.

"Are they like you or what you would have been?"

"Like me. The only reason why they're showing themselves is because of what Gennai did to us. We have lots of family and friends that will be appearing."

"Any enemies?" TK asked.

"Yes."

"How do we fight them?" I asked.

"With the Legendary Crests, they have the power to defeat them."

"Oh sure. These crests have so much power that all we have to do is say something and they'll shot lasers. Give me a break." Panther said.

"What's wrong, Panther? You were happy a minute ago." Styxmon asked.

"Can I ask a few questions?"

"Sure."

"Who are you? What are you? How do you know Matt? What the hell are you guys talking about? Where is your family? Why does your name end in 'mon'? Who is Gennai?"

"I'm Styxmon, or Mizu. I'm a Digimon, Digital Monster. I met him when he was coming back from his flight to space. We're talking about Digimon that are like me. They're dead. All Digimon's names end in 'mon'. He's an old guy that wants to destroy this world to take it over again. How to you know about my family?"

"I saw you before in the Dark Ocean. You were with a big guy, a lady that was half human and bird, and a guy with a dog's head where his was supposed to be. I know you said dad and mom to the first two people I mentioned and bro to the dog head."

"I don't remember you?"

"Course not, I've changed ever since then. Why was I in that place?"

"You had something happen to you that made your heart go cold and hard to human emotion. Many children go there and I wished they didn't. There were so many there that I couldn't even count them. My dad was also sad that many children were turning to cold-hearted humans. That's when we thought that we should connect all worlds so they have a place to go to see if someone there loved them. We wanted to help them but Gennai didn't like it."

"Do they ever remember that they've been there?"

"No. Matt remembers because someone that loved him was with him. Ken remembers because he wants to forget. Kari remembers because someone there wants her and she wants to remember to be ready for him. I don't know why you remember that place."

"Shouldn't Sora have one too since she was there once?" TK asked.

"The only reason she was there was to try to get me back. She doesn't have one. If she had one then she wouldn't have needed our help to get her out." I explained.

"But Gabumon helped you, didn't he?"

"Even if he wasn't there, Matt would have still gotten out. The Crest helps the people to get out of there if they want to. Anyway, put this on her to make her invisible to everyone else." She handed me the bag. I opened it to find dust.

"Right. Where's everyone?"

"They're at Gennai's house. Your Digimon are there too."

"Do I get one too?" Panther asked.

"That's a good question, I'm not sure. I guess you would."

"Thanks for your help, Styxmon."

"No problem Matt. Now get going before Gennai gets worried."

"Right."

We ran towards where he lived. I took out some dust and put it on Panther. Not noticing anything different, we kept on running, hoping it worked (more like Panther was hoping. We had complete faith in Styxmon). We got there within minutes. The pathway that was covered with the water was in sight. We ran down the stairs to find everyone was inside listening to what Gennai was saying.

"Is that guy Gennai?" Panther asked.

"Yes, he's the reason that Styxmon and her family are dead now."

"She didn't look dead."

"She is."

We walked up to them.

"Hey everyone sorry we're late. Matt was looking for his Digivice." TK announced when we walked in. We studied their faces and Ken and Kari were the only ones that seemed to have a question.

"It's ok. Gennai was just telling us who we're facing." Yolie said.

We sat down near Ken and Kari.

"So, who are we facing?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"Two Digimon name Auroramon and Irismon. They want to destroy this world." Gennai answered.

"And what 'evil' Digimon doesn't? Do you know what their powers are?" TK asked.

"No."

"Do you know anything about mythology, Gennai?" I asked (okay, okay, okay, maybe acting cocky wasn't the smartest thing we could've done, but hey, what are you going to do about it now?).

"No."

"What does that have anything to do with this, Matt?" Tai asked.

"Auroramon has the name Aurora, the Western Goddess of Dawn. That means that she can do something with it. Irismon has the name Iris, the Western Goddess of the Rainbow. That means that she can do something with it." I noticed that most were giving a weird look, "What? I don't know that's what the Digital World gives them. What level are they? That might help us know how to beat them."

"They're at a level that no Digimon has ever reached before. All I know is that their power is great." Gennai said.

"Why are you putting us in a situation like is?" Mimi asked.

"I wouldn't if I didn't think you were ready. I knew that they were planning to show themselves one day and I got prepared for them."

"Are you saying that you're the one that made Devimon and them appear?" TK asked.

"No, I would never do that."

"How do we beat them?" Sora asked.

"By finding a way to get your Digimon to that level as well, that might be your only hope. Now go and please be safe."

"We will Gennai. Thanks for your help." Davis said.

We all got up and walked out of his house. I could tell that Ken, Kari, and Panther wanted to talk but were unsure if they could.

_Matt, it's ok for you to talk to her and her to talk back. No one can hear the conversation but the ones who can see her._ Styxmon said in my head.

"Panther, do you have any questions?" I asked.

"Can I talk?"

"Styxmon said that only we could hear the conversation."

"You don't put much faith in the guy. I wouldn't too."

"Why? You just meet the guy?" TK asked slyly.

"There's just something about him that makes me hate him. I've seen them before." She pointed to Ken and Kari.

"You have?" TK asked.

"Where?" I asked.

"I return to the Dark Ocean many times and see lots of the people grow and drink the water. New faces are there too. I've seen them since they were little kids. She was with a blonde boy a few years ago but I haven't seen him there and now she's been hanging with him."

"How do you know about the Dark Ocean? I'm Ken."

"She one of the Legendary Crest holder." I explained.

"How can you return there? I'm Kari."

"I can. It's called clairvoyance, seeing the present. I also have precognition and retrocognition, seeing the future and past."

"Ever controlled it?" TK asked writing what she was saying down.

"Why are you writing this down?"

"Oh, sorry. Would it be ok if I put you in a story that I'm going to write? It's going to be about the Legendary Digidestined. I'm not going to put anything that you don't want your character to be."

"Sure. You can keep my name."

"Ok."

"Does your group have a name?"

"Yea, it Digidestined." Kari answered.

"And the creatures that are walking with you are called Digimon?"

"Yep." Ken answered.

"Tell me all the names."

"The one with brown puffy hair is my brother, Tai; the girl next to him is Sora; the one with different shades of pink is Mimi; the black hair that's next to her is Joe; the brown hair behind them is Izzy; the girl with purple hair is Yolie; the one with spiked hair is Davis; the little one is Cody. Agumon is Tai's; Biyomon is Sora's; Gabumon is Matt's; Tentomon is Izzy's; Palmon is Mimi's; Gomamon Joe's; Patamon TK's; Gatomon mines; V-mon is Davis's; Hawkmon Yolie's; Armadillomon Cody's; Wormmon Ken's."

"What makes you guys special from everyone else in the world?"

"We have Crest. Mine is Kindness; Kari's is Light; TK's is Hope; Matt, Friendship; Tai, Courage; Sora, Love; Mimi, Purity; Joe, Faithfulness; Izzy, Knowledge; Davis, Courage and Friendship; Yolie, Love and Purity; Cody, Faithfulness and Knowledge."

"What Legendary Crest do you guys have?"

"Matt has Virtue; Kari has Peace; and Ken has Faith. I don't have one but Matt let's me be informed of everything he does so that's how I know about them."

"When will everyone else know about this?"

"Styxmon said that we have to see if one of Legendary holders have the leadership like Tai's. If one doesn't then we can tell them." I said.

"Do you know the other Crests?"

"There's Glory, Forgiveness, Calmness, Honesty, and Trinity."

"This looks like the place that Gennai mentioned." Tai said.

We looked up and saw a mountain in front of us. _Why do we have to go to a mountain again?_ We walked closer to it.

"What's that?" Cody asked looking at a sign.

Izzy went towards it and read what it said, " This is Mount Etna. If you enter you will… something bad will happen if you do. Oh yea. Typhon will be on your tail if you got one. I think they meant to say Typhoon not Typhon ."

"Wonder what they mean?" Mimi asked more to herself.

"Matt, do you know what they are talking about?" Joe asked.

"Mount Etna is the place where Typhon is buried. Typhon is a monster that Zeus locked up. It's a very interesting tale of how he became the King of the Gods."

"Glad you're happy, what can he do?" Tai asked.

"Breaths fire and it has talons, a powerful creature. Even Zeus had trouble with him at first."

"I've been meaning to ask, since when have you been interested with mythology?" Sora asked.

"For a long time now, it's very interesting to learn all the Gods and Goddesses that the people in the ancient world believed in. It also gives you an idea of the different belief within the different cultures."

"Did you like mythology before Styxmon died or after?" Yolie asked coldly.

I could tell that she didn't realized what she said until Mimi told her (I think that she saw the sadness in my eyes), "Yolie, you shouldn't have said that."

"Why? I was just wondering."

"You didn't have to sound cold about it."

"It's ok Mimi. I was interested in it before but after I was even more interested. Their names also had mythical connection. Names most fitting if they were going to do what they reacted to."

"What do you mean by that?" Davis asked.

"He means the plan that they were originally going to do before Gennai killed them," said a girl voice.

We looked up and saw two girls with ancient, Western style clothing on. Both were wearing purple striped cloth somewhere on them.

"Why are you wearing that? That's so weird." Yolie said.

"Yolie!" Mimi said with anger.

"What?"

"That's rude."

"Don't worry too much about it. In minutes it won't matter what you guys say about us. We're going to kill you and finish the job that our friends' parents were going to do." Said the other.

"Which one are Auroramon and Irismon?" Ken asked.

"I'm Auroramon." Said the first one that spoke.

"I'm Irismon. Why do you want to know?"

"It's nice to know who is who."

"Can we come in?" Kari asked.

"If you want, but I won't if my life were at stake." Irismon answered.

"Irismon, we should have fun with them first before we kill them. Don't you think?"

"Good point."

"Are you two sisters or best friends?" TK asked.

"Sisters, why?"

"Wondering." He wrote that down.

"TK, don't you think that this is just a little more important than a story?" Cody asked.

"Nope."

"A story? Why do you want to make a story about this?" Auroramon asked.

"I'm a novelist and that's what I do. Do you want me to keep your names or change them?"

"If you were going to change them, what kind name would they be changed to?"

"Human names but you will have special powers, the ones that you have of course."

"Should we have human names?" Irismon asked Auroramon.

"No. TK Takaishi, you can keep our names."

"Styxmon is your friend, right?"

"Yes. You know her?" Auroramon asked.

"She loved Matt, my older brother."

"Matt? Oh yea. That's right. I almost forgot that."

"She told us that if we meet him not to kill him because they were going to try to see if he would go back to the Dark Cave, but she never gave us a picture of him. Where is he? We would like to meet him."

"Here I am. Let me come inside and we can talk about her. I would like to know more about her."

"Matt, don't go. Who knows what their planning in there?" Yolie worried.

"Yea, they might take you back to where they said Styxmon was going to take you." Davis said in the same way.

"They're evil Digimon and you guys always said not to believe in what they say." Cody worried.

"Matt," I looked at Tai, "Go find out more about Styxmon and her family."

"What?" Davis said in surprised.

"Tell us everything you find out." Sora smiled.

"Let us know if there's a way for us to travel to the other worlds they were mentioning." Izzy said.

"It would be nice to know if they got any other friends." Mimi said.

"Thanks guys."

"Why are you guys allowing him to go into a dangerous place?" Yolie asked.

"We don't know if it's dangerous or not. Only they know and I'm sure that they wouldn't do anything to Matt." Joe said.

"They're planning to destroy the Digital World. I know that you guys wouldn't allow them to do that, right?" Davis sounded nerves.

"Matt is the only one that's going in. If they are going to then we'll stop the outside force." Kari said.

"But we don't know what level they're at?" Cody said.

"So?" Ken said.

"Matt, tell me everything that happens and try to find that out too, k?" TK said giving a thumb's up.

"Right." I gave him one too. I felt someone grabbing my shirt. I knew it was Panther and she wanted to come too. "I'm ready to go."

"We'll bring you up. Is it ok if the rest of you stay there?" Auroramon asked.

Tai covered Davis's mouth, Sora Yolie's, and Joe Cody's.

"It's ok. We can wait." Ken said.

We were levitating over everyone and headed towards Auroramon and Irismon. They moved into the mountain and we followed. We were led to a nice place. Walls were colored warm and cool colors. Everything was a mixed of colors that made the room seemed comforting. We landed on the floor and they landed near the couch.

"Sit and we'll talk." Auroramon said. We did.

"You're Matt Ishida? The one that Styxmon fell in love with." Irismon asked.

"Yes, and I have to say that their plans to connected all the other worlds was a very interesting idea. I would love to see that happen."

"Really? I thought that you would behind Gennai all the way?" Auroramon seemed surprised.

"Did she ever tell you about the Legendary Crest?"

"She said that they thought you had one and that Ken had one too. They, also, think that one is missing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we were looking through the book and we found a page missing. We told Titanmon and he came to the conclusion that someone took it but he doesn't know who."

"Did he remember what that page was about?"

"It was the last page and Styxmon thought it held the last crest."

"Was there a page that had all of the Crests on it?"

"No."

"Yea there was, but that one was out too." Irismon said.

"So no one knows about this other than you two?"

"We were the only ones that knew about the missing pages. They didn't want to tell their other members." Auroramon said.

"When do I get to meet them?"

"If you defeat us, that's the only way they'll show."

"Do you want to be defeated?"

"We want to be the ones that open the portals to the other worlds." Irismon said.

"When we met you, we were supposed to give you something. Irismon, get them please."

"Right." Irismon left the room.

"Guessing that you're the oldest?"

"Yep." Irismon was back with something in her hands.

"What's that?" I asked.

"This is something that we were supposed to give you." Auroramon said.

Irismon walked over and handed it to me. I opened it and saw amulets of all the symbols that were mentioned to me by Styxmon.

"Those are the symbols that belong to the Legendary Crest. We thought if there was another one, it would be in there, but there isn't an unknown one."

"What did she want me to do with them?" They were all the same color and they seemed to be made from silver.

"Give them to the Legendary Digidestined. Do you have one?"

"Yes, Virtue and I know the people that have Peace, Faith, and Patience."

"That means that you only have five more to go." Irismon said as she sat back down.

"I know. Why does Gennai hate the idea of opening other worlds to each other?"

"He thinks that evil that will misuse it."

"We'd handle that."

"That's what Titanmon said but he still didn't like it."

"Why did he send us to stop him if he's at a level that we don't even know about?"

"He made a deal with them. He said that if he does this, the Digidestined will come again and stop him, he'd make sure of it." Auroramon said.

"This was made before we were Digidestined?"

"Yes, Titanmon didn't care and went with his plans anyway, even though no one else at the meeting liked it. He didn't want to, but he got his family to be prepared for you guys. He never wanted to fight you, but Gennai gave him no choice. He always prayed that you guys will see it his way, but he knew the power that Gennai had over the Human Realm and thought it was impossible to change your minds."

"Digimon have meetings?"

"There's a Digimon that watches over each realm. Gennai watches over the Human Realm and Titanmon watches over the Digital Realm."

"Did Gennai send those Digimon after us?"

"Yes, but Ken turning evil wasn't his, even though it did work to his favor. We look like humans and he needed a way to make you guys fight someone that looked human."

"If Titanmon is the ruler of this realm then shouldn't Gennai be unable to control the Digimon?"

"That's what's supposed to happen, but no one knows that but the Digimon in those meetings and their family and friends."

"What level are you at?"

"All the other Digimon in the meeting are Mega and below, but we're Super Mega Digimon."

"Super Level for short." Irismon said.

"What type are you?"

"We're Vaccine, Data, and Virus." Auroramon said.

"We're Neo type. That's all the types put together." Irismon said happily.

"How do you get there?"

"You can't reach this level by simply Digievolving. First, it has to be made for the Digimon. Second, there's a special way on making them go to that level. They have to be at Rookie or above to get to the level. It's like Warp Digievolving, but they're going to a higher level. I'm guessing you want to get Gabumon to that level?"

"That would be nice, but I was told we can use the power of Crest to fight off the enemies that they had. Are any enemies that they have are they like you guys?"

"Some of the Supers agreed with Gennai so they became enemies of Titanmon, but they hated Gennai so they're on their own."

"Thanks for answering my questions. You two have been the best of help."

"Do you want to see another world?" Auroramon asked.

"Sure."

They opened a portal and I walked over to it. I allowed my head to go through and saw a place with mountains that was like no other. Trees and plains were in sight. I noticed that the trees weren't like the ones here. I, also, noticed that it was an island. I looked to see if Panther was here and she was. I could tell that she was amazed at the sight too. I removed my head and she did that same.

"That was another world? What world was it?"

"A place where Earth will head, but that's not the future Earth. A Digimon does rule over that world even though no one knows it." Irismon answered.

"That's an amazing place. The trees were different from the ones that I'm use to."

"That island has a special owner and he likes those trees. How he planted them is still a mystery to the ruler of there."

"Your brother might like it there. There are many stories that happened there, but he must ask special people that live there." Auroramon said.

"Why?"

"They know the true stories that are made."

"It's a great place to make yourself stronger. We always wanted to go, but we don't know how to ask them." Irismon said.

"We could go ask this one guy, but he's a pervert." Auroramon said.

"Thanks for all the information that you gave me. Do you want us to leave so you guys can go on with your plan?"

"That would be nice. We'll find you when it's finished."

"Thanks. I'll bring my brother and his fiancée. She loves to take pictures and I'm sure that she would hate to miss this."

"Ok. The door is that way (straight in front me). Hope you find the others."

"Thanks."

I started to walk there when Irismon said, "Wait! We almost forgot. Styxmon wanted to get all the legendary Digidestinies to fight Gennai and to be one of the first to see the other worlds. When you find all of them, come to Digital World and fight him. Then come here and we'll take you to another world."

"I'll make sure that we do."

We walked towards the door. When I opened it, I noticed that we were on the ground, almost in front of everyone.

"Yea guys. Anything happened when I was talking?"

"That was a pretty long talk. What did you three have to talk about for almost an hour?" Yolie said, studying me.

"They were telling me something that Styxmon and her family wanted me to know and allowed me to see something that no one has seen before in this world."

"And what might that be?"

"Another world."

"What did it look like?" TK asked, getting ready to get all the details.

"It was an island so I don't know that much about the world itself. Mountains were near the middle of it. Trees and plains were around the mountains, but the trees were different from the ones here, like a drawing of a little kid. They told me that the owner likes those kinds of trees but no one knows how he did. Lots of stories for you, TK, but you have to asked special people to get it 'cause they know the true stories that are there. We can also get stronger if we get trained there."

"Wow." Tai said.

"Why didn't they allow you to go down and get a better look?" Cody said, with a bit of anger.

"Don't know. But they will once I find something and fight something when I find the something."

"Do you know what the 'something' is?" Davis asked, he also sounded mad.

"I can't tell you want it is yet."

"Why?" Yolie asked in the same way Davis and Cody sounded.

"Why are you three mad?"

"Gennai came and asked where you were. When we told him, he got every mad and left saying that he'll take care of the problem if you don't." Sora answered.

"And we can clearly see that you didn't take care of it, like you should have." Yolie said.

"They're not the enemy. I know that there are some Digimon like them that are, but they aren't. The Digimon that are on Styxmon's family side aren't bad and they shouldn't be considered bad. If you want to call someone evil, call Gennai that."

Screams came from the mountain. I recognized the voices as Auroramon and Irismon. The mountain was surrounded by fire and I heard a loud bark. In seconds, the sounds of a dog was crying in pain.

"Gennai stop it!" I yelled.

The fire grew stronger. Auroramon and Irismon came out of the mountain.

"Gennai, why don't you show your Digidestined how you really are?" Auroramon said slyly.

"I'm sure that they would love to see you for what you really are." Irismon said.

"Are you guys ok?" I asked.

"We're fine." Auroramon said.

"What was that bark?" Kari asked.

"That was Typhon." Irismon answered.

Something was pulling us. I looked back to see a portal, knowing it was Gennai getting us out of his way.

"Matt, find the others and get revenge for what he's doing to this world." Auroramon said.

"Who's the new ruler?"

"He will be if we're gone." Irismon said.

I was pulled in. I looked at Irismon and Auroramon and both were being deleted. I noticed that Panther was holding on to my shirt as we were falling.

"Panther, when we land run out of sight. I'll take you back to the hideout."

We were in the air of our world and fell on the ground. I made sure that Panther didn't hit the ground and I didn't hit my bad arm. I got up as soon as I recovered from the fall. Panther hid nearby. I waited for the others to awaken. Tai spoke first once they were all up. "Matt, what was their plan?"

"The same one that Titanmon was going to do."

"What did you yell before you got pulled in?" Sora asked.

"What make you think that I yelled something?"

"I thought I heard you. Guess I was wrong."

"Did you get their powers?" TK asked.

"Sorry, I forgot."

"That's ok. Did you find out their level?"

"I got an email from Gennai." Izzy announced.

Everyone, minus Ken, Kari, and TK (and of course Panther), went over to see what Gennai wanted. I stayed as far away from the screen, but the only thing that I made sure of was that I was able to hear what that old goat wanted to say.

"What was their level?" TK whispered.

"Super Mega but they want it to be called Super Level." I whispered back.

"Digidestined, I'm glad that you made it back safely." Gennai said.

"What happened to the mountain?" Cody asked.

"The same thing that happened to the mountain that Titanmon and his gang lived on."

"They're a family not a gang."

"Don't listen to Matt, Gennai. He's going through a tough time right now." Davis said.

"Matt, why don't you come over here? I might be able to help."

"Then di……" TK covered my mouth and whispered to me, "Tell it to us, not them. He's very tried from today. Don't worry. After a good rest, he'll be as good as new." (TK said the last three sentences to the others, in case you didn't know)

"I'll call when their friends appears. Matt, what did they tell you?"

"It doesn't matter."

"They might've put something on him 'cause he said that he saw another world." Yolie said.

"Is that even possible?" Cody asked.

"No Digimon can go to another world because there is no other world."

"That's what you said Titanmon and his family were trying to do when you killed them." I clarified.

"That was a misread. No one knows what they were trying to do but them and their friends."

"Sure, go ahead and change the story."

"How tried is he?"

"Very." Ken answered.

"And before he gets really pissed at everyone, you might want to go. We'll talk to you later Gennai." Kari said.

"He's gone. Why were you being rude?" Davis asked, looking at me.

"If you weren't so blind by his lies, you'll see that everything he said and done is a lie. I only wished that I saw it sooner."

"Why? Do you what to go back?" Yolie asked.

"I wouldn't go there. I'll be with Styxmon, Anubismon, Sirensmon, and Titanmon. I would be helping them with their plans to unit all the worlds. I would be happy living with them. They wouldn't be dead!"

"You don't want to be a Digidestined?" Cody asked.

"And you wouldn't mind being the enemy of us? Including TK." Yolie said with great disbelief.

"I would still be a Digidestined, only a different one. And I wouldn't be the enemy, Gennai would be."

"And I'll never be an enemy of Matt. Whatever he decides, I know I'll go with it."

"Then you would have never met Kari or met us." Davis said.

"Nor do all the things you did." Yolie added.

"I'm sure that I would have met all of you. You're making it sound like cult and that's not what it is. All I would be doing is something that was my true destiny. This path isn't and I can clearly see that now."

"But I'm sure they have done something evil." Cody said.

"The only evil thing that Styxmon has ever done is give Ken the idea for the Dark Spiral. Otherwise she helped out a lot."

"How?" Davis asked.

"It's a really big list, trust me and I don't know if I remember it all."

"Gives us what you do remember." Yolie ordered.

"Hmmm………made sure that you guys got the Digi-eggs; created the D-3; gave a bit more power to defeat MaloMyotismon, allowed the Digimon in the Real World, your Digimon; kept us out of any big danger; she watched over TK when we were separated; led us to our crest; led Tai to us; and lots more that I can't remember at the moment."

"She watched over me? And I never have the chance to thank her." TK said.

"You want to thank an evil Digimon?" Cody asked in shock.

"She not evil. Was giving the Dark Spiral the only evil thing that she did?"

"Yep. Out of the whole list, that was the only one." I answered.

"What about her 'parents'?" Yolie asked.

"They would have never fought us if Gennai allowed them to build the gateway to the other worlds. We were only created to fight them. Gennai has great power that he can control the Digimon and humans in the world. And I'm only talking about the Digidestined that have one crest."

"Then why were we here?"

"Maybe you guys were already under his control and thought that you guys were good people to stop us from going to their side and helped them, like you're doing now."

"Of course we would stop you. We know that's the wrong decision to make." Davis said.

"I got an idea. We should all head back home and get some rest. We'll talk about this later when we didn't fight a Digimon." Izzy suggested. Cody, Davis, and Yolie were the first to leave.

"Matt, whenever you want to tell us more about what you saw, let us know." Joe said.

"Sure thing. You're on my side, right?"

"Yep. It would be interesting to learn about other worlds. It might help things over here." Mimi answered.

"Thanks."

"Kari, see you at home?" Tai asked.

"Yep, I have to take care of something before I go home. Sora, are you staying there?"

"Yup."

"Then see you two there."

"See ya baby sis." Joe, Mimi, Sora, and Tai walked off.

"Matt, if you find anything about another world, give me a full detail about it. Also try to see you can go in and see the people."

"Right Izzy." He left too.

"Did you yell anything when we were falling?" Ken asked.

"He asked who was the new ruler of the Digital World." Panther came out from her hiding place.

"You were there the whole time?" Kari asked.

"Yea, and you guys can argue."

"Why did you yell that, Matt?" TK asked.

"I was told that all the worlds have a Digimon watching over them. Gennai watches over this world and Titanmon was watching over the Digital World. Before we were ever Digidestined, Titanmon was thinking about connecting all the worlds and the Digital World would be the gateway. None of the other rulers like the idea and Gennai said that if he goes through with his plan, he'd send the Digidestined after him. He was hoping that we would be on his side, but knew that Gennai's power was great. He was the one that sent the Digimon after us."

"Why?" Kari asked.

"They wanted you guys to get ready for them. They're most likely to be in the form of a human and he wanted you guys to deal with Digimon and Digimon that looks like human." Panther answered.

"What do you think about the other world?" Ken asked.

"It was a place that fitted me fine."

"Panther, do you want to talk to us more or do you want to go?"

"You guys can have pretty interesting conservations."

"That means you're staying?"

"Yea."

"When can we visit the other worlds?" TK asked.

"When we defeat Gennai." I answered.

"There are a few of them that will fight us. They're the ones that sides with no one so we have to watch out for them." Panther said, remembering it.

"How are we going to call you?" Kari asked.

"I have to go back to the hideout first to let Killer know what I'm in. I'll let Matt know how to contact me, if you need me."

"That's good."

"Do you think that all the Super Levels are Gods and Goddesses?" Ken asked, looking at me.

"They might be. Only when they appear is when we'll know."

"What mythology did they come from?" TK asked.

"So far Greek and Egyptian, but others might appear, it wouldn't surprise me."

"Matt, you tell them about the lost crest." Panther said.

"Right, Irismon and Auroramon said that there was a crest that was lost. The pages that had the information on it were taken out of the book they had about the crest. Only the people that were there knew about this. I'm supposed to give you something and here it is."

I took out the necklace that they gave me. I gave Kari Peace, Ken Faith, and Panther Patience. I already had mine on.

"What do we use them for?" Ken asked.

"Sorry, I forgot to ask. Styxmon wanted me to give them to the Legendary Digidestined."

"Well, see ya." Panther said as she walked away.

"Bye."

We went home too.

Two days passed and I still haven't heard from Panther. I figured that one day would be good enough to have the problem cleared, but two? Guess they're having a big problem about this. As I was watching my afternoon TV things, the phone rang (nice wording, right?). "Hello, Matt speaking."

"We were to talk to you about coming to the courthouse for taking Panther in."

"What? What did she do?"

"Nothing so far but we were asked by her to get you down here."

"I'll be there."

With that, I got into my car and drove to the courthouse. I went through the metal detector and they led me to Panther. They put us in a room where, supposedly, we were alone.

"What happened?"

"I went to the hideout and noticed that no one was there. I went looking around the popular hangouts and the unpopular ones. No one was there. I decided to look around the territory to see if I could find someone. I hear some gunshots and headed toward it. When I arrived, most were close to dying. The others would have mattered, but I couldn't find Killer. I found him nearest to the other gang, the ones that were after us in Tokyo. I think all were dead. Killer was barely alive. I asked what happened and he said that they were taking revenge on what they did to him and you. I told him that they didn't have to do that. I told him everything that happened and the knowledge that I gained. He smiled and died in my hands. They came by and got everyone to the hospital and put me here. None of them lived and I know that everyone from both gangs where there. The judge gave me a choice to either be put with someone that's an officer and work my time, work my time with the big boys, or society comes and takes me under their wing and I go to school. I thought that you'll take me so I don't have to be separated from the group and don't have to give an excuse on why I'm leaving."

"I'll help, but are you sure that they aren't live?" She was still surprising me. She was obviously sadden by this event, but only signs of lack of sleep were present on her face.

"I think so but I haven't been to the hospital since they brought me here."

"I'm guessing going back with them isn't an option?"

"Nope."

"So what do I have to do to get you out of here?"

"Go to court tomorrow and tell the judge what you want. I think that's what you need to do."

"If they ask any questions I'll try to keep a few things a secret."

"Do you have extra rooms?"

"Yea, don't worry about that. Are you sure it's tomorrow that I have to go to court?"

"Ask them. I'm only guessing."

"Okay." We walked out. Panther went back to her cell and they led me to the front. "When is the court day for her?"

"Tomorrow. A word of advice, don't help. She tried this before and looked where she is."

"I was taught that everyone has the power to change. I know she'll change."

"You're giving her too much credit. She's in that gang for most of her life and we know that the skills learned there are too much in her. At any minute, she could go psycho on you and the next minute you're in heaven."

"You're making those skills sound evil."

"Once a rebel always a rebel, that's what I always say."

"Then I know that we'll do fine." I was walking out the door when I turned around and faced him, "I was a rebel myself."

I went to my car. When I got home, I called TK, Ken, and Kari to tell them about this. After that I went back to my regular routine since I had faith that everything will be okay.

The next day I went to the courthouse for the trial. They led me to the courtroom and Panther was there in the lawyer box or whatever they call it.

"Hi Panther."

"Hey Matt."

"I heard that you went through this once before?" I asked quietly since there was another here.

"That's when I thought that my life was for evil."

"What happened to your family, anyway?"

"All are dead and that's when the gang picked me up. I put myself through many things to get me stronger and better at fighting and it paid off. I'm the toughest person in any gang." She smiled.

"That's good but you'll need more the strength to fight in the Digital World. It also takes heart, too."

"Why?"

"I'm sure that the Supers are more powerful than everyone thinks they are. Digimon might try to get you back to the evil that you know all too well. I went through that once and the same as Ken."

"I know that I went through it, too, but that's was after the death of my family. Why was I there when I was happy?"

"Did you look at yourself?"

"No, why?"

"I think you where there to see the people that you will be working with. If you looked at yourself you might've seen yourself as you are now or the age that you were. Does that power come whenever you want it or does it come whenever?"

"It comes on its own but sometimes I can control it. I have friends that have powers too and they learn to control it."

"I would ask more but the trail is starting."

"Order in the court," said the deputy, "All rise to the honorable Judge Kotodiye."

Everyone rose and the judge came in. When he sat down, we sat down. I looked to the other lawyer box. _I thought that this trial didn't need two lawyers. Wait a minute, I think I'm the other lawyer!_

"Judge, I believe that this girl needs to be put in jail. She has been in the gang that has been cause of the crimes in this town, and if I'm correct, many of the witnesses can identify Panther at those crimes." Said the other lawyer. He smiled at me, like he was saying do a better job than that. I looked at Panther and she was getting mad.

"Thank you, Mr. Ikoge for that. Mr. Ishida, would you like to say something?" Judge Kotodiye asked.

"Panther isn't as bad as you guys are making her sound. She is caring and I've seen that part of her."

"I am curious how you know Panther? She's not one to make friends outside the gang." Asked the lawyer.

"How would you know that?"

"I do my research for every case I have."

"Why are you here? I thought that this was to see where Panther will be going, not a trial?"

"Yes, I was wondering that, too. Why were you sent here?" Judge Kotodiye asked.

"She has to be tried for all the crimes she has done." Ikoge proclaimed.

"I was never told this. Why do you want to take her in, Mr. Ishida?"

"We have most of the same interest. Plus, I always help out a friend the best way that I can."

"She's a friend of yours?"

"Yes, I know the few things about her, but I believe we're friends."

"So you don't mind if she lies to you?"

"I know that some secrets are not supposed to be shared."

"Do you have secrets that you're not going to tell Panther?"

"I don't know. I also know that it's wise to leave a few things unsaid until you really need it."

"I hear by sentence Panther to live with Matt Ishida until college. She would have to do service work at the Child Day Care Center at 8:00 P.M. until school starts." He hit the thing on the desk.

We walked out of the place and headed to the hospital to see her friends.

"What took you so long?" I asked as she was coming back.

"Had lots of questions."

"Want to head for home?"

"Sure, there's nothing for me at the gang anymore."

"Was Killer your only friend?"

"He was the only reason why I stayed and joined in the first place."

"Then let's go."

I turned on the car and we headed to my house (which will be called the new house for Panther). We got there and I noticed that she might not have that many clothes.

"Do you want to go to the hideout for any clothes you have there?"

"Would it be okay if we go shopping?"

"Would you like to keep those clothes?"

"Yea."

"Right." I actually noticed what she was wearing: a tank top that's purple; blue jeans; earrings that were purple; the same color for her necklace; and a wrist thing that was yellow (that's how most guys are. Not noticing anything). I took her to the mall, gave her some money and let her lose in there. I took a nap while waiting.

I heard a knock at my window. I looked and Panther was there and there weren't a lot of bags in her hands (mental note: she's not a light shopper). I rolled down the window, "What?"

"Open the trunk!"

"Why?" I looked at the back. She had two carks full of bags.

"How in the world did you get that much clothes?"

"Lots of it was on a sale."

"Here, the third key." I handed her my keys. I number my keys (call me weird).

"Why do you number your keys?" She asked as moved to open the trunk.

"A good way to remember all the keys."

"Where's your legend?"

"In my head."

"Tell me so that I don't have to do this."

"Need help?"

"No thanks. I'm done."

"Did you scare anyone for those, 'cause I know that I didn't give that much money even if they were on sale?"

"Some were, but most gave them to me." She answered when she was in.

"Who?"

"Some guys who didn't know me."

"Bet you feel special now?" I turned on the car and started to pull out.

"Not really. Some of them wanted to go out on a date."

"What did you do?"

"I told them that I would. Tonight in different locations people will be answering their doors at 8 P.M. and they'll see a boy asking for a girl they have no idea who it is."

"How do you know the addresses if they've never seen you before?"

"I had a normal life before the gang."

"I forgot. Tell me all the addresses."

"Why?"

"They might belong to one of my friends. If so, then I'll tell them to look out first before answering the door. Hold on," I reached into pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. "Look at this and say the one you said, if you said any of them." I handed her the paper.

I heard her unfold it. "I didn't say any of these."

"Good. I'm doubtful that we'll get your Digimon any time soon, so the next time we go to the Digital World, we'll look."

"What do you think it's going to be like?"

"Don't know, but I know that you two will be best friends at first sight. I can't say what ages the others are at but so far most are at your age."

"Where will I be going to school?"

"Most likely at TK's."

"K."

The rest of the car ride was quiet. It was getting late and around time for dinner. I showed her where everything is and her room. It's the room that Mizu slept in.

"This is a big house."

"I know. How's the room?"

"I think that you like the dark."

"We were close at one time in my life."

"Can I open the curtains, or would that mess up the scene?"

"This is your room, but try not to mess with it too much. There's something special about this room that I would mind if it change too much."

"If you're wondering if I put things on the walls, then no."

"I'm not talking about the posters. Like if you paint the room."

"I wouldn't. I like this color. Reminds me of the inside of my head."

"Meaning?"

"You'll know in time. Some things need to be kept a secret."

"Let's start on dinner and I'll show some of the specialties of this house."

"K."

I showed her some of the specials that I thought of. She loved it. Afterward, we cleaned the dishes and she headed for bed. I grabbed the sphere and brought it to my room. The book was also there. I took out the box that had the necklaces in it and placed it with the other things that Styxmon gave me. _Wonder how long it's going to take for us to find the others? The other times didn't take much to find everyone. And each one had a lost one so everything balances. But this one has more at risk then the others. Hope we can fight Gennai. _I went to bed.

I woke to the sound of thunder. I looked out and there were some lightning. I was about to go back to sleep but I heard footsteps coming toward this room. I got up and walked quietly to the door to see that Panther was there.

"What are you doing this late at night?"

"Actually, it's morning."

"What are you doing up?"

"I saw something."

"Where?"

"My head. I know this isn't like me, but I'm really scared." Of course, you could never tell by her expression.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Yea, the more you know about it the more safe I might feel."

She walked down stairs. I followed while looking in her room. I thought that I saw someone in there but there was nothing. She sat down on the couch and I lit the fireplace. I looked at her and I saw a tear in her cheek, the first sign of emotion I have seen in her. _Whatever it was must be really scary for her._ I sat across for her.

"Begin."

"I thought that everyone was there, but I know now that's only a wishful thought. They were a few that weren't there and they're whom I'm afraid of. They're not stronger than me, but they can get into your head. Somehow our boss was able to defeat them, but no one else. They made sure of that. They can will your mind into doing anything. They have many more supernatural powers that I don't know about or heard of. I do remember that one of them likes me but I was already in love with Killer, so I never gave him much thought. Killer was the only one that was dead out of the lot. I wished they were there so I don't have to worry about them. As I was sleeping and they came in my dreams. They told me that I have to kill you and come back to the gang, to give up on my dream. When I woke up and noticed the thunder storm, I knew that they would do everything in their power to make me come back."

"Have they ever controlled you before?"

"Many times and Killer couldn't help me. I'm scared for you and your friends. I don't know when they want me back."

"They might have wanted Killer dead thinking that you would've be his."

"Maybe…"

"But when you didn't come back to the hideout, they knew that something had happened. If you allow them, they will get their powers on you again. You have to fight against them."

"I can't. I've tried many times before. In fact, every time they've controlled me, I've fought and fought but they're too strong. They have too much power."

"Did they control you then you found out what they are able to do or did someone tell you then they control you?"

"Someone told before they did."

"Were you scared at the information that you heard?"

"Yes." She seemed confused as to why I'm asking.

"Well, I'm not and no one is going to hurt you as long as I'm your guardian. Plus, Styxmon is watching this house and I know that she wouldn't allow any harm come here."

"Thanks. Can I stay with you for the night? I'm still scared."

"Sure."

We walked up stairs and Panther went into the bed.

"Do you want me to sleep on the ground?"

"Do you want to?"

"If you say so."

"Sleep on top of the covers."

"Sure thing."

Good thing that the side that was free was my usual spot.

Well, that's the end of this story, or part of this story. No one was after Panther, but she still thinks that someone is. I believe her because she seemed so scared that someone is. I know there'll be more to come, but I'm not sure when. In either case, the first day of school for her will be cool to write. Wait a minute… if these stories are in my point of view then I need a new way of writing. I'll ask TK for help. Baibai.


	4. Chap 3 The Fighters of the Group

Hi, it's me again, Yamato (Matt) Ishida. Anyway, things seemed to be going great for everyone in our little group. The bad thing is that even our 'Gennai's Followers' Digimon are believing his words. Oh well, at least we don't have to argue with our own Digimon. It's easier for everyone that's still in school to bring their Digimon there. Ever since Izzy built his new invention, it's easier for everyone to bring them around. Plantmon is usually out in the open, but appearing to be something else. Panther cover story is that I gave her plant like things. Thinking that she looked like one. I asked her why she said that, since she was putting me down there, and her answer was that she was too tough for a plush toy so she had to think of something else. Bellimon is a plush toy to everyone's eyes at school since that's what Lily Dawn claimed to everyone and they allowed her to bring it to school. She also said that it's something that her mother gave her so that's why they're allowing her to. Breomon is a dog but he gets to have rides in Ryan's backpack. Gatomon is a plush toy and the same with Wormmon and Patamon, saying that Kari is telling them to carrying them around. Since both of them do listen to her, Ken is more out of respect than anything else which we can't still figure out why he has that respect when he really doesn't have to. V-mon and Armadillomon are hiding, the only ones that I might want to add in the school. Breomon makes appearances when they're at lunch and art class. Anyway, Gabumon is helping a lot with my work. He helps me keep everything together, especially with things that I promise that I'll do with the others. It's not a lot of work that Miss Atsure gives me, it just that I put it off until like midday and that's not a lot of time for me to get it done and be ready for the others when they come over. Oh, everyone knows that Panther is under my care, thanks to Yolie since she read it in the newspaper. Anyway, that's all I have to say before I start telling you the story. Ok, have fun reading.

Panther

School was just another boring place to be. I wished that I didn't have to go. Davis and Cody are really the only excitement that I get around here; otherwise it's studying and listening to the teachers talk about pointless things. Well, to me they're pointless. TK said that I should keep my mind open. There somethings that school can teach you that's not in the books. I never really got what he meant by that but I know he wants me to my best, or my caring best, so no one thinks that Matt can't handle me. Plantmon is a great aid though. She's trips people that are getting on my nerves without anyone knowing. Of course they can't prove that it's me so we're clean. Lily Dawn has been seeing Apollo after school. Since her dance classes have started up again, she hasn't been to Matt's house in a long while. Ryan is in an art class so he's busy with that too. Kari, Ken, and TK are the only ones that I get to talk to then. Of course I can tell that they want to leave to do something else but they don't want to leave me alone. Oh well, that's my sad life at the moment.

The bell rang and we left for World History. That's the only class where I can have some fun with the teacher.

"Hey, I've got an idea." TK announced as we were walking there.

"What?" I thought he had another idea for a story since he usually announces them to me before anyone else, which includes Kari.

"Don't take this the wrong way but what would you say tome suggesting that you ask Don and Neon to come over to Matt's house tomorrow? You could ask them during class. I heard that they have a free period right after it."

That never really crossed my mind before. _I did want someone else to talk to and they are fighters like me. They might like the dojo that Matt made for me. _"Sounds like a plan to me. What are you guys planning?"

"Nothing, we were going to spend tomorrow with Matt but I thought that you don't want to talk to us that much without someone else there and since our friends aren't going to be there, they won't yell at you for even thinking about it."

"Is this how you're guys are thinking to hide everything from them?"

"Except Matt is like this place where we can run to if we really want protection. Kari would have Tai but he's not around too much to protect her. Plus he'll let them in to talk about the problem."

"So, Matt's like a shelter for you three?"

"To everyone in your group. He wants to make sure that you're not being put down by our friends' words. That's the way he is. I'm not sure where he got that position though."

"And what about you? You're not in our group?"

"I know, but I'm family. So I'm already under his wings. For some reason, I have a feeling that he got it from another person."

"Maybe a character he idolizes in his youth?"

"I would've seen that when we were in the Digital World the first time. He wasn't a happy person back then."

"Oh, well maybe I'll see something that would clear that up."

"That would be nice. Are you going to ask them?"

"Yea, the worst they could say is no, right?"

"Right." He smiled a reassuring smile at me.

Every time I see him smiling like that, it makes me feel like he's actually giving the person the hope that they need. He usually gives it to me but he has given it to Lily Dawn and Ryan.

We got into class and they were there. TK took his seat and got ready for the teacher and I walked over to them.

"Hi Don, Neon." They looked at me with a little disappointment was in their eyes.

"Hi Panther, why are you carrying that around?" Neon asked, pointing to Plantmon in her small backpack act.

"Matt gave it to me, thinking that I look like a plant. Why are you mad at that?"

"A warrior we thought that you were but now we seen that they've soften you." Her voice was kinda harsh on the words.

"I'm still a warrior. I was thinking that you might want to check out the dojo that Matt built. It's finished and it's great. Well? If yes, then come tomorrow."

Neon looked at Don for that answer. He's eyes were closed, trying to decide on the offer.

"Why do you want us to go? What about your two friends that only see us as threats?" He asked.

"They won't be there. They're busy with their lives already and I don't want to be seating in that house with only Matt to talk to."

"Why don't you go out and do something?"

"My reputation, it shows brightly if I'm not with Matt or one of his friends. Otherwise I would."

"We'll be there. My dad might want to see this dojo."

"Ok, see ya then. I'll meet you at the corner of the sidewalk that's the far from the school."

"Left or right?" Neon asked.

"Right."

"It's a deal. Are you going to lose the plant items he gave you?" Don asked.

"You'll see why I'm not tomorrow." I went back to my seat.

"You trust them that much?" TK asked, slyly more than anything else.

"Is that a bad thing?" I placed Plantmon easy on the ground. Patamon was already there and they were talking low voice to each other.

"No, it's just that this seems very familiar in different ways. I think I wrote something similar to this but not it." He was thinking, trying to see if he did.

The teacher walked in and class began. She usually picks me to answer questions when I look annoyed or bored. I show off my knowledge and she looks angry. It's something that I enjoy seeing in her eyes. I'm not sure if TK likes the look as much as me, but he does seem to get a small kick out of it. Don and Neon like the look of defeat on her face and victory on mine. _I guess they really wanted to be my friends. That's good._

Class was over and I went to my next class. Don and Neon were following me until Ryan was walking toward me. I knew that they wanted to talk to me about something but they didn't want to face Ryan.

"How was World History?" Ryan asked, about to walk on but stopped, seeing that I wasn't moving.

"Great, I have something that I need to talk to Lily Dawn about. I'll be in class before the bell."

"Ok, see you there." He walked on.

I turned around to see them still there. I walked to them. "Yes?" I was letting them know that I knew that they were following me.

"We were curious as to where you go after World History." Neon said, covering up a lie. I could tell since she didn't hide it on her face, nor did Don.

"Art class with Ryan. One of my free periods from my guardian's little brother."

"Are there others?"

"Spanish class, PE, and a free period. What sparked this curiosity?"

"Just wondering. See ya later."

They walked on. _That was weird. Oh well. Better get to class._ I hurried to class, even though he doesn't check the roll, I did promise Ryan that I would be.

I got in right before the bell. Everyone was talking and doing whatever. Ryan was waiting for me. I took my seat next to him and let Plantmon talk to Breomon. I began to draw. I didn't even know what I was drawing until Ryan spoke.

"That's an interesting picture. I didn't know that you were that good of an artist." I looked at him, wondering what he was talking about. "Look at your drawing."

I looked to see a woman that looked like Styxmon, but different somehow, giving birth to two beautiful babies. Matt, I think, was near her as well as a girl that didn't too much older than my age, glowing silverish color around her. Styxmon looks happy at the glowing girl. Matt seemed to have a puzzling look on his face as he stares at the new girl. "I drew this?"

"Yea, I was watching you. That's the best that I've seen you do. You picked the right colors, lighting, and face expressions look like the real thing. It almost like a photograph then anything else. You shouldn't hold you talent back so much."

"I never hold back my talents if I have a choice. You've seen what I'm able to do and this isn't like the others."

"You should show that to Matt. I'll bet that he'll either put it up or ask you if he can sell it since it's so good."

"Ryan, you're making him sound like he's my father."

"Oh, sorry. But you should be proud of that."

"I am." _But I'm also wondering why I drew this. It seems to be a memory then anything else. _

"Good, see if you could do more."

I placed that down near me and was just looking at it. The glowing one seems to be talking but I wasn't sure. It might seem like she would or something. I had a feeling that this would become clearer later. Then something hit me; it might've been my powers. I study it more to see when it occurred or if it will occur. For some reason, it seemed like both at the same time, something about a past but future in the same feeling. I looked at the pencil in my hand wondering if I could do it again, to see if I could make the scene clearer. Then the bell rang. I grabbed my picture and was walking out with Ryan near me. We got outside and TK was the only one waiting for me.

"Where did Ken and Kari go?" Ryan asked since he always made sure that I was going to Matt's house before he left.

"Ken was called by Cody to see if he could help him with something. Kari had photos to take for Davis that she forgot to do. Davis reminded her today and is making sure that she takes them."

"What are the photos that she's taking?" I asked, wondering why he wanted to make sure that she did.

"Something in nature. She didn't give me the full length on it."

"And you're not worried? Matt told me that he used to like her."

"I know, but I hoped that he's mature enough to realize that he's not going to have her. Anyway, why are you carrying a canvas? Can I see it?"

I held it in front of me so he could see. He just looked at it and smiled.

"What?"

"It's good, better than most of your drawings. But all has the same thing."

"What do you mean?" I looked at it, trying to figure out what he's talking about. "I've never done this before." I looked back at him.

"All your drawings have some supernatural being or thing that glows in the Moon phases that leads to the Full Moon. I always thought that was interesting."

I looked at the sky of my drawing and saw that there was a crescent Moon that was able to be seen. "How did you notice that when we didn't?"

"I look at everything. Anyway, we should get over to his house."

"Right, see ya later Ryan."

"Right."

He ran toward his lessons. We walked to Matt's house since there wasn't any real reason for us to hurry.

"It might've been your powers. You might've seen something but instead of it flashing in your eyes, you drew it on the canvas." TK said, reflecting what I was thinking during Art class.

"Do you think that Matt would know what this mean? I see him when I look at the guy."

"He might be able to think up reasons but he wouldn't be sure if they're correct. What do you think its saying?"

"The glowing girl knows them and is helping them. The woman with the babies is Styxmon but a little different and Matt's with her. Matt looks puzzled at the sight of the new girl and Styxmon seems to recognize her. The babies are Styxmon and she looks in pain, like it took her a long time for her to give the birth. The glowing girl looks to be a ghost or something or an angel. I'm not sure."

"Then that's what it is. We better think up something so no one else gets the real message of it. Matt might have some ideas."

"And you don't?"

"Not really, have a feeling that he'll know what to call it. Can I give what else I see?"

"Sure."

"The crescent Moon is what allowing the being to be shown. Her standing position is human but I can see the cat under it. I know this by watching cats and the photos that Kari takes. They weren't near any hospital so they had to give birth in the woods. That or they couldn't go to one for some reason. And it looks like the Moon had just risen and the Sun just set. And since you said that it was a long, difficult birth, I think that one was born under the Sun's eyes and the other under the Moon's eyes. And that's it."

"Do you think that moon cats are really? 'Cause that's what it sounds like you're saying?"

"Never put down an idea. It something to think about."

We reached his house. We stepped in to see Matt trying to up something but he wasn't having too much luck with it.

"Need help?" TK asked, walking over to help anyway.

"Thanks, Panther, this is going to be up for a while."

"Ok, want my help?"

"Sure, find good pins to hold this up."

I was searching the house and found some. I went back to them and was about to hand it to Matt when I noticed that they need to hold it up more than me handing them the pins.

"Plantmon, pin these where Matt says so." I handed them to her.

She got on my shoulders and grew her arms so she could reach all angels of the poster. Matt told her where to place them and she did. When they let go, it didn't fall.

"Thanks Plantmon." He got off the stool that he was standing on.

I looked at the poster that it wasn't a normal looking poster. It was like a map that I wasn't able to read. "What's that?"

"A map of the stars. Well, more like our galaxy. I know that we haven't explored that much of it but we got this much information on what we did. Cool, uh?"

"Yea, I'll fix myself something to eat. Want anything?"

"Green tea please."

"Something sweet." TK answered and Patamon nodded his head as if telling me that he wanted that too.

"Anything." Gabumon answered. I smiled at them then walked to the kitchen.

"Plantmon, what do you want?" I asked her as I was looking for something sweet for TK and Patamon.

"Water."

"Of course. What do you think that painting was about?"

"The glowing girl wasn't a Digimon and that's all I know. Oh, it was in the Real World since I didn't recognize anything from it."

"Ok, that gives me some kind of clue. I have this feeling that it's the past and future at the same time. I just didn't want to tell Ryan or TK about that."

"How can it be both?"

"It's the past of someone's but that event hasn't happened yet."

"Wouldn't that mean that someone is from the future?"

"Yea, that what's confusing me. If there was someone from the future, wouldn't it be easier to spot or pick up. I mean I drew Styxmon alive, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did. Maybe if we find someone that's glowing, she can tell us."

"But TK thinks she only appears under a crescent Moon."

"He thinks. He might not be right."

I got everything ready. I handed Plantmon her water. "You might be right." I walked out of the kitchen to see them looking puzzle about something on the map. I sat the plate that had their snacks on the table. "What are you looking at?"

"There something familiar about this part of the map," he pointed at a cluster of white that, if I didn't know was a map, would've thought it was paint on it or something, "I know that no one has never been there before but I have this feeling that I know it."

"Same here." TK agreed. Even their Digimon agreed with them.

I looked at Plantmon and she shrugged her shoulders. I walked over to them and study the cluster, seeing if we learned about it in science or something.

"Nope, nothing for school. TK, Patamon, Gabumon, how could you know that?"

"That's part of the weird part." TK answered.

"Panther, you could use your powers to see what might be important about that spot." Gabumon said.

I placed my hand on the place where Gabumon pointed. I pulled my hand back and looked at it again.

"Well?"

"Matt was young, like fifteen-ish, and he was looking at a map that had that on there. It looked just like this map but smaller. A hand was pointing at a solar system. Another guy was near you but that's it. I think he was showing you the way to there. I couldn't see any of their faces though."

"I was still going to school and working with my band. I don't remember anything like that."

"How come I seem to recognize it?" TK asked.

"Not sure, I didn't sense you around but Matt did seem to be sad about something. I couldn't tell of what though."

"Weird? Ok, thanks."

"No problem. Oh, two new friends are going to come over tomorrow to see the dojo."

"Ok, anyone else? Where is everyone anyway?"

"Ken was called by Cody and Kari is taking some kind of pictures for Davis. Ryan is at art lessons and Lily Dawn should be at dancing class, right?" TK looked at me.

"Yep, at least we hope so."

"What do you mean?"

"She still sees Apollo and Bellimon thinks he might be a Digimon."

"Well, she can ask him." Matt said, walking over to the plate.

"What do you mean? Why would he tell her?"

"Apollo never really had any luck with girls, but minus that information, he has to tell the truth. He's the God of Truth as well as many other things."

"Oh……" He started to drink he's tea. He looked back at the map. The look of confusion and thinking were on his face.

"Oh, Matt, Panther has something to show you." Plantmon said as she was stretching her arms to reach the canvas. She brought it over to so Matt could grab it and look at it.

Matt took it and was studying it, "Why are we in here?"

"Not sure, I think I had a vision but instead of it appearing in my eyes, I drew it. What do you think of it?"

"I think it's kinda impossible for Styxmon to be alive again. Plantmon…… Can she die?" He looked at her, seeming to remember something.

"I'm not sure. No one really has tried to hurt them. After you guys left when you defeated Malo Myotismon, everyone knew them. No one really questioned his or her word or anything so I'm not sure. Why?" (Plantmon explained to us that Styxmon was part of a larger group and the same with the others that we've met)

"I know that Digimon can die but they have the names of Immortals. That has to count for something."

"Not sure, I don't even know what Immortals are anyway."

"People that can live without dying. Sometimes they can have youth as well. Actually, most did have youth. If she can't died then she might be able to come back to make this true." A smile crossed his face.

I was really glad to see him smiling after a long time of sadness.

"Well? Should we sale it to make some dough?" TK teased.

"Sure, but I only think it would only be worth less than a penny. Where should we put it so no wondering eyes would see this drawing of lines and color?" He looked around; I think he wanted to make sure he could look at it to give him the hope he needed.

"How about my room? Since I drew it."

"Sure," he handed it back to Plantmon, "I'll find the nails and hammer while you find a place to hang it up."

He walked to the closet where he had that kind of stuff. The problem with that is everything is stuffed in there so when he opened it, forgetting about that, everything fell on him, again. Gabumon went to him. "Are you ok Matt?"

"I think so," he called under everything, "Try to find the hammer and nails."

"Right." I could tell that Gabumon wanted to help him out of there but he went looking for the nails.

I walked up the stairs as TK and Patamon were helping with the digging/searching. I looked around my room to see where it could be placed. I thought of a place near the window. I placed it and the Sun's light didn't seem to bring some of it alive, but I had a feeling that the Moon's light had more power of it. In minutes, Matt was in with the hammer and nails.

"What's everyone else doing?"

"Gabumon thought that it should be more organized."

"I'll help." Plantmon said as she jumped down and ran downstairs to the others.

"Decided where?"

"Here." I lifted up to the spot.

"For which one? The Sun or the Moon?"

"Both, I think the Moon would bring it out more though."

"Ok."

He walked over and hammered the nail into the wall as I tied a string so nothing bad would happen to the painting itself. When he was done hammering, I placed it on the nail and it looked great. I felt proud of it; something about it was telling me to love it more than anything but I didn't know why. I looked at Matt to see that he was pleased too.

"Let's go down there so we can help." I offered, trying to get him out of my room, knowing that he'll wake up and look at it before working at noon.

"Right." We headed down and were helping them with the organization.

In the morning, Lily Dawn was waiting with Ryan near class door. TK had to do something before he came to class and for some reason we didn't walk with Kari or Ken.

"Hi guys, is Kari or Ken in?"

"No, why?" Ryan seemed worried about something.

"They didn't meet up with us. Nor did Davis. And I thought he like to get on my nerves in the morning."

"Where's TK?" Lilly Dawn asked.

"He had to get something from his art class and writing. He was also puzzled about it too."

"Anyway, Ryan told me about the drawing. Where is it?"

"In my room."

"Ok, I'll come by tomorrow to see it. I promise that I'll spend time with Apollo today."

"That's fine. Does Stan know about him?"

"Not really, he knows that I'm seeing someone but I've never told him a name to chase down nor a picture."

"Ok, let's head in."

We walked in to see that almost everyone was in. The only ones that weren't were Kari, Ken, and TK. The teacher looked surprise that they weren't with us. We took our seats and TK came in. He was surprised that either of them was there too. He sat down in his seat.

"Have you seen them yet?" He asked me.

"Nope, what do you think is wrong?"

"I hope nothing. I should call Tai to see about Kari but I don't know who to call for Ken."

"Why not call Matt to look for Ken?" Ryan offered the idea.

"I don't what to distract him from his work. He needs all the time for that."

"Yea, and after what Plantmon said, he already has one distraction." I added.

"Doesn't he have a cell? Call him there." Lily Dawn suggested.

"Right, I forgot about that."

The bell rang and class started. After that, I walked with TK to call Kari and Ken. It surprised me that he was calling Ken first.

"Ken?… Cody! Why do you have Ken's cell phone?…………… Put Ken on…… Why not?………………… That's not a good excuse……… You're lying and I can tell…………… Yes, you are." He hanged up with a loud noised. I looked to see anger in his eyes for the first time that I've known him. He picked up the phone again and was dialing someone else's number. "Moshimoshi, is Kari there?………… No, she's not at school……… I heard that she went with Davis somewhere to take pictures that he wanted her to take……… No, she didn't tell me what she was taking………… Ok, arigato for your help." When he hanged up, his eyes were filled with sadness, hate, and anger.

"We should get to class." We started to walk to class before TK decided to talk.

"Cody said that Ken was there but he was taking a shower and no one knows where Kari is. Her mom picked up the phone. Tai's going to come before you leave, do you want to stay to hear if he found something?"

"Sure, how did you know that he was lying?"

"There was something there that made me sure that he was. I'm not sure what it was though but it was something."

"Ok, are you feeling ok? I've never seen you mad before."

"Huh? Oh, sorry." TK tried to smile but something more troubling was on his mind.

"That's ok. Wonder what they're doing."

"Don't know." His eyes narrowed at some thought in his head. I was guessing that he was thinking of different reasons why they were doing that to him.

We got into class and the bell rang to allow it to start. We were learning about the stars but I wasn't paying much attention to him. I was worried about TK. The way he was looking that didn't fit him. Patamon was comforting him, I think.

"Panther, you worried?" Plantmon whispered from the floor.

"I've never seen him like this before."

"What are we going to do about Don and Neon?"

"That has to stay the same. We'll just have to hear about it afterward. He'll tell Matt."

"Ok, hope he'll be ok for his next classes. Since their in them."

"I hope so too." I just looked at him; he seemed to be drawing something on his paper. "Plantmon, in the old days, I would've laughed at someone looking like that."

"You've change and for the better too."

"Thanks Plantmon."

"Let's hope for the best for TK."

"Right."

Throughout Spanish class, I was worrying about him, knowing that he was sad enough without being in a class where she was his only comfort or familiar face that he knew off hand. He was able to have every class with a friend that was in the group. It was getting depressing seeing him in this state all because of what information he had and what his mind was thinking.

At lunch, I was waiting for him to show up before I went in. I didn't want him to think that I wasn't there for him. It wouldn't be right for me not to give him support the way he usually gives me. He came slowly, looking at the ground, thinking about something serious.

"TK?" I asked as he came close.

He looked at me with a question then tried to force a smile on his face before talking, "Hi Panther, why are you waiting out here?"

"Are you ok?"

"Fine, why?"

"What were you thinking about?"

"Why they want them, nothing is making sense to me. Oh, I didn't pay much attention to class so now I'm acting like you when you're bored." His smile was real this time.

I smiled to myself seeing that on his face, "I was wondering too so next period we need to pay close and extra attention to what sensei says."

"Right, let's have lunch."

We walked in and ate with Lily Dawn and Ryan who seemed to ignore what TK could be feeling at this time. I saw the force smiles and the seriousness in his eyes before trying to listen into our conversation.

Lunch and next period seemed to go by fast but I did pay attention to what was going on. In the locker room, Lily Dawn was talking to other friends that she has. I didn't mind since I'm the one that messed up my life by joining and killing people. Neon leaned against the locker near mine.

"Something wrong with TK?" She asked, acting like we were alone or something.

"Something happened to Kari and Ken that's worrying him, that's all." I was finished with the changing into my uniform.

"Is that meeting still on?"

"Yea, that hasn't change. How did you know that something was wrong with him?"

"He's trying to find an answer to his questions. Trying to find forgiveness in them. It's easy to see."

"You saw all that?"

"He already got something from Lily Dawn and Ryan, I think. That's why they can't see his pain. But you can, right?"

"I'm his friend and it wouldn't be right for me to turn my back on him now. Not after all he's done for me."

"See ya later." Neon walked out of the locker room.

I looked at Lily Dawn to see that she was still talking and getting ready. I walked out to see that Neon was talking to Don. I'm guessing on the information that I gave her. I went to my spot and sat down, wondering if TK was ok. It also went by fast, with only Don and Neon noticing the expressions that were on my face. I only knew that since they looked sad at me. Neither Ryan nor Lily Dawn said anything at me throughout the whole class. After class, Neon paid me another visit.

"Are you ok?" She asked with great concern.

I sighed before answering her, "Yea, I'm just worry about TK."

"He's like your brother, friend, or something?"

"I think a friend. Maybe brother."

"Ok, we'll check up on him for you."

"Thanks."

"Where are you going to go before school ends?"

"I think I'll head to a tea shop first. I noticed that we're running out at our house."

"Are you not going to go home first?"

"Nah, don't really need to. I, also, want to check up on TK before I show you guys the house. I'm doubtful that he's going to come along."

"See ya after school."

"And what do you mean by that?"

I turned my head to see Lily Dawn leaning on a locker, looking pissed off at Neon.

"I'm going to see her before she takes TK home. Is that a problem, Protectess?"

"Protectess? I'm not protecting her."

"Then you should glad to know that she knows how to handle herself." She didn't mean it in an insulting way but I could tell that Lily Dawn thought it was.

"I'm going now, see ya later Lily Dawn." I got up and started to walk out.

"Are you going to let her talk to me like that?"

"She didn't mean it to be insulting." I stopped to make sure that she heard it.

"Is that the best excuse you can think of?"

"I don't want to argue with you. I have a right to pick my own friends."

"What if they get you in trouble?"

"That's not going to happen. If I do then it's my fault and no one else."

"They can set it up."

"Stop putting them down. You might want to learn to like them."

"Why?"

"Something's telling me that you'll have to work with them. You know me. You might want to listen."

"Until you get a vision, I'm not going to listen to that."

"Believe what you want. I'm going, see ya."

I went to the teashop like I told Neon that I would do. I bought lots of green tea and some other tea that I thought would relax TK if something happened and he came over. Then something caught my eye. It was a rice cake that was especially made for green tea. It did say that it had a special propose to it but it was very vague. I decided to buy it, incase it taste good. I paid the person at the cashier and walked back to the school to wait for Neon, Don, and TK. I was hoping that he was ok.

After a long while, the bell rang and people started to pour out of the school. I was looking for TK more than Neon and Don since I knew he wouldn't think about looking for me. I spotted him and called to him. He looked up and walked over.

"Are you waiting for them?" He asked as he got to me.

"Yea, are you ok? What are you going to do?"

"I'm going over to Cody's then Davis's. I'm ok."

"Ok, if you want something to calm you before hand," I pulled out the box that had the tea in it, "Come over and have some."

"Thanks Panther but that's ok. I think I can handle it."

"Ok, only if you're sure."

"I'm not positive but pretty sure."

"Ok, see ya. Can I tell Matt?"

"Sure, he might be able to help or something."

"Ok."

He walked off. I watched him until he was out of my sight. I saw someone that I didn't think of seeing that day. Yolie waltzed up to me and had an evil or proud smile on her face. There was a question look on her face. I turned around to see Don holding Neon by her waist and both had a tough look on their face. I looked back at Yolie and she stopped a few inches in front of me.

"Can I do anything for you, Yolie?"

"Tell me where TK went."

"He went to his house to cry over what he thought Cody and Davis did to Kari and Ken."

"Really?" She seemed to think that I was bluffing.

"He left a bit before you come into my eyes." I was making sure that she didn't know that I was bluffing.

"At least he's not at Cody's house. Anyway, thanks." She seemed happy about want she gave me. Something was telling me that were was something behind that so I grabbed her arm and let go fast. I saw that Ken was over at her house and Kari was at Cody's house. They both looked beat and worn but at least their clothes were still on. Ken and Kari looked like they were both knocked out. I looked straight at her and she had a question look on her face.

"Get lost." I said cold and hard. I couldn't believe that someone, that was their friend, would do that to them.

She walked away, confuse as to what I did.

"What's up?" Don asked, I think he noticed the anger in my eyes.

"Yolie is evil. They're all evil."

"What makes you think that?" Neon asked.

"You'll know soon enough. Do you guys have a cell?"

"Yea." Neon was pulling it out and handed it to me.

I took it and called TK fast.

"Moshimoshi?"

"TK, where are you?"

"Not too far from Davis's house, why?"

"Kari is at Cody's and Ken's at Yolie's. They're evil. I can't believe that someone would do what they did to a friend."

"I'll wait for Matt to come then."

"He'll be there." I hang up and handed it back to Neon. "Thanks, let's go."

We were running toward Matt's house. I opened it up to see that he was looking at the star map. He had this puzzled look when I entered.

"TK's near Davis's house. Call him to see where you need to meet. Yolie, Cody, and Davis are evil."

"Let's go Gabumon." He got up and they ran out. I breathed easier now and walked to the kitchen to place the tea in their spots.

"Are you going to explain what happened?" Don asked.

"Ken and Kari are tied up and look beat and everything. The only good thing is that they still have their clothes on."

"What?" Neon was surprised.

"Aren't they friends? I remember that from last year. They always hanged together." Don commented.

"That's why they're evil."

"How did you get that?"

"I have a natural ability to see the present, past, and future. Oh, the plant bag that I have is a living being and her name is Plantmon." Plantmon moved off my back and onto my head.

They didn't look that much surprised.

"Wow, why Plantmon?" Neon asked, moving closer to look at her.

"That's my name." She answered.

"Cool, like an extra pair of eyes and ears." Don said.

"Hey, we were wondering if you wanted to come with us to a dancing club tonight but after everything that happened… We would understand if you don't want to."

I grabbed a piece of paper and started to write Matt a note. "What is the place called?"

"Dancing Dream."

I wrote that down. "What's your cell number?"

"851-9665"

Wrote that and left it on the table that he would be able to see it easily if he walked in. I also left one on his door, mine and the kitchen.

"Ok, need to change?"

"Yea."

"He has many bathrooms. I'll be back down once I'm done."

"Ok."

We walked upstairs and I went to my room to change. I wore tight cloths incase something happened. I was wearing a black strapless top that showed my stomach; a black sweat jacket over it; a black skirt that had two slits on the sides; black boots; and a silver belt. Plantmon went on my back and I had a premonition. I was being put into a police car without Neon, Don, or Plantmon there. I was wearing the outfit that I'm wearing now. I walked out and they were ready. Neon was wearing tight, but loose, bright, but dull, clothing. Don was wearing long necklaces around his neck. I grabbed a paper and pencil and wrote quickly what's going to happen before we left to the dance place.

When we got there, the place was packed. We were able to find a spot on the dance floor so we began to dance. I wasn't paying any attention to Neon or Don for a long while. I felt Plantmon tapping my shoulder.

"Yes?" I asked, still dancing but looking at her.

"Why are they dancing so close like that?"

"Who?"

"Don and Neon."

I looked at them and they were, their eyes never leaving each other. "Lovers usually do that. It's a common thing to do."

"Did you do that with Killer?"

"Yea, but we went to dance clubs so rarely that I think I'm forgetting."

"That's not good, you have to remember." She sounded so worried right there.

"Ok, I will." I smiled, she sounded like if I forgot that I would be different or something.

I looked forward and close my eyes, listening to the beat of the music. I was beginning to remember how Killer and I danced together and how good it felt to be that close to him (hey, this is my first interrupter thing… Anyway, I'm not going into details on what's going on with us… for certain reasons. But we do have them back, almost, safe and sound. TK is taking care of Kari and Ken is at his house, taking a good rest. I was driving them to their houses; Kari's going over TK's. So during this time I haven't found out that Panther is at a dance hall yet. Oh, their Digimon were tied up, knocked out, and thrown into a closet. We have nice friends, don't we?). I'm not sure how long I was dancing, but at some time there was a gunshot fired and everyone covered his or her heads, confused on what was going on. I did the same but knew that it was my premonition coming true. I looked at Don and Neon to see that Don was covering each her. I went back to see a guy with a gun to the air. I moved quickly over to Don and Neon.

"Guys," took off Plantmon, "Take her and get out."

"What are you going to do?" Don asked as Neon took her.

"I recognized this guy."

"From where?" Neon asked.

"Tell that story later. Go." I moved back to my spot and stood up. "What are you trying to find?" I was showing that I was still apart of my old gang.

He smiled, "I was hoping to find one of you guys here." He pointed the gun at me. "Everyone, leave or I'll kill you with her!"

Everyone moved out the door. I made sure that I saw them moved out as well. I looked back at him. "I'm not apart of them anymore. I left a while ago."

"Really? Then why show that you're still them?"

"I recognized your sign. I thought that you might want someone from my old gang but wasn't sure."

"You could've saved yourself by not showing."

"I know, but I wouldn't bow to you either. Trying to get points in your gang?"

"You can say that."

The police burst right in, "Freeze!"

I put my hands up while he was moving his gun toward them. They opened fired on him. I thought that was stupid once I saw him fell to the floor with a pool of blood under his body and more coming. I even saw some bullets flying my way. I looked toward them to see that they still had their guns pointed at me!

"Walked toward us, slowly." One ordered.

I walked toward them slowly since I didn't have any weapons on me, not even the knife that I'm allowed to carry. I only brought that to school for my friends protection. They patted me down and handcuffed me. They pushed me outside where there was a big crowd there. I looked around for Neon or Don to make sure that they were ok and the same with Plantmon, but didn't find them. They put me into their car and closed the door. The driver and his partner came in and drove away.

"Why am I in here? I didn't do anything."

"Right, like there wasn't a reason for him having his gun pointed at you." Said the driver.

"I didn't start it. I don't even have a weapon on me. Why did you kill him? All he had room for was a gun."

"And how would you know that?" Asked his partner.

"I'm familiar with that kind of dressing."

"That means you're in a gang too."

"Was, I once was in a gang. I left."

"I thought that they kill the members that left?" The driver asked.

"Most gangs do, mine didn't."

"If you were in a gang once then we should have your violent record somewhere. Where are you living now, if that information is true?"

"You'll find out when you look."

"Fine."

The rest of the ride was silent.

He came back to the cell that they put me in with a surprised look on his face. "You're living with Matt Ishida?"

"The one and the only."

"Come with me for questioning." He opened my cell door.

"Sure, guess you guys need to know something."

I got up and walked toward him. He handcuffed me and walked me to a room that had a mirror in it. He sat me down on one of the chairs; he was the only one in the room.

"Letting you know that you can take down that mirror. I know that they're people watching."

"Why were you at that dance hall tonight? Did Matt know that you were going?"

"I was there with some new friends of mine from school. They invited me so I went. I left notes everywhere that Matt would stop by to make sure that he knew where I was (yep… too many). He had to be somewhere else, helping out his friends."

"You do know that he's supposed to know where you are, right?"

"That's why I left notes."

"Why did you go if he wasn't home for you to tell him directly?"

"He was home, there was a problem with his friends and he went. He didn't know about it until I got home. After he left, that's when they offered to take me to the dance hall."

"Where are your friends now?"

"I told them to leave so they wouldn't get hurt."

"Really?"

"I'm not lying."

"That's what they all say."

"Why don't you ask witnesses?"

"We really don't need to."

"Oh, right. You guys killed him so you don't have to have a trial. I'm also betting that you just want a story on why I was there. Then afterward, you're just going to leave me to rot in the cell that you put me in. Thinking that Matt's not going to come."

"What gives you that idea?" He sounded worry and nervous.

"You're voice. You do know that that's against the law? To hold someone in jail if their innocence this is the author, Neko Hoshi Ryu, I'm not sure if that's right in the Japanese law system so don't use it. If it's not, then I'm sorry for the mistake and you can correct me with the right knowledge by either placing a review or e-mailing me. Arigato?"

"Why you little…" He was about to grab my neck but someone knocked at the door. I smiled at him since I didn't flinched.

He went to get the door and I just sat there looking at the mirror to see the people that were in there. _They need a new mirror. _He came back.

"You have a visitor."

I got up and walked toward the door. I stopped when I noticed that he wasn't following or leading me there. "Aren't you going to push me there?"

He came up, grabbed hard on my arm and pulled me to the visitor room. When he sat me down to at a window, I looked to see Matt with worry eyes. Neither Don nor Neon was there with him. I took the phone since his was in his hand.

"Are you ok Panther?" Even his voice sounded worried. I couldn't believe that this event would make him act like this.

"I'm fine. They didn't do anything to me. Are Neon and Don ok?"

"They're fine. They came over as soon as they left. I got home before them and saw your notes and the note about this."

"How's everyone?"

"They're fine. TK is taking care of Kari and Ken is at his house."

"That's good. Does Ryan or Lily Dawn know about this?"

"Ryan followed you there. He's waiting outside right now."

"I bet he's mad at them, right?"

"Yep, they're worried too."

"See if you can get me out."

"I did that before I came to talk to you."

"Thanks."

"No problem. They should release you in a few minutes."

"I'll head back to my cell then."

"Ok."

I put the phone back, got up, and walked back to the guard. I took a quick look at Matt before I went and he still looked worried. _This can hurt him this much? I'm starting to wish that I didn't come. _I was put back in my cell for a few minutes before someone else took me out and led me into a room that was dark. I couldn't see where I was.

"Why am I here?" I heard the door slam behind me. I took in a deep breath and relaxed myself.

There was a little light coming but I couldn't tell where. I felt a presence of someone and I knew that it was him sending something within the room. I held my head the best that I could handcuffs on. The voice of the guy that liked me echoed in the room.

"Panther? What are you waiting for? Someone to send you an invitation to get you here? Or a ride?"

"Leave me alone. I don't want to go back."

"But you have no other choice open to you. No one can get here."

"Matt will come."

"The cops are under our power. He just thinks that they're not letting you out even though he paid for your release. The only way that you're getting out is to come back to us. I love you more than Killer ever did."

"If you did then you wouldn't do this to me. Killer was happy that I was seeing my life hero."

"Because he thought that you wouldn't leave. We all thought that you wouldn't. Of course now we don't feel that way."

"Leave me alone! I have real friends now."

"And your home girls weren't? That hurts Panther. I know that you can be cold sometimes but that's pushing your limit."

"I still care for everyone there and I'll never rat them out to anyone, but I'm not going back there. I want to live here from now on. I have my own mission."

"And what would that be? You're luckily that I'm not going to go into your mind to find out all the information that I want."

"Please, leave me alone to live."

"And you weren't living with us?"

"Not the same freedom. He still allows me to be me."

"And what about your friends? I've watched you and I've noticed that your old friends didn't like the idea that you might be evil and cold again. That's not what you want, right? You want to be free to do whatever you want and whenever you pleas. Why give you this punishment?"

"Killer was my only bond there."

"And who's your bond to this group?"

"Myself, that's why I'm putting myself through this. So leave me alone!"

"You're a stubborn one, Panther. But there are ways to make you see the truth. Your new friends want you to be a goody good, to be like them and live in their footsteps. Is that the life that you want? To live in someone's shadow? I wouldn't, not even if you paid me. What are you going to allow them to do? Walk all over ya? That's something that I don't think you would allow. One day you're going to explode from everything that they're doing to you. Matt is also trying to reform you. Even though it doesn't seem like it, he is. What would they think about that when it happens?"

"I'm better than that." I remembered what Matt said to me when I first told him about them. That he would protect me and that Styxmon would too. _But she left us. She wanted to protect Matt and his friends. What now? I can't fight him. He can make me do things that I don't want to do. Damn it! What am I supposed to do now!_

"Hey, what's this light doing here?"

I opened my eyes to see that little sunlight still in the room. It reminded me of when it's setting. It was also landing on me. _Why would he be afraid of this little light? It can't possibly have any power to beat him. _

"That's weird. There's isn't any holes that that light can go through to get in here? Oh well, I'll worry about that later."

_If there isn't then that means that someone is still watching us. Making sure that others don't harm us, but who can it be? My guess would be a Super Digimon but other than that, I don't know. I'm not sure if there's a God or Goddess that's the sunset. But there are two Sun Gods! Ok, if I know that then Styxmon has sent a God to watch us. Wait…… it might also be from another myth, one that I don't know. I do know that our deity for the Sun is a Goddess so it might not be from the Greeks or Romans. Damn, and just when I thought I got a name. _

"Panther? What are you going to do? Why do you look happy to see this light?" He didn't sound so happy to realize that. "Fine, see if you're happy without a light to see."

Something was happening to the light and it gave off a more powerful beam, even though it looked like the sunset. I remembered about my painting. _Why does this feel like my painting? This means something but I don't have the time to figure it out. I need to get out of here so he can't trap me. Please, deity of this sunlight, show me a way to escape him. I know that Styxmon sent you to help us so please do. _The light lifted above me. I looked behind to see a knob to a door! I got up and ran for it. I opened before he was able to stop me.

"We'll be back, Panther, to get you."

I saw Matt behind two guards. I looked to where I was to find that I was in a closet filled with cleaning things. I didn't find the light, but I was glad to know that Matt's faith in Styxmon wasn't a waste. I walked toward them, like a normal person.

The guards were surprised, both the person that was controlling them and themselves since I knew they didn't know that I was in there.

I put out my hands to them, saying that I want to be freed. I noticed that they didn't want them to but they did. I bowed to them and walked out with Matt without saying a word.

When we reached outside, I was glad that it was still sunny. I saw Neon running up to me. She hugged me when she reached me, "I'm so sorry that we brought you there, Panther." There was something in her voice that was telling me that she really thought that it was them that got me here.

"Don't worry about it."

She pulled away, "I feel so guilty about this."

"And you should be."

I heard Ryan's voice, remembering that Matt told that he followed me. I looked passed Neon to see Ryan and Don near Matt's car.

"We do. Panther, can you ever forgive us?" His voice had the same thing in it as Neon.

"Panther, they'll get you into more trouble." Both of them were silent.

"Everyone, get into the car. We'll talk about this at our house." Matt said as he walked to his car. I followed and the same with Neon.

I sat in the front and Ryan tried his hardest to not be near them. We reached our house and I remembered about the Digimon.

"What about Gabumon, Plantmon, and Breomon?"

"They're fine, Gabumon teaching them a new game." Matt answered, saying that he figured that this would happen.

We got out and went in. Ryan didn't waste any time to make sure that they knew where we were.

"Everyone, sit down and I'll bring out some tea." Matt went into the kitchen to make it.

We sat down. Ryan was far from them and they were far from me. I was sitting near the spot that Matt would take when he would come back. I didn't know what to do in this situation. He came back and handed to the tea to everyone before sitting down.

"Neon, Don, did you know that this was going to happen? I'm not for or against either party, I just want the other party," looks at Ryan, "to make sure that they understand the story."

"If we knew then we wouldn't have gone." Don answered.

"Whatever others might think, we do want friends." Neon added.

"Ryan, you were there to see everything, right?"

"I was there to see Panther being put into the police car. I just figured that they somehow did that so that's why I came to you."

He moved closer to me so only I heard what he was going to say, "If you knew that you were going into a police car, why didn't you told them that you didn't want to go?"

"I can't stop them from happening. I see what I see and that's it. I have to figure out what's happening and why. That's sometimes hard to do."

"What happened to the other guy?"

"He was shot down by the cops. I think they didn't want a trail so that's why they did that to him and they were planning to lock my up there."

"Were you trying to be a hero or you wanted to make sure that Neon, Don, and Plantmon were going to be safe? Or are those two aren't the reason at all?"

"I didn't care so much for the other people; I did want to make sure that they were ok and safe from him; I did, kinda, want the feeling of being in the gang again."

"Ok, just wondering." He moved away and looked at Ryan. "Ryan, can you deal with them?"

"Why!" He didn't seem too happy about that and they were surprised.

"Call it a feeling. I'm not sure of one thing though so I want to check it out." He looked at Don and Neon, "If you guys don't mind to be tested on."

"And what would that be?" Don wasn't being nasty, he was curious.

"I want to know if there's a way to figure out if there's a Digidestined here and whether or not he or she can sense for their Digimon."

Matt's computer turned on by itself. He got up and went to it.

"Matt, I'm glad that I was able to reach you." That was Gennai!

"Why, what's wrong Gennai?" Matt had a poker face on, I knew that he hated him but he's acting like he's going to listen to him.

"There's a problem in the Digital World, but I can't get a hold of anyone else. Do you know why?"

"They might be doing something else. Don't worry Gennai, Gabumon and I will handle it for you."

"Thanks Matt, I knew that I could count on you." The light went out.

"Why are you going to do what he wants you to? I thought that you hated him?" Ryan asked.

"I'll explain that another time, when we get everyone. First, someone call Lily Dawn here and I'm going to get the Digimon and the amulets."

"You're not saying that……"

"It's a possibly, Ryan. Don't rule it out." Matt interrupted before walking upstairs.

We knew what Matt was talking about but Ryan didn't like the answer. He came back down with the Digimon and two of the amulets. Even though he knows what they are, he never told anyone else. He handed Neon the two hands that were together and Don a sun setting or rising. They took it and they fell back a bit. Looking at it, it seemed that they were wondering something very deeply.

"I thought so," he looked at me, "We only have two more to look for Panther."

"Really? Which one do they have?"

"Don has Glory and Neon has Forgiveness. The unknown one and Trinity are the last one."

"Lily Dawn is coming Matt." Ryan said, looking hateful at Don and Neon even though he knew.

"Thanks Ryan. We'll wait for her before we head out," he looked at Don and Neon, "I have a feeling that we're going to find your Digimon."

"How did you know about Digimon anyway?" Ryan asked.

"Panther showed us Plantmon." Don said.

"Yea, that was cool."

There was a knock at the door. I went to get it to find that Lily Dawn was breathing hard.

"You ran because?"

"Ryan told me that Don and Neon are Digidestined? Is that true?"

"They are, Glory and Forgiveness."

"Whatever, let's get this mission over."

"Matt," we started to walk in, "we're ready to go."

"Good." Matt held up his amulet and pointed it at the wall. Swirls of light appeared and its color was white. "Let's head in. I have to be last though."

Ryan and Breomon went in first, Lily Dawn and Bellimon, Don and Neon, then Matt and me. We landed in a forest area, but it's different from the last one. Lily Dawn and Ryan were leading us, even though they didn't know where they were going. I noticed that Neon and Don were wearing Chinese, old style fighting outfits, closely representing the outfits that they wore on the first day of school.

"Matt, shouldn't you be leading us? You do know where we need to go." I asked.

"I want to see something. I have this feeling that Don and Neon would lead us to their Digimon."

"But they're in the middle, Lily Dawn and Ryan would never allow them to lead. How did you figure that it was them?"

"You brought us Lily Dawn and Ryan. I just thought that since you brought them as well they might be Digidestined."

"As for them leading us to their Digimon?"

"They'll either run off to their Digimon, not caring about us. Or they'll send something at Ryan and Lily Dawn, which no one is aware of, and that's how they'll lead us."

I looked back forward to see that we were walking toward a castle. I noticed that it was getting hotter as we got closer.

"I think we should stop before we get burn." Don suggested to Ryan and Lily Dawn.

Lily Dawn looked at Bellimon, who now collapsed on the ground from the overwhelming heat. I looked at Plantmon, who collapsed on my shoulder. I looked back at them to see that they were looking at Matt for an answer.

"Don's right about this one. Gabumon," he looked at him, "Can you handle this heat?"

"A little, my fur is what giving me the problem."

"Ok," he looked at Breomon, "Can you handle this?"

"Yep." He jumped up and down to prove it.

"Ok, Gabumon will look after Plantmon and Bellimon since they can't handle this heat. We'll go ahead to see what's causing this. Is that ok with everyone?"

"Why don't we leave Don and Neon here with Gabumon?" Ryan asked.

"Gabumon can handle anything that comes this way. Besides, if one of Gennai spies comes, Gabumon can say that he's guarding them." There was something in his eyes that say that he wasn't himself totally. What ever it was, it was scaring me a bit (why I look like that? Don't know. I'm turning into some different person and that's all I can tell you. I'm not even sure who this person is). I noticed that no one else noticed the difference in him at this moment. _I'm now wishing that TK were here. He might've been able to notice this too. _

"Ok." Lily Dawn picked up Bellimon and placed her near Gabumon.

I walked over to him and handed him Plantmon. "Take care Gabumon."

"I will Panther, don't worry about them. I'm going to move back a bit so the heat doesn't affect them that much when you return."

"Thanks Gabumon." Lily Dawn said with a smile before she went back to Ryan.

I nodded my head and we headed for the castle again. I wanted to ask Matt why he looked like that, but I figured that he mightn't have noticed it himself. There was something about it that was still him, but it seemed to be someone else at the same time. I don't even know why it was bothering me this much, but for some reason it was.

"Why are you scared? I thought that you were fearless."

I looked at him but he wasn't looking at me. "How can you tell when you're not looking at me?" I asked him with a bit of anger.

"What did I do?" He looked at me.

"How did you know that I was scared if you didn't look?" I asked calmer now, still seeing that new person there.

"I noticed out of the corner of my eye. Why are you scared?" His eyes were going back to his again.

"There was something weird in your eyes. It was scaring me for some reason."

"My eyes?" He seemed surprised. "Really? When did it start?"

"When you were saying that Gabumon would protect them."

He looked at the ground, thinking. "Hm?………………… I'm not sure if I meant to, but I did felt something different then. I'm not sure what though. Sorry for scaring you."

"That's ok. This is the second time that you didn't know what was happening to you though. There's something wrong with you."

"You might be right. How do we…… Do you feel that?" He stopped and looked around.

I stopped too but didn't feel anything. "No. Why?"

"There's something here. Something that's not supposed to be." His eyes were searching and his voice lowered.

I looked at the group to see that they were still moving. "We might as well keep moving. The others aren't stopping."

"What?" He looked up at them. "Guys, come back here for a minute."

They stopped and looked at him. Don and Neon were the first ones to move toward Matt.

"What's up Matt?" Ryan asked once Lily Dawn and he were here.

"Is anyone feeling something weird?"

"We thought that it was this world. Are you telling us that it's not?" Don sounded a little nervous as Neon's and his eyes were scanning the area for something.

"I don't feel anything, you Lily Dawn?"

"Maybe you guys are imaging it?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"Panther?" He looked at me.

"I don't sense anything. I'm still going to listen to them though."

"Fine." I could tell that they were about to go.

"Ok, what are you guys sensing? I'm sensing something powerful, and strong, but not too strong." Matt told, with a weird looking smile on his faced.

"We're sensing something powerful, strong, and awesome, it is kinda strong." Don said, with a smile saying that he already knows how to defeat it.

"How can you two sense this when no one else does, minus Matt?" Ryan asked.

"That's what you get for training under Don's father." Neon said with pride. "He's been training us since we first met and we're the strongest that he's ever seen. We're almost unbeatable."

"Nice, why are you almost unbeatable?" Lily Dawn asked.

"We need to work out a few more bugs from our forms before we're perfect."

"No offence, but you guys can't be perfect; there'll be someone out there that's more skilled or more powerful than you." Matt said, sounding from experience.

"Were you a fighter too?" Don asked with excitement.

"Not really, I do know how to fight but I'm not a great fighter." _Matt, that's not true. I'm betting that you're the strongest fighter there ever was. You're hiding your power for some reason. I'm hoping that I'm able to break that lock so I can see it myself._

"What are you talking about? Don't you remember your moves the first time we came to the Digital World to find all the other Digimon? You had fast and powerful moves." Ryan said.

"Can you show a few when we get back?" Neon asked.

"Sure…. I guess, but that was a fluke. I don't think I can do it again. Anyway, let's go check out the castle."

"Right."

We kept on walking but everyone was closer than before. _Guess they thought that they might be able to fight if we're in a group, that or to warn us better._ When we got closer to the castle, there was a wall of fire blocking us.

"That would explain why it was so hot here." Ryan said, looking at Breomon to make sure that he was ok and he was. Neon looked up but Don didn't for some reason.

"It's tall." Lily Dawn said.

"How do we get through?" I looked at Matt.

"Don't know, why don't someone see how tall it actually is?"

"I'll go." Ryan turned into a cloud of dust and floated up there. Neon was watching but Don wasn't.

"I like the fact that he can do that… That's so cool." Breomon said while watching him go up.

"Yea, that's cool." Don didn't sound too happy about something.

"You have a problem with his technique?" Lily Dawn was getting an attitude with Don.

"No, not at all."

"Then what?" Still wasn't lighting up.

"Well…………… I have this really bad fear of heights."

"How bad?" Now she was interested, that or she knew that she could get him at something so she wanted to know.

"Sorry but his father wants that to be a secret. Since he wants us to be perfect." Neon said in a normal calm voice.

I looked at Lily Dawn that she wanted the information so that she can do something with it. I noticed that she was going into their minds to see what it was, "Look, Ryan's coming back." I smiled, since it made her lose her focus.

He appeared back in his spot. "It's not that high but it's really hot as you get closer to the top. I'm not sure how many times I can bring people back and forth."

"That's ok. We don't want to exhaust you. Does anyone have any ideas on how to deal with this?" Matt asked.

"I can do something." Don offered.

"Go ahead and try."

Don walked closer to the wall and put his hands near the wall. Then there was a hole that everyone can fit through one at a time. "Hurry, I can't hold much heat."

Breomon jumped through, and then Ryan and Lily Dawn, Matt and me, Neon went last and pulled him through. He was breathing hard when he landed.

"Are you ok, Don?" Neon had worried in her voice.

"I'm ok, it's just that I took more heat than I can hold."

"I'm now wishing that I didn't ask you to take some of the heat yesterday."

"It's ok. I just need to get rid of some."

"You might be able to find a fight inside." Lily Dawn said.

The castle itself was big. I noticed that there weren't any guards around. "Well, this isn't very guarded if all they have is a wall."

"Panther, I'm surprised. This lord has more guards, just how many is the question." Matt said he's eyes were looking at a window. "Ok," now he looked at us, "who wants to go in and who wants to stay here and kept the guards busy?"

"I'll stay here." Ryan said and Breomon nodded in agreement.

"I'll stay with him then." Lily Dawn said.

"I'm going." Don said in an eager way.

"Same here." Neon had a bit of over confidence in her voice.

Matt looked at me. "I'll go with Neon, you'll go with Don." (Yay! I get to talk in my own mind. Hm?…………… Who should I pick for the ground troops?…………… Ryan, since he has a Digimon. Oh… I might want to think about the Digimon. Oh well)

We moved fast inside the castle since the bridge was down. Matt told us with his hand where we should go first.

"Neon, can you tell me how bad his fear of heights are?"

"Bad, even with a picture of the sky, he starts to get sick. That's one of the bugs that his father is trying to work out but nothing is helping him. His father hopes that Matt might be able to help him in some way."

"I see, but he never met Matt."

"I know, tomorrow is when he's going to met him. You are his daughter, right?"

"He just takes care of me."

"Do you know what we're looking for?"

"Guards and your Digimon would be my guess. Try to sense for yours."

"How?"

"You'll know when it happens."

"Hope you're right about this. Is Lily Dawn still mad at us?"

"I'm not sure when she'll start liking you guys. The same goes for Ryan but I'm hoping soon."

"Same here."

Me

We were running through the hallway, low but fast. I was allowing Don to lead so we could find his Digimon quicker.

"Matt, I thought you said that you're not a good fighter."

"I'm not?"

"You're able to keep up. Not most people can."

"Oh……… I'm not sure how then. For some reason though, I want to race you."

"I have a feeling that you'll beat me. Do you know how to cure fears?"

"Like your fear of heights?"

"It's embarrassing since my dad wants me to be this great fighter."

"Being perfect isn't all that fun, sometimes you need something to be your weak point but don't let it control you or slow you down. That's when it's really is your weakness."

"Those are some wise words. Is that from experience?"

"I don't even know where I got that from."

"Wherever they came from, they're still wise. Would you mind training Neon and me?"

"Sure, but I might do things differently than your father would."

"Like?"

"Like why to fight, what to use your fighting skills for, etc. Things like that."

"Wow, that is different. What can I use my fighting skills for?"

"Protecting yourself, others; you only know the death moves to never hit them and to avoid being hit in that area."

"Ok, thanks Matt. Is Panther your daughter?"

"I'm her guardian. Her real parents died a long time ago."

"Oh, ok." (I wonder why they thought Panther is my daughter. We don't look alike in any way)

Ryan

I couldn't believe that Matt and Panther were placing any kind of trust in them.

"Ryan, do you have a reason on why Matt and Panther are being nice to them?" Lily Dawn asked.

"I wished I did though."

"Why do you guys hate them? They're apart of your group now." Breomon pointed out.

"We hate them of what they are. They fight for the enjoyment, that's what we heard anyway." I answered.

"If you heard it then it might not be true. Get to know them before making a judgement."

"Wonder what's going on in there?" Lily Dawn looked at the castle.

"Why wonder?"

"Are they fighting or still running. Have an idea on why Matt called his fighting moves a fluke?" She looked at me.

"No, they weren't a fluke."

"I know."

"I hear something coming." Breomon said, looking around.

"What is it?" We were looking around too.

"There." I looked up to see a flying dinosaur coming toward us. We got low to the ground when it was coming in close. Breomon ran up in front of us and something was happening. He began to glow and the same with my amulet. I thought I heard the word 'Digievolve'. In Breomon's place, there was a firedog or a dog that would represent fire.

The firedog jumped up toward the dinosaur. "Firestorm!" A swirl of fire burst from his mouth and at the dinosaur.

He dodged it by moving up. "Flame Wind!" When he lifted his wings, a flame in the shape of his wing appeared and was sending flames upon flames at the firedog.

He dodged them by moving to the left. He was running to a place where he became right under him. "Laval!" Lava came from his body and shot up at him. He couldn't take it and he fell to the ground.

The firedog glowed and Breomon was back once it was finished.

"What happened?" I asked, wondering what that was.

"That's called Digievolving. I was a Champion Level Digimon called Flarmon."

"That's cool, can all Digimon do that?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Yea."

"Cool."

Something fast came down and took the fallen Digimon back to the castle.

"That might not be a good thing." I said.

"Right, but we're supposed to stay here." Lily Dawn was worrying about Panther and Matt more than Don and Neon. I was too.

"Let's hope that they can do something."

Panther

We were running along when something shot a bright red energy at us. Neon made sure that I didn't get hit by pulling me down as it came. We got up and ran faster since we didn't know how fast the thing could run. I looked back to notice that it was far behind to not see if we did something so I grabbed Neon and pulled us into the nearest room to hide, incase we had the chance to see what it was. It was a glow of light that flew passed the door. When it did, I sighed.

"Panther………… We're rich now."

I looked at Neon, who was staring at something behind me. I turned to see that the room was filled with golden things. I walked up to the pile to see that there was a gold flower. I picked it up to see that it was hard like gold. _I don't remember Matt telling me about there being gold flowers here. _

"We can sale these back home."

I looked at her again to see that she had a golden rod with some jewel that was also gold. "These are only covered in gold." _That's what happened to this flower…………but why would someone do this?_

"Really? No one would need to know." She put it back down. "Whoever could do this must be wealthy."

"But it doesn't make much sense. The Digimon don't really need money here."

"Then this must be an attack. Something that could turn objects into gold so they can't move or something."

"Then it's a tight-fit prison." I looked at the flower that was in my hand.

"If Digimon don't need it… Then why would someone have it?"

I looked back at her, "Don't know. It might be the Digimon that Matt was send here to deal with. Hope everyone else is still ok."

"Yea. If someone can do this… It might be a bad thing that we didn't stay together."

"At least it can't get all of us at once. But we can't warn the others either. Wait a minute, Lily Dawn can tell everyone."

"How? Wait, don't. You don't know what they're doing. If they're fighting then their mind needs to be on the fighting."

"You're right."

Me

We were still running through the hallways. I heard something flying at us at a great speed; I think it was trying to strike us down with one blow.

"Don, down. Now!"

He didn't even looked back, just did want I told him to do. When we reached the ground, a flying dinosaur-like Digimon flew passed us. He turned around and faced us. I looked at Don to make sure that he was ok to find that he was holding his stomach but still looking at the Digimon. _Found his Digimon._ He then stood up.

"Why are you here?" Asked the Digimon.

"I was sent here on a mission that I might not do, depends on the Super Level Digimon that I was sent to defeat." I got up and made sure that I wasn't showing any sign that I might be afraid, of course I wasn't (aren't I brave?).

"Who sent you?"

"Gennai, though I came because of something else."

"And that would be?"

"To let two new Digidestined to get their Digimon."

"Really? I thought that Gennai picked those?"

"Nope. I'm not sure who does. It's not Styxmon or her father."

"Oh, you mean the legendary ones that weren't supposed to show up until something happened to the old ways?" He didn't sound too happy about it.

"Something wrong with that legend that you were saying?"

"It's just that everything that can go wrong has and they weren't here to correct it. That makes one thing about it a little too much."

"Maybe they needed to be found. Let them know that they're needed here to help fight."

"Maybe… but I don't care one bit. Our fates have been set by Lordmon and there's nothing that can change it."

"You can change, maybe you were told that this was your fate but you're only there because you need to have experience in that field to help out your true destiny."

"Wise words coming from a human. What's your Crest?"

"Friendship."

"Friendship? Oh, the one with the Gabumon."

"Do you only know us by our Digimon and Crest?"

"We never learned your names."

"What level are you?"

"We're both Champion."

"Do you like it here?" Don asked, still holding his stomach.

"Is there something wrong with you?" He landed on the floor.

"It's my stomach. It doesn't feel so good with me looking up."

He looked confused but shook it off, "Ok, what are your names?"

"I'm Don." _He wanted to answer that fast._

"Matt, yours?"

"AeroDinomon."

"And the other Digimon is?"

"Her name is Sakuramon." He seemed pleased at saying her name.

Panther

I was still looking at the flower, trying to decide on a decision to whether move or stay here. Neon was constantly looking out the door to make sure that the thing wasn't around. _Matt wanted them to lead us to their Digimon, but we haven't met up with one. Well, we have but I'm not sure. Maybe I should let Neon decide so that she can find her Digimon. I think I'm slowing her down. _

"Neon, why don't you decide?" I placed the flower in my jacket pocket, where I had the invention that Izzy made.

"I think we should move. We might run into that Digimon but at least it can't attack us with that beam."

"Digimon have more than one attack. We don't know if it has the power to turn us into gold." I walked over to her.

"True, but someone can find us."

"Maybe, maybe not. I'm going with your decision though."

"Move quickly but silently, panther."

I knew that she was meaning the cat so I smiled at her comment. We moved out and walked silently across the hall, making sure that there was no sound coming from us. Neon was on one side of the hallway and I was on the other, watching each other back. This was making me feel like I was apart of my gang again: the movements, the feel, and the excitement; all leading back to my long memories of beginning with them; inching along a thin line that could either end in death or life.

This is how I got my name Panther. My movements told everyone that I was a predator of darkness, my eyes scanning for any chance to strike down my prey, cornering it so it doesn't stand a chance. I'm not sure if Neon could see it now or not but that didn't matter. I wasn't about to give up this feeling yet. I noticed that there was a door opened in front of me. I motioned to Neon to stop and she did. I moved closer to see that the room was lighting up with the golden color. I noticed that it was made, or covered, with gold. There was a guy there that was looking at a cage near him with a fairy-like person in it. She looked sad but was trying so hard to hide it. I signaled to her to move closer to see what was happening. I heard her gasping at the site, it sounded worry and sad. _That's kinda weird… That's how I felt when I saw Plantmon. Found hers. _

"Neon, we have to help her." I whispered softly.

"But how?"

"We'll attack him hard and fast." I looked around for something that I could reach and strike with.

"I got a better idea, why don't I use my powers to freeze time and you can just open the cage and get her out. That or beat the guy up."

"I don't like to attack my enemy without their knowledge that I did it."

"That comes from?"

"Me."

"Ok, fine. Have something to hit him with?"

"I'm looking."

I went back to looking for an item to use. There was a thought about using my bear hands. _Why not? I'm strong enough to fight him and fast. I should be able to do it._ I looked into the room more closely. There were patches near the door to him that I could hide behind and attack him without his knowing, including the caged fairy. I moved quickly to one patched to another. Eyeing each one to make sure that neither saw me or everything would be ruin. I got so closed that I could almost hear his breathing. _Perfect so far._ I looked at Neon to see that she was watching; waiting to make her move if need be. I wasn't sure how I was going to attack.

"Sakuramon, where is AeroDinomon?" He was looking at her; I couldn't tell how his eyes were like.

"I'm not sure, My Lord. He might be having trouble with the ones that reached the castle." She wasn't looking at him. It might've been normal for her not to look because she was looking right at Neon.

"What happen to the ones that I sent you to take care of?"

"I'm not sure, My Lord. I lost them in the castle."

"What!" He got up and didn't seem too happy with her answer. "Are you telling me that you lost them near my golden room?" _Wonder how she's looking right now?_

"Yes, My Lord. I'm sorry. I was going to look for them but you called me back." She sounded scared.

I looked at Neon to see that she wasn't happy at the site she was looking at.

"Are you blaming me for your failure!" He yelled that part.

"No, My Lord." She was really scared now.

"Then what are you implying?"

"If you want, My Lord, I would go back looking for them." She sounded so meek.

I noticed that his hands moved to open her cage. He walked towards the door. She wasn't in her cage so I followed him there. I saw her in his hands. He was walking down the way we came.

"I don't like what he's doing to her." Neon whispered as we followed them.

"I know, we'll do something."

"AeroDinomon!" He called.

Me

We heard someone yelled this Digimon's name. He took back to the sky and flew toward the voice.

"Wait, where are you going?" Don asked, holding his stomach again.

"My Lord is calling me. I would stay but he'll get angry." He stopped to face us.

"Let us go with you. We'll hide from his sight." I offered.

"We can free you." Don got up, still holding his stomach.

"Fine, but you better hurry." He took off.

"Let's go Don."

"Right."

We were running after him. I was holding on to Don's hand since his stomach was still a problem. I noticed that we were going in the direction that we sent Neon and Panther in. _This might not be good. If the Super Level saw them, who knows what he did to them. _

Panther

He stopped at the door where the golden objects were. We hide near the place, making sure that we could hear him. Then a flying dinosaur Digimon came to him and landed in front of him, bowing.

"Have you taken care of the other two?" The Super Level asked.

"… Yes, My Lord, they were easy to beat once you get a surprise attack on them."

I heard a noise beside me. I looked at Neon and she was signaling to me to move to her spot. I did to see Matt and Don hiding near AeroDinomon. I went back to my spot. _I know that he didn't defeat Lily Dawn and Ryan, so why is he lying? Oh well, good for us. _

"Now why couldn't you deal with yours the same way?" He looked in his hand at Sakuramon.

"I don't know." She still sounded scared.

He throwed her over to AeroDinomon and he caught her. "Look around for them. They must be caught."

"Right, My Lord." AeroDinomon bowed to him and backed away.

We went into the rooms that we were hiding in front of. He walked past us and when we thought it was safe, we came out. I looked at the direction that AeroDinomon was in and he was still there, looking at us.

"Who are you two?" Sakuramon asked, like she knew that we were there.

"I'm Neon."

"Panther. Matt, Don, you can come out now."

They walked out from their hiding spot. Neon went over to Don but I stayed where I was.

"Why were you calling him Lord?" Matt asked.

"He wanted us to." Sakuramon took to the sky and I noticed that Don was holding his stomach.

"What's he's name?" I asked.

"Lordmon. He rules this castle." She looked at Matt, "You shouldn't have come."

"I know that but I'm not here on Gennai's wish. It only gave me an excuse to come in without him checking on my movement."

"What about the two humans with a Breomon? Are they ok?" Neon asked.

"They're fine, we didn't hurt them." AeroDinomon answered.

"Please leave. We don't want to kill you." Sakuramon said.

"Sakuramon, they're here to help. They have the Legendary Digidestined."

"Correction, we have a few of them." I explained.

"How many?" He asked.

"We need two more Crest holders." Matt answered that one.

"Wait, there's something on the Crest holder of Trinity in Lordmon's studies. But that's in his room." Sakuramon said.

"Don't worry. We'll take care of him." Don promised, now not trying to show that there was something wrong with his stomach.

"How? You're only human."

"Humans have the ability to expand on their normal limits."

"Please help us." She was now begging us.

"No need to beg, we're happy to do it." Matt said with a victory smile.

"Why does he need the gold objects?" Neon asked, looking at the room.

"So that's where you were hiding. To see what limits I have."

"You're able to do that?" I asked with surprised.

"Yep, I didn't on you since I need the object still."

"But if Digimon don't need gold then why keep them in their golden form?" Neon asked.

"There something in this world that's worth more than gold… Gold is a way for Digimon to get them, normal ones anyway. Super Levels can only ask for them but sometimes they even need gold."

"What is this item?" Matt asked.

"I'm not sure. It's said that it can beat the powerful moon being. Every Super thinks that that being is in the Digidestined somewhere."

"Moon being?" I looked at Matt for an answer of some kind. He just shrugged, unknowing too.

"Yes, a moon being." Sakuramon was reassuring me that it was true.

"Matt, Don and I will fight Lordmon. You two do something about the gold. If there is a moon being in the Digidestined then we might as well take care of the money source." Neon offered.

"Hm?……That does sound to be a good idea but…… Never mind."

Neon smiled and helped Don toward where Lordmon went. I watched them walking away when I heard something clicking sound behind. I looked at Matt to see that his back was towards me and he was messing with something.

"What are you doing?"

He froze and looked at me with him back still at me, "Nothing." He faceed forward and coughed a cough that means hiding.

"Right, what are we going to do about the gold?"

"Hm? Let's take them to a volcano and burn them. That should work."

"Are there volcanoes here?"

"Oh yea, the only thing is that I'm wondering what Gennai would do with it."

"Meaning?"

"If the legends say Digidestined then that could mean either in the new or old groups. Which one are they talking about?"

"Good point but what does that have to do with Gennai?"

"I think he knows that a few of us aren't fully with him anymore. That might make him worry and would want a way to make sure that we're dealt with."

"But then wouldn't the others argue against that?"

"Not really, they might for a while but not for long. Wonder why we were able to agree with the new idea then the others?"

"Because you guys are cooler than the others."

"True, can't deny that." He looked at the room with all the gold, "I say we take the gold and hide it somewhere in our house."

"Wouldn't that be putting us in danger though?"

"I'm willing to live dangerously…. You got a point. Never mind."

Right then there was something different about him. I couldn't put my finger on it but there was something there. "Then what are we going to do?"

"We'll leave it. Just destroy this castle should be good enough and no one will know that there was gold here."

There was an explosion behind me. I looked to see Don, Neon, Sakuramon, and AeroDinomon coming toward us.

"Run! We messed up!" Don yelled at us.

We took off running. Matt didn't until they passed him. When we got out, Lily Dawn, Ryan, and Breomon had a question look on their faces.

"I'll take it down." AeroDinomon announced and the firewall disappeared.

They knew what that meant and ran as well. We reached Gabumon and the others in no time, that's when we stopped.

"What happened?" Bellimon asked, then her eyes widen at something behind us.

I turned to see that the whole castle crashing down. Matt opened a portal, "Everyone, go through. Gabumon and I will check it out."

We all walked through to see that we were at Matt's house.

"Now what?" Ryan asked, turning to face me since I was the last to step through.

"We'll wait."

Me

"Ok, let's go look."

We walked over to the castle again. The whole place was a pile of rubble and there wasn't any sign of the gold that was there.

"What are we looking for?" Gabumon asked, looking at the pile too.

I was about to say something but Gennai appeared. "Great job Matt. I'm really proud of you."

"Why was he dangerous?" I didn't know why Gennai wanted him out but I knew that he had to be since he was the money source for that special metal.

"That's nothing of importance. You don't need to worry about that. Thank you for your help."

"Not a problem, Gennai."

When he vanished, I sighed, glad that I don't have to pretend too long around him.

"Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" I looked at him.

"You're acting like Gennai was the same guy that we met the first time."

"It's part of my plan. Since we still need to go into the Digital World, it would be better if he sent me in here to take care of it and while I'm doing that, I get information on the things that I need. Plus we still need to get at least two more Digimon."

"Ohh, I see. Play him for a fool, that's a good plan."

"Yep, and to answer your question before he popped up, we're looking for any sign of gold. There seemed to be a metal here that's worth more than gold and it can beat a moon being, whom ever that is. Many Supers think that it's in the Digidestined somewhere, the really question is in which one."

"Ohh, and why are we worrying about gold if it's not that important?"

"Gold is used for money with lower levels. Let's go, we're done."

"Ok." I open another portal and we stepped through to find that we were behind them. "Everything's done."

They turned around to face us.

"What did you have to do?" Lily Dawn asked.

"See something. Don't worry though."

"Ok, see ya around." Ryan said before him and Breomon walked away.

Lily Dawn nodded and walked away too. Two cars pulled up on the driveway for some reason. A man and a woman stepped out.

"Neon, Don, are you two ok?" Asked the woman coming towards Neon more.

"We're fine, okasan."

"Otosan, Matt is willing to train us, if that's ok with you." Don said, facing the man.

"That's great. Is that ok?" He looks at me.

"Yea… Though I might train them differently."

"That's fine. Experience is the important thing."

"Ishida-san, I'm expecting you to take care of Neon for me while she's here." Said Neon's mother.

"I'll do my best. That's all I can really offer."

She nodded her head then looked at Panther, "Is this your daughter?" Her question seemed puzzled.

"No, I'm her guardian."

"Oh… Sorry, you two almost look similar." A question was still in her eyes.

"If you say so."

"I hope they weren't too much trouble today." Said Don's father.

"Nope, in fact, they were a great help."

"That's good to hear. Let's go."

They walked to their cars and drove off.

"That was weird." Panther stated.

"What was?"

"Neon's mother. She thinks we look similar."

"I don't see how."

"What were you really there for?"

"I wanted to make sure that none of the gold could be found easily. I'm not trusting Gennai with it."

"I know. Did he appear?"

"Yep."

"Ok."

She picked up Plantmon and walked inside. I looked up to the sky to see that the clouds were hiding the stars.

"What are you looking at?"

I looked down at Gabumon, who was searching the sky to see what I was looking at. I looked backed up. "I think it's sad. I love space and the stars but for some reason I'm almost glad that they're covered tonight."

"That is sad."

"Hey Matt, are you coming in or what?"

I looked back to see Panther in a ready position to close the door on me.

"We're coming." I looked at Gabumon, "Let's go."

He nodded and we walked inside.

Ok, that's it. Well, of this part anyway. I wished I knew what happened to Neon and Don though when they were fighting Lordmon. Sorry but I didn't think that they'll do something like that. I was activating it as fast as I could to make sure you readers can see, or read, what happened. Oh well. Sorry anyway. Strange things are happening since I am feeling different lots of times. I'm not sure why though. Ok, Baibai.


	5. Chap 4 The Trinity Siblings and their Am...

Ok... It's been a month since something interesting happened. Don and Neon are apart of the group now and I'm training them. Other than that, I'm not too sure what to talk about. Oh, I did get their little camera thing and this time I'm preparing for the others. So I made sure that I have extras that are activated. Ok, on to the story……… I'm now noticing that this looks like an essay… Oh well.

Lily Dawn

Another day in the Japanese class, it's in the beginning and we're all talking. Don and Neon are also talking to us. Ryan and I agreed to befriend them since we're a team. Then we found out that they're pretty cool. It's amazing how we over-looked them in the beginning. I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked to see that it was Nereida, a girl in my Chemistry class.

"I was wondering if you would like to work together on that project in science."

"Ok, that'll be cool. What to come over to my house?"

"Actually, my Grandmother would like to meet you. I'm pretty sure anyway."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. Plus my older brother, Tim, can help us. Oh, and can Panther and Matt come? I think she wants to talk to them too."

"Shouldn't you know?" Panther asked. Panther has still retained some of her gangster voice, but it has gotten softer.

"I know I should, but you'll see why it's hard when you meet her. Trust me."

"Ok, I'm sure he won't mind."

"Thanks," she smiled enviously, "Does anyone else? I don't want to be rude."

"That's ok, I have something today." Ryan said.

"Sure." Don answered.

"Ok." Neon said.

"Sorry, I have something too. It's a photographic." Kari said.

"I have researching to do. Sorry." Ken said.

"Ok, that's one, two, three, four, five, and me makes six." TK said, counting on his figures.

"Great, ok. I'll walk with you, Panther, and then Matt can drive us to our house?"

"Sounds like a plan. He shouldn't have that much to do."

"Thanks again." She went back to her seat and was talking to her brother, Damon.

"This should be fun. I was told that they live near the mountains." TK said.

"How do you know this?" Kari looked at him, in a playful mad way.

"My okasan's a reporter. Do you think that I wouldn't pick up some tricks?"

"Not really, we all thought that you wanted to write stories." Ken said.

"I do, but I also know how to investigate."

"That means that I have to wait again near the school." Panther said, since today is the day she has a free period at the end.

The bell ranged and we got in our seats. The teacher walked in and the class began.

Algebra II was ok. I got to know more about Neon and Don, like Neon wants to be a singer and Don a fighter. Though, everyone knew about that once we got to know him or her. Then it was onto English. The language is very complex, but with Matt's study sessions after school, everyday, it's becoming easier and easier. For some reason, all the languages we're learning, in our group anyway, he knows very well. At lunch, I noticed that Nereida and her brother were there. _Guess I've never noticed before._ I went to sit with my friends for lunch.

The day went by pretty fast. Panther was waiting outside the main doors. We waited for Nereida and her brother to appear. They showed up after everyone else.

"Sorry to keep you guys waiting. If you're not the first to your locker, it's hard to get out." Damon explained.

"Yea, the halls are a killer then… Sorry Panther." TK said.

"It's ok."

"What?" He looked confused.

"Killer was the name of my boyfriend."

"Ohh ok."

"Let's go." She led us back to Matt's house. He was already waiting near his car.

"Guessed you called him?" I asked Panther.

"TK did." He opened all the doors before we reached him.

"Hi, nice to meet you two." He said in a friendly manner.

"Same here, if we're not correct, sorry." Nereida said.

"That's ok."

We all hopped in and he drove in the directions that Nereida told us to go in. We found out that they did live near the mountains. It looked really peaceful. We got to their house, which looked like an old Japanese style house. We walked in and Nereida announced our arrival, "Grandmother, we have company."

"Ok, please bring them in." It was an old but sweet voice.

She led us to a room that had one pot of flowers in it. There was an old lady sitting in the middle of the floor in a mediating state.

"Are these the people, Grandmother?"

"Yes Nereida. I need to talk to… Matt."

She looked at him, "Ok, hope you don't mind."

"No. It's fine."

"Everyone, let me introduce you to our brother."

We walked out of the room. I noticed that Panther looked back before we were out of sight of the room. I heard the doors to that room closing before we turned the corner.

Me

I sat down, facing her. I was going to wait for her to speak before I did, since she did want me.

"Do you not know?"

"Not know what?"

"Why you're here? You should have some basic knowledge why?"

"No, I don't. Sorry."

"I only wanted to know how could a being like you can have so many names to call yourself and give many to others."

"I'm not following."

"You give many names to the people closest to you."

"I do?" _Wonder what names?……… And there are only a few that are close to me._

"And those few are the people that I'm referring to."

"There's one that isn't human."

"All the people that are close to you aren't human… Only one is but that's has its reasons."

"……………"

"It's true."

"Then what am I?"

"You are Darkness, Ice, Friendship, Wolf, Virtuous, Cat, and Monkey."

"Why all that?"

"Those titles can be mix into many ways to refer to you. Friendship and Virtuous are the ones that I'm having trouble with."

"Those are the symbols that strongly represent me."

"No." Her voice was firm on her answer.

"Why not?" I tried not to get mad.

"Friendship, I can understand but not Virtuous."

"It is though."

"It can not be. You are a living form of Darkness, Evil, Wickedness; you can never be Virtuous."

I just looked at her for a few minutes (I wasn't sure if this was on my face or what but she was scary and I'm almost wishing that something that I can't tell you otherwise… yea, doesn't happen but oh well. Oh, after this, things aren't the same with me… Panther can tell you herself but lucky for me that no one knows that I'm writing what's happening to everyone… Well, almost what happens to everyone).

"You know that I'm right. You can feel it. You felt it once before. I know that for a fact because I felt your power through one point in time. Do you not remember?"

"I'm not even sure how I can be an evil, dark being when I'm fighting for the goodness ever since I knew that I had to."

"What were you doing during the time that you didn't know? What were you doing then?"

"I was getting over my parents' divorcement."

"………………………… You must have something to gain from the light. There are stories of the light and dark being one in the same. I thought that during your younger life, you have that light to balance you greatly, what happened to that light that you lost and gain?"

"I'm not sure. I'm not totally sure on the 'light' part. All, or most, of my friends are of the light."

"When did you change to 'most'?"

"Recently."

"What's been happening recently?"

"A few of my friends aren't turning out to be my friends."

"Is that all?"

"Yes…" Then my cell phone interrupted. "Hello?"

"Matt, there's something that I need you to do. Do you know where Kaiba Corp is?" Hota said.

"I think so… But why there?"

"He knows, please go there."

"Ok." Then I hanged up. "I have to go, work. Please tell TK and Panther that the car will be here. Panther has a pair of keys."

"I will."

"Thanks." I bowed to her.

"Wait, hold that position."

I held it, not knowing why though.

"Feel the feelings that are being shown. I'm seeing that you're doing that so you don't have to explain anything else to me."

I didn't feel anything like that but I did sense something close to that. "Sorry, I'm not meaning to."

"That's fine. I thought that you wouldn't know yourself."

I got up and walked out, she followed me. "How will you get to where you need to be if you don't have a car?"

"I feel like walking. I'll catch a bus to the place."

"Ok."

Then I walked away. _This is getting to be weird. First Panther told me that I turn into someone a bit new then she tells me that I'm an evil being. Something about all this is familiar to me but not by much… I have to figure this out one day. Guess I have to study everything that I do from now on. Ok, for the reason that I'm walking. One, I wanted the exercise… That's not a good enough reason; I'm in good health. Two, the scenery… That's a good reason, but it's not the real reason. It's more like an excuse. Maybe I am trying to escape her or something else… Oh well, at least it's being brought to my attention._

Lily Dawn

We were walking to a room at the end of the hallway. Damon knocked on the wood, "Tim, we have some friends that want to meet you. Can we come in?"

"Sure." Answered an older voice.

Damon opened the door and we walked in.

The room was filled with chemistry things. A guy wearing a loose, gray tank top and loose, blue jean was sitting in a chair in front of us. He stood up, "Nice to meet you guys. Friends of my siblings?"

"Going to be." TK answered then was taking notes.

"What are you doing?"

"This is giving me great ideas for stories. I'm a writer."

"Oh, ok."

"Tim, can you help Lily Dawn and me with something?"

"Like?"

"We have a project in chemistry and we could use your help." I said, so he knew who I was.

"Sure, chemistry is my specialty. Why are the others here then?"

"She invited us to come since your Grandma wanted to talk to Matt." Don answered.

"Oh, do you know why? She's a bit weird."

"She just wanted to talk to him." Neon said.

"What are your names anyway?"

"I'm TK."

"Panther."

"Don."

"Neon, we have more that they know but they had something else to do today."

"Ok, Lily Dawn, Nereida, lets get to work."

"Thanks oniisan."

"No problem."

We got to work on the project. The project was on the molecules of the atoms and things like that. We had to construct a model of the molecule of our choosing but it was Tim that was deciding for us. Since he wanted us to have a good grade and all, it was going to the best work we could do in that class. Damon, Don, Neon, and Panther were helping out any way they could. TK was still taking notes on everything.

We were just about to finish on part of the molecule when their Grandmother walked in.

"Hi Grandmother, where's Matt?" Nereida asked, noticing that he wasn't there.

"He had some work to take care of. He got a call telling him so. Panther, TK, the car is still here."

"How is he going to get into the city?" Panther asked. I also started to notice that every since her time in jail, she's been worrying about Matt.

"He's walking to the bus stop."

"That's weird… Oh well." TK said, going back to note taking.

"Thanks for letting us know." Panther said.

"Not a problem." She walked back.

"Wait, are you talking about Matt Ishida?" Tim asked.

"Yea, that's him." Panther said.

"Wow, he was here? Nereida, Damon, why didn't you get me?"

"We were going to bring him to you, but Grandmother wanted to talk to him first." Damon said.

"If you want to meet him, he wouldn't mind coming back." TK said.

"How would you know that?" Tim looked at TK.

"I'm his brother. Plus, he wouldn't mind if you came over to his either. He's home most of the time anyway."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

We went back to the project. In hours, we were done. It was really good and I was sure that we would get something good for it. Then we noticed that it was getting late.

"You guys can stay here for the night." Nereida offered.

"I don't mind, let me call my house." I said, glad that I had Bellimon with me.

"I'll stay too." Panther said.

"Guess I have to go then. Matt will need his car and I'll tell him." TK said, starting to pack everything up.

"We'll stay too." Don said.

"Ok, I'll go tell Grandmother then." Damon got up and walked out.

"Let's get you guys a room then. Follow me." Nereida said.

"I'll keep the project in here."

We followed Nereida and she showed us every place that we might need to know then all the ones that we might not need to know as much. Don called his dad and he was going to tell Neon's mother for her. I called my house and told my brother that I was staying at a friend's house.

"Ok, that's fine. Oh, you had a phone call from some guy."

"Name?"

"Apollo."

"Oh, ok, did you get his number?"

"No, I think he was calling from a pay phone or something. Nothing showed up."

"Ok… That's weird. I'll talk to him later then."

"Care to tell who he is?"

"Later, talk ta ya later." I hanged up. _He told me that he was staying at his house today… Weird._

TK (I have one on everyone)

I finished gathering my stuff and was about to head out of house when their Grandmother stopped me.

"TK, can I speak to you before you go?"

I turned to face her, "Sure."

"How much do you know about Matt?"

"I hope everything. I can't second guess all the time but I can most of the time."

"Do you know that he's an evil, dark being?"

"That one I didn't know."

"What do you know?"

"That he's weird at times. I am too at times."

"How?"

"Well, one of my friends knows kendo and one day he wanted to teach me a few tricks. I've never picked up a sword or anything like it in my life and I handled the wooden sword like I was a master. That was weird."

"When has Matt been weird?"

"Recently."

"Please explain."

"He's holding training sessions for anyone that wants them in his house. One thing is weird is how he knew how to build a dojo and hidden spots. Then all his fighting style, to me it seems like he learned them from varieties of places but to everyone else, it's his moves that are so cool. And he always claims that everything that he does is really out of luck, since he doesn't know how to fight professionally, though I did claim that too with the kendo thing."

"That's odd."

"What is?"

"The evil being isn't supposed to be a great fighter. The world might be in more danger than I thought." She looked at the floor when she said that.

"If he is the evil being, Matt wouldn't let the power go to his head or anything like that." She looked at me. "Matt's stronger than he looks. Plus, he wants someone back in his life so much that he wouldn't give up himself to anyone."

"That's a good thing. Who is this someone?"

"He's girlfriend. She died but he's able to talk to her in his sleep. We can all talk to her when we're in a special place but recently, she has to stay hidden and away from us because she wants to protect us."

"I see."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, thank you. Oh, is there someone else that's close to you two?"

"Hm?…………………… My guess would be no one really."

"There has to be someone else."

"I'll think about it. I'm not sure if there is another."

"Arigato."

"Baibai."

Then I walked out. _That was weird… Oh well _(She is weird. She's calling me an evil, dark being when I've done everything good. Of course there is something different about me and that might have something to what she's talking about. Oh well, I'll figure it out.)

Lily Dawn

Panther, Neon, and I were sleeping in the room next to Nereida's. Don was sleeping on the floor of Damon's. I wasn't getting much sleep and was looking around the room. I turned over to see Panther not in her sleeping mat. I got up and looked around. I didn't see her in the room and didn't see any sign of where she could be. I noticed that Plantmon wasn't here either so that might mean it's a place where she feeling Plantmon can go without getting to much in the way. I lay back down, waiting for her to return.

Panther

I was looking at the Full Moon from the rooftop of their house. Plantmon was looking with me, knowing that I always like the Full Moon out of all the other stages.

"Matt was right, the sky is clearer in the country side then in the city." I stated, not really expecting a response.

"Yea, this is a peaceful place." Plantmon agreed.

"Wonder what they were talking about?"

"He'll tell you, you know that."

"I know. Something about it seems to be…supernatural or something. I can't really describe it too well."

"It's fine… Wasn't Gabumon with him? I can't remember?

"Gabumon was with him. He's usually shrinks so then no one can see him." (That's the machine thing that Izzy made for everyone. Ken modified mine so Gabumon would be able to follow me around more. Though I know that Ken doesn't have the time to be messing around with Izzy's machine so when did he find the time to do so?…… Oh well.)

"Ok, just wondering." There was a sound made in the forest near us. "What was that?"

"Don't know, let's find out."

Lily Dawn

I was looking at the ceiling when I heard something from outside. I was getting up to see what it was through the window but Neon was already there.

"What is it?" I asked in a whispering voice.

"There's something out there. Let's go. Panther might need back up." She went to the door and ran out.

I grabbed Bellimon and ran after her. I caught up in the hallway. "How do you know that Panther's out there?"

"I saw her and Plantmon running to the forest. Let's hurry before we lose them."

"Right."

We ran faster. We saw Panther looking at the top of the trees when we reached her.

"Panther." I said to let her know that we were there.

She looked at us. We stopped near her.

"Did you see anything?" Neon asked. Sakuramon came out from her hair since that's where she placed her machine.

"No, wouldn't Don have heard something?"

"Outdoors, he likes to be a heavy sleeper."

"Oh."

"What were you looking for?" I asked.

"Plantmon went to the top of the forest to see if she can see anything."

Plantmon popped from the leaves, "Nope, nothing."

Panther grabbed her and she let go of the branch she was holding. Then the same noise was all around us. Neon and Panther got into a fighting stance. I got myself ready to fight since I don't like the fighting stances all that while (Yea, she said that it would mess up her dancing style… I think she doesn't want to wear the uniforms that I give them to wear… Oh well, she gets trained in using her dancing into a martial arts form. Hehe).

"How many are there?" I asked.

"Two… I think." Neon said, still listening to the sound they were making.

Then the sound moved quickly towards the house and we ran after it.

When we got in the clearing, I saw two things on the roof. One was a white thing and the other one was black since it was blending in with the night, the only way I could tell there was another was by some shiny object near it.

"Who are you?" Panther asked. They turned around and disappeared. Panther went on the rooftop to see what happened to them. "They're not around here."

"They opened a portal." Sakuramon said.

Panther jumped down upon hearing that.

"What do you mean? Do you know them?" Neon asked.

"Yea. Well… kinda, they're Digimon that like to cause trouble. Eternalmon and Endmon are their names."

"So they're able to move freely through both worlds?" I asked.

"That's what I've heard."

"I've heard of the names but not their powers." Plantmon said.

"Most low levels don't. But since I've been working with a Super, it's easy to get the news that he should get."

"Let's head back to bed then, there isn't much else we can do." Panther said.

We all nodded and headed back in. When we were all in our sleeping mats, I had to ask Panther, "Panther, why were you outside?"

"Oh, I like to look at the Full Moon. Matt told me that in the country side, the sky looks clearer."

"Oh, ok. Night."

"Night."

Me

I reached the Kaiba Corp building a little late in the night. _Hope he doesn't mind._ I knocked on the door and kid with long, spike black hair opened the door.

"Are you the one that they sent to talk to Seto Kaiba?" The kid asked.

"Yea, I'm pretty sure."

He turned into the building, "Seto, there's another."

Then a much older guy came in. He looked to be around my age, maybe a bit older. "What's your name? And do you know how long I've been waiting?"

"Sorry for that. It took longer than I thought to find a bus there. I'm Matt Ishida."

"So they sent the famous Matt Ishida to duel me. Do you even know how to duel?"

"Are you talking about with swords?"

"No, not that kind of dueling. Duel Monsters."

"Oh, no. I've heard of the game but never played it. By the way, what does my job want from you? They didn't tell me that."

"They think that with my technology it can improve something that one of their leading bosses thought up."

"That would most likely be my boss. Ok, I'm willing to learn."

"All beginners can't win against me. Only every skill duelist can defeat me."

"Then I guess that means that we still won't get your technology. Can we see how well I fair? I remember other kids in my youth playing the game. They taught me a few things."

"I have been waiting for you anyway."

I walked in and followed him to a room. The kid turned on a light switch and I saw a big ring thing in the middle of the room.

"This is where we'll be dueling." Seto said as he walked over to one end of the ring. I walked over to the other one and the thing started up. "There's a deck since most of my newer opponents don't even have a deck of their own."

I saw the deck came up from the far right of the board. I then realized what I said to him earlier. _Wait a minute… I've never seen anyone play this game before in my life… Why did I say that to Seto Kaiba? Weird, hopefully I do know something or else this isn't going to be a good game for Seto._

"Pick up five cards and I'll begin."

"Ok."

I picked up five cards from the deck. I looked at the pictures to see something familiar about them.

"I play La Jinn in Attack Mode."

I looked at the arena to see a green genie appear in the slot that he placed the card in. I picked up another card from the deck. "I place this one in Face-down Defense." _How did I know to say that?_

Then the game was set. I was placing monsters, trap and magic cards all over the place. Though they were the right places, it was weird since this was my first time seeing, hearing, and playing this game. The next thing that was weird was that I was winning. Since there's thing called Life Points and I had more than he did. _Wouldn't he give his opponents monsters and things that are weaker than his? Oh well._ After a while, I won the game. I put all the cards back in the deck and it took it back. I thought I saw something happening to them but I couldn't tell.

"How did you win? You said that you hardly knew anything about the game." Seto seemed to be pissed off more than he should have.

"Well, actually, while I was dueling, I realized that I didn't even know the game. It's just as much as a surprise for me as it is for you."

"You didn't act that way."

"Sorry for the defeat then."

"Your company gets to use my technology."

"Do you only use it for Duel Monsters?"

"Mostly."

"Oh, just wondering. That was fun and I won't do it again. I guess it was beginners luck. Baibai."

I walked out and was going to call Hota to tell her but then the kid came out. "No one is able to defeat Seto. Who were the friends that taught the game to you?"

I faced him, "I said that I didn't even know the game. I'm not even sure why I said that to you guys. If I knew, I would gladly tell you."

"It must be Yugi, right. A guy with reddish spiked hair and yellow bangs?"

"If I met someone like that then I would remember but I haven't. I'm sorry."

Seto appeared. "Do you have your own deck?"

"No. I used yours."

"My deck doesn't have some of the cards that you used."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Then I don't know. I used the one that popped out and I also put it back. I didn't take or add anything."

"Seto, it's true. I was watching him." The kid said.

"Then how?"

"I think he might be friends with Yugi."

"That would explain his skills if he didn't say that he knew nothing."

"Right, I don't know anything about the game." I was still defending myself.

"I'll ask him." Said the kid.

"You'll be seeing us again." Seto said then they headed in.

_As long as you don't stalk me._ My phone ranged, "Hello?"

"Matt, where are you?" It was TK.

"I'm at Kaiba Corp building."

"Why are you there?"

"I was sent here to see if I can get Seto Kaiba's technology. I'm going to ask tomorrow about the project since I didn't know about it in the first place."

"Ok, Panther is at their house. I'm at yours since I had to drop off your car."

"Ok, I'll be there."

"Ok."

I hang up and started to run to a bus stop, since the closest one was about to leave.

It wasn't until it was one o'clock that I reached my own house.

"What took ya?"

"Catching buses isn't a walk in the park."

"Oh."

"There was something weird that happened."

"What?"

"I was fighting Seto in a game that I've never heard of or played and I seemed to know everything about it." (Letting you know that I don't like to use a lot of the traditional ways of addressing people)

"Really? Weird. That's like all the times you claim that you're not a good fighter when it's obvious that you are."

"True… Oh well. I'm tried and want some sleep."

"Ok, night."

"Night."

TK started to walk back to his house and I went into mine. I collapsed on my bed and fell asleep. I felt Gabumon growing big again and was lying next to me.

Lily Dawn

In the morning, we told Don what happened.

"We have to tell TK then. This is important."

"Right." Panther agreed.

"Guys, breakfast is ready." Damon said to us.

We went into the dinning room to see that there was a big breakfast in the old style on the table, which was also like the old style.

"Sit down you guys." Nereida said with a smile.

We did and began to eat. We were able to sneak some food to our Digimon and they loved it.

"This is really good. Who cooked?" Neon asked.

"I did." Nereida said.

"You're a very good cook." Panther said.

Their Grandmother handed Panther a cup of tea. She looked at it then at her, "Thanks?"

"Do you like or hate tea?"

"I like it."

"What about Matt? Or TK?"

"They like it too. Matt drinks tea every day."

"Good, I didn't think he would."

Panther picked the cup up and drank some. After breakfast, we got ready for school. Everyone was helping with our project since it was due today.

We waited at the bottom of the hill for the bus.

"I'm not being rude or anything but does your Grandma usually acts this way?" Panther asked.

"Not really. But then we don't really bring anyone over." Nereida answered.

"Oh, ok."

"Your house is really cool. I didn't know that there were still some old style houses in this area." Neon said.

"Yea, it's been in our family for many years. We still haven't decided who should have it." Damon said.

"Wouldn't it go to the oldest?" Don asked.

"Tim wants to live in the city. So it's up to me or Nereida."

"Then wouldn't it go to you?"

"We're deciding on who gets married first." Nereida smiled.

"Oh."

The bus came and we hopped on. We reached the school way before anyone else did.

"That explains why you guys are always first." Panther said.

We brought the project to our teacher and headed back to our first period class.

After a while, TK, Kari, and Ken came in.

"How was it?" TK asked.

"Cool." Panther answered.

"That's good."

"Thanks for baring our Grandmother." Nereida said.

"It's ok."

Class was about to start so we got into our seats. I noticed that Panther was whispering something to TK. My guess would've been about last night. It was my job to tell Kari and Ryan. I wasn't paying that much attention in class since my mind was on last night. The two Digimon that can appear and disappear whenever they want is a weird thought. Then I thought something that might not happened but could. _What if they have a power that Gennai would want? Then that would put them in danger a lot. There's got to be a way to make sure that doesn't happen. _I looked up to see that Panther was pointing into her head. I knew she wanted me to go into hers so I did.

_Yes? **I asked in her mind. **_

_What's on your mind? You seemed deep in thought._

_I was. What if the two Digimon have a power that Gennai would want. Moving to and fro the Digital World does seem to be powerful._

_You have a good point there. I never thought about that before. _

_I just thought that up. _

_Ok, if we see them again, we have to make sure that we can ask them questions. _

_Right, do you want me to tell Kari and Ryan this thought?_

_Not yet… not until we know for sure that they do have something. If they don't then we might make Gennai think that they do and that would put them in more danger than we want for them. _

_Good point. Ok, I won't tell. What about TK?_

_He doesn't need to know either. I'll tell Matt since he would need to know. _

_Ok, that was all._

_Ok._

I left her mind. It's a cool thing to have if the other people are use to the feeling of someone else in their heads. I usually talk to Ryan like that and as for Panther, I did when she was around but otherwise, it was other people that went into her head. She never told me who they were. Just that now they'll be after her to bring her back to the gang. She usually fears the worst since they can make her do things she doesn't want and they can control others. They've tried already to get her back but she never said how she got out (it was the light thing). The class went on and I started to get something down that the teacher was talking about before the bell rang and we got up to leave.

I stopped by my locker to get my books when I looked out the window to see Apollo there. He was smiling at me, like he knew I would be there. I looked around to see if anyone was around first before I opened the window.

"Apollo, what are you doing here?"

"I thought I should visit. Is this a bad time?"

"No, go to the front office and get a visitor's pass. That way you can eat lunch with me and my friends."

"Ok, I'll do just that. See ya at lunch. Where will you guys be eating?"

"Outside today, ok?"

"Ok."

Then he walked to the front of the building.

I ran to my class since I knew that I might be late. The bell ranged as soon as I stepped in the classroom. I took my seat as the teacher was doing roll call.

"What took you? You're usually not this late." Ryan said.

"Apollo was outside the window nearest to my locker. He's going to be eating lunch with us. Oh, I might want to tell everyone else."

"Yea."

I concentrated my mind so it would be easier to talk to Panther since she's far.

_Panther?_

_Huh?… Oh, I thought you didn't want to use your powers this far?… In school at least._

_Well, tell TK that we're eating outside today. I'll tell you why later._

_Fine._

Now I had to search for Ken, since I never really had to know where he was at this time. I found him in a Civics room.

_Ken?_

_Hm?…………… Oh yea, Hi Lily Dawn._

_Hi, go outside today for lunch._

_Ok._

_Thanks._

_No problem._

I took a deep breath since that took a lot out of me.

"Do they know?" Kari asked.

"Yea. Oh…" I then started to tell them what happened last night.

It took me until lunch since the teacher stopped me from talking a couple of times.

"Wow, that's interesting." Kari said as we walked to the lunch line.

"Lily Dawn."

I looked to see Panther and TK. "Hi."

"We're going to wait for you since you know where to sit." TK said with a smile.

"Ok."

Then Ken walked up and hid, TK and Kari did the same since they didn't want Davis to walk in. But, he did anyway. He just didn't see them.

"Do you guys know where TK, Kari, and Ken are?" He asked.

"Why don't you try the other line?" Ryan offered.

"Right."

I heard him murmured that he wish Ken didn't walk so fast.

"He so easily tricked." Panther said, watching him walk away.

"He'll be back. He knows where we generally sit." Ken said.

"Not today." I said with joy.

"Why do we have to eat outside?" Panther asked.

"Apollo. He's waiting outside for us."

"Oh, that's why you're all happy."

"Yep."

The line seemed to be moving faster and we got our food. I led the group outside to see where Apollo was. I saw him waving his hand in the air. I moved faster towards him, not making sure that the others were right behind me.

"Apollo."

"Hi Lily Dawn, glad I didn't had to wait long."

"Yea, oh," I looked back to see if they were there and they were, "These are a few of my friends TK, Kari, and Ken. You've already met Panther and Ryan." I pointed to them with my hand.

"Hi, nice to meet you all. I'm Apollo."

"Same here. Let's sit down and talk." TK offered.

We sat down at the table behind Apollo. I sat next to Apollo; Ryan was across from him; Ken was next to Ryan; TK was on the opposite side of Apollo; Kari was in front of me; and Panther was next to Kari. I gave some of my food to Apollo since I noticed that he didn't have anything.

"Thanks, I was planning on eating later but oh well." He smiled and took the food.

"So, do you work?" Ken asked.

"Yea." He took a bit of the food and he seemed to like it a bit too much for school food.

"Where, if you don't mind me asking."

He got over the food before speaking, "Not at all. I'm working in one of my father's places. He wants me and my twin sister, Artemis, to become like him and our step-mother but we want to do other things."

"Like what?"

"See the world, live life, stuff like that."

"That sounds interesting. Like one of those favorite books where the kid goes off to do his or her own thing to find themselves." TK said. I noticed that he was doing something but I couldn't see what.

"Yea, it would be."

"What happened to your real mother?" Kari asked.

"She died after giving birth."

"Wow, twins that never saw their mother."

"We saw pictures of her though."

"Did your dad take the pictures?" Panther asked.

"Yea." He didn't seem too thrilled to say that.

"Something wrong?" I whispered to him.

"Hm?" He looked at me but not fully to make sure that the others didn't notice.

"You don't seem too happy to answer that."

"It's nothing. I was thinking about something else."

"Ok."

We started to talk about other things. It was nice having Apollo talk to them, and a lot of fun.

When the bell rang, I kissed Apollo bye and we headed to class.

"Apollo is really nice." Kari said as we got into our seats.

"I know. He's really sweet."

In minutes, everyone was in and class began again.

Me (Nothing happens in her next class)

I walked into the building and everyone was praising me for the defeat I gave Seto Kaiba. I thought it was a bit much for something that I knew he would come after me again and that I just got lucky on. I walked to Hota's office and there was a big explosion of party string in my face. I smiled then looked around for Hota. Fortunately, she was nearest to the front.

"Great job Matt. No one else could defeat him in that silly game." Hota said.

"Thanks, why do you need his technology though? He only uses them for the game."

"But they're useful to other things. Fortunately for us, he's giving us the technology we need. All other corps need to defeat him as well for the same promise."

"I think I'm starting to remember him a bit. Didn't he start that business on his own time?"

"He did. That's an amazing feet since he was an orphan to begin with. But don't worry too much on the past. We have lots to do. Sorry but you'll have more work too."

"That brings me to the reason why I'm here. What's the project that you wanted his technology for?"

"Oh, Kaiba's technology is the best in the world. Though he only uses it for the game that he loves, it's a great addition to any science field. That's why everyone wants it and you have to beat him at his game to get it."

"Wow… That still doesn't explain the project, only the reason to have his technology."

"What would you have done if we told you the project?"

"I would've chosen which I wanted to do. It was more interesting talking to a old lady that I was when you called than dueling him, though I did find something there too that I didn't know."

"Are you trying to discover yourself or something?" She smiled with amusement.

"Something like that. I've been told that I'm not who I think am and I want to know more about that."

"I say don't worry about it too much. It might take you off the task that you have to do."

"I take my own task. I don't like listening to higher ranks most of the time."

"Why are you saying that now? You have someone else to support than yourself, you know. Things like that can get you fired. Do you want to live out on the streets?"

"I can support us………… I'm not even sure why I'm saying that………"

"You should now. You just said it."

"Sorry, I got home late last night and the lack of sleep is what getting to me. I'll leave now."

"Ok, get some sleep."

"Right."

I walked out, thinking about my own actions. Though they weren't big in any way, they aren't me at all. _What I said to her… It was true, but it wasn't something that I would say to her face. What's wrong with me? I would never do anything to get me fired from there. I love my work… So why did I threaten her? Why would I not duel Seto Kaiba? There something about it that's not right. Do I really want to know why? No, it's getting too dangerous. I should do as I'm told to do and…Wait, then I should do the same with Gennai. Never mind, I should keep asking. I shouldn't be annoying about it though. That would be dumb and I can't be that. Not now. Especially since I need to make sure that all the Crests are found and we defeat Gennai. Like I defeated Seto Kaiba, we'll defeat Gennai with our own monsters, the Digimon. Hm?…………… Should I still find out why I'm doing things that I wouldn't normally do? That's now the important question. I'll figure that out later. _I got into my car and drove back to my house, where Gabumon was waiting.

Lily Dawn

Everyone was presenting his or her projects to the class. We were going over the notes that Tim gave us so we knew what we were doing there. I already knew that our teacher liked our project the best since it was a complex molecule and everything. Now all we had to do is present it right and we'll get the A. I was scanning her mind to see what we had to say and not say so we can make sure that we get all that in. Good thing that I put us last.

"Lily Dawn, are you ok?"

"Yea, why do you ask?"

"Your eyes turn weird every now and then. Is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing. Don't worry about it. That happens all the time."

"Ok, only if your sure though."

"I am." Then we went back to our memorizing.

She got to us and we headed up. Nereida was doing most of the talking; I was just hitting the extras that she was just thinking up. Good thing that no one else could see my eyes and I made sure that I was behind Nereida so she wouldn't asked about them either (I was told that her eyes turn to an ice sleet when she enters or talks in others minds. I think that's cool but I am teaching her to hide that so no one can tell when she is or isn't). The bell rang right after we were done presenting.

"That was good. No homework tonight since we didn't get any lesson in."

We went to our desk and got everything. I read her mind to see that she put down an A and extra points for us.

"We got extra credits and an A." I told Nereida as we walked out.

"How do you know? No one knows their grades."

"Oh, it's just a feeling."

"If you say so. Oh, Tim is waiting to meet Matt. Can he today?"

"Sure, don't see why not. But I'm not the one that you should be asking. Panther and TK have a more direct say in that."

"Oh, ok."

"See ya later." I waved and ran to my locker. I put away my things and headed out. I waited outside for everyone since they get out a bit later than I. I saw Panther and Ryan walking towards me.

"I got an A with some extra credit."

"Good. With all that time spent on it, you should've." Panther said.

"Oh, you mean the science project that Matt was going to help you on?" Ryan asked.

"Yea, but since Nereida's older brother, Tim, was a scientist in that field, he helped us out. I would've done something simple."

"Well, the more time you spent is supposed to help with the grade."

I looked behind Panther and Ryan to see TK, Kari, and Ken standing there. TK was the voice that made that comment.

"True."

"Let's get going." Ken said.

We headed for Matt's house. Then I remember what Nereida asked me. "Oh, Tim might be there. He still wants to meet Matt."

"That's fine. He shouldn't mind, unless something happened when he went to his office." TK said.

"Why was he going there?" Ryan asked. Everyone knew that Matt doesn't have to go to the building that he works for since he gets all his projects at home and does them there. Only seldom does he go there.

"There was something that he was wondering about and he wanted it to be cleared. It's about why he had to leave early yesterday."

"What was the something?" Ken asked.

"Why he had to do the thing that they send him to do. He's worried that he might've done something that he didn't want to do."

"Oh, ok." Kari said for everyone.

We reached his house in minutes. We walked inside and started on our homework that we got during the day. Neon and Don could be heard training in the dojo that Matt made for Panther, but now everyone uses it since he found out that we all had powers. Neon and Don also has some powers too. Neon is able to freeze time and Don is able to absorb heat and heal things, including himself. One thing Matt's working with him is his fear of heights. He does so in small scales when no one is around. He doesn't want Don to feel like he has something to prove to anyone. We have to make sure that he doesn't feel that way since it's easy for a warrior to feel that, according to Panther.

Panther brought us cups of tea, one of the specialties of this household. Even though Matt and Panther don't have anything that would make their tea special but they prepare the tea like someone would for a tea ceremony. That's what makes it taste delicious.

Panther

After a while of working and talking, there was a knock at the door.

"Matt, I'll get it."

"Ok, thanks."

I got up and went to the door. I opened it to see Tim, Damon, and Nereida there.

"Hi guys, come on in." I moved to the side to give them entry.

"Thanks." Tim said he seemed to be nervous about something. My guess would be meeting Matt.

I led them to the table.

"Hi guys." Lily Dawn said when they came in.

"The older person is their brother, Tim. Tim, these are some of our other friends; Kari, Ken and Ryan." TK said, pointing to them with his hand.

"Nice to meet you all." Tim said with a little bow.

"Same here." Kari said with a smile.

"Matt's in the dojo training Don and Neon. I'll get him if you don't have time to waste." I offered, not knowing their time schedule.

"We have plenty of time." Damon said.

"Yea, we can wait." Tim assured.

"I'll get more tea then."

I walked into the kitchen and started to make more tea for them.

Lily Dawn

"Sit down, there's room." I offered.

They pulled up chairs and sat near us.

"Oh, does Matt hold study sessions?" Tim asked, noticing the books, papers, and things on the table.

"Yea, it helps us all." Kari said.

"Maybe Damon and Nereida can join, if that's ok."

"It's fine." TK said

"Why is Matt training Don and Neon if he holds study sessions?" Damon asked.

"He also knows some good fighting moves and some good lessons on life, though where he got them, we don't know." TK said.

"Cool, do you all get trained?"

"At times. After he's done with Don we get trained too."

"If he held these sessions then shouldn't he be here helping you guys?" Nereida asked.

"Yea, he does but that's when we don't get something ourselves and no one else knows the answer either." Ken explained.

"That or helps us get ideas for projects and things like that." I added, hinting that I would've had his help with the science project.

"Cool."

"But wouldn't it be a long ride back to your house?" Panther asked, walking in with three teacups and snacks that look fresh from the stove.

"Yea, it would. I almost forgot about that." Tim said, knowing what she was referring to.

She set down the cups in front of them and set the snacks in the middle for everyone to have. "If you two really want to study with us then we'll think up some way for you guys to get home."

"Yea, considering that Matt had to take many buses to get from Kaiba Corp to here, he should know a few good buses to take." TK seemed like he was mocking Matt but I wasn't sure.

Then Neon walked out. "Oh, hi. I didn't know that you guys would be here."

"We just came." Damon said.

"Oh, ok. Yay, the snacks are out." She went to the bowl, picked one up, and ate it.

"Wow, this is good tea." Nereida said, holding the cup near her mouth.

"Yea, that's what everyone says. It's called one of the specialties of the house." Panther said with pride.

"The other one is the favored rice balls." TK said, knowing everything that's going on with the house.

"Oh yea, Matt was famous for that. Though he only gave that recipe to one person." Damon said.

"How do you know that?" Ryan asked.

"We're in a cooking class. That's how we know."

"Oh, ok."

"They teach something like that?" I asked, not thinking that they would.

"Yea." Nereida answered.

After a few more hours of us talking and eating, Matt and Don came out. Don didn't look so good but that's what happens after Matt tries to get him over his height sickness.

"Hi, didn't know we had guest," Matt looked at Don, "Rest for a while."

"Right." He didn't even sound good. He walked over to the couch and collapsed on it. Neon went over with him.

"What happened? He's usually not in that bad of shape." Panther asked.

"He's father wanted him to get over it faster. Though he's not ready for it, he thought he was."

"Oh."

"Who's the new person?"

"My name is Tim, I'm Nereida and Damon's older brother," He stood up and bowed, "It's an honor to meet you."

"Thanks… You're a scientist, right?"

He stopped bowing, "Yea."

"Ok, that would explain the bow. Nice to meet you, sorry for not meeting you at your house before but there was something that I had to take care of."

"That's fine."

"How do you like the tea and snacks?"

"They're great. Why isn't Panther in cooking class? She can easily get an A in there." Damon asked.

"She wanted to have a free period. Plus, she can learn everything she wants to since I'm a cook myself."

"We know, they teach us your achievements in school." Nereida said.

"Really?… Didn't know that I was that famous." He held a modest look on his face.

"Can Nereida and Damon be in the study sessions too?" Tim asked.

"Sure, I don't mind. Isn't it a far ride? Oh well, I'll find some way."

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"What kind of training do you give everyone?" Damon asked.

"Anything you want and anything I see that you might want to work on."

"That sounds cool." Nereida seemed excited about that.

"You two don't need any training." Tim didn't seem too happy about the idea.

"Why not?"

"You don't need it."

"It seems to be fun though. Grandmother would let us." Damon said.

"Yea, plus you need the training too." Nereida and Damon really wanted to train for some reason.

"Is there something special that you three can do?" Matt asked. They looked at him.

"Yea, but we're not supposed to tell anyone." Damon said.

"Whose says?"

"Tim." Nereida said.

"You would agree with me if you saw what we can do." Tim said, seeming to seek some kind of support from Matt.

"Can I see then? If you don't mind."

"Not at all. Is it ok Tim?" Damon looked at him.

"Ok, only this once."

"Great, Matt, do you have any large body of water nearby?" Nereida asked.

"Sorry."

"That's ok."

"Ok, then enter the dojo if Tim doesn't want the others to see."

They got up and walked into the dojo. Matt followed after them, closing the door. We all knew that if it was something unusual about the powers then he would tell us after they left; that or tell TK and Panther and they'll tell us.

Me

"Ok, what do you guys need?" I asked.

"I just need something thick and solid." Tim said.

"Anything." Damon said.

"I'll explain mine's later." Nereida said with joy.

I walked over to one of my hidden spots and took out some of the weapons. I was thinking about something that I had that was thick but nothing really came to mind. "Does it have to be thick?"

"No, I'll use one of these then."

"Good. Ok, show me."

Damon closed his eyes. The objects were moving a bit, but the ground wasn't shaking. Then they were floating in the air. Some flew at Tim and the others at Nereida. Nereida dodged them by jumping up and down like a driver would when jumping off a driving board. As for Tim, they were going right through him. I thought that was odd, but then I knew that he thought so too. The weapons were then stuck in the woodwork. He opened his eyes. "And that's my power."

"That's interesting. What's yours, Tim?"

"Mine is the ability to move through solid objects. But no one can do that."

"You're talking in a scientific terms."

"Yea."

"Nereida, what's yours?"

"I'm able to breath under water."

"Really? That's also interesting."

"But no one can do that. It's not possible." Tim insisted.

"It's possible. Not in the scientific terms but it's possible."

"How?"

"Believe in the unreal and it is possible. For people that weren't supposed to show their power, you guys have a good handle on yours."

"Grandmother told us that we need to train each day, saying that we will be needed for a great battle. Tim didn't like the idea so they agreed that we only get trained for two hours then the rest of the time we have to hit the books." Nereida explained.

"Thanks. Seems like your Grandmother knows a lot."

"She likes to believe that she is able to see things beyond ones' understanding." Tim said.

"I'm pretty sure that she can. That or she's wise enough to claim that."

"Never thought of it that way."

"So, do you want the two hours spent with me? I might be able to help in some way. Plus you guys can help the others in their train. Most of them have something special about them too."

"Like?" Tim asked.

"Panther is able to see into the past, present, and future; Ryan is able to turn invisible; Lily Dawn is able to go into minds and read them; Neon is able to freeze time; and Don is able to heal himself and control heat."

"That's not really possible."

"Actually psychic abilities are being explored right now. Most of the powers that I've seen are with the mind and the emotion the person has when they use it. The only ones are breathing water and moving through objects. If you want to think of it as a science experiment, they go right ahead. We might need that anyway. Nereida might have something that enables her to breathe the dissolved oxygen that's in water. And your cells are able to let you pass through things and not get injured."

"I didn't know that I could do that."

"They have to let you experiment on them. But it is something to think about."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Would you mind if I told the others?"

"Why?" Damon asked.

"They would like to know too. I'm positive on that."

"I don't mind." Nereida said.

"Same here." Damon agreed.

"Sure." Tim didn't seem thrilled.

"Thanks. Is that all?"

"Yea, let's go."

"Right." They nodded their heads and followed Tim out.

Lily Dawn

The dojo's door opened and they walked out.

"Domo arigato for the snacks and tea." Nereida said, bowing as she did.

"No problem. Leaving?" Panther asked.

"Yea, we might as well see a route to get home." Damon said.

"See you tomorrow at school then."

"Right." They left the house.

"So, what can they do?" TK asked, looking at Matt as he walked out.

"Nereida can breathe under water, Damon has telekinesis and Tim can move through objects."

"Why doesn't he want anyone to know?" I asked, since they were cool powers.

"They don't fit the scientific fields, though they could easily fit into some."

"Are they going to train with us?" Panther asked.

"Yep. Since you guys could use Damon's powers to help you. They all have a good handle on their powers too."

"How?" Ryan asked.

"Their Grandmother lets them train for two hours then they have to study the rest of the time. That's the deal that Tim and their grandmother made."

"Cool, so that means that we have to train with them for two hours then stop."

"Yep."

"You guys are luck. You guys have powers that separate you from everyone else." Ken said.

"True, we don't have that." Kari added with a smile.

"Yea, but we can't live a normal life." Ryan said.

"Who said that you are?" Breomon asked.

"Yea, having us around isn't normal." Bellimon added.

"You do have a point." Ryan agreed with a smile.

"Can we show ourselves to them?" Plantmon asked.

"Yea, since you do use us for their training." Sakuramon added after appearing from Neon's hair.

"Not sure. That might take a while." Matt said.

"Come on Matt. We can't be plush toys forever." Patamon argued.

"Yea." Wormmon agreed.

"They have a point." Even Gabumon was with them.

"Gatomon?" He looked at her.

"Why wouldn't I be with them?"

"Because you're a cat out in public."

"Oh yea… I'm still with them."

"Fine, tomorrow someone tell them about the Digimon. AeroDinomon, you're with them, right?" He looked over to the couch.

"Yep."

"How's Don?"

"He's not done healing yet."

"Yeah Matt, tomorrow, let them touch the orb. One of them might have Trinity." Panther said.

"Good idea. I will."

"What makes you think that they have one?" I asked, not seeing any logic in it.

"Just to see. There's no harm in looking."

We were done with our homework and started our training. Matt trained Ryan to dissolve faster so he can get away faster. Once he got that down, they were going to work on do that for other people. Breomon was attacking him to help him control the emotion and to concentrate. With Panther, he trained her on a personal basis for her premonition powers and her fighting skills were the thing that was published. Plantmon was attacking her with great speed to make sure her skills were in great shape. Every now and then, Gatomon, Patamon, Wormmon, and Gabumon would attack us. They don't even let us know when either. I think they like to do it but they claim that we have to experience the surprises that might come up. The bad thing is that Gabumon, Wormmon, and Patamon are able to use the weapons that are hidden and we even have to dodge them. It's like a death trap if we didn't have these powers. On odd days and on weekends, Don and Neon train along side us. Panther doesn't on odd days since that's when she gets out of school. The only time she does is when she waiting for us or something like that.

After training is done, we all go home. I reached mine to find it a bit dark. _Guess he's not home yet. _I placed down my things and went to bed.

In the morning, I got up and got ready for school. At my locker, Ryan came up like very other morning.

"Ohayo Lily Dawn." He smiled and leaned up against some of the lockers near mine.

"Ohayo Ryan." I got my books out and close my locker.

"What do you think about them being with us?"

"What brings this question?"

"I'm just wondering. There has to be a pattern to this. It just can't pick random people to be in this group, right?"

"You do have a point. I've never thought of it before."

"So, your opinion?"

"They seem normal enough."

"Minus the fact that they have some kind of power, right?"

"At least they're not fighters or gangsters."

"But if this group is supposed to have special-ability people then what kind does Ken, Kari, and Matt have?"

"I don't know. Panther might know."

"Maybe."

"Do all humans think as much as you guys?" Bellimon asked from my bag that I have to carry around because of her.

"Yea, all you do is talk, talk, and talk." Breomon said from Ryan's orange hat.

"We want to make sure that we know what's going on. This is all still new to us." Ryan explained.

"Plus, thinking is what gives us an advantage over the other animals of this planet." I added.

"Oh…" Bellimon seemed to be satisfied.

"Ok." The same with Breomon.

We went to our class since there wasn't anything else really to do in the morning. So we were talking about other things.

Minutes after we got in, Panther and they made their entrance.

"I'm telling you, it's right." Ken said as they were walking in.

"What's right?" Ryan asked.

"Oh, Panther thinks the map that we were handed in Astronomy class is wrong." Kari explained.

"And it is. Why can't you see it?" Panther narrowed her eyes at him.

"What's up you guys?" Neon asked as they came into the classroom.

"Nothing much." Ryan said. I'm guessing he didn't want them to talk about the map thing anymore.

"Cool."

"Don, how do you feel?" TK asked out of the blue.

"Fine, a lot better than yesterday. Did Nereida and Damon come by?"

"Yea, them and their brother." I answered him.

"Cool."

Right then class started. It was boring but I knew that I had to listen in. My father always told me that I should be best that I can be. I'm not sure why though. I mean, my mother was successful in her life so there wasn't anything that he could be worried about. But oh well, it didn't bother me anyway. I had my brother and Apollo and my friends so I was fine. That class went by and we were on to our next class. I had math with Don and Neon but I stopped by my locker to get the things that I needed for that class.

When I got there, they were talking about something, "What are you two talking about?"

They looked at me and Neon said, "Nereida's Grandmother. She looks wise."

"And she must know some fighting styles." Don added.

I took my seat, "What makes you think this?"

"Well, you can tell that she's wise." Neon explained.

"As for fighting, she's teaching Nereida, Damon, and Tim. That says something, especially if Matt said that they had a good handle on their power."

"You have a point. But do you think that one of them can have the Crest of Trinity?"

"Hm?……………… One might." Neon said.

"How though? There doesn't seem to be a trend that Matt and Panther are really following."

"Well… There might be but no one can see it." Don suggested.

"Maybe…"

The bell rang and class started.

That class went on and soon it was English (I haven't made a comment in a while… Hm?…………… Oh, the pattern is that… Well, if I told you then it would be any fun saying it to everyone else… Ok, that's it for now). Ryan and Ken are in that class with me and before class started, we were talking about anything (Wow… The first one not to talk about Nereida and them… YAY! MY FIRST REAL COMMENT!).

When Lunch rolled in, I remembered that Nereida and Damon were with us. I looked around for them and spotted them, "Do you guys want Nereida and Damon to sit with us?"

"Sure, after all, they'll be involved soon." Panther said.

I sat my plate down and walked over to them, "Hi guys."

They looked at me then Nereida said, "Hi Lily Dawn."

"Do you guys want to sit with us?"

"Sure." Damon said.

They picked up their plates and walked over to our table.

"Welcome to our table. Find a seat and sit." TK said with a smile.

Oddly enough, there was room for them. The table marked off as our own held ten seats, though we didn't have ten people. They sat near Don and Neon since they were at the end. That's when I noticed that we have one whole table to ourselves and no one could listen in when we talked. _That's really, really odd._ We talked about things and they joined in them too.

Since nothing really happened the rest of the day, I waited for Ryan to appear so we could walk over to Matt's together. I just wanted to see if one of them did have the Crest of Trinity since I had my dance lessons to go to.

"Ok, let's go." I said when he arrived.

"I thought you had a dance lesson though?" He asked as we were walking.

"I do, but I want to see if one of them really dose have the Crest."

"Yep, the same reason on why I'm going too. I have an art class to get to."

"Then we better get over and fast."

"Right."

We were running the rest of the way. We got in to see that Panther already laid the snacks down. Matt looked up at us, "Hi guys… I thought you two had other lessons today?"

"We want to see if one does or not." Ryan answered.

"Oh. No one is here yet." Then TK, Ken, and Kari appeared. "Never mind. Take a seat."

We all took one and waited. Neon and Don came in and sat down too. Then Nereida, Damon, and Tim appeared.

"Hi guys." Nereida said.

"Hi, before we begin, can I see something?" Matt asked. The waiting was giving my stomach a bad feeling.

"Sure, what is it?" Tim asked.

Matt walked over to the sphere that was lying on the table near them; the one that he used to see if everyone else held one. "Can you three touch this? It's nothing bad. I'll explain once it's over. Oh, and please wait until I say you can stop, ok?"

They all nodded.

"Great. Ready TK?"

"Yep." He took out a pencil and paper, since he's the only one that can see through the light that appears whenever we touch it. Though now thinking about it, if only one has it, the other two shouldn't be blinded.

"Ok, go ahead."

They all placed their hands on it and the light did come. I shielded my eyes but the brightness was still there.

"Got it Matt."

"Ok, you three can take your hands off."

They did since the light was gone. TK went over to Matt. "Bro, I think they all have one."

Matt looked at TK's paper and his eyes widen. "Hm?… It would appear to be so… Ok…"

He went to the box that contained all the necklaces. He took out Trinity's, though it was the only one in there since they think there's a missing one. His eyes looked confused about something but he walked over and handed all three a part of the Crest! "Welcome to the group."

They looked at it and Tim asked, "What do you mean?"

"Everyone, minus me, is Legendary Digidestined. That means you get to have a creature called a Digimon to be your friend and fight battles with them." TK explained.

"In other words, the study sessions are for that group. If anyone else wanted to join, they would have done so. If you want me to explain it more, first take these and sit at the table."

They took one and placed it around their necks. Then walked over and took a seat. Matt and TK did the same.

"Ok, there's a special group, which is this, that fights a guy called Gennai. A Digimon named Styxmon was the first one that introduces me into this group. I'm also the one that started it too. Ken came next, since they knew he had one when we first meet them. Kari and Panther were after us since they were told during the same time (in other words, in the same story though no one else knows that). Lily Dawn and Ryan found out during the first few days school. A few days after, Don and Neon found out. We all have Digimon, though they're in hiding so no one would really ask any questions. You would have to know more about the two groups that came before this one to really understand some of the terminology that TK, Kari, Ken, and I would be using. What I gave you is something called a Crest. This Crest is your strongest virtue type thing. They symbolize many things so that's why all would look different, though now that I've said that, it would a logic guess. Kari, Ken, and I have two Crests since we were in the other groups before hand. The rest have only one since this is the first time they have to experience this kind of thing. You three have the Crest of Trinity. I'm guessing that you would have questions so you can go ahead and ask them now."

"Do they have any kind of power? The Crest I mean." Tim asked.

"None really. It gets you in the Digital World but that's as far as I know."

"Will the terminology be explained?" Damon asked.

"Of course."

"What about the two other groups?" Nereida asked.

"Yep. You would need to understand what's going on."

Tim closed his eyes in deep thought. The other two looked at him for the answer. The phone rang and Matt went over to pick it up.

"Moshimoshi……… For?………… What is it?…………… Fine, how long will it take?……… Because I have a job, TK has school and the same with everyone else. We kinda can't pick up and leave without a good reason…………… Not to them. Oh yea, I'll just walk right up to my boss saying, 'I'm sorry for not being here for a while but I was saving the Digital World'. Yea, that would work very well………………… I know. I'm just wondering. Ok, let the ones in school stay here. The others should go to see what that… Gennai wants. As for my work, I'll see what I can do…………… Yea, sure he would be. Baibai." He hanged up. I could tell that if we weren't here, he would've slammed the phone. He looked at us with the same happy face, as always, though when someone called for Gennai he's very angry. "Panther, can you tell Hota for me. They want me right now."

"Sure. Call if you need us there."

"I will. Tim, Nereida, Damon, you can stay here if you want. See ya." He walked out.

After we heard a car leave, the place was silent.

"Well, have any other questions?" TK asked, breaking the silence.

"Why was Matt mad at that phone call?" Damon asked.

"He doesn't like it when they call and ask for him, especially if it's for Gennai."

"Gennai is?"

"An old guy that told us about the Crest that we had in the past. He said that he was helping us but we found out that he sent most of the things that we faced on us."

"Why would he do that?" Nereida asked.

"He wanted to make sure that we were ready to fight Styxmon and her family. They had a plan…"

"Don't tell us any more. We're not joining." Tim interrupted TK.

"… What do you mean you're not joining?" Panther asked in a bit of anger.

"Panther, if they don't then they don't." TK tried to calm her down.

"That's not the issue! Why don't you?" Her tone didn't lighten.

"Because we have other important things to do. Nereida and Damon's grades might go down if they start this."

"We'll make sure that that doesn't happen. None of our grades are suffering."

"I can't take that risk though."

"It's not an every day thing. It's only once in a while."

"Not by the way Matt was acting."

"And he said let the ones in school stay. It's mostly them anyway. He's never called us in when it's the other two groups."

"Tim, he told us that he would only call them in if they were needed because he doesn't want the others to know. Plus he doesn't want to put them in danger when they can't really have the chance to be in the Digital World. That world is dangerous." TK explained.

"If it's so dangerous then why let them go in?"

"TK survived there when he was eight! We can go in there and protect it too! Plus, we're needed to make sure that Gennai doesn't get his way and to see the other worlds!" Panther said.

"How were you grades, TK?"

"They were good, very good. Tim, this group needs to be the strongest group of them all. I have a feeling that this group is special more than the first two that came before it. Sleep on it and let Nereida and Damon tell us tomorrow. Unless you still want them in this study sessions. We're still holding it, just not the training since Matt trains us."

"I'll sleep on it. They'll still be in the sessions, just not today." They got up and walked out.

"I can't believe he said that." Panther said, now showing that she made a fist.

"Panther, we can't force them into it. They have to come willingly." Ken said.

"I agree with Panther, he's putting school in front of this?" Neon said.

"But you need school. I think he's just scared." Kari said.

"No, there was something in his eyes saying that there was something else that he didn't want to say. The grades were just an excuse to not come." Don said.

"Well, as much as I love to hear this, I have an art class to get to." Ryan said.

"I do too. Sorry guys."

"It's ok, go on. You shouldn't be late."

We got up and walked out. We came most of the way then stopped.

"What do you think?" Ryan asked.

"I think they're making a mistake."

"You might be right."

"But why wouldn't they want to?" Breomon asked.

"I'm not sure."

"But protecting our home is what Digidestined do." Bellimon said.

"We know but it's their choice. I hope they come around and help." I said.

"Same here, I don't want my home destroy."

"That won't happen. We'll make sure of that." Ryan said.

"Right, bye Ryan." I said as I went into my building for my lesson.

The next few days were rough on Panther and TK. They told us that Matt hasn't called or anything, plus they had to do all his work. That's where Kari and Ken started to help in. The Digimon were the ones that were keeping the house neat. It surprised me that Patamon and Wormmon knew how to cook and cook well.

I felt sorry for them that there wasn't any way we could've helped with the workload. On one hand, they had to keep up with their schoolwork but on the other, they had to make sure that this house stays afloat and Matt doesn't lose his job. Tim came over a few times to help them, since we still have the study sessions so I'm sure that they told him what was going on.

When they got the first assignment done, to what they thought was a good enough as far as their knowledge went, they went to his office to give it to Hota.

Panther

TK, Ken, and I walked into the building, still tried from all the hours that we had to stay up just to finish this one. We walked into her office and I handed her the papers.

"Sorry for it being late. Matt isn't here at the moment."

"Where is he?"

"Off somewhere. He would've told you but it was so sudden."

"So… you three did his work for him?"

"We hope it's right, since we're still in high school and all." TK spoke.

"And other people helped out too." Ken added.

"I can see that you all worked hard. Ok, Panther, the next time this happens, call me. I'll give the work to someone else. Come back tomorrow with the others and I'll give them to someone."

"What about that one?" I asked.

"I'll let someone check it for you, ok?"

"Thanks."

"Get some sleep. Matt's lucky to have good friends like you guys."

"We know." Ken said.

We went out and TK drove us to Matt's place. There we told Tim and Kari and us four took a worth nap.

Lily Dawn

Even after that day, Matt still didn't call or anything. Everyone was getting rigidly, especially when the phone rang. They all hoped that it was him but it usually ended up being Yolie, Davis, Cody, or some other person. Unfortunate for Kari, she had two other people to worry about.

"Why don't you guys go to the Digital World?" Tim asked, since he was also worrying about Matt.

"We would but we have to wait." Panther said, not liking what she had just said.

The phone rang. No one wanted to pick it up but TK did.

"Moshimoshi…… MATT! WHERE ARE YOU? WHAT HAPPENED?…..." At this everyone was alert to hear more, "Go to the Digital World, ok…... Right… Right….. They're here….. Ok….. Right… See ya there." He hung up and looked at us. "Guys, we're going. You have to open the portal though. He'll be waiting for us."

"Let's move." Panther was in a happier mode. She pulled out her amulet and opened one. She looked at Tim and them, "Coming?"

"Yea." Tim said.

The other two were happy about this. Everyone walked throw the portal to see a landscape but Matt was nowhere in site.

"Why do we have different clothing?" Nereida asked.

I turned around to see that Nereida and Damon were wearing the outfits they wore on the first day. Tim was wearing an ancient style of clothing. He also carried a big bag like thing.

"We get them when we come in." Panther explained.

"Oh."

"Glad to see that you guys made it."

We turned back around to see Matt lending on a stick and Gabumon wasn't around. Matt was in a bad shape. TK and Panther ran up to him and TK hugged him, "Matt, what happened?"

"Lots. Guys, come over." Matt sounded weak so we hurried over. "Ok, the Digimon that we were fighting are really strong, that's why I couldn't call you guys for a while to let you know how things were going. I just found out that they're holding three Digimon. Tim, I think they're you guys Digimon. That's why I called you guys over. See if you guys can get them out of their hold."

"Shouldn't they be able to escape themselves?" Tim asked.

"No."

"What about the fight?" Kari asked, worrying about Tai and Sora.

"Everyone else is fine. In fact, they're calling the others. The place where they're being held is that village over there," Matt pointed with his thumb, "Sorry to say but we can't go with you."

"Where's Gabumon?" Panther asked.

"He's still fighting. Everyone hurry."

We all nodded and ran off; leaving TK, Kari, and Ken to bring Matt back to the battlefield.

When we got to the village, everything here seemed peaceful. So we didn't run looking for the three Digimon.

"How can he be sure that they're our Digimon?" Damon asked.

"He gets this feeling." Panther answered.

"Meaning?"

"He feels it. I can't explain it but he did the same thing with Don and Neon."

"Oh."

"I remember this place." Sakuramon announced from Neon's shoulder.

"Really?" She asked.

"Yea, Lordmon came here every now and then."

"Oh yea, I'm remembering this too. Hey, that means they're the ones that Matt was talking about!" AeroDinomon said.

"Yea, follow us you guys. We know where they are." Then they took off.

We were following them but everyone that knew, knew that Don was getting sick by them flying there.

We stopped in front of a factory like building. It looked gloomy. Throughout the factory, you couldn't even tell what they were building. It ranges from guns that human use to things I didn't know what they were. They stopped in their tracks. I looked beyond them, as did everyone, to see that there was someone in a tube filled with water. Wires were connected to her too and a breathing mask. Nereida ran to her first. "Who's this?" She asked in worry.

"That's Lightningmon." Sakuramon said with sadness.

"Why is she in there?" Damon asked.

"She's the power source for this power plant. This factory makes things out of that metal that we told you guys about." AeroDinomon explained.

Her eyes opened. She blinked a few times and looked at around.

"Lightningmon, you do remember me, right?" Sakuramon said that in a tone that sounded like they were friends for life.

She nodded for her response. Then she pointed her hand towards us.

"Oh, these are humans that are going to save our world."

She tilted her head a bit.

"I'm not sure how myself but they are. They promise to do their best. And the Digidestined are helping,"

She looked a bit sad at this information.

"What's wrong?"

She did a series of movement that I took as a new sign language.

"What did she say?" Neon asked her Digimon partner.

"She said that the Super Level Digimon are more powerful than any that the Digidestined have ever faced. Their own Digimon won't be any match against them since they can't learn. The lower levels can never learn new attacks." She looked at our Digimon. "Too bad that's true."

"I don't buy that!" Damon said.

"Yea, you guys can learn something new." Nereida said.

"We can't. There's no way for us to." Plantmon said.

"You guys can get stronger." Don said.

"Can't all Digimon go to this Super Level?" Tim asked.

"No." Bellimon answered.

"Then how did they come to be?"

"No one really knows."

"There's a way for you guys to. Auroramon and Irismon said there was a way." Panther said. All of them looked at her. "There's a way and we'll find it." She gave them a reassuring smile then turned to Lightningmon, "Now, let's get this Digimon out of here."

"Right." Neon agreed.

Lightningmon did a few more movements.

"She said that they're two more Digimon here. Huskimon and Shendramon." Sakuramon translated.

"Ok, Nereida, you stay here and help her out. We'll help the other two." Tim ordered.

"Right. Can someone give me a boost?"

"Sure." Panther said and started to help Nereida. Neon, Sakuramon, and Plantmon were staying to help too (Panther is going to explain what's going on here once the others get their groups. Good thing that Lily Dawn stays with Damon, the last one to find his Digimon. Oh, we're not important at the moment but we're fighting their masters. The others are here too).

We continued running through all the doors, trying to find the other two. After a while, we found a dragon-like Digimon. He was a blue-green color with golden wings and he's feet were shackled.

"Why are you here?" Tim asked with worry.

"**I'm here to work and find the metal. Or whatever they tell me to do**." He answered was in our mind. Ryan and Don were used it something like that because of me, but not Tim. He looked really surprised, but then looked a bit sad since the dragon's voice sounded miserable.

"We'll help you get out of here."

"**How**?" He didn't seem to have a lot of hope.

"Not sure but we'll help." He looked at Damon, "Damon, go find the other one."

"Right," he looked at the dragon, "Do you know where we can find him?"

"**Huskimon is coming from another around. Outside.**"

"Thanks."

He just ran off and I followed (told ya). We got outside and waited for Huskimon to show up.

"Bellimon, keep an eye out for him, ok?"

"Right." She jumped on my head and was searching for him (while we're waiting on them, let's see what the others are doing).

Neon (since I didn't get them the last time)

We were having a bit of trouble lifting Nereida into the tube since it had a really smooth surface. Plantmon used her vines and lifted her into it. She got all the wires off of her, but something went right through it and made Lightningmon use some lightning attack. The whole tube was lit up and we weren't even sure if Nereida was ok.

"Nereida! Are you ok?" Panther yelled.

We didn't hear a respond but then they jumped out of the tube, Lightningmon carrying Nereida and she was knocked out. She laid her down on the ground before we got to her. Panther was checking to make sure that she was ok.

"She's fine, I think."

"That's good."

"We have to hurry out of here. They now know that something is wrong and will come back." Sakuramon said.

"Right."

Panther picked up Nereida before someone busted in. I turned around to see that it was Davis and he's Digimon XV-mon, as I heard from Kari and them.

"What are you two doing here?" He asked in a demanding voice.

"We're leaving. Baibai." Panther said and we ran. But of course he would've caught up to us.

"What are we going to do? We can't attack him." I asked.

"Lightningmon, do you know any non-killing moves?"

"No."

"I have an idea." Sakuramon announced.

"Good, use it." Panther said.

"Right."

I couldn't see what she was doing but I did hear 'Golden Dust' and Davis saying 'Ahh' then some kind of crash.

Don

Breomon and AeroDinomon tried to attack the shackles, but they got shocked.

"**Sorry, I can't move or that will happen. I should've warned you**."

"I have something." Tim announced and walked over. He placed his hand on one of his legs, "Ok, we're going to do this slow. Move where I tell you and we'll have you out in no time."

He nodded in responded.

"Ok, move back." Shendramon did so and he was surprised to see that his leg was moving through the shackles. He placed it where Tim told him to and then Tim worked on the others.

Once all of them were off, he thanked Tim for his help. Then there was a sound coming from behind us. I turned around to see that it was Cody and his Digimon Ankylomon, as we were told by TK and them (oh yea, we told them and showed them pictures since Kari took a lot of them during that time. That's why they're thinking this).

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked.

"Leaving." Ryan answered and we ran out of here.

"AeroDinomon put a Fire Wall around them."

"Right." I didn't see what he did but I know that he did it since Cody was yelling at us.

Lily Dawn

After a while, we saw something coming up to us. I looked to see a husky looking dog was coming up. He stopped a few inches in front of us. He was carrying a huge load of some kind of metal. I could tell that he was tried and exhausted but he didn't show any of the signs.

"Are you Huskimon?" Damon asked.

"And if I am?" He's voice was hard and cold.

"We're here to help you."

"Like you can."

"Can we try?"

"It will hurt."

"How come?" I asked.

"Because this is really heavy. Nothing can lift it."

"Oh, I can help with that." Damon's eyes became sleet of his eye color then the slash that was attached to him was moving off slowly. After a while, he got it off him and he jumped like he was surprised of how much lighter he was.

"Thank you."

"No problem." Damon said with a smile.

"What are you guys doing here? How did you get in here?"

I turned my head to see Yolie and her Digimon Aquilamon, as we were told by Ken and them (try to guess why they name different people every time).

"Now would be a good time to move back inside." I whispered to Damon and Huskimon.

I think they nodded first before we jolted in. I was looking for some way of hiding from Yolie when I saw Ryan and them running our way.

"Yolie is here! Run somewhere else!"

"Then don't run our way! Cody's that way!" Don warned and they jolted in another direction and so did we.

"Why are we running from Cody and this Yolie chick?" Damon asked.

"We'll tell you later. Trust me, we need to."

Right then we ran into a Digimon that I haven't seen before, even though that list is very short. I heard Huskimon growling so I knew that he was bad news to us.

Don

We continued to run until we saw Neon and them.

"What happened to Nereida?" Tim asked in worry.

"I'll explain that later. What are you guys running from?" Panther asked in a panic voice.

"We're running from Cody and Lily Dawn is running from Yolie." I explained.

"They're here too! Where are the Digidestined when you need them! Don't go this way, Davis is here too."

"Ok."

Then there was a sound coming from our side. We looked to see that it was some robotic Digimon.

"I see that you're the ones that helped our pets escape." The one closest to Panther said.

Lily Dawn

"Who are you!" Damon asked. He looked to be some cowboy in those Western movies.

"I'm nobody you need to deal yourself with. Huskimon, come here boy!" His voice wasn't a coxing one.

Huskimon only growled as he walked up to him slowly.

"Huskimon, what are you doing? I thought you wanted to be free."

He turned to face us, "I want to." He went back on walking.

"That's a good little dog."

Damon got in Huskimon's and the Digimon's way, "I'm not going to let you take Huskimon's freedom."

"And what's a human going to do about it?"

"Anything I can to stop you."

"Awright, let's see what a human has to offer." He out a rope and started to swing it around and around. He aimed it at Damon but I pushed him out of the way and got in it instead. Then there was a high voltage of electricity surrounding me. I fell to the floor, unable to move but I was still able to hear.

"Lily Dawn! Are you ok!" I heard Damon asked in worry.

I would've responded but I couldn't.

"You're going to pay for doing that to her!" Bellimon said.

"Right, a rookie can do something."

"Right, a rookie can't do something." I heard Huskimon said. "Snowstorm!"

There was this sudden lowering of the temperature that was around me. But I heard something, or really him, freezing up.

"Vine!" I heard Bellimon announced. Then that ice shattered.

"Lily Dawn, are you ok?" Damon asked me again.

I felted an ear being placed on me then it was taken off. "I can hear a beat." Huskimon said.

"That means she's still alive, let's get her out of here."

I was being lifted up by one arm. After a few steps, Damon wouldn't really hold me up without someone else there helping. Bellimon tried but she wasn't strong enough.

"Place her on me. I'll carry her out." Huskimon said.

"Are you sure?" Damon asked.

"Yes."

Then I was lying on Huskimon's soft fur. Now the travel was going faster.

Don

"Return them back over to us." The other one ordered.

"And if we don't?" Neon asked with a threatening tone.

"You don't want to be around for that."

"Too bad, we're not leaving without them." Ryan said.

Our Digimon stood in front of us.

"Shendramon, Lightningmon, come here!" The one near Panther ordered.

They started to move forward.

"What are you two doing? Don't you want to be free?" Tim asked.

Shendramon looked back at him and Lightningmon stopped, "**Yes, we do.**" They continued.

"Wait, Lightningmon…" I heard the faint voice of Nereida. I looked over, as did everyone else (and they stopped again), to see that she was struggling to stay awake. "We said we'll free you and we will."

"Fine then, them two will be the first to die!"

They both charged up for an attack and fired. I took the blast for Tim and Panther for Nereida. It's a good thing that Matt has been training us or Panther wouldn't have stood up afterward.

"That's impressive. Shendramon, Lightningmon, attack them!"

They turned to face us and got ready an attack, but quickly turned around and attacked them.

"**Rock Wing!**" A shower of rocks were coming from his wings and aiming for them.

"Thunder Claw!" A huge amount of thunder came from her gloves that were shaped in a paw like form and, in lightning speed, struck them first before the rocks came upon them. Then the dust like particles floated away.

"Let's find Damon and get out of here." Tim said.

We all started to walk in one direction.

"Are you ok?" Ryan asked me as our Digimon returned to us.

"I'm fine. I could handle something like that any time."

"Including when you're in the air?" Breomon asked me.

"… Not there."

"That's what I thought." He looked really proud of something.

"Damon!" Tim said, since he was in front of everybody.

We saw Lily Dawn on a husky like Digimon's back.

"What happened?" Ryan asked.

"She protected me from an attack. She's alive though since there's still a heartbeat." Damon explained.

"Ok, let's get out of here before our real problem comes." Panther said.

"Guys, glad we found you."

I turned to see TK, Kari, and Ken running up to us.

"Is everyone ok?" Kari asked, looking at Lily Dawn and Nereida, who is still in Panther's arms.

"Everyone's alive. Did you get the other Digimon?" Neon asked.

"Yea but three of them escape us. The second group went after them. Did you see them?" Ken asked.

"Yea, they're taken care of." I answered.

"Ok, that's good."

"What about the others?" TK asked.

"We all ran to at least one." Damon answered.

"Ok, then you guys better get to Matt's house and heal everyone up."

Ryan lifted up his amulet and a portal opened for us. We all walked in and ended up in some park. Damon suddenly ran back in the portal before Ryan closed it.

Kari

I was glad that they were all alive still then Damon came back and ran away from us.

"What are you doing?" Ken asked as we ran after him.

"There's something I need to get for Tim. I'll be back in a few seconds." Then he got the upper hand.

"What does he think he's doing?"

I turned to see that Don and AeroDinomon were behind us.

"He wanted to get something for Tim." TK answered.

"But what if someone else sees him?" Don looked really worried.

"I would follow but we don't know where he went to." I said.

He didn't seem to like the idea of waiting for him.

In a few seconds, he came back. "Sorry, I just had to get this." I didn't see anything on him.

"What is it? Never mind, get in so we can leave here." Don said and allowed him to go first.

Ken closed the portal that they used and then they appeared.

"Did you guys see humans here?" Davis asked.

"Of course we've seen humans here. Aren't you human?" TK said, making it look like a joke but really covering for them.

"He means other humans? Ones that aren't supposed to be here!" Yolie said, not liking the fact that he was joking.

"Look, we're here for the Digimon, let's make sure that they're not doing anything." Ken said and headed out before someone could make a statement about it.

We all followed his lead but TK and I stayed together. Even though we knew that they were gone, we acted like we didn't. I just hoped that Lily Dawn and Nereida were ok.

"Something on your mind?"

I looked at TK to see that he didn't seem to look at me when he said that. He looked at me and gave one of his happy ones. "C'mon, they're fine. They're tough."

"I guess your right. But I'm still worried." I lend on his arm as we continued to walk.

"Matt would be too if he knew. I think he thinks it's his personal responsibility to watch out for them. Just it comes with begin with the first two and joining the third."

"Aren't you worried?" I looked up at him.

He looked at me, "Of course, but I know that they're fine. But I'm hoping too. After all, that's my only Crest." He smiled at me.

I smiled back at him and took back my spot on his arm.

Lily Dawn

"Damon, why did you go back?" Tim asked who was now holding Nereida.

"I thought that you might want something so I went back to get it."

"What was it?" Panther asked.

"The metal that Shendramon was smashing and Huskimon was carrying."

"That's the metal that everyone wants." Sakuramon said.

"Really? Then shouldn't we destroy it?"

"Good point." Panther opens a portal and puts her head through. She took it back out and looked at us. "I don't see anyone of them."

"Then try to call them or something." Ryan suggested.

She put her head back through. After a while, she took it back out. "That didn't work. I'm going in and find one. Anyone want to come?"

"I will." Don said.

"Let's go. We'll be back." She and Plantmon stepped through right then. Don and AeroDinomon followed shortly afterwards.

Don

We walked around quietly and sneaked around to make sure that the other ones didn't see us. The first one that we saw was Ken but Yolie was for some reason hanging with him.

"Do you know why Yolie is with Ken?" I whispered to Panther.

"Not really. I'll ask him that later. Let's find TK and Kari then."

"Right." We kept on walking. In minutes, we saw them.

"TK, Kari!" Panther called and we ran to them.

They turned around and looked at us.

"What are you guys doing back?" TK asked when we got to them.

"You know that metal that everyone seems to want? It's here."

"It is?" Kari asked in surprised.

"Right, you guys need to destroy it before Gennai gets it."

"Right, thanks for telling us." TK said.

She nodded and we ran back to our spot. She opened the portal when I heard, "Hey! Stop!"

I looked to see that it was Davis and Cody running towards us with their Digimon.

"Let's go." She said and went in, I followed close behind and then she closed it. "We better hide. Davis and Cody saw us."

Everyone nodded and we hid around this area.

Kari

We ran to an area where no one was.

"Ok Patamon, you know what to do."

"Right."

"You too Gatomon."

"Right."

"Patamon Digievolves to…………………………… Angemon!"

"Gatomon Digievolves to…………………………… Angewomon!"

Angewomon took aim at one of the machines and the same with Angemon to another.

"Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon fired her arrow at it.

"Hand of Fate!" Angemon got the other.

They exploded and parts were flying everywhere. I covered my head as TK put his arms around me to protect me more.

"Guys, get more of them. Hurry!"

"Right." Angemon answered and they took off.

"What should we do?"

"Get out of this area. Let's go find Ken."

"Right."

We ran while looking for Ken. We found out that their attacks were causing a chain reaction to the place.

"Guess we hit a good spot." TK said.

"Yea, good for the place, bad for us."

"True."

Then I spotted him. "Ken! Yolie!"

They looked at us and stopped since they were running too.

"What's going on?" Yolie asked with a bit of panic.

"Don't know. They might've set this up. Yolie find Davis and Cody and meet us outside." I said.

"Right." Then she took off.

"What really happened?" Ken asked.

"Panther told us that the metal is here so Angemon and Angewomon are destroying the place to make sure that Gennai doesn't get it." TK explained.

"Right," he looked at Wormmon, "You should help too."

"Right." He jumped off Ken's shoulder, "Wormmon Digievolves to……………… Stingmon!"

Stingmon took flight and flew away. Right then there was this big explosion and a machine was about to fall on us. TK grabbed me and hold me close as we got ready for it to fall on us. A few seconds later, we heard it stopped and I felt TK move to see why. "Lillymon!"

I lifted my head to see that it was Lillymon holding up the machine.

"Guys, move!" Mimi came to us.

We ran out of the way and Mimi followed us. Then Lillymon let it fall.

"Is everyone else here?" Ken asked.

"Yea, we saw the fire so we came to make sure you guys were ok? Where are Patamon, Gatomon, and Wormmon?"

"They went after the Digimon. We lost them when the explosions started." TK explained, though it was a lie.

"Oh, ok. Let's fine them then and get out of here."

"Right." I agreed.

We followed Mimi, looking for them. Lillymon made sure that nothing fell on us. In minutes, they were flying back towards us.

"Are you guys alright?" Angewomon asked us.

"We're fine. Did you get them?" I said, hoping she didn't ask anything.

"Yea."

"Good, now let's get going." Mimi said and we headed out.

We got out without too much trouble and found everyone else there.

"Kari, are you ok?" Tai came up to me and asked.

"I'm fine." Angewomon De-digievolved back to Gatomon and landed on my shoulder.

"TK, Ken, are you two ok?" I heard Matt asking.

I looked over at them.

"Yea, we're fine." TK answered, giving Matt a thumbs-up.

"That's good." He looked at the building.

I turned to see it when it suddenly came crashing down. I thought I saw it lending one way before it did or something but it might've been the fire making look like that.

"Glad we got you guys out of there before that." Mimi said.

"Yea, that wouldn't have been pretty." Ken said.

"Let's get back." Sora said and I heard Izzy getting his laptop out to do so.

There was this big flash of light and we went in it.

Me

I felt someone poking at me so I woke up. I saw Panther's face in mine then Plantmon appeared. I blinked a few times then lifted myself to my feet. "What are you guys doing here?" I looked around to see that everyone else that was pulled in was still knocked out, and that included Gabumon.

"This is where we ran to." Panther said.

"Ok. I see that you got the three Digimon out. Nice to meet you three." I said to the Digimon.

"Are you guys going back to the Digital World?" Damon asked the wolf looking one.

"I think we should stay here. There are others there that would love to take use of our talents."

"Does that go for all of you?" Tim asked the dragon one.

He nodded his head and the same for the girl wearing mostly yellow outfit and purple with lightning paw-shaped gloves.

"Great, would you mind if you three stayed at our house?" Nereida asked.

"Sounds great. After all, we still need to repay you three for helping us." She answered.

"You don't need to repay them. They're happy to do it. All of them were." Sakuramon said.

"Yea, these humans like to help us out whenever they can." Breomon said.

"**Really?**" I thought I heard the dragon's voice in my mind.

"Yea." Bellimon said.

"**Thank you.**"

"It's our pleasure. Glad you guys are ok." Neon said.

There was a bit of moaning from behind me. "Guys, hide."

They hid and I looked to see that it was Tai that was getting up. "We really need to work on our landings."

"I know, at this rate, we'll die from our skull cracking." I joked.

He looked up at me, "I thought I would be the first."

"Too bad."

Then everyone else was getting up. After everyone was up, Izzy's laptop started making a noise. He brought it out, "Hey, it's an email from Gennai!"

"Open it then." Davis said.

Almost everyone crowded around Izzy except Kari, TK, Ken, and me.

"Hey, glad to see that you kids got out of there ok."

"It was tough, but nothing that we couldn't handle." Davis said.

"That's good to hear. Did you find anything there?"

"No," Yolie looked over in our direction, "Did you guys?"

"Nothing." Kari answered.

"Hm? I thought I heard that they were building something there. Guess I was wrong."

"Why? Where you planning on getting that for yourself?" I asked in a hateful tone. More than I usually have it.

"I was hoping to get a look at it. To see what they were building. They might've been with Styxmon and her group."

"Family." There was more hate in that than there should've been. I wondered what was going on but I knew that it didn't show on my face since everyone had a puzzle face on, including TK.

"I'll call you back Gennai." Izzy said and closed his laptop.

"Is there something wrong, Matt?" Yolie asked.

"There's always something wrong with him. Why are you asking?"

"But you're never that mad at him before."

"So?"

"Yolie, don't wonder. Some rest and he'll be fine."

"I can't rest. I still have a lot of work to do. I'll see you guys at home." I started to walk away. _What's wrong with me? I wouldn't act like this outwardly. I hope it goes away soon. I don't want to hurt anyone emotionally. Even I'm scared at this._ I heard someone running up to me. I looked to see TK.

"Matt, do you feel ok?"

"I feel fine." I said that with unnerving tone.

"Did Gennai tell you to do something when we weren't there?"

"I thought you were on my side?"

"I am. There's no other side I would be on. But you wouldn't let them now how mad you are at him. That's the only reason why I'm asking."

"You think there's something wrong? Do I need a reason to be angry at that goat?"

He sighed, "Ok, but do you want to scare off all your other friends?"

"You're right. I guess I should lighten it a bit."

"Where are the others?"

"They were in the area we were in, but they started to move as soon as I left."

"You saw them or heard them?"

"Both."

"I'll race ya back to your house. Last one there has to clean your whole house by themselves." TK said this in a playful voice, but still ran towards there, to get a head start.

I smiled in amusement and ran after him. We both touch my door at the same time.

"Hm? This wasn't what I accepted. Who wins?" He looked at me.

"How about the next person that walks through that door today gets to clean? That wouldn't mind this joke."

"Funs cool, since I know that Ken and Kari should be coming some time today."

I opened the door and we walked in. Everyone was there already.

"I see that you're in a happier mood. Something happened?" Panther asked me.

"Lack of sleep."

"Oh. Well, you can't get too much of that. You still have to finish your work."

"Yea, we were force to do it for you. And we only got one done." Tim said.

"Really? Thanks for your help, guess I won't get any."

"Ok, see ya guys tomorrow." Nereida said, getting up.

"Right. We might as well go too." Don said.

"Yea. Same here." Lilly Dawn said.

"Have fun Matt." Ryan said. They all got up and left.

"Call Hota, she'll let you know what you have to do." Panther suggested.

"Right." She got up and walked up to her room.

"Want some tea?" TK asked.

"Once I get my stuff."

"Ok."

I went to the phone and called Hota. She told me what work I was given and only some of it got done since the person she thought could handle it was out sick most of the time. I told her that I could handle it and just send it over. She said that it should be in the mail today. Then I hanged up.

"TK, did you guys check the mail today?"

"No, why?"

"Because my work is in there."

"Oh, ok."

"And I'm not the next person."

"Right."

I walked outside and got the mail. I noticed that it was a lot and for some reason, I felt a smile on my face. _Why am I smiling? This is a lot of work that I have to get done. Good thing she let me do these within a few days._ I walked back inside and TK noticed the thickness of my envelope.

"Why is it thick?"

"The other person was sick most of the time."

"Man, are you going to get any sleep?"

"I might. But I better get to work."

"Right."

I sat down at my desk and got to work.

Ok, that's it. I'm not going to write down here but I'll still give you the up-until-now information. Kari was the first one to come in, just thought I let you know. Oh, and until I get my work done and why I was acting like that, I might not give comments this time. Baibai.


	6. Chap 5 The Legends of Divine Digimons, M...

Author Konnichi-wa min'na. Sorry to anyone if I'm confusing you or something. After all, I'm learning about Japan's culture as I'm writing my stories. Grammar and spelling aren't one of my strongest points so sorry for those too. If you like this story then please let me know. I love reviews so please write them. If this story confuses you because of the plot, warning you now that it's most likely going to get more and more complex. If I have some fans, let me know. Oh, I made up the new level, one of my old friends' sister made the type and allowed me to use it ("Nouri no Kaisen" by hikari, it's a great story), all new Digimon I made up, new characters are mine. The Digidestined are the original creators so all I can do is put my own image of them in my story. If you read "Daughters of the Moon" by Ewing Lynn then you'll get an idea of what might happen here. Hope you like it. Honana.

Ok, I'm glad to say that I got control again but I might not give comments in the story though. Just letting you know that it's getting closer to summer now.

Nereida

Since the day we became apart of this group, life has never been the same. Before, we were isolated from everyone in every class; never really having people we would call friends. But they bring us along to almost everything. They don't lie to us when they have to leave and when they do; they ask if anyone wants to follow. The only time that I can recall when someone didn't ask is when Lily Dawn goes on dates with Apollo. But that's not even too often so it almost doesn't count.

Though our brother, Tim, doesn't particularly likes everyone in the group, he allows us to go since we get schoolwork gone. Plus, we're learning useful things from the upper classmates. But he doesn't realize that we're all outcast in our own levels. Even though TK, Ken, Kari, Lily Dawn, and Ryan don't seem like it since they have other friends as well. Lily Dawn and Ryan are different since they have abilities that their normal friends don't have, though that it isn't why they are outcast too.

I can't really place the reason why they are. Something inside of me tells me that they are. But enough on that let, me tell you what's happening right now.

Currently, we're helping clean the house. Our Grandmother doesn't seem to mind that we have a guess here, Damon has a new pet dog, and Tim doesn't leave his room that often as he used to. In fact, she thinks that they are our guardian spirit and they're here to keep a better eye on us. Though Tim thinks that he has hidden Shendramon well, we both know that he really hasn't.

Tim is in his room, studying with Shendramon helping by asking question. Though it's almost natural since they don't seem too familiar with our world. Damon is dusting, polishing, and vacuuming the house. Lightningmon, nickname while she's here Inazuma, is cleaning the floors. That was the only name that I could come up with on the spot. I need more pre-time to think up a good name for people. I'm cleaning the kitchen while Grandmother is working in the yard.

After I spent all Sunday morning cleaning, I was finished. I went to see if Lightningmon was gone when I heard Damon coming.

"Damon?"

He stopped at the opening of the kitchen, "Hai ka."

"Do you know where Lightning.. I mean Inazuma is?"

"Husky is with her."

"Arigato." I ran out and was in search of them. I saw Grandmother coming back in from outside.

"Grandmother, I'm done with my chores."

"That's great. Is Inazuma done as well? I know that you two were going to town for something of school importance."

"I'm going to find her right now to see."

"Ok, run along dear."

I nodded and continued my search for them.

I ended up finding them on the walkway that was outside. Lightningmon was looking at one of the finished works Grandmother just did.

"Hey, Inazuma-chan, are you done with your chores?"

She looked at me then looked back, "I hadn't moved from here since your Grandmother finished. It's really beautiful."

I looked at where she was looking. Grandmother had arranged the flowers in the tall pots in the way water. With the pond that was also located there was a water flower in the middle of it and all the fishes were swimming peacefully around it. The waterfall that she built a long time ago was still in working order. I noticed that the sun was beaming just right to make everything seem real. Like the flowers were a real pond and the sand was gold.

"Hai, Grandmother is really good at this. That's one of the main reasons she doesn't get out too much."

"Would it be all right if I stayed here a bit longer?" She was looking back at me.

I smiled, "Sure, this is a beautiful spot. By the way, where's Husky?"

"Oh, he's out in the front for some reason. Your Grandmother asked something of him but I couldn't hear it."

"Ok, do you want me to wait for you until your done with your chores?"

She shook her head, "That's fine. Besides, don't you need to get something for school? Tim wouldn't like it too much if you didn't get it."

"Alright. See you in the city then?"

"Right."

I smiled at her then went to my room to change into my new outfit that Neon helped me picked. I wore puffed dull green pants that clung to my waist and ankles, cut-off-fingers gloves, and a dull golden tank top. As I was putting on my thick thong sandals, I heard someone coming from upstairs.

"Nereida, are you going to the city?" I heard Tim's voice coming in the same direction as the stairs.

"Yea, need something?" I hurried in putting them on so I can get going faster before Tim saw me.

"Yea, please get me……… When did you get that?" _Too late._

I looked back at him to see that he was just surprised so far. "I thought it looked cool. I had all this stored in my room and thought it would look good together."

"I know that's not true."

"And you would know?"

"I know your style pretty while."

He got me there, "You wanted something?"

He sighed, "It has to be them. Yea, get me a chemistry book from the library. I seem to be missing one."

"Can't you call Matt for that? He might have some."

"Let me guess, the library is out of your way?"

"Yea."

"Fine, let me fail my test. It's not like it's that important." I know that he was just saying that to get sympathy.

"Fine, I'll get it. They know the book, I'm assuming?"

"Yea, they know."

"Great, then I'm off. See ya later."

I opened the door and walked out.

Damon

I came near the front door upon hearing Nereida and Tim speaking. After I heard the door shutting, I appeared. Tim looked at me, "How long were you there?"

"During the whole thing. You know that you can't keep her locked up forever. You tried that with me and look how I came." Though no one in school knows this but I had had my share of street fighting before.

"I just don't want her ending up like them."

"Why? They're going to pass."

"She's too gentle for them. Seeing her turn into them and living something close to what they had to… I'm not sure what that would do."

"At least she would have some support. And you're not sure what they've been through so you can't really make a call on it. Don't really judge their appearance alone."

"They do talk and I do listen. They sound like they lived through very harsh or rough times."

"But she has them and us. They were single kids."

"I'm still going to worry about it." He headed back upstairs.

_Tim, you're right about one thing. She's too gentle to be fully like them. I hope that they understand that themselves while they take her under their wing. _I returned to what I was doing.

Nereida

I got to the bus stop and waited for the bus to come by. _Why is Tim so worried over nothing? He never gives me a break. I guess that he's only worried because exams are coming up. And he's not only worried about his own test but Damon's and mine as well. That has to be it. _Then the bus came.

As I got on it, there were barely any people on. Though that's normal since no one lives up in the mountains anymore. The ride to the city was a peaceful one, well, until I actually got to the city.

Everyone told us that they had something to do today. Lily Dawn was with Apollo; Ryan was at an art class; Neon and Don were out with Don's father for some training; Ken said that he had random things he needed to get done and it was too big of a list to name it all; Kari was going to spend some time with her brother Tai since he's girlfriend was doing something that day; TK was going to work on a few things while he cleaned up his own apartment after hearing what we're doing; Panther was going to sleep in; and Matt still had a few more things he needed done for his job. Of course our Digimon are with us almost always.

So as I was walking to the library, I was surprised to see that Kari was walking out.

"Kari?"

She turned her head and saw me. She smiled one of her usual smiles then walked over to me, "Hi Nereida, I thought that you were cleaning your house today?" I noticed that Gatomon was on her shoulder, sleeping.

"I finished the part that I was assigned. I thought you were with your brother?"

"I was but then he saw some of his old buds from soccer and went with them."

"What are you doing here then?"

"I thought that I should borrow a book for some extra studying. Are you doing the same?"

"Yea, but the book that I need here is for Tim."

"Oh, I see. Then lets get it."

We walked in and I asked for the book that he wanted. They handed it over saying that he left there the other day. When we got out, we giggled at the thought of him leaving it.

"I got an idea, let get something to eat. Then we'll get the book that you need."

"Ok, but I didn't bring that much money."

"That's ok, I have some extra money that needs to be wasted on something." Her smile assured me that it was ok.

"Arigato." I smiled back, happy that everyone in this group is kind to everyone else, especially to the younger ones.

"Not a problem."

We walked to a place that had hot dogs. Kari's wasn't covered with much toppings but she was giggling a bit at mine since I had almost every topping there, which was making it over flow a bit.

"I like all the topping." I said in defense to the look of my hot dog but I was also giggling at it.

We sat down on a bench nearby and ate. In minutes we were done since we were talking about other things while we were eating. We got up when we hear someone yelling, "Stop thief!"

We turned to see that a guy was chasing a girl wearing all loose clothing. The girl had in her hands food. She ran past us and I ran after her. I heard Kari yelling my name but I didn't stop. I began to gain more speed and tackled her to a grassy area, since her hands were unreachable and that was the only thing I could think up to make her stop. She was now trying to fight back with all her might, and without the use of her arms, but I was still able to keep her from running.

"Why are you stealing? It's wrong to do so and you should know that." She stopped resisting. "Well?"

Her face was still away from me, "I know that it's disgraceful but I don't know what else to do. I'm already a disgrace… again." I looked at the ground to see a teardrop falling.

"How?" It was the only word that I knew would get my question across.

"That's something that you don't need to know. I'll give up and go back."

"Nereida? Why are you there?"

I looked up to see Lily Dawn and Apollo, both having a confused look to them.

"I was stopping this girl from running away," I got off of her and she sat up, "She stole some food from someone."

"Really? What's your name?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Nothing you need to know." She still hasn't turned around.

"What?" Apollo seemed surprised to hear her voice.

She turned and looked at Apollo. Her face was beautiful and I just now realized that she looked to be about my age.

"What are you doing here?" Apollo asked.

"I don't want to talk about it in front of common people." She looked away from him but her face was turned towards my area but down.

"Do you know her?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Yea but…"

"Miss, you don't have to worry about the food you have in your hands." I turned to see that Kari was here.

"What do you mean?" She didn't believe her one bit.

"I paid for the food. So now it's yours." She smiled sweetly at her.

"Why would do that for someone that you don't even know?"

"People don't normally steal food unless they need it for something. Whether it's for themselves or for someone else."

"I don't need your help but thanks for what you did."

"Can I know your name?"

"It's… Heka."

"Heka, that's a nice name. What's your age?"

"Fifteen."

"That's the same age as me." I said, remembering that no one else, besides my family, knew that.

"I thought you were sixteen." Lily Dawn said.

"Long story."

"Then you two can be friends. It would be nice to have someone that's the same age." Kari said, though I knew she didn't mean that as a suggestion.

"My name is Nereida. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Kari."

"Lily Dawn, so how do you know Apollo?"

"How did you meet him?" She looked at him with some disgust.

"During the summer. We were both at a camp."

"I'll asked him later." She got up on her feet and I did the same.

"Heka, I'm betting you don't have a place to stay so you're going to stay with us." Apollo said.

"Why would I? I can find a place."

"Just like you got that food?"

"Shut up. I don't need help for the likes of you. You're more of a disgrace than I am."

"Lily Dawn, sorry but I have to take her home. I know that she wouldn't come willing."

"Ok." Though her face was showing the confusion that we all had.

"I'm not going." Heka was now walking away.

Apollo got her before she ran and pulled her to follow him.

"Heka, I'll meet you here tomorrow after school, ok?" I called to her.

She only looked at me with a puzzled face, like she didn't understand why I would say something like that.

When they were out of sight…

"This is a good time to tell that long story." Lily Dawn said.

"I have to ask Tim. I wasn't even supposed to tell anyone."

"You should, it keeps up trust." Kari said.

"Kari, what are ya doing?"

She turned to see that Yolie was running towards her. Neither Lily Dawn nor me moved from our spots.

"Hi Yolie, nothing really."

Yolie then noticed us. "Talking to some of your school friends?" Though she gave a glare to Lily Dawn, knowing her from Davis most likely.

"Yea, you know those tests are killers. I was just helping a lower classmate out with some study tips."

"That's nice, can you do that tomorrow or are they tomorrow?"

"Is there something you want me to do now with you?"

"Yea, something really cool. Do you have the time?"

"Sure," she turned to face me, "Is it ok if we do this at a later time?"

"Yea, it's ok. I understand."

"Arigato," she turned back to Yolie, "Let's go."

They began to walk off, though Yolie was talking in a low voice, most likely to make sure that Lily Dawn didn't hear.

"And I'm not the one that fights her." Lily Dawn shook her head.

"Is it a good thing that she doesn't know about Damon and me?"

"Yea, you guys are lucky. Besides, Cody is in some of your classes. We don't want him to know or who knows what would happen."

This usually happens, we have to lay low so nothing bad happens to us. Most of the time, I hate it.

"Need anything else?"

"I still need to get the book. Better get going."

"Ok, see ya later. Unless you don't mind my company."

"I don't."

We walked and talked about what we were doing earlier that day. Lily Dawn said that Apollo took her to great places around town that she didn't know, which was surprising since she lives in the city. Bellimon was impressed about the spots, since she doesn't know about the Real World.

"Where's Lightningmon anyway? I thought she would be with you?" Lily Dawn asked.

"She's still needs to finish her chores."

"Oh, wouldn't you have stayed then?"

"She knew that I needed this book."

"Oh, ok."

We got to the bookstore and I bought the book I needed.

"I remember that book. If you needed it, you could've asked. Everyone else should have it and you know that we would be more than happy to get rid of it."

"Tim doesn't want to change. Before we meet you, he would make us buy the books we needed, even though he has them himself. He says that then we can think for ourselves and not what others thought. I'm only buying one since he's allowing Damon to study along with me. Probably thinks that he wouldn't study unless forced to."

"That's smart of Tim. Never thought of that when I was handed mine from my brother."

"Why don't you talk about your family?"

"My brother is usually at work, but I see him more than my parents."

"Why? Does their work keep them from being home?"

"No, they just left us. Anyway, enough about that, what to do something else or are you going home to study?"

"I'll go home. Arigato."

"Ok, see ya tomorrow." She then walked away.

I watched her go. I didn't start on my way home until she was out of my sight. _I didn't know that. That's a sad thought. Her parents just left her and her brother to do things for themselves. Yet, she's happy. I don't really remember her being sad. Though I bet Panther and Ryan has, since they knew her longer. _

Heka (I made one for Apollo but I think that she might reveal more about them)

"Apollo, let me go." He was pulling me by my arm, though I could easily escape, I didn't want to drop the food.

"Once we get to our house. You should be grateful that we're taking you in."

"I'm not. Even though I'm a disgrace to them, you and your sister are more than I am. You two volunteered to leave the Digital World and return to the world that hates us."

"You thought that we would stay in there? This is where we belong, whether the mortals care for us or not."

"Then what's with this goodie-goodie act?"

"We're here."

I looked beyond him to see that their house was a small house covered with shadows and sun. "Nice place, suits you two just fine."

He opened the door and pulled me in. Then locked it and turned on a light. The place looked like it would smell bad but it didn't. Incenses were burning and everything looked clean but also ancient. Reminding me of how old I really was.

"We have extra rooms so go ahead and pick one."

"Why are you doing this?" I looked at him.

"Because I know that they discarded you. Like Father did before."

"Don't remind me! It was bad that he did it then!" I turned my head away from him, so he wouldn't see the anger on my face.

"What happened this time?"

"Like I'm going to tell you!" I turned back to him to see sympathy. "Don't give that! I don't need it!"

"Then why are you fifteen year old?"

"Because…"

"I know that you were a teen back in that world but, why here? You can at least be eighteen."

"What age are you?"

"Eighteen. It's a more comfortable age. Artemis wanted to be seventeen even though she is older than me. She said that it's a fun age to be."

I looked away from him again. "I'll pick a stupid room." I walked upstairs.

"After you eat, I'm taking you to see Hecate."

"Why?" I looked to the stairs since I was already in the hallway.

"She's helped us out a lot. She'll do the same with you."

"Why are you addressing her in her past name?"

"Respect, why did you change yours? We're in Japan not Greece or Rome. They have different deities to look at."

"Tell you later." I picked the room at the end of the hallway. The room was clean and incense was burning in here too. I turned on the light to see that it was simple. The only things in there were a bed and a dresser. No carpet, no design on the sheets, and nothing on the walls though they were colored a dim yellow. The incense was on the dresser and there was a silver plate there as well. I sat down on the bed and ate the food that I took.

**Flashback** (the first one)

"What?" I wanted to make sure that I was hearing Aphroditemon correctly.

"It's true. Zeusmon has, again, picked someone else to take your spot. To make it worst, it's the same story again."

"But… I thought he said that he wouldn't…"

"You know how he is. He's even glad that all the Digimon can't have kids and if they die, they're able to come back. Heramon, of course, hates it when he does his hobby."

"I'm going to ask him." I handled to her the container that held the honey for the Gods and Goddesses.

I ran to Zeusmon's seat and glad that he was still there. When I arrived, I first bowed to him, "Zeusmon, I just heard that you got someone else to take my place, again."

"Yes, that's true."

I looked up at him, "But you promised that you wouldn't! And you're supposed to keep those promises!"

"Styxmon is gone, therefore there's no river to swear by."

I couldn't believe that he just said that. Ever since the River Goddesses were born, everyone agreed that if they die, they would still be the rivers. So, even though she wasn't alive, she was still the river that led to the underworld, still the river that everyone swore to, she's still the river though she's not here and the river water isn't there!

"Now run along Hebemon, I got something important to do."

I bowed again and walked out. It wasn't until I was back in my quarters that I unleashed my anger.

"Wow, didn't know you can get that mad."

I turned to see that Aphroditemon was looking at me. "What is it!" My kindness was mostly gone by now.

"Didn't know you can get mean too. I got an idea that would get you back here."

"What?" If there was any way of getting my job, I want to know about it.

"Why don't you go to the Real World and see what you can find on the mortals that will fight us. Zeusmon is worrying about that."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I just want to help. We're all the same."

"But I know that you would enjoy it more since that puts you back with mortal men."

"But see, Apollo and Artemis wouldn't trust me. They will trust you. I know that they know them and I want to know what they know."

"So I'm your spy, not Zeusmon's."

"Simply yea. Can you do that for me?"

"Why do you care about those mortals?"

"I heard that some are really cute. Especially the one that Styxmon loved."

"Trying your luck with him?"

"You got it. So, what do you say? Going to help."

"Is that the only reason?"

"Of course, my interest is getting him and anyone else that's cute."

"I'll go for now, but whether I'm going to help you is another thing. I'm going to think about it when I'm there."

"If you help, I'll let Zeusmon know."

I opened a portal that led to the Real World. I didn't care what clothes I zapped for myself so I just jumped through.

**End of Flashback**

_It took me seven days to find them. I guess I'll wait to see what Hecatemon has for me before I give my answer to Aphroditemon._ I finished the food fast. I then headed back downstairs.

"Done?" Apollomon asked, waiting near the door.

"How far have you gotten with that mortal?"

"We're dating."

"That's amazing. You're just as much as a womanizer as your father."

"I've given up that habit. How is he? He doesn't call anymore."

"He's chasing the digital females."

"Oh, let's go."

He opened the door and I followed him.

He led me to this abandon house that looked like it would fall any minute now. He opened the door and walked in. I followed, and when the door closed, there was a weird feeling that I didn't felt before. It seemed like we were in a different place now, but still in the house.

"She's upstairs. I'll be here when you get down."

I looked at him then went up the stairs, worried for some reason. I knew that she still had her dark powers and everything else but I was still worried. Though I'm not sure why, I'm like her. We're both Digimon and Immortals. When I reached upstairs, I noticed that there was only one room. I opened it to see her there. She was still wearing her ancient clothing with a royal purple slash, much like the others.

"Come in." Her voice was the same as before too, still mysterious.

I walked in and closed the door. "Apollomon wanted me to see you about something."

"You're here because you felt abandon?"

"What?" I was surprised that she knew. Only Aphroditemon knew that I left.

"That's why you're here." Her eyes were closed when I walked in, but now they were opened and looking at me. It gave me a strange feeling that I can't describe. She had a youthful look to her though I knew that she was older than Apollomon or Artemismon.

"What if I am?"

"But that's not the reason."

"It is. That's the reason I'm here."

"You want someone to care about you."

"I don't care about anyone. I just want my job back."

"Your job was to give you that feeling." Her eyes went back to being closed. "You must now learn a new way of living. Much like Artemis and Apollo are doing."

"I'm not like them. They disgust me."

"For the reason that they have found a place."

"No! For they left! I can't believe they would bring themselves that low. Not even Demetermon or Dionysusmon left and they were the first on my list to do so since they like to dwell among them."

"So you lost respect for them. You're good at making excuses for yourself. Pity should be given to you."

"I don't need it."

"Are you going to help her?"

"Huh?"

"Help Aphrodite with her desire?"

"Maybe, if you have nothing better to say."

"Then you're shall alone. No one will really trust you."

"What do you know?"

"If you do, then your friend will be mournful. Friendship is worth a lot here, like money is."

"Why?" This was now getting interesting.

"Friendship means loyalty. Loyalty was greatly honored here, I think in most cases, it still is but on a smaller scale. The girl you met today is the friend you would betray if you choose Aphrodite." Her eyes shot at me that I couldn't move or say anything. _That… mortal? My friend…?_ "Yes, your friend."

"Why?" I said that with more disgust than anything else.

"Because she cares. She wants to be your friend. You have to keep in mind that she thinks you're mortal. With your name changed, it's easier to believe that you're not a Digimon. Apollo and Artemis know that most of them think they are."

"Are you talking about the mortals that will fight Zeusmon?" This was interesting; I didn't think that they would know them. This also told me that that mortal girl was one of them.

"I might be, I'm not going to tell you more until you get the idea of helping Aphrodite out of our head." Her voice was firm it was surprising.

"Why? What I want to do is my business."

"But you'll affect Apollo and Artemis. They already found happiness." Her voice now held sorrow.

"Why do you care? It doesn't affect you."

"It will, for I helped them to reach happiness. They don't agree with Zeus's plans. They want to live in peace."

"But they can't, Zeusmon rules us all. He's word is law and we must obey it."

"That's what he wants. But as soon as you see the other side… Happiness is to follow."

"You're crazy."

"I guess there's no reason for you to decide now. What until tomorrow before confronting Aphrodite again."

"Why tomorrow?"

"That's when you'll meet her again."

"How do you know this? Did Apollomon tell you?"

"No, I just know."

"Whatever." I opened the door and walked out. I went to where Apollomon was.

"Well?" He asked, but then seemed to be looking beyond me. "I'll be right down. Stay here." He walked passed me up to her.

I waited for him to return. He did, after a few minutes.

"What did that witch want?"

"She just gave me some information to tell Artemis." He walked to the door and opened it.

We walked out and headed back to his house.

"Why are you guys addressing yourself like that? She doesn't have any respect for the others now."

"We like to think of everyone like they were. We weren't always Digimon."

"But that's what we are now. You have to except that."

"You do act like a fifteen year old, a rebel one too."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing really."

We got home and I went to my new room, thinking about what she said.

Nereida

I got home and Lightningmon was waiting for me.

"You got everything?" She asked.

"Yea, oh. I meet this girl today. She's odd though but Kari wants me to befriend her."

"Why?"

"Don't know, but I know that it won't hurt to try. Want to come?"

"I might make it harder. It's ok. Just bring back a picture of her or something."

I nodded, "Let's head inside then."

We walked into the house together.

After dinner, Damon and I were teaching Lightningmon and Huskimon about what we needed to know. Tim thought that this would help us out the best since we had to remember and teach it to someone else. Though this was a great idea, it was harder in practice. Afterward, we went to sleep.

Ken

I got out of my car and looked at TK's new house, though I don't know why he called me out here so late. I thought he would be asleep by now. I looked down at my watch to see that it was 1:00 AM. I sighed from tiredness before walking up to his house and knocked. The door immediately opened.

"Ken! Glad you came." TK said with a voice that was still full of energy. He opened the door wider and I walked in.

"Why did you call so late? Especially when you know that we have tests to study for." I remember on some days, TK would call me to come over just to see how well we do on those test half asleep.

"It's not that this time, trust me. I just found something that's totally cool." He ran to a door that leads to he's basement.

This now spiked my curiosity so I followed. He turned on the light and continued the walk down. I noticed something that I didn't see before. There was a blanket covering something car-shaped.

"When did that get here?" I've been here before so I know that wasn't always there.

"That's a good question. But I think I had it for a long while. It's just odd that I've never noticed it until now." He was already making his way toward it.

"How do you know that?" I walked toward it too.

"Because I can see that there's a lot of dust on it. You know perfectly well that I like to keep my house clean."

That's true. Sometimes I would come over and help, if he needed it. "So how did it get here? We should've seen it."

"I haven't looked under it yet."

"Why not?" I was looking at him but he was looking at the thing.

"I wanted you to see it with me. That way I have a witness and not that many people would come by. Plus, it's always nice to have another brain on a mystery."

"Right. On the count of three?"

He nodded and we placed one of our hands on the blanket.

"One, two, three!" TK counted and we pulled off the blanket to see there was a shining, blue green convertible sitting there. To me it looked brand new. I don't think even a single dust was on it. I noticed that a key was laying on the driver's seat.

"Wow! This is amazing." TK said, walking to the other side.

"But how did it get down here? It's almost impossible. Then us not knowing about it until now. Something's not right here."

"Your investigating skills have gone up. But it seems… familiar. I don't really know another way to say it."

I looked at him to see that he was looking at me. "But still… This isn't normal."

"And our lives are? Come on, our lives are anything but normal."

"That still doesn't justify this. Sure, our lives are abnormal but the Real World does have logic with it."

"This writer thinks not. Oh well, you might want to head to bed. We'll take this for a test ride tomorrow." TK was now looking at the car.

My eyes fell on it too. I knew that would be exciting but there was still one question, "How do we get it out of here though?"

"We'll figure that out tomorrow too," he looked up at me, "Should we keep it a secret until we figure it out?"

"That would be good. We'll just tell our Digimon. And remember not to show it too much. Lily Dawn might see it then read our minds to find it out."

"Good point… Do you get this feeling that Matt might, just saying might, have a clue on how to block other's minds?"

"For some odd reason, I think you might be right."

"Though we both know that he can't do that." Now we were laughing it off.

I said night and headed back home. I remembered that TK said that it felt familiar to him, though I didn't want him to know it at the time; it felt the same for me as well. That car had a warm, yet sad, feeling to it.

Ryan

In the morning, everyone arrived at his or her usual time. We talked about whatever comes up before class starts then we sit in our seats, studying for the test.

Today, we were able to pair into groups, though only four members. But that was ok, it worked out better. Kari, Ken, and TK were one group; Panther, Lilly Dawn and myself was another; and Neon, Don, Damon, and Nereida were another. Though we all sat close together so we still were a big group. The teacher didn't mind.

Really, all we did was copy the questions we had to study from that we didn't know the answer to. Since we all study at Matt's house, there wasn't really a point to spend time on it in class. Also, since none of us knew it, we might as well ask him. After that, we went back on talking.

Next class, Lilly Dawn, Kari, and me did the same thing. Do the test things for as much as we know, copy the ones that we don't, then talk the rest of the class. I'm now noticing that it's becoming routine to do so. Though we go to lunch during this period, that's kinda routine too.

We go in line, get a table, hide from Davis, talk about whatever, then head back to class. Gets boring if you think of it that way, though we don't.

At the end of the day, we got more questions to study at Matt's house. Neon and Don are already there, waiting for us to come since they don't have a last period today. Tim is there too, willing to help us out whenever possible. But this is something that was totally odd, Gabumon was walking about but Matt wasn't. Usually, he'll greet us then goes back to his work since there's still so much that he has to get done. Gabumon is always with him too so that's why this was odd.

"Where's Matt?" TK asked, looking around worried. Panther and Ken had the same look too.

"He's in his office today. He should be done with his work but Hota said that her boss told her not to let up." Gabumon sounded sad at this information.

"I wish we could help him out." Kari said. Though I knew that they could help since they're taking Astronomy but the math was still too high for them.

"Looks like you're the one that has to help us." Lily Dawn said, looking at Tim.

"Matt called saying that he wouldn't be able to come out."

"Then let's get this study session started."

We sat down and began the studying.

Tim helped us out in our Japanese class but otherwise; we helped each other in the other subjects. These were usually fun since everyone talks and puts in their opinion to the question. It's really fun discussing it because the one, or ones, that are right get to brag about it for a short time. This is the way we like to study.

Though this time, it didn't last too long.

"Sorry but I have to leave now. I promise someone that I'll meet up with her today." Nereida said.

"Heka?" Kari asked.

"Yea, see ya."

"Oh, that reminds me. Tim, Nereida said that she's fifteen. Want to explain?" Lily Dawn asked.

This was an eye opener for Tim and the rest of us, minus Kari. We all assumed that she was sixteen.

"How about later, after the studying."

"Fine."

"Ok, see ya."

Nereida got up and walked out. We went back to our studying but it didn't feel the same without the whole group there.

Heka/Hebemon

I sat on the grass that I was pinned to. I couldn't believe that I was actually here. I didn't know what time school ended but Apollomon gave me the estimated time and that was good enough.

After sitting here for who knows how long, I saw her running towards me. I got up and dusted myself off. I was wearing blue silk gloves; loose, light green tank top; knee-high jeans and sandals. I allowed my hair to be loose as well though it only comes to my shoulders.

"Sorry if I kept you waiting too long. I had to study a little bit for our test. How are you?"

"I'm fine. What test are you talking about?"

"Don't you have to take the tests too?"

"I'm not going to school."

"Really? Lucky. That means you don't have to worry about the things that I have to."

"Like?"

"Test, homework, grades, classes, stuff like that."

"It doesn't sound too much." _Pretty much what other mortals have._

"When there's a lot of them, it is. Anyway, where do you want to go to first?"

"I guess walk around. There isn't much to do in this town anyway."

"That's true. Though I'm sure some of my friends might know a few places that are interesting."

We started our walk around.

"Wouldn't you know as well?" I looked at her.

"I live in the mountains. Plus, my oldest bother doesn't want me to act like that."

"If that's what you want, shouldn't you?"

"He wants me to get into a good college."

"College?"

"You should know what that is."

"Of course… just refresh my memory."

"It's a higher level of education. The highest you can go, school-wise anyway."

"Oh yea." I gave her a fake smile. _Though I don't know what she's talking about. Better play along anyway._

"How do you know Apollo anyway?"

"Why do you want to know? Wouldn't his woman want to know more?"

"I don't think they're relationship is like that. Anyway, just wondering. We don't know that much about him so I just wondered if your willing to give up anything."

"What do you mean by 'we'?"

"Our other friends."

"So… you guys are pretty tight?"

"Our friends? I think so."

"Why say that? Wouldn't you know?" I didn't understand how someone wouldn't know. Shouldn't it be easy for someone to tell whether someone was trustworthy?

"I would love to know but… I only meet them a few weeks ago. It hasn't been that long since my brothers and I really started to hang with them."

"Then explain their personalities. I would like to have an idea about them."

She gave me this look, as if considering whether it was a good idea or not. This made me think about what Aphroditemon said she wanted me to do. Then what Hecatemon told me as well but I didn't show this to her though. Now she held a look that she made up her mind.

"This is going to be long… Though short since I'm still learning about them."

"Just say it."

"Ok. First, there are my brothers Tim and Damon. Tim is the oldest out of us. He's nineteen right now. He loves anything that has to deal with science and the real world. Anything that has to do with the mystical and the unreal, he doesn't believe."

"But everyone gives in to them." I knew this since I am still a Goddess.

"He does but… He'll find some way to explain it rationally. Damon is a year older than me. He's more like the punk but not punk in our family. He somehow knows how to give that punk look but not be one. Otherwise, he has nothing really plan for himself."

"Some people like it like that."

"You know a few people like that?"

"I've seen people…"

"Oh… Now for the others. Lily Dawn, she's a great dancer. She's taking a dance class at school and one after school. I think she can do any kind of dancing by now."

"That might be a reason why he likes her." I said that more to myself than her.

"Why's that?"

"Apollo is a musician."

"Might be. Want to hear the others?"

"Sure." _Might as well, nothing else to do._

"Ryan is an artist. He's taking two classes and one after school too. Panther is the first wild one that I'm going to mention. She was once in a gang and that's one reason Tim doesn't trust her. I think most people that listen to other people would've heard about her gang. I've even seen that gang walking around a few times."

"By the way your putting it, this 'gang' that she was in wasn't that nice."

"No, not in the least. They did whatever they wanted."

"Then why did she leave? Too tough for her?"

"No, she had been in there for a long time. We were told that she only had one tie to that gang. Since that tie is gone, she left."

"… Continue."

"Panther, Lily Dawn, and Ryan are close friends since they knew each other before we all became a group. They also knew each other before Panther went to the gang. I'm not sure how they were after though. No one has ever talked about it. Neon is one of our fighters. Her skills are in hand to hand but she is just as good with a weapon in her hand. I was told that she can turn anything into a weapon, given the time too. Don is the other fighter. He does his best with a bow or something like that in his hands, though hand to hand is good for him too."

"How do you know this? Did they tell you?"

"I've seen it and heard about before I got to school. They were known to be tough and nasty to others."

"Then how did they become lamps?"

"Panther was the first person to talk to them without worry. Though everyone knows it was because she was toughest gangster in her gang."

"Wow."

"Kari is the kindest person I've met. She cares for others greatly and gives everyone a warm smile though she might be sad herself. Ken is the calm one, I guess. He wants to be a detective but he does like to think in the supernatural. Matt is the oldest one in our group by two years ahead of Tim. The odd thing is that he's a great friend, cook, and astronomer that I've ever known but he does like mythology. Tim admired him for his science reputation but soon learned that he didn't care that much about it. Though TK, Matt's younger brother, isn't really apart of our group he might as well be. He hangs with us long enough to know everything."

"That does seem like a lot. Anything else of interest?"

"Not really."

I was hoping she would say something that would give me a clue that she was apart of the group out to get Zeusmon. After all, that's the only reason why I came here. Then something caught my eye, "What's that necklace?"

She looked down at it and I noticed that it was a third of a triangle. It was a mossy green looking color that shine with unnatural beauty. I also noticed that that a little curve was cut out and a third of a circle was there. I thought that was odd for an amulet.

"It was something that Matt wanted me to wear. My brothers have the other pieces."

"Wouldn't that meant that you three will always be together?"

"I don't know. Didn't think of that before."

"Do the others have something similar to that one?"

"Yea, but they're all different. TK is the only one that I've mentioned that doesn't have one."

"That's mean. Not even giving one to his own brother. What have mortals become?"

"What?"

"Nothing." _Have to remember that she thinks I'm mortal too. This might be more difficult than I originally thought._ "Does it have a special meaning?"

"It means Trinity."

"So the three siblings have great power when they are one."

"What makes you think that?"

"The number three is a very powerful number."

"That doesn't mean anything about this."

"Do you believe in the supernatural?"

"I love to."

"But?"

"I don't have that much free time to look up anything."

"Then why are you here?"

"I would've been studying with my friends if I wasn't here."

"I see. Then here's your first lesson. Numbers are important symbols. The number three is one of the most powerful."

"That might come in handy. Now that I'm thinking about it, we're kinda divided into groups of three. Only Neon and Don aren't, though it seems like Panther is trying to unite us."

"See, a powerful number."

"I'm glad I came here. I don't think I would've figured this out on my own."

"It's interesting, it is?"

"Yea." She looked up to the sky. "It's getting late and I need to catch the bus. Want to come?" She looked back at me.

I nodded and we headed to a bus station. We were talking about anything now. After a few minutes of waiting, this big, long and armored chariot came and took her away. I watched her go and began to think. _If I told Aphrodite anything right now, then she'll lose someone that she can turn to talk to. It doesn't seem like she can talk directly to any of them. Poor mortal girl, I can't tell on her now. Panther left her gang because her last tie broke. My last real tie to the Olympian Immortals was broken when Zeus tossed me out again. I'm no longer with them. I'm with the other two disgraces, an outcast. _I then walked proudly, glad that I'm making this choice. They didn't care whether I was there or not, but Apollo and Artemis cared whether I was ok. Hecate was right; I would stay and glad of it.

I was walking back to my new home when I heard something behind me. I looked around but didn't see anything. I waited a bit before moving then Aphrodite was right in front of me.

"Hi Hebemon, how are you?" She sounded really cheery.

"What do you want?"

"What? Do you not remember?" She made a fake shock, which made me wondered why she was really here.

"I remember, and I'm deciding not to help you."

"Why?" Hurt was in her eyes, though I knew it was fake.

"Not interested. So if you don't mind, I'm going home." I walked passed her.

"You know," I stopped where I was but I didn't face her, "I thought you would choose them. It was so easy to see but you will come crawling back to us. All of you will one day. Wonder what we'll do to you then? Anyway, this is your last chance to be on Zeusmon's good side. What's it going to be?"

"My choice is final. I'm staying here. Nothing you can do or say will change it."

"Fine, if that's the way you want to play."

I heard her open a portal and leaving through it. _Hope everything will be ok. _I continued my walk.

I got to the house and stepped inside. Apollo and Artemis were sitting on the couch near the door. They were now looking at me and I held a puzzle expression.

"I see you decided to stay. That's good." Apollo said then smiled.

"It's not going to be easy here. You know that, right?" Artemis asked.

"I know, I'm only here for the reason that Hecate said that I would. How did she know?"

"She's gifted like that, remember?"

"I know, it's just that it's been so long since someone did that…"

"We know. So, do you want to go to school or just wait for Nereida?" Apollo asked.

"Just wait for Nereida, I don't think I'll like these schools too much."

"Ok, you better get to bed then. Night Heka." Artemis said.

I smiled and walked upstairs. "Wait."

"Hm?" I heard Apollo's voice.

"Aphrodite met me a little while ago. She said that one day, we'd all come back to them."

"That won't happen."

"And we'll back sure that." Artemis said with firmness.

I smiled and headed to bed. _I hope you can. I hope you can._

Ken

After the study session, I waited for TK to come back from talking to Matt. It wasn't like him to not say hello or anything. In minutes, TK was back and he looked worried.

"What is it?" Panther asked with worry and frustration.

"He said that he was really busy… Though he would make up for it tomorrow."

"But he doesn't come out in the mornings anymore…"

"And he barely sleeps." Gabumon added.

"There has to be something wrong with him. There just has to be." Panther said, fading a bit.

"I know Panther, but we can't do too much for him right now. Call us if anything happens."

"Right."

TK walked out with Patamon flying after him. I got up, "Gabumon, Panther, has he been eating?"

"Yea, and he has a bottle of something in there."

"It might just be his work. There are a lot of them."

"It might be…" I knew that Panther wasn't buying that. Though it was comforting to the mind.

"Well, I have to get going. Good night you three."

"Night." Plantmon said.

I walked out and went to TK, since we were still going to have that test ride. Our Digimon couldn't wait until we did, but they didn't show it since of this new problem with Matt.

"He'll be alright." I said in comfort.

"I know, but this isn't like him." We started to walk to his house. "He doesn't drink."

"Meaning?" There were many things that can be considered a drink.

"Sake."

"Panther said that there's a bottle in that room, how big was it?"

"The store bottle… I know he doesn't drink… He doesn't even drink that much when he parties. He loves tea more."

"Anything else?"

"The room was darker and colder than he likes it. There something else that I can't really put my finger on… but it seems like he doesn't like the light anymore…"

"That is odd. When do you think we can investigate this?"

"As soon as possible. I just have a feeling that it's going to get worse."

"Right."

We got to TK's house and the Digimon helped us get the car out. The color was glowing in an interesting way when we brought it into the night. When we got in, I think we both were taken by this overwhelming feeling that we knew how this worked. Even the Digimon were comfortable with it.

"Well, let's see if these keys work." TK put in the key and turned it. The car roared like it was reborn again, that or it was calling.

On the panel, all the buttons lit up. It was easy to tell which button did what but there were two buttons that were puzzling.

"Dare me to push one?" TK asked, as his finger got close to one.

"Let's make sure that this car still works."

"Right." He moved his hand back to the steering wheel, "But you better not press them."

"That would be you."

"True."

He pulled onto the road and headed in some direction. It was amazing, the wind, the smoothness of the ride, the silence that it released, all amazing.

"Wow." That was the only word that I could think of that could express the feeling.

"I know, it's like putting on an old shoe."

"You're right, why does this seem familiar?"

"You feel it too?"

"Just didn't want to say anything."

"I see… Where should we go?"

"Anywhere. I guess it doesn't really matter."

"I wonder whether this would make Matt happy again?"

"It might."

"It wouldn't hurt to try." Patamon spoke for the first time since we left the house.

"How does this feel for you two?" TK asked.

"It does feel familiar." Wormmon said.

"Then why does it?" I asked more to myself.

"I say we head back and get this under some light. That way we can see what's inside the trunk and stuff."

"Good idea Patamon. Ok, heading back." TK said then stopped all of a sudden.

"What?" I looked over the car but noticed that TK was looking at a house on top of a hill. In the moonlight, it seemed to hold some mystery.

"That house belongs to a famous, and well-known, kendo master. He lives by himself and has this sad expression on his face. According to his students, there was something that brought him great happiness then something happened that took them away. They also say that not one of them will ever match his skills since he'll never teach them all of his training."

"Wow, and where did you get this?"

"I know some of the students that study under him. They're every wise on the world around them. Though they'll never be a master like him, they might be just as wise."

"Wouldn't he want his techniques to be passed on?"

"He only taught his younger brothers everything he knew."

"Do you know who they are?"

"No one knows. He only refers to them as 'younger brothers'. He also never talks about them too much. Most of them think that the thing that was taken away were them for when he does mention them, you could tell that he cared for them deeply."

I was only guessing here, but I think the reason why TK stopped was because he was hoping that that wouldn't happen to him and Matt. I knew that they were closer than they have ever been since Styxmon's death so maybe stopping here was in some way a wish. He was hoping that this guy would be able to help his brother.

"What's he's name? I could do research if they're curious."

"I'll ask them. They might be interested."

"Ok, should we get going?"

"Yea." Then he drove on.

We got the car into TK's living room and opened the trunk. There wasn't anything there so TK was going to push one of buttons now. He first tried the yellow one and nothing happened. He pressed the green one and as soon as he did, the wheels contracted into the car and it was hovering!

"Wow!" Patamon said, flying around it.

I put my hand under the where the wheels were and there wasn't any pressure. "That's odd."

"What?" TK asked, though it sounded like fright it was really excitement.

"There's no air pressure here. I can't say 'that normally' since I don't know of any situation that I've been in that had this but I would assume that there would be air pressure to let something hover."

"I didn't know that someone could make a car do this."

"Nor I but someone did. Press the yellow one again."

TK did and the wheels came back before it was lightly landed. "So… when should we break the news about this car?"

"When we get more information on it. I want to know how it did that and who made it. That might give us some clue on how it got to your basement."

"Let's test the hovering of it as well."

"Tomorrow?"

"Right."

"Ok, then lets see what we can get from it now."

"Can we help?" Wormmon asked.

"Sure."

We all looked around to see what we could find. The mileage was good, speed was a bit faster than most cars, the year it was made was on it, the company that made it, and where it was sold. I wrote this down and TK took a picture of it. Wormmon thought that the engine looked like it was handle a bit by a human. There were more interesting things that seemed to be built inside it but we didn't know what they were. They seemed to have separate rules for them but we couldn't figure it out. I told TK that tomorrow I would start researching this as soon as we got out of the study session. That left him to discover what was going on with Matt. Wormmon and I went back to my house.

Nereida

In school the next day, almost everyone was the same. Panther and TK were worried about something but they didn't tell anyone about it, though most were guessing that it had something to do with Matt. I also told them that I was going to see my friend again. No one minded so that was a good thing. They decided that they'd first help me with my Japanese class before they go on to theirs.

In World History, ancient times one, Damon and I was paired up with Cody but we hid our worries from him. The good thing is that he didn't know that we were apart of the group that he hates.

What we did in the classes that only Damon and I were in were that I explain the problem to Damon so he can address it to the others so they can put in their opinion to it and he'll report to me at home. We'll see how this goes after today.

Heka

I waited for her at the same spot and time as before. I'm deciding that I'm going to tell her everything about us. Since Aphrodite seemed pretty sure that we'd return, she might as well know what's going on. I know that she'll keep it until then.

She came running up to me. "Hi, sorry to keep you waiting but it's the study sessions."

"That's fine, I don't mind waiting."

"Great, so do you want to walk around?"

"Sure, there something I want to tell you."

"Ok." We walked for a bit in silence, since I'm not sure how to start this. "You were going to tell me something?"

"Yea, but I'm not sure where to begin."

"How about tell me why you want me to know?"

"Ok, if something happens to Apollo, his sister, and me… I want to make sure your group understands."

"Understand? My group?"

I looked at her, I couldn't tell whether she was just acting confuse or she really was. "I'm not what I appear to be. I'm not even what I am now. My race is a Goddess and I'm with the ones that are from Greece and Rome."

Her eyes gave nothing of what she was thinking inside.

"Right now, since no one believes in us, we're in the Digital World. We changed our immortality for data. Gennai doesn't like us too much so we're just waiting until he sends you to fight us. But Apollo, Artemis, and I don't want to fight you, though I was told that we'll come back…"

"If you don't want to then don't." I was beginning to worry that I was mistaken but now I know that I was correct.

"But we might not have a choice… Kinda like we didn't have a choice to go into the Digital World. We didn't want to live our lives as Digimon."

"You still have a choice. Do the right thing and don't fight. Plus, you won't be fighting us first if Gennai is going to send someone to fight. He doesn't control my group."

I just blinked.

"See, everyone that I mentioned to you are apart of a new group that doesn't follow him. We were known through someone called Styxmon and her family."

_Styxmon! They're that legendary group! Then… that means that we don't have to worry._ "I understand. That's great news."

"See."

"But, our lord, Zeus, might still want you. I'm sure I heard him talking about it with one of the others. You still might want to be careful."

"I will and I won't tell anyone else. Is Apollo going to tell Lily Dawn?"

"I don't know. I didn't tell them that I was going to tell you. I'm not even sure whether he knows you're the Legendary ones."

"Legendary?"

"There was this legendary group of protectors for the Digital World that Titanmon found one day. He even found their symbols and kept them. Some of the others thought that they were the true protectors but we were soon told that there were already protectors for that world. So he decided to wait for them to appear so he can hand them their Crest and let them be known. But Gennai found out and wanted them for himself. I'm not sure why Titanmon didn't like him but he wouldn't give them up for anything. You should know what happened after that."

"Yea, the others came and fought them. Matt was told about the Crest so they gave him the information and Crest. Then he set out to get the others so now there's only one more left to find."

"So you have to find that one so you can stop Gennai. I know that Zeus isn't as bad as some might say but we do want to live in peace. I'm almost positive that any action that he takes is to gain that goal."

"I'll keep that in mind if we do have to fight him."

"Why would you have to?"

"I don't know right now but Panther, Matt, TK, Ken, and Kari are being careful for anyone with a God or Goddess name. Don't ask me why."

"She didn't seem like it when I saw her."

"I think they've gotten used to him. I'm not sure but that's what I was told."

"Thanks… I was told that it was good that I didn't say my real name. Guess that's why."

"Heka isn't your real name?"

"Nope and I still not saying."

"That's fine. What should we talk about now?"

"Anything from here."

Now we were talking about anything.

Ken

During school, I found out where the hovering car was made and where it was sold. The odd thing it said that it was sold to someone a few years back. After the study session, I told TK that I was going to check out the place. It didn't take long to arrive there since it was in the city.

"Excuse me, I was wondering whether you can help me with something?" I asked the person at the desk.

"What is it?"

"Can you tell me whether a car was sold a few years back?"

"Yea, but I'm not the one you see for that."

"Then whom do I go to?"

"You see that guy over there?"

I looked to where he was pointing and saw another desk with someone sitting there looking bored. "Go to him?"

"Yea."

"Thanks." I walked over to him; he looked up at me with confusion. "I was wondering if you'll be able to tell me about a car that might've been sold here a few years back."

"Why are you interested?"

"I'm just curious."

He gave me a strange look then turned on his computer. I didn't want to sit down since this was getting exciting.

"Do you have something in mind?" He sounded annoyed but I didn't care.

I handed the paper that I took the information on and the picture that TK took. He looked at them and started to type something in the computer. After a few minutes of this he turned his computer to face me. I saw the same car on his screen. "Ok, so who bought this car?"

"He had it save for him for a while before buying it. I don't know why someone would do that but that's what they did. The person you might want to talk to is the one that work at that hour, if you want more information on this guy."

"Can't you tell me his name?"

"I'm not allowed to give out consumers names. You should understand."

"Yea, ok thanks. Where do I find the guy you were talking about?"

"Walk to the hallway, take the third right and his office is there. It's not that hard to find. Here, you might want these back." He handed me back my papers.

"Thanks again."

I followed his direction and noticed that his office is the only one down this hallway. I knocked on the door.

"Come in." Said a voice of hard and old age.

I opened it to find an old man sitting there. He still had some good years in him though. "I was wondering if you could give me any information on the guy who bought this car?" I handed him the picture and information.

"Hai, I remember the one that bought this. He was a kind fellow and look to be wise. Though I know that people like that have to have a few hard times. Why do you want to know about him?"

"I don't know anything about him so I'm just trying to place a face with that car. A friend of mine and I found it so we're thinking of returning it. But we don't know who it belongs to."

"Well, after something big happened to the city, this happened about seven years ago, he came in. He looked sad about something but he came up to me and asked whether I could save him that car for him. He didn't have the money to have a down payment but something told me that he would keep his promise so I decided to save it for him for as long as it took. Then months later, he came back with a friend; he was happier than when I first saw him so I knew that it was right for him to buy it. I even thought of helping him so he didn't have to pay for it all. I then noticed that his friend started to work on the car for him. Then they drove away and that's the last time I saw him."

"Are you sure that's how it was?"

"I'm forgetting a bit of my memory but I know that he would be in my mind forever. Someone like that could never leave my mind and I would be surprise if someone did forget him."

"What's his name? Do you know where he lives?"

"I never asked for his name. I don't know where he lives."

"Aren't you supposed to know his name? Wouldn't he have to sign some papers to get the car?"

"I know that this might sound old fashion, especially since you're used to this modern age but I didn't want to know the name of him. I thought it would've been better if I didn't know his name. There was something about him that told me it would be saver that way."

"Thank you for your time. I guess we have to wait a while before we can give him his car back."

I was handed my papers and I walked out. As I got on the bus, I noticed that the old man wanted to remember him as he saw him. He might've wanted to imagine his past and a name might've ruined his view.

"Ken?"

I looked down at Wormmon, "Hm?"

"Why did he mean by 'old fashion'?"

"I'm not sure. Though I have heard of something similar to what he did. People meeting other people that the police are looking for but they never ask for a name. Even if they travel or lived with them for a few days, weeks, months; it's something odd that doesn't seem reasonable."

"What are we going to tell TK and Patamon?"

"We have to give them what we know. That's all we can do." Then something hit me that struck me as being odd.

"What is it Ken?"

"Uh, oh, he said that something big happened to the city seven years ago. That's about the time I became the Digimon Kaiser but I don't remember anything happening to the city."

"Really?"

"Yea, that was odd. I would've remembered something happening to the city."

"Maybe he was talking about when the Digimon came to the Real World."

"Maybe, I'm going to ask TK. He might be able to find something."

After a while, we got to TK's house.

"Hi Ken, what did you find out?" TK said as I came in.

I noticed that he looked worry but he was trying his hardest to not show it to me. "The person who bought this car didn't leave a name. The owner didn't want to know his name. When he bought this car, someone else was with him so that person messed around with his car. Before he bought it though, he had it saved."

"Are you allowed to do that?"

"Yea, if you have a down payment first. But he didn't since the owner was being nice to him. He was even willing to pay for some of his payments. I think that includes taxes for the car."

"Wow, so this guy is that special?"

"He might not even realize it but he was able to leave a great impression on the owner that he thought he had to do this."

"But didn't he had to sign some papers?"

"He doesn't want a name with the person he saw. Don't ask me why but I do know a few other cases that were similar."

"If there isn't a name to go with the person then the viewer is able to see into his past to see his personality."

"I thought you might get it better than me."

"My writer is getting stronger."

"Did you find anything on the master of that house?"

"They didn't want to know his past but they told me that they'll call me after their lesson to see if he mind."

"Now that's respect."

"I know."

"Did they give you a name before?"

"They always refer to him as Sensei. They don't want to know his real name and I was also told that the other teachers also call him Sensei. I don't think that anyone refers to him by his name."

"There has to be a name. Ask Cody for a name, he should know."

"You might have a point there. But should we? I mean if he doesn't want us to go looking in his past."

"If I don't then I might begin to think that Sensei and the owner of this car might be the same person."

"Oh, ok. Sure, then I'll ask."

The phone rang and TK picked it up. It wasn't very long before he hung up, "Ken, I have to ask Cody. They said that he doesn't want someone to look it his past, though he would be surprised to see someone finding something on him."

"Then I guess I'll be the first to surprise him."

"Hey, I'm going to help too."

"Oh, do you remember something big happening to the city seven years ago other than the Digimon?"

"Iie, why?"

"Because the owner said that he came in after something big happened to the city. Though I don't even recall something other than the Digimon."

"I guess I can look at different newspapers to see if I can find something."

"I was hoping that you would. Well, since that's been reported, let's take it on a hover ride."

"Agreeing with you there."

We all got in the car and TK pushed the green button to make it hover and then we hovered around. We soon learned that it can go higher but we weren't sure how it did.

After about a few hours of this, we headed back and Wormmon and I went home.

The next day, we were hoping that we would be able to find out some things about Sensei, but we were reminded that we're now taking our exams.

Ok, that's it. They're now in testing and stuff. Who knew that our world is getting more and more interesting? Not only do we know something about the Deity Digimon, Ken and TK are having their own adventure. Well, I still don't have full control and I can't say why I'm in this dark room but I know that I'm not liking it. Baibai.


	7. Chap 6 The Last One, Wild Unity

Author Konnichi wa, how are you? Ok, letting you know that in the beginning, I messed up. Summer there is from July something till August something. They getting out of school from March something until April 1st, I think… I'm assuming on when school restarts. They also have weeks when they don't have school but I'm not sure on any of them so they won't be mentioned. If you know any that hasn't passed then let me know. That way I could but them in. Arigato.

Hello, I'm not feeling much better but I am going to write here for a bit. Ok, it's the last day of testing and the last class period of the day.

Kari

Ken and I were walking from Math class to PE. We weren't talking about anything important when Davis came running up.

"Kari, Ken, hey guys!" Davis put one arm around my neck and the other around Ken, leaving him in the middle.

I went under his arm and got freed from his hold. He then let Ken go. "Hi Davis." I said afterward.

"Doesn't TK walk with us to PE?" He looked around, wondering where he was.

"He's busy with something else. He'll be there though." Ken said.

"Oh, well what is it? It must be really important if he's not walking with us."

"I'm sure it is."

"Hey, what are you guys doing for this summer?"

"I'm going to be going various things." Ken said.

"After today, I'm going to taking scenery pictures. TK wants some since he thinks that it might help with some of the stories. I'm not sure how long that will take me since I'm going to be traveling around Japan for them."

"Wow! Why isn't TK going with you?"

"There something else that he needs to take care of. Tai is coming with me though."

"Well, I think that TK should be there with you."

"That's an improvement."

I turned to see that TK was right behind me. I smiled and he smiled back.

"What's 'so' important that you can't even spend time with your future wife?" Davis sounded a bit mad.

"Door."

"Huh…!" Right then, the door that led to the gym hit Davis and he fell to the floor.

"Davis, are you alright?" I asked.

"Yea… I'm alright. I have a hard head." His hand was on his head. Ken helped him up and we walked in.

We went to where our class was and sat down near the top of the bleachers. The bell rang and the teacher was calling student's names. After he gave us the options to do in that class, everyone spread out with his or hers friends and did one of the games. We stayed since none of us really want to do any of them.

"So TK, what's so important that you can't spend time with Kari?" Davis asked again.

"Matt isn't feeling well. So I'm staying with him to make sure that he gets better."

"Oh, is Panther busy with something?" He said her name with disgust.

"Iie but I want to make sure that he's better. He's still my brother."

"But she can take care of him. Unless she's busy with something herself."

"She's not. Hey Ken, want to shot some hoops?"

"Sure."

They sat their Digimon down and walked down to the floor. There was one ball left and lucky for them that they got there first. A group that was already playing went up to them. TK sat down the ball and they went with them to their court. The odd thing was that TK and Ken were on different teams.

"Don't Ken and TK like to be on the same team?" Davis asked, a bit to himself though.

"I thought so too. But they aren't today."

"Well, both are good at this game. Wonder who's the better one."

"Davis, they're not competitive." I looked at him.

"I know, but it's still an interesting question."

Their game began. At first they were passing the ball to the more skilled ones on their team but somewhere along the way, it became pass-it-to-TK/Ken. They were at each other like they were rivals. We were too high to see what their eyes looked like but I was getting worried. I looked at Davis to see that he was getting into this game, like many down below. Patamon and Wormmon didn't look worry at all. They seem to say that all this was natural or something. _But since when have they wanted to beat the other?_

"Kari?"

I looked down at Gatomon, who I was holding in my lap. "Hm?"

"What's wrong? You look worry."

"I didn't know that Ken and TK could get so competitive. It's something different."

"Oh, good point."

I looked back at the game. I noticed that even when one of the other students had the ball, TK or Ken would be on them so fast that they would have to have tossed the ball as soon as they got it. That includes when they were on the opposite side. If the student did manage to pass the ball, TK or Ken was the only one close enough for the person to pass it to. Then they would get in the way of the one with the ball so that they would have to pass the ball to a student and the cycle repeated.

When the bell rang, no one scored and only the other students were tired. TK and Ken seem like they could do that for hours. I picked up Patamon and Wormmon and we walked down.

"Wow! I didn't know that you two were at equally match. That was an awesome game." Davis said with great excitement.

"Yea, it was interesting." Ken said, sounding modest.

"When did you guys want to beat each other?" I asked then noticed that they weren't even sweating. I took a quick glance at the other players and they were greatly.

"We don't. What gave you that idea?" TK asked.

"Couldn't you ask to be on the same team?"

"We did but they wanted to know how we do if we were facing each other." Ken said.

"Well, we should stay and chat but Kari, don't you need to get somewhere?" TK said.

"Right, I almost forgot. See ya later boys." I handed Patamon and Wormmon over to them and ran out the doors. I saw Panther and Lily Dawn there.

"What took so long? Need to fresh in up?" Panther joked.

"Yea, I'm done now."

"Good, the younger ones are waiting outside." Lily Dawn said.

We walked outside and I saw that Neon was standing in a tough pose and Nereida looked a bit nervous since kids were whispering to one another.

"Nereida, are you ok?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Yea…"

"But these bystanders are just jealous of her company." Neon said this as another group was watching them but they quickly ran when she looked at them.

"Your way of making friends is very unique." I said.

She pulled out the sunglasses from her golden necklace that appears when she goes to the Digital World and puts them on, "And we're unique ourselves. Now let's get that food in our stomachs."

We all smiled and headed towards an outside dinning place. We agreed that today was a girl's day so after school we were going to hang together. After eating something, we were going to go to shops for no real reason. We just want to have some fun before we all spilt for the summer.

We got to the dinning place and sat down. We didn't order that much but it was more than we usually eat.

"What are your plans for the summer?" I asked since I didn't get to hear their plans since they were helping me with some spots for me to take pictures from. All I know is that almost no one was going to be around near the beginning of summer.

"I don't mean to intrude but… Where are the chopsticks?" Lightningmon asked.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Sorry." Nereida pulled out some from her bag and handed them over to her. She smiled and started to eat.

"Lightningmon, you don't know how to eat food with forks?" Lily Dawn asked, not sounding insulting.

"Iie."

"Oh, ok. Bellimon, you can move to get some food."

"Really?" She got up on her lap and started to grab some food.

Sakuramon come out from Neon's hair and kneeled on the table, eating some of the food in her reach. Plantmon went to Panther's head and grabbed some food that way. I was handing Gatomon the food she wanted.

"I'm heading with Don to a special training ground. Don't worry though, I'll have my cell on so you can call us if we're needed."

"Do you go there every summer?" Panther asked.

"Yea, but we only spend a few days there, maybe a week or so. Then later on we go to see his mother and grandmother."

"Aren't you going to go see your father?" Nereida asked.

"Don't know where he is. Though we don't really care. He left when I was still an infant so…"

"Sorry."

"It's ok. I don't mind."

"Well, I'm going to a dancing camp for two weeks. My pager will be on. Bellimon knows how to use it too."

"Tim has a science conference to go to and he's bringing us along. I'm not sure how long it's going to take but he's planning on us to go to other rooms to get more information for him. Luckily for him, our Digimon are going to help out."

"This sounds important, well, that or really big." I said.

"Oh, it is. Many scientists go there to learn more from each other. He heard about a long time ago and we keep going every time. Saving a lot of money just to go."

"Do you have fun?" Panther asked.

"Yea, it's a lot of fun. You can meet many interesting people there."

"Really? Wow, maybe Matt should've gone."

"He was able to go?"

"Yea, his boss asked whether he wanted to go. He said that he still had a lot of work to get done. Though I thought it would be boring so I told him not to go."

"Oh, well we'll make sure that we get everything for him. Are they still sending someone?"

"I think so. When are you guys going?"

"We're leaving two days from now."

"I'll call you tomorrow then. Well, I'm not doing anything really big. So I guess that means that I'm helping with the phone tag."

"Who else is with that?" I asked, guessing that it would be Ken, TK, and Matt.

"TK and Matt. Ken is for a few days but then he has to go to an invention convention 'cause his parents want him to go. I think it had something to do with a past genius."

"Oh, that. Didn't you hear about it? He was famous when he was eleven."

"Really?"

"Oh, yea. I completely forgot about it. I remember hearing his name on the news. Didn't really care too much though." Lily Dawn said.

"I thought that he lived in another district?" Neon said.

"He did… but something brought him and his parents over here. I'm not sure what though." I explained.

"Ask him then. When were you going to leave on that photography trip?" Nereida asked.

"Tomorrow. I have to get packing when I get home."

"Then we should hurry then. What about contacting you?" Neon said.

"Well, TK has my number that he can use to reach me and you could always call Tai for something less important. Everyone has that."

"Oh, Kari, almost forgot; at the science conference, there always great places to take great scene pictures. Do you want us to take some for you?"

"Sure, that would be nice."

"No problem. After all we're all friends."

"Would someone ask that girl with pink hair if she wants to eat with us?" Lily Dawn asked her eyes focus behind Neon.

I quickly looked to see a girl about our age watching us. She was wearing a dull red violet cape, biker gloves, a massager bag, blue mini skirt, ocean green tight tank top and her frizzy hair was covered by a field-worker's hat from the old days. She quickly realized that we knew that she was there so she tilted her hat down to cover her eyes and acted like she wasn't watching us.

"Hey, you want to join us?" Nereida asked before she took her third step.

"As long as I'm not interrupting anything important." Her voice held some gentleness to them but there was the sound of a tough experience in there. _I think TK's observation is rubbing off on me._

"We don't mind company." Lily Dawn said.

"I don't have that much money on me."

"We'll pay then." Neon said.

"Why? If you don't mind me asking."

"You were watching the food. So you must be hungry." Panther answered.

"Come over and we can talk. Don't worry about anything." I reassured her.

I think we all thought that she was going to walk in the middle of the street or something because she faced us and backed towards it. I knew that I held my breath when she got to the curve but then she took two quick steps forward and jumped over the little fence that the dinning had for the outside. She did a flip in midair and landed perfectly. She smiled at us as she walked towards us, grabbed a seat from a close by table, twirled the seat closer, stopped it with its back facing the table, sat down between Panther and me.

"You can sit like that in a mini skirt?" Neon asked, since her legs were across the chair.

She blinked for a bit, "Oh, sorry. I usually don't wear skirts." She got up and twirled the chair so the back was away from the table then sat back down. She took her hat off and let it hang from her neck. That revealed a golden hair band that held a beautiful silver stone. I was amazed that, for someone that didn't have any money could have a stone like that. I noticed her stone earrings right then. They were a beautiful blue that reminds one of the ocean on a clear day.

"Ok, go ahead and eat something." Neon offered, since we've eaten a bit and our Digimon had their fill. Only Lightningmon was eating, but that was because she didn't know how to eat some of the food with chopsticks, though she wasn't going to show her paw gloves to someone new so she was just sitting there.

"Thanks." She went for a hamburger when I noticed that her biker gloves were tied to her wrist by a thin gold band and on her back palm is a beautiful stone that reminds one of fire. I'm not even going to say red, though that what it mostly is, since it dose seem to be fire inside it.

"Where are you from?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Huh?" She looked at her before she took a bit. She chewed quickly before speaking, "I'm from this area. Why do you ask? Oh, what your names before I forget."

"You don't look familiar. My name is Lily Dawn."

"This is a big area." She took another bit.

"But we should see you in school."

"Oh, well I was on a trip and I just came back. Is school over?" She covered her mouth as she spoke.

"Yea, it just got out. You were lucky. I'm Neon."

"Wow! My luck never been so good, oh well. I like to travel around."

"I'm Nereida and this is my friend Inazuma. Do you travel with your folks?"

"Kinda, they send me to places as they go somewhere else. All to gather information." She now finished with the hamburger and now she's eating apple wedges that are tipped in soy sauce.

"Panther, and don't you get lonely?"

"Lonely? Nah, I have to go to people's houses on my travels." She was now doing the same with the fries, even though there was a container of ketchup there.

"Kari, I'm sure you have fun then."

"Yea, it's always a blast."

"If you travel then wouldn't you have money?" Neon asked.

"See, I do but it's foreign and I know that most places here want yen."

"Oh, that would explain it then. Hey, want to hang with us? After this we're going shopping." Nereida offered.

She put something else in her mouth as she thought about it. She swallowed, "Sure."

"What's your name? We gave ours." Panther said.

She drank from a glass that was filled with water, as there was bread in her other hand. "My name is Ceres. Nice to meet yawl. " She said that last part in an American western style. She smiled like she cleverly said something then continued to eat.

We all did as well. Plantmon hid as a weird looking hat, Sakuramon as a movable doll, and Bellimon and Gatomon turned to plush toys. Though Ceres didn't ask about them, we could tell that she was curious about them so that's what we told her.

After she was done, which she ate more than we did, we went walking around at different stores. We weren't planning on buying anything so it worked out for Ceres.

"Are you going to your house?" Nereida asked when we were about done looking around.

Ceres held up a dark, shiny blue dress that you could dance in. I noticed then that her boots were that of a biker's, heavy and hard looking. I thought it was odd but it didn't really matter. _That could be just her style._

"Ummm…. Well, I was actually wondering if I could stay with one of you guys. See, though I was born here, my folks never liked this area so we don't have a house here. Hope you don't mind."

"I would gladly offer mine but I'm leaving tomorrow for a trip. Sorry." I said.

"That's ok."

"I have to pack for a trip too. Sorry." Neon said.

"Same here." Lily Dawn said.

"I don't think that my brother would mind." Nereida said.

"I know my guardian wouldn't mind."

"Well, do you want to call them? Incase it's not ok."

Nereida pulled out a cell phone and called her house. She talked for a few moments then hanged up. "Sorry, my brother is really worried about this conference that we're going to."

"Are you going to call your guardian?"

"Nah, I know that he doesn't care. He welcomes guest. Plus we have many rooms to spare."

"Well, if you're sure."

"I am. Don't worry about it."

"Well, it's been fun but I got to go. See you Legend Digi in the shadows." I said with a smile.

"Right, we don't want to mess with the light." Neon joked.

I waved bye and walked across the street.

"Why didn't you tell the others about TK and Ken?" Gatomon asked from the top of my head.

"I didn't want to worry Panther. She does care for TK and since Ken has been hanging around more… I'm hoping that it's nothing. You know, like a one time thing."

"I hope so too. Patamon didn't seem to notice a difference."

"And Davis was too much in the game to really care. Well, that's why we love hope."

Gatomon giggled, as did I.

Panther

We watched until Kari was out of sight.

"What did she mean?" Ceres asked.

"We're going to see her off tomorrow morning. I hope that's not a problem." I said

"Oh no, I was just wondering. It shouldn't bother me. After all I'm the guest that's imposing."

"Well, we better head home too. After all, we have to start packing as well." Neon said.

"Right, see you tomorrow." Lily Dawn said.

They waved and headed towards their house.

We walked to a bus station and waited with Nereida and Lightningmon. Two buses passed by before one came that Nereida could use. I waved them off.

"How far is your house?" Ceres asked.

"We're also taking a bus. It's just simple like that."

"So I can figure that's it is pretty far."

"I just don't want to walk." Though the real reason is that we're in enemy land.

She lend against the pole that held the roof of this station. She looked up at the sky. "It would be nice if it rained."

I looked up to see that the sun was setting and the clouds were few. _Looks like a perfect night to look at the stars._ "Why wish that?"

"So the building's feelings could be shown. Don't they look sad?" She said that like she was an innocent child. It wasn't her voice but her attitude that told me that.

"I couldn't tell. I always think of them as buildings. Not living things. If you want that opinion, you need to talk to my guardian's brother."

"_Estne poeta?_"

"What?" I looked at her.

"Oh, sorry. Is he a poet?"

"Iie but he's a novelist in-training. I was able to read some of his stories and they're good. What you just said sounds like something he would describe."

"That's so cool." She looked back up at the sky, "Wow! This must be my luckiest day." She said that with so much excitement that I had to look to see what she was talking about.

I noticed that a big mass of clouds were coming this way then I saw thunder. "It wasn't supposed to though. It was supposed to be clear."

"Meteorologists are usually wrong, you should know that."

"That's too much out of the blue."

"Oh well. At least the building will be able to express themselves."

"You're one weird person."

"Everyone has their own way."

Our bus came and we got on. I noticed that as soon as I had a good glance at the back, there was some of the enemy in the back. I hid my face as I took a seat in the middle. Ceres looked at me then at the back. She took the seat behind me and rested her arms on the back of my seat.

"Something scaring you?" She asked like it was nothing. _I can't blame her, she doesn't know._

"Nothing scares me. I just don't want to start a fight with innocent bystanders." I looked at the driver and he seemed stiff with fear. I looked into the back-view mirror to see them smiling and laughing inside. _I hope they didn't see me before hand._ I didn't show any signs that I was nervous.

"Wow, talk about nerves of steal. They look to be carrying something in their belts. Are you in some kind of trouble?" She sounded excited about this.

"Is there something that you don't see in them?"

"I see that they like baggy clothes. Most likely to hide whatever they don't want others to see. Hey, I know, you challenged them in some kind of game with cards and you lost. Now you can't bear to show your face and they won't stop harassing you about it. Right?" She sounded like she just got a good grade combine with solving a puzzle that took everyone else a long time and her a few minutes.

I just wanted to hurt her for being so dumb, "They're gang members."

"Gang? Your club lost a match to them?"

"No!" I said that in a harsh tone that I haven't used in a while. I calmed myself down before speaking again. "Never mind. Just hope that they don't get off as we do."

"Ummm… Ok." She sounded like she just brushed it off.

I felt Plantmon grip getting a bit tighter. I noticed that I was feeling the knife that I got. I placed the device in different places every time so that no one knew where to look for it. Our stop came up and I got up. I paid the driver for our ride but I noticed that he's expression was getting more and more nervous. I got off and walked fast.

"Why are you walking fast?" She sounded like a child.

"Did those guys from the back get off?"

"Hai!" Her voice sounded happy.

"That's not good. How fast can you run in that mini skirt?"

"Um?………………… I think as fast as I need to?" Going back to her child voice.

"Then… can you fight?"

"I can't stand violence." She sounded like a wealthy lady.

"Too bad. Run." I took off. I went to a bare street that was close to the house that if something did happen, I could at least tell her where to go.

"Hey, you didn't count to three." I looked at her like she was nuts. "Nani? When you have a race you have to count so the other people can get ready."

I was about to say something but I heard footsteps coming fast our way. I got in front of Ceres and pulled Plantmon on my back. Then they appeared.

"You shouldn't have made us run." Said the one that seemed to be the leader. They were three and all were breathing hard.

"Maybe you shouldn't have followed us." I got ready to fight them.

The other men there pulled out guns and were pointing them at me.

"Guns? That's so lame." I dare heard Ceres say.

I turned to look at her to see that she was serious.

"Lame huh? Well, maybe you want to be the first to get a cold metal to go through your body?"

"How much skill do you need to aim and pull? _Nihil._" I couldn't tell whether she was brave or foolish.

I heard the gun's safety switch turn off. I looked back at them to see that the one on my left was aiming at Ceres.

"Panther, do you have something that can freeze them?" She whispered.

"I do… What do you have plan?"

"Hai, but you can't protect me."

"So you want to die?"

"_Mortus_ isn't something I fear but respect."

"Whatever, just don't get killed. I don't want to feel guilt."

"Hai."

The gun was fired. I ran up to the leader so fast that they didn't have time to take aim too well. When the right guy did, I was at their leader's throat with my dagger. I looked over at Ceres to see that she was putting on her cape. _I guess she did something with her cape._ She smiled and walked over. The left guy was about to take aim but stopped.

"I would think the line 'put down your weapons' is appropriate."

They both dropped theirs. Ceres picked them up and took it apart. She walked over to a sewer opening and tossed them in it. She looked back over to us with a happy but mischievous face. "Have a nice evening, gentlemen."

I pulled my dagger away and they ran fast. I watched them run until they were out of sight. "How did you dodge the bullet?" I looked back at her and she was looking at the sky again. I looked up too to see that the clouds were almost above us. _I guess I was so nervous about those punks that I didn't hear the thunder._ The sound roared and echoed a bit.

"I used my cape to slow it down. It's something that I learned when I was hanging with actors."

"We better get to my house before the rain comes down on us."

Then the rain came. I knew that I looked pissed because she was laughing.

"I guess you can't beat it."

"Yea let's go."

I led her to my house, though it's not really my house. The house wasn't locked since Matt's usually home so I opened the door and noticed that the kitchen light was on.

"Hello!" Ceres yelled and heard her voice echoing through the house. "Wow, this looks like an abandon house. Filled with ghost and stuff."

"I see that we have a guest." Matt said from kitchen door.

"This is Ceres. We met her while we were eating."

"I see, come on in. I'll make some tea." He walked back in.

I closed the door and was about to turn on a light when Ceres's hand stopped me. I looked at her with confusion.

"Can we light a candle? It seems more appropriate."

"Matt, Ceres wants to light a candle."

"Sure, go ahead."

I pointed to the place were our candles were at. Ceres walked over and looked inside. The house trembled with the sound of the thunder. Matt brought out the tea and placed it on the table. I walked over to him since Ceres was still looking at the candles.

"Matt, are you feeling well?" I whispered.

"A lot better. I'm almost done with my work. Why was there gun fire outside?"

"A few enemies were around and one of them fired. Don't worry, they won't come back."

"Ok. As long as you're safe."

"Do you guys like candles?"

I looked back to see that Ceres had in her hand a pyramid-shape gold candle. She set it directly in the middle of the table.

"We had a black out one time. I brought more incase it happens again." Matt answered.

"Ohh, that's a good reason. I love candles since they can express different emotions with their colors and be in any shape. Then the flame that makes a dark room into a dim room."

"Are you going to stay here for a while?" Matt was walking back to the kitchen to get a match but then candle lit itself. This also surprised Matt.

He came back and sat down. Ceres and I did as well but then she got back up and poured the tea into the cups like I see professional tea-makers do. She sat closer to us than she was when she first sat down.

"I might. I'm always traveling so you never know. But I'll say bye before I go. And I'm going to help in anyway I can."

"Do you have a schedule to follow?"

"Iie, not really." She drank some tea.

"Well you're free to stay here for as long as you like. How old are you?" I took a sip from my cup and Matt did as well.

"Eighteen."

"Then you have to go to school if you stay for the last part of the school year."

"Hai." She seemed a bit nervous about that.

"Ok, go ahead and pick a room that you like to stay in. All have a bed that you could use."

"Arigato." She got up, bowed, and headed upstairs. It didn't take her long to pick a room.

"Which one?" Matt asked as he put down his cup.

"The one that you see when you go up."

"Ok. Oh, you might hear other voices."

"Are they ghost?" She looked really excited.

"Yea…"

"Wow! I always wanted to meet a real ghost. Every time I was promised a ghost they weren't real or they didn't show. Please call me when they're around." She smiled and walked over to her teacup. She drank the last of it in her cup, filled it up again, and drank it with a bit left. Then she headed to her new room.

"She's really weird." I said to Matt as I picked up her cup and pour her last bit into my cup.

"I would agree."

"Oh, is Hota sending someone else in your place for that conference thing?"

"I think so, she didn't really say if she was or wasn't."

"Call her tomorrow. Tim and they are going there and they're more than willing to get the information for you."

"Really? Wow, I will."

The phone rang. Matt was about to get it but Ceres somehow got to it first.

"Moshimoshi. This is the house of Matt and Panther, how may I help you?……………… Hai, he's here……… Sure," she looked over to Matt and said in a whisper, "It's for you."

Matt walked over and Ceres handed him the phone. Ceres walked over to me as Matt talked to the other person.

"What's your last name?"

"Just say Ishida. That's Matt's last name."

"You took up your guardian's name?"

"Iie but I do use it. I'm not about to release my real last name."

"Ohh, so that's your 'secret identity'? The real you?"

"Yea. You could say that."

"Cool." She sat down and wanted for Matt to get off.

I did the same thing. I looked over at the map that was still hanging on the wall.

"Amateur star glazers?"

"I might be but Matt is an astronaut."

"Cool, does he work at a desk most of the time?"

"I think he does nowadays. How did you figure that?" I looked at her and she was still looking at the map as well.

"Guessed. He is planning on going to the metagalaxy?"

"What?"

"Is he going beyond the Milky Way?"

"I don't think so, this is just a map that he was handed. There's an area that seems familiar to Matt and his brother but they don't know why."

"Weird. Maybe they went there before and just forgot."

"How can you forget going into space?"

"How can someone forget about their childhood when they're still in it?"

"What do you mean?"

"If something happened to the person that horrified him or her, they can suppress the memories. Something like that could've happened to them."

"But you still need training to go into space. Not to mention a spaceship. Someone should've remembered hearing something like that. It would've made the news big time."

"I'm only saying that they could've done that. I'm only guessing."

I heard the phone being hung up.

"Who was that?" I asked, turning to face him.

"It was Seto Kaiba." He sat down as well.

"Seto Kaiba! You know that cutie?" Ceres said, though she wasn't as excited as her tone.

"Kinda, what do you know?"

"I know that he was an orphan and a genius. The former owner of Kaiba Corp. adopted him, along with his brother, and he inherited it. He's into this card game called Duel Monster and it was a big hit a few years ago. I'm proud enough to say that I was in two tournaments that were held for them. One was called Duelist Kingdom and the other was Battle City. I didn't make it to the top because I won the items that you need to get to the finals for other people. Kaiba also invented the high tech part of the dueling. I never got to meet him."

"Why did you call him a 'cutie'?" I had to ask.

"Because that's what some of the girls that I knew said about him."

"How do you know so much about his past?"

"A reporter never reveals their sources." She winked when she said that.

Matt closed his eyes, I think he was thinking about either his mother or father or maybe both since they were both of that profession. He opened his eyes, "He was wondering why I wasn't going to the conference. I told him that I was sick. I also said that I have some friends there but I didn't give him their names. Then he decided not to go as well since he was only going because he wants another chance to duel me."

"You dueled him and he wants to duel you!" Ceres sounded surprised.

"Yea, I was told to do so because my boss wanted his technology. Why is that surprising?"

"Only two people were able to defeat him. One is the creator of Duel Monster, Maximillion Pegasus and Yugi Mutou."

"Yugi?" Matt said that like it was familiar to him.

"You know him too?"

"Iie, but Seto thinks I do."

"Well, you should feel honored then. Yugi Mutou is known as the King of Games."

"I'll remember that. Anyway, after he hanged up, I called Hota and she told me that she hasn't found someone that was free. I told her that I have some friends that were going and they wouldn't mind helping. She gave me a general list to give them."

"I bet that she was happy. Are you going to hand her the information that they give you?" I asked him.

"Yea, she doesn't need to know them. Well, we better head to bed. Ceres, are you going with us to see off our friends tomorrow?"

"You mean Kari, Neon, and Lily Dawn?"

"Yep, they leave at different times but all tomorrow. Do you want to come?"

"Normally parents drop off their kids, not friends."

"Neon's mother is going with her. I was told that there was something in that area that she liked. Lily Dawn's brother is going to see her off and her father is doing something else."

"Shows how much he cares. Anyway, I'll go. It could be fun. See you two in the morning." She got up and went upstairs.

"Is it just me or do you get the feeling that she might stay until school starts?" Matt sounded like he was just talking to himself.

"TK would like her. Good with personifications." I got up. "Where's Gabumon?"

"When I heard the gun shots, I told him to hide since I saw that there was someone else with you." He looked upstairs, "Gabumon, I think it's safe."

I heard him coming from the kitchen. "You have to tell her sooner or later." He went over to Matt but in a way so someone from the stairs couldn't see him.

"I'm hoping later, that's why I told her that she might hear other voices."

"But what about the other Digimon? They would wave when Tai and Kari leave."

"I forgot about that." He looked at me, "Do you want to tell her in the morning? That way she doesn't freak out or something."

"I get the feeling that she wouldn't but I'll tell her just the same."

"Ok, then in the morning, I'll make breakfast."

"Sounds great. Night." I walked upstairs and went to bed.

I woke up on my own. I first went to Matt's room to see if he did slept. Nowadays he stays up but he has been acting normal at least. I opened his door slightly and didn't find Gabumon, so that means that they're making breakfast and he did get some slept or they're making it and he didn't. I went back to my room and got dress. Plantmon was up and waiting for her show-and-tell. I put on a loose tank top, a bit of baggy jeans, and didn't put up my hair.

I picked up Plantmon and headed towards Ceres's room when I heard something in the bathroom. I walked over there and knocked. I heard alarm then feet coming towards the door. Ceres came out and closed the door behind her.

"Ceres, what are you doing?"

"Getting ready. After all, I'm meeting everyone else. Want to look my best." She seemed to be hiding something. "Nice plush toy, do you like that character?"

I looked down at Plantmon then looked back up, "She's not a plush toy. She would be the ghost that you wanted to meet."

She blinked then looked at Plantmon.

"Hello, I'm Plantmon."

She blinked some more then she got an excited face. She picked up Plantmon and hugged her, "Kawaii!" She handed her back to me. "Are there more?"

"Yea, Inazuma is like Plantmon. They're something called Digimon, short for Digital Monster. Everyone that you know the name of has one."

"That's so cool. I want to meet them all."

"You'll see all the ones that have one. You won't meet all the Digimon."

"Why?" She looked disappointed.

"They're in a group that can't know we have some. Only a few in that does know."

"Ohh, so you're in this special group that protects the innocent, right?"

"I don't know about that but we are protectors."

"They protect the world that I live in." Plantmon explained.

"That's cool. Hope you guys can take me there some time. Oh, since you guys, I'm only guessing that Matt has one too, have Digimon in your house. Is it ok if I have a pet?" She looked a bit nervous.

"What kind of pet? I didn't see you have one yesterday."

"I know but that was because she was in my massager bag. I was secretly feeding her while I was eating."

"What is she?"

"A raccoon."

"Can I see?"

She opened the door and I saw a raccoon in the sink cleaning an apple under the running water. I walked closer and she stopped cleaning and started to watch me.

"Don't worry, she won't bit. Let her smell you and Plantmon."

I walked closer and held out my hand. Plantmon did the same with her vine hand. She smelled both then went back to cleaning. I looked back at Ceres.

"Isn't she one of the cutest animals you've seen?"

"But why do you have her?"

"Her mother was killed by a hunter. She was the only one of her kids that lived."

"A hunter killed her and her babies?"

"Not one, many. I think they wanted their fur."

"I don't mind, she is cute but I'm not the one that you need to ask."

"Right, I thought so. I will as soon as she's done with washing her apple."

"How did you know where to find them?"

"I know where people generally put them."

"Oh, well, breakfast is going to be ready soon. Come down when you're ready."

"Right." She lifted her right hand to her forehead in a diagonal.

I walked out and went downstairs. "We were supposed to surprise her, right?" Plantmon asked.

"That's how it was supposed to go."

We found Matt in the kitchen and Gabumon setting the table.

"How did she take it?" Matt asked, guessing since he didn't see her with me.

"Very well. In fact, she had a counter surprise. She'll let you know when she comes down."

"Counter surprise? Wow, didn't see that one."

"Nor I." I sat down and waited.

Ceres came down and she didn't have her cape on. She was wearing a weird shirt that looked to have a red rhombus shape attached to it from an angle cut that seems to be in the front, low knee high pants that also had an angle cut, and ankle boots that were all had the color of her gloves. There was a beautiful green stone in the middle of her chest that was attached on her shirt and a beautiful pure white stone in the rhombus. I saw something reflecting light above the green stone but couldn't tell what it was.

"Not wearing your cape?" I asked, since she had that on in the bathroom.

"Nope. I like this outfit too much to have it cover." I noticed that her massager bag was behind her, guessing that's were her pet was when she was hiding.

"Panther told me that you surprised her with something. Mind telling?" Matt asked from the kitchen, "Oh, and the blue furred is Gabumon."

Gabumon waved as he walked out of the kitchen with some tea. She blinked and then ran to him and hugged him, making sure that he didn't spill it.

"Kawaii!" I noticed that her bag was now on the floor nearest to the kitchen but not that far from her.

"Is that how you're going to react to all of the ones you're going to meet?" Matt asked, putting the food on the plates.

She let go of Gabumon and looked at Matt, "But they're so cute!"

He put the plates on the table and sat down. Ceres got up and sat down too, bringing her bag with her.

"So, what's your surprise?"

"Do you know what a raccoon is?" She started eating.

"I'm happy to say yes. Is that want the surprise is?"

"Ele, come on out." She looked over to where she placed her bag. The raccoon came on the table and looked around. When she spotted Gabumon and Matt, her eyes were watching them carefully.

"Wow." It seems that was the only way Matt knew how to express what he wanted to say.

"Sorry for not telling you but most people with nice homes, a.k.a. this, don't want 'wild' animals in."

"I don't mind. You didn't have to hide Ele. What gender is Ele anyway?"

"Female but she doesn't act like a dame all the time."

"That might be helpful around here. Show the others her."

"Ok, Ele, go over and know them."

Ele walked on all fours towards Matt and Gabumon. She smelled Gabumon then Matt. She stood up and looked at Ceres. Ceres seemed to know what she was saying and smiled. Ele got closer to Matt and he petted her. When she seemed satisfied, she returned to Ceres and sat down in the seat where her bag was.

After we finished eating, we headed out. We were walking over to the train station. I explained to Ceres where they were going. Ele was curled on her head and Plantmon on my head. We reached the station and looked for the others. I spotted my group and walked to them. They were acting like they were there for no reason.

"I'll let Kari know before she leaves." Matt said as he walked passed them.

We stopped on the outer part.

"Hello." Ryan said.

"Nice to see you again." Neon said.

"Ohayo min'na. I'm Ceres to all you _pueri_ and to everyone, kawaii creature on my head is Ele." Ele sat up.

"It's illegal to bring a wild animal here." Tim said.

She looked like she did something wrong and she was sorry for it.

"Hi, I'm Ryan."

"And your dog's name is?"

"Uh…"

"She knows." I said.

"Why?" Damon asked.

"She's staying at our house."

"Oh, that would explain it. This is Breomon." He nodded.

"I'm Don, and the Digimon that hangs with me," points to his back since that's where he was, "is AeroDinomon."

"Damon and this is Huskimon."

"Tim and the Digimon that's with me is hiding. His name is Shendramon."

"The doll is Sakuramon."

"My plush toy is Bellimon and Kari's is Gatomon."

"My real name is Lightningmon."

"Nice to meet you." Ceres said with a smile.

"Guys, Kari's about to leave." Neon said.

We all looked and watched as she boarded. We waved and she waved back but her other friends thought it was to them. They watched the train leave before they did the same. TK, Ken and Matt acted like they were walking with them but then quickly came toward us.

"Hello, I'm Ceres and this is Ele."

"Hi, I'm TK, Matt's brother, and this is Patamon."

"Ken and this is Wormmon."

"Why aren't the others coming over?" She sounded disappointed.

"Because three of them don't like this group too much." TK answered.

"Oh… How many groups are there?" She looked at everyone.

"Three. One is the first group that TK, Matt and Kari are apart of. Then there's a second group that TK, Kari, and Ken are in. Then there's our group. The ones that you know the Digimon to are in that group." Lily Dawn said.

"Sounds like Kari and TK are popular. They're in all three groups."

"Oh, sorry. I'm not in this group. The only reason I know everything about it is because of my brother. He tells me everything that goes on."

"Oh… How do you join this club?"

"First and third groups are basically the same. You need something called a Crest that represents your strongest point. I have the Crest of Hope so hope is my strongest virtue."

"Then shouldn't first and third be together?"

"There's a difference in the Crest and the way they're presented."

"If they're virtues then that means that they come from your heart. How can you show that differently? Other than covering it so it seems like you don't have it."

"At first, ours were shown physically as a tablet with the symbol engraved in it. The third group has it shown as an amulet. Also, the device that helps the Digimon partner evolve is another key. The first group has the one that Matt has," Matt held up his Digivice, "And the second has this," he held up his D-3, "and the third one doesn't have one."

"So what do the second group have? I mean with the virtues and stuff."

"The three people that don't like this group have two of the Crest of the first group. Kari, Ken and I only have one even though we're in that group. We also have something called a Digimental that gave our Digimon a side evolution, though Ken doesn't have that."

"Interesting. Uh.. Should we stay here and talk or should we sit somewhere?"

"Well, Don and I need to get our parents ready. See ya at noon." Neon said and her and Don walked away.

"Oh, I'm leaving with Lily Dawn. I just found out that it was near her camp." Ryan said.

"Did you already pack?" I asked.

"Yea, good thing too. Otherwise I would've left about now too."

"Ok, you guys might as well head back. Oh. Tim, would you mind if you guys get a few things for my boss?"

"Sure Matt, what does she want?"

He took out the list and handed it to Damon, since he was closer. "She couldn't find someone to go on short notice."

"Not a problem. We were already thinking about getting you any information on it. Well, we better make sure that we got everything for Matt."

They waved then left as well. Lily Dawn and Ryan left with them.

"I guess we could back to your house to let her know what's up." TK said, looking at Matt.

"Ok, let's go."

We walked the way back. Matt made a snack for us and brought out tea. Ele was sleeping on the table.

"Ok, can I hear the names of the other people?" Ceres asked.

"The one that went with Kari is her brother Tai. Did you get a good look at the other people there?" TK asked.

"Yep."

"Good, the orange hair is his girlfriend Sora. The one with pink in her hair is Mimi. The one that was next to her with black hair is Joe. The one near Matt is Izzy. The brown spike hair with goggles is Davis. Purple hair is Yolie. And the other one is Cody. Davis, Yolie and Cody are the ones that don't like this group too much."

"What are the Crests and who has what?" She was loving this for some reason.

"The first Crest in the order that they were found: Courage, Faithfulness, Purity, Friendship, Knowledge, Hope, Love, Light, and Kindness. The owners in the same order: Tai, Joe, Mimi, Matt, Izzy, me, Sora, Kari and Ken. Davis has Courage and Friendship, Yolie has Purity and Love, and Cody has Faithfulness and Knowledge."

"And the ones that are in the third group?"

"Virtue, Faith, Peace, Patience, Calmness, Honesty, Glory, Forgiveness, Trinity and a mystery one." I answered since I'm in this group.

"Who has what?" She still had the same excitement as when TK was talking.

"Matt, Ken, Kari, me, Lily Dawn, Ryan, Don, Neon, and Trinity is spilt among Tim, Damon, and Nereida."

"Wow! This is so cool."

"I've been meaning to ask, what's that amulet that you have around your neck?"

She looked at it and her finger was feeling it. "I had it ever since I could remember. I don't know what it means but it's cool. Since I think it's a mana medallion so I never take it off. Actually, if I remember correctly, my mother gave this to me."

"Couldn't you've asked about it? What it means or something?"

"But where's the fun in that?" She acted like why should she though I had a feeling that she was hiding something.

The door knocked.

"I hope that isn't Yolie or them." Ken said, getting up and walking to the door.

He came back in a few minutes and looked at Matt with a worry look.

"What is it?" Matt was either worried about the news or Ken.

"The police are here. It has something to do with last night."

Matt looked down and nodded. He got up and walked toward the door. I was getting nervous about what the policemen want but I didn't show it. I looked over at Ceres and she seemed to be unaffected about it.

Me (I'll explain a bit what I'm feeling.. I hope)

The policemen were waiting near the door. I think one of them was lending on the doorframe.

"Hello, can I help you with something?"

"We got a report yesterday about some gunfire. Do you know anything about it?"

"I heard it too."

"Where was Panther during that time?"

"Coming home."

"We have a witness saying that she was there at that time. We would like to speak to her, if you don't mind. And if the other girl is there, we would like to speak to her too." Said the other one.

I looked at them and for a strange reason I didn't want to let them go to them. I nodded and headed back inside. Both Panther and Ceres look like nothing was bothering them, though I would like to know why Ceres was worry.

"Panther, Ceres, they would like to speak to you two."

Panther got up and set Plantmon down. Ceres looked like she was debating but decided to go too. They walked to the front door and I followed.

"Ishida-san, we only want to talk to these two. May you please go back inside?" Asked the first one.

I don't know if it was on my face or not but I knew I was getting bad at them. But I listened just the same. I didn't want Panther to leave me.

Panther

I noticed the way Matt was looking. He wanted to show his anger but he hid it. I turned to face them, not showing my worry.

"What happened last night?"

"We were walking back home when they came up and tried to shot us." I said.

"This isn't their area." Said the other.

"We took a bus home on their territory. Unfortunately they were on."

"And how did you scare them off?"

"I made sure that they have no choice but to leave."

"Did you have a gun?"

"No."

"Then how did you scare them?"

"Scaring their leader."

"Can you give us a straight answer?"

"Never mind, you tell us then." The other looked at Ceres.

She didn't seem to have that much emotion on her face. "Team work!" She said that in a happy way.

"Team work?"

"Yep, yep, yep!"

"Did she put you up to this?"

"Iie, they followed us. Are we not able to defend ourselves?" She said the last part in something that would be considered a grant voice, like royalty or something.

"Yes, you are but when it involves her, that's a different story." He looked at me but I made sure that nothing was on my face.

"But she's a citizen! She has the same rights as us all." Still in her grant voice.

"She was once like them."

"Has any wrong been her way?"

"Please explain that."

"Has she done anything that she would risk her own freedom, her citizenship?"

"Not yet."

"You can't predict the future. The past is the past. That only tells you want might happen. Humans can change if they really want to and I believe that our dear friend here wants that change. What she has told you, is correct." I'm now getting the feeling that she wants them gone more than I do.

"Are you sure? She's not pressuring you or anything."

"I can greatly assure you that I'm not one to be pressured so easily. Make no mistake about it."

"Right, sorry to trouble you then." Then they walked away.

I looked at Ceres to see her waving them good-bye. When they were gone, she stopped. "Wow, I didn't think they would ever leave."

"Why did you want them gone?"

"I did it for you. Some cops are just annoying."

"You did something that got you in trouble?"

She looked at me, "You think I'm an angel?"

I smiled with amusement. "So why did you sound like that?"

"You mean this." Her grant voice was back.

"Hai."

"I thought I should. It was fun at the time." Her normal voice was back.

We walked back inside. Matt looked at bit worried.

"What happened?" Ken asked.

"They wanted to know about last night. They don't know how I scared the leader though."

"That's good. At least they didn't try to pin the blame on you." Matt said.

"They were going to."

"What stop them?"

"My voice." Ceres said with a smile.

"Your voice?" Ken seemed puzzled. Though it was understandable since he wants to be a detective.

"Yep, I just put on my royal/lawyer voice and they understood the situation."

"Wow, I'm impressed." TK said.

I could tell in Ken's eyes that he didn't fully believe in that. I know that she left out that she pressured them with the law that they hold and most likely confused them a bit too. It was obvious that she has done something like this before. I noticed that TK had the orb with him. _I guess they think that Ceres might've been one since of her amulet._

"May I ask what's the orb that you have in your hand? Are you a fortune-teller?" She was getting excited again.

"Iie, we just wondering whether you're apart of this group. That's all."

"You mean the third group?" She looked like a child with confusion.

"Yep. We just want to make sure. Since there was one Crest missing." Matt explained.

She blinked for a second then she smiled like an over excited child, "This means that I could be apart of your adventures? THIS IS SOOO COOL! Ok, what do you want me to do?" I don't think she could sit down, or calm down, if she wanted to. At least that's what it seemed like.

"Touch the orb and that's all you have to do."

She walked over to TK and laid her hand firmly on it. The blinding light poured out from it, meaning that she was the missing one. The light stopped shortly after. I looked back over to see that TK pulled the orb away from her hand.

"I think I'm blind." Ceres announced in a calm voice.

"What makes you think that?" Ken asked.

"I'm seeing white."

"Didn't you close your eyes?" Matt asked.

"I was supposed to?"

"You thought that you were supposed to keep them open?" TK asked in unbelief, as did us all.

"I thought it was a test that if you closed your eyes you can't enter."

Everyone was speechless on what to say. If I was back in my gang, I would yell at her for being so stupid but I kept my mouth tightly shut.

"Oh well. Can someone get me a glass of water?"

Ken went into the kitchen and got her one.

"Matt, is it ok if the floor gets wet?"

"Hai." He didn't know what she was going to do but I knew he didn't want to say anything about what she did.

She tilted her head backward and poured the water onto her open eyes! When the last drop escaped the glass and entered her eye, she shook her head with her eyes still open. Then blinked a few times and looked around.

"I know, I know, it was dumb but I've looked into the sun plenty of times to know how to get the blindness out."

That shocked the whole room.

"Are you saying that you can see now?" Ken could hardly believe what we just heard her say.

"Yea." She said it like it was no big deal.

"How?" TK asked, shocked and awed at the same time.

"I know this trick. That if you pour water, as long as it isn't dirty with soil, into your open eye, it'll cool the cells that are burning. Of course it doesn't work on people that are already blind."

"Where did you learn this trick?"

"Oh, something that I thought up. It's every handy."

"Anyway… TK, did you get what was on her shadow?" Matt asked, I think trying to forget what just happened.

"Yea, it isn't one of the ones that you mentioned but it is the one that her amulet shows. I think that means that somehow she got into the Digital World, someone put it on her, and then sent back. That's the only way I could think of that might come close to explaining how it got on her neck."

"I'm apart of the group. Wow! I would like to thank everyone that supported me throughout my life." She sounded like she just won an award for something important.

"Ceres, where is your mother? Didn't you say that she gave it to you?" Ken asked.

"Hai, I'm pretty sure that she did… But the one that I call mother isn't my mother. Nor is she the one that gave this to me. My bio mother is on a business trip. I'm not sure where she is since she and father go off in different direction and don't tell that many people where they're going."

I could tell that none of them were buying it, though it seemed logical to me since she told everyone that her family likes to travel and that even she travels.

"Ceres, you'll have to tell us the truth. We really need to know." TK said in a sincere voice.

"That's the truth."

"You don't trust us?" Ken asked.

"I do. What makes you think that I don't?"

"You're lying to us. We can tell."

"I had this since birth, I've never really seen my parents so I'm only assuming."

"Well, most people don't remember their younger years." Matt said.

"Good point. So if TK's theory might be right then why take those pages out of the book?"

"That's a good question. Wait, Panther, you might be able to see that."

"Huh?"

"Touch the book to see what you find."

"You have powers?" Ceres asked.

"I can see things. Past, present, and future."

"That's so cool."

"Everyone but Kari, Ken and Matt have some kind of power. TK also doesn't have anything special."

"Really? Can I hear what they are?"

I looked at Matt and he nodded. Then he headed upstairs, I'm guessing to get the book.

"Ok, Lily Dawn has telepathy, Ryan is able to turn invisible, Don can heal things and control heat, Neon is able to freeze time though she never showed them to us anyway, Tim is able to go through solid objects, Damon is a telekinesis, and Nereida is able to breath underwater."

"Wow, that's so cool."

"Do you have anything special?" TK asked.

"Oh yea and I'm happy to say that I've mastered it to near perfection." She smiled slyly to herself.

"What is it?"

"Maho."

"Really?"

"Yep, want-_ne_ _me demonstrare_?"

" Demonstrate? " TK pronounced in English.

"Yea. That's what I said."

"Sure, go ahead. Do you need something?"

"No," she looked at the floor, "I'll use this water." Nothing in her face changed nor body but the water lifted into the air and back in the cup. TK just blinked.

"Cool?"

"Very, when did you know that you could do this?"

"For as long as I can remember. My power has increased with my age. That's why it's near perfection."

"I see. This is going to be interesting."

"So Ele means elements ?" Ken asked.

"Yep, I couldn't think up a name for her so that's what I thought up."

Matt came back down with the book in his hand. He laid it on the table and opened it to a page that had a torn page. I could tell that Ceres wanted to look at the book fully but didn't move toward it. I walked to the table and placed my hand on the rip page. I pulled back when the imagine stopped. Matt was waiting patiently for what I saw.

"There was a weird looking cat that was writing with her tail on that page. The cat looked a little like Gatomon."

"Could you see what the cat was writing?" Ken asked.

"Yea." I grabbed some paper and recreated what I saw her doing. The top page was Ceres's amulet and afterward it was a bunch of weird symbols, which I assumed were words. When I was done with that, I handed it to Matt.

"I need to call Izzy then. Anything else?"

"Yea, after that, though I know it was some years after the cat wrote in it since the book looked aged but not as aged as it does now. Two human looking Digimon took that page out and they also had some other pages in their hands. I'm guessing before Titanmon got it, those two found it and took the pages for some reason."

"Why call Izzy?" Ceres asked normally.

"In the Digital World, whenever he came across these symbols, he always tried to translate them. I'm not sure if he still works on it but it's worth a shot." He walked over to the phone and called Izzy.

"I thought Izzy had to go somewhere today?" TK asked more himself.

Matt hanged up and walked back, "You're right TK. He won't be back until two days."

"Is he leaving today?" Ceres asked.

"Yea but he's driving there. In fact, I think everyone else is going somewhere for like a day or so."

"I know that Yolie, Davis, and Cody are all going somewhere. Yolie is going to the beach with Mimi. Davis is going to a soccer game of one of his favorite teams. And Cody has some Kendo match that takes place somewhere else." Ken said.

"Sora is going to the mountains to get some flowers and/or designs ideas. Jo is going to be at the hospital more than usual since Mimi is going stay there for a few days." TK said.

"Guess that means that we're the only ones that didn't have anything planned." Matt said.

"Yea, I got an idea. Why don't we go to the Digital World for some fun?" Ceres suggested.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean go to the Digital World and have some fun. Travel around there, meeting Digimon, stuff like that."

"We have to be careful. There is one Digimon that we don't want to know that we're there."

"Is he your enemy?"

"You could say that."

"Oh… But then wouldn't he try things to get you in the Digital World so that way he can kill you better? And why are you guys going off in different directions if there's danger in the world that you're protecting?"

"Not all of them know that there's danger." Patamon explained.

"Huh? Then why not tell them?"

"Because they're the special group. It's only a danger to them and no one else."

"Oh, so this enemy is only the enemy to us and no one else?"

"Yep."

"But if they're friends with everyone else then wouldn't their friends want their safety and would love to help since they would want to ensure that safety?"

"That should be the case but the three that don't like this group are siding with the enemy. Because they listen to him, they don't like anyone to 'mess' with the group order or something of that." TK said.

"So it's basically they don't want anyone new in?"

"Right, they don't even know that most of the people they don't want to hang with us are apart of this group, which is a good thing since two have classes with one of them." Ken said.

"Oh, this is getting confusing."

"You'll understand when you see them. I guess this means that you have to stay here." Matt said.

"Why?" She blinked.

"You're apart of this group. We will need you."

She didn't show it much but she did look a bit nervous. "We'll see."

"Panther touch the other pages to see what you see."

"Right."

Matt flipped the pages to the first one that was ripped. I drew/wrote down everything I saw. When I reached the first page that I touched, I touched it again and I saw what was on the other side. The good thing about the other pages is that the next page was also shown. After a while, I was done. I closed the book and saw something really, really weird. I guessed it showed on my face.

"What is it?" Matt asked with some worry in his voice.

I looked at him, "I saw the cat Digimon placing this book with another book that was thicker than this. Then I saw a Gabumon waiting near the exit and she walked up to him. Then they walked out together."

"Another book?" That seemed to ring some kind of bell in him. Then I remembered about what Matt said when Styxmon left him.

"Care to fill us in?" TK asked.

"Styxmon's family was reading this book that was centered on the Digidestined. The two legends were in there." Matt said with a blank stare.

"You think that other book that Panther saw was that book?"

"It might be."

Then we heard a beeping noise. We preset a clock to remind us when we have to go. Matt got out of his stare and walked to the door without saying another word. TK and Ken got up and followed him.

"Is there something that hasn't been explained?" Ceres asked.

"I will on the way. Let's stay a bit behind though."

We walked out and followed after them. We did stay a few feet away so Matt couldn't really hear us. I could see that he was trying to regain some of his poser but it wasn't coming back.

"What's wrong with Matt?" Ceres asked with worry.

"Styxmon is a Digimon that Matt fell in love with. Near the beginning of the school, she had to leave him because of a legend saying that she would die and bring two others with her. She feared that those two people would be Matt and TK."

"Wow, that's love. But then why aren't there any pictures of her? Unless you can't take pictures of Digimon."

"You can, Kari has done that plenty of times. She died before I even came in. I think a bit before the last school year ended. Everyone in the two other groups knows what she looked like."

"Can I assume that you were one of the first to be found?"

"You can. Ken and Kari were found before me though."

"But you're the new one. So you understand more about this than the others?"

"I also know that Matt wants to get this over with. He wants to show Styxmon that nothing bad will happen to him. It's also in another legend that she told him."

"Wow, so why is he depressed now? He seemed like he was able to keep his emotions under control."

"It's been near four month since he has seen her."

"Did you lose something too?"

"Huh?" I didn't know what she was talking about.

"You looked sad too. Did you lose something as well or are you just sad for your guardian?"

"Around the time that I was found, my boyfriend was killed. Mine hasn't been five months yet but it's getting close."

"Oh, I see. I've met a few people like that. You two were really close, uh?"

"My boyfriend and I, yea."

"That seems really hard to get over. And I'm betting that for Matt, it's even harder."

"Yea, it seems like it."

We reached the station that Neon and Don were leaving from. Everyone was there when we reached it.

"Guys, guess what? I'm apart of your group!" Ceres said that with a weird happy voice.

"You're the missing Crest?" Ryan asked.

"Yea. Isn't that just super?"

"Do you know what its call?" Neon asked.

"Iie."

"We should be able to get it when Izzy comes back from wherever he's going. I'm hoping he's able to translate it." Matt said in his normal voice. He seemed to show that nothing was wrong.

"That's great. Give us a call when you find out." Don said.

"We will." TK reassured.

"Ok, we have to get going." Neon's mother called.

"Right. Bye guys, have fun." Neon said.

"You too." Nereida said.

They walked to the train and got a window seat. They waved bye as the train took off. We watched the train leave before we headed back home.

When we reached there, the phone was ringing. Ceres was the one that got to it first.

"Moshimoshi, Ishida-san resistance…… Hai, he's here…… Ok." She sounded like a child. She gave to phone to Matt.

"Hello?……… What is it?…………… Right, I'll get right on it……… They left for some fun time. It's summer here………… They most likely thought that they didn't need it……… No, I didn't……… Right, I'll be there." He hanged up the phone with anger but he didn't slam it. I guess since he was thinking about Styxmon, he was getting mad at Gennai again.

"Who was that?" Ceres asked.

"That would be our enemy. He's name is Gennai." I explained.

"If he's the one that we have to fight then why are you talking to him? Let me guess, you were once apart of his group but now your spies for his enemies?"

"Close, we want to help the people he calls enemy." Ken said.

"TK, are you apart of this revolt?"

"I'm happy to say yes. We just have to listen to him for now so he doesn't think too much."

"Oh. Ok."

I picked up my cell and called everyone in our group that was still here. In minutes, they were here. TK, Ken and Matt went through the computer since Gennai needs to know that they're there. We opened our portal with our amulets and went through there. Ceres finally saw Shendramon but she didn't run to hug though I saw that in her eyes.

We hid a bit since Gennai was walking towards them.

"They listen to an old man?" Ceres asked.

"Yea."

"Matt, I thought you said that everyone had something to do."

"Oops, I mean everyone that you most likely called. TK and Ken were already at my house."

"What took you guys so long to get in?"

"I forgot my D-3." TK said.

"Where's the trouble?" Ken asked.

"Near the ocean. There are two Digimon that you need to take care of."

"Right Gennai. We'll get right on that." TK said.

Then Gennai left them alone. We got out of our hiding spot and walked toward them.

"Ceres, you might get your Digimon." Matt said.

"I get one too!" I seriously thought she was going to do her speech again. "Ele, that means you get to have a friend!"

Everyone froze in their spot. I looked over at Ceres to see that Ele was in her hands and her massager bag was with her.

"This… isn't a safe place, ya know." Lily Dawn said.

"I know." _She has even realized that she's putting Ele in danger yet!_

"Then why did you bring Ele here? She can get killed." Ken said, pointing it out for her.

"Why should I leave Ele? Oh, that's why. Ok, I get it. Digimon might hate real animals but I'll make sure that nothing happens to Ele." I think someone wanted to punch some sense into her.

"Ceres, the Digimon don't hate real animals but they do take advantages whenever they pop up. We just don't want Ele to get hurt." Matt explained.

"Oh… So you don't want me to bring Ele here? Incase that happens." _Now she gets it._

"Right, or if blast happens to miss."

"I see. But don't worry, Ele's tougher than she looks." _She just missed the whole point._

"Fine, why did you bring you bag?" Matt seemed like he wanted to avoid an argument.

"Never go anywhere without it."

"Fine. Let's go."

We all started walking in the direction that Matt was leading us.

"Matt, how do you know where to go? Gennai only told you 'near the ocean'." Damon asked.

"I know this area. It's where we defeated one of the powerful enemies." He said that with some grief.

I looked at TK and he knew what happened here but Ken didn't. Patamon and Gabumon were a bit sad too. Then it hit me, they have never told me what happened to them when they first came here. All I heard was when the second group came in and when Kari was found. They never talk about when Tai, Sora, Izzy, Joe, Mimi, Matt, and TK first step foot in this world. _I wonder why they don't want to talk about it? They never really talk about their enemies before the second group. Only one that I know from their time was Myotismon but that's because he came back._

It didn't take that long before we reached the beach. There was this guy with flaming hair (real flaming hair. It was literally on fire), a loose tank top, fighting style pants with a cloth as a belt, and boots. He also had wristbands and was looking at the water.

"May I ask why you're looking at the water?" Matt asked, only them three walked up.

He turned his head like it was no one important, "You may, though I like to know whose asking." He had a hard voice.

Something popped out of the water. It was an alligator that was able to stand on it hide legs that look human length. The same goes for his arms.

"Who are you?" The alligator asked.

"I'm just curious on why he's here." Matt said.

"Why, you're not a Digimon. Who sent you?"

"Isn't it obvious? The old man didn't want to pay us so he sent his 'warriors' here. Tell the old man that we're not giving it to him for free."

"Now that's interesting. He told us that you're mining something that's dangerous to the whole Digital World."

"And you believe him? Guess you would, seeing that you follow him. Look, we're doing our job. Bossmon wants us to get this metal for profit."

Right then all the Digimon that were with us started to growl lowly.

"Bossmon?" I asked.

"Yea, he's the one that we take orders from. In fact, Bossmon would normally give it to him for free but since all of his important post are dead and he heard that Gennai was the last one that they got word from, he's being more careful."

"Is it that metal that's able to beat the powerful moon being?"

"Yea, it is. The same one that was at the factory."

"How do you know it works?"

"Fortunately for Gennai, he tested some a long while back. It worked, though not in the way he wanted it."

"On who?"

"I don't know, but all the Super Levels knew it worked before that. And some even know who the moon beings are in your group. You better watch yourselves."

"What are your names?" TK asked.

"I'm Torchmon."

"I'm Gatormon."

"So it's not dangerous to the Digital World?"

"Not really, unless killing one of your friends is a danger but I'm doubtful that Gennai really cares."

This Digimon popped out of the water. It looked like a dinosaur by the head but it was very odd. The head and bit of its neck was red but the rest was blue as far as I could tell since its body was still under the water. It also had a small flame on the back of its head. It didn't seem to have any teeth by the way the mouth was shaped.

"What's going on?" Asked the new Digimon. I could tell that it was a she by the voice but though gentle, she did have a hard life.

"Nothing, at least I hope. We don't want to start something but we'll finish anything." Torchmon said.

"What's your name?" TK asked the other Digimon.

She looked over at Torchmon and he nodded his head. "I'm Fiterimon."

"I hope you're not treating her the same way the others treated theirs." Ken said.

"You mean Lordmon and those robots?" Ken nodded. "Nah, we're different from them."

"That means that you have them, return them now." Gatormon said in a demanding voice.

"Now, if those Digimon don't want to come back then that's fine."

"Torchmon, what are you talking about? Bossmon needs those Digimon."

"They always wanted to be free. I'm glad they got their wish." Fiterimon said.

"You stay out of this."

"Fiterimon is apart of our team, don't ever let me hear you speak to her that way again."

"Fine." Though Gatormon didn't sound like it but Torchmon seemed to brush it off.

"Guys, get away from them!"

I looked to where Yolie's voice was coming from to see her with Mimi and Davis.

"Friends of yours?" Torchmon asked, though not looking at them.

"One is. Though we call the other two the same thing." Matt answered.

"Look, we're not going to do anything if you don't bother us." I could tell that he meant it since he wasn't tensed. Gatormon was a different story.

They stopped.

"I think you are doing something already. Mining that metal." Davis yelled.

"It's in no way harming the Digital World. Look, we like it here so why would we try something that would put it in danger?"

"Because you're evil Digimon." Yolie answered.

"Those two are the ones that fully follow the old man." Matt said, though I knew that it wasn't loud enough to reach the others ears.

"DigiArmor Energize!" Both Yolie and Davis yelled, holding out their D-3.

"Hawkmon Armor Digievolves to……………………… Halsemon, the Wings of Love!"

"V-mon Armor Digievolves to……………………… Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"

"Like that level has anything against us." Gatormon said, getting ready to attack.

"Gatormon, please. They're just showing off. Now please. We're Super Level Digimon. Give us more respect than that."

"How powerful are Super Levels?" Mimi asked, standing behind Yolie and Davis.

"Our power is only limited to what we want. Of course, some have more limitations than others but that's all with the Digimon. Now, this situation here, it's like putting a Rookie to fight a Mega."

"Yolie, Davis, call them back."

"Nani!" Davis looked back at Mimi.

"There's no point in fighting them like this."

"Sorry Mimi, but we can't. They want to destroy the Digital World and we can't let that happen." Yolie said. Their Digimon charged toward them.

"Palmon Digievolves to…………………………Togemon!"

"Togemon Digievolves to……………………… Lillymon!" Togemon changed into a beautiful girl with long, narrow leaves as wings; pink flower petals and a yellow thing that curls into a question mark for hat or headdress; a pink dress with a three blade leaf on her chest, stomach, and breast and the bottom of the dress is like her hat minus the question mark part; boots; gloves with petals at the end; and vines for hair. Lillymon got right in front of them, forcing them to stop.

"Lillymon, what are you doing?" Flamedramon asked.

"Don't attack them."

Yolie looked at Mimi.

"We have to do something too." Ceres said.

"Yea, but we can't let them see us. Besides, the others are there to make sure nothing happens." Lily Dawn said, hating to face the truth though.

"I wish we didn't have to hide like cowards."

"Same here." I agreed. Watching and waiting was getting old but I knew that Davis and Yolie couldn't see us here.

All of a sudden, Gatormon launched forward and bit Lillymon's leg. She screamed a bit from the pain and fell to the ground.

"Lillymon!" Mimi ran up to try to help her.

"Gatormon, what are you doing?" Torchmon sounded very angry.

Lillymon turned back into Palmon and Gatormon now had one of his claws at her neck. Mimi stopped and looked at this scene with horror. I looked over to Matt and them. They were angry at what he did.

"Torchmon, we should take care of these humans once and for all! That way Bossmon doesn't have to worry."

"Listen, I want to avoid a pointless battle. They don't even know how to reach this level. If they could, then that would be a different story."

"So, are you saying that you would wait until they got stronger? You should get back to the real goal here!"

"That would be the Digidestined, not the Digimon."

"You and your honor." He raised his hand and was about to slice Palmon.

"Plantmon Digievolves to………………………………… Flowermon! Sweet Smell!" Plantmon transform into a something similar to Plantmon but instead of vines, they were leaf looking; taller; and instead of her headdress similar to Palmon, it was more of a flame style. She looked serious and little dust was coming from her new headdress. It went towards Gatormon and he froze his attack on Palmon to smell it. Breomon quickly ran towards them, grabbed Palmon, laid her down near Mimi, and headed back. Then Flowermon, since she was out in the open, went back in as well and turned back into Plantmon.

"Great job!" Ceres said.

"Thanks." Breomon said.

"I see that you have more friends." Gatormon said, angry that he was affected by a Champion's attack. He had his mouth opened towards us and shot a blast from there. Then all of a sudden, a metal looking Garurumon was between the blast and us. I looked over at Matt to see that Angemon and Stingmon were there.

"Well Mimi, do you want to stop us now?" Davis asked.

Mimi looked over at Matt for that answer.

Torchmon's hand was on fire and he sent some of it at Gatormon, which burned a bit of his skin. He looked angry with Torchmon.

"What the hell was that for!"

"I'm sorry for my friend's actions but it's still inexcusable. Fiterimon, there should be something in the ocean that can help with Palmon's wound. Hurry before she starts to delete."

"Right." Fiterimon drove into the water.

"Torchmon, why are you helping them? They are enemy!"

"Because she was trying to make sure that we were left alone to do our work. Plus, you attack from behind."

"They are Digidestined Digimon! We should fight them as we pleas!"

"Torchmon, I got it." Fiterimon said with a weird looking seed weed in her mouth.

"Great job. Gatormon, retrieve it."

"Let the Rookie die."

Torchmon narrowed his eyes. "Fiterimon, launched it at Palmon's Digidestined."

Fiterimon tossed it up and a little water blast at it, which made it go towards Mimi. Mimi caught it and looked at Torchmon for instructions.

"Let her eat some and put the rest on that wound."

"Arigato." Mimi did as told.

"Metal Garurumon, are you ok?" Matt asked, guessing he wanted to make sure that Palmon was ok.

"I'm fine." He sat down where he stood.

Then there were footsteps being heard. Everyone looked at where they were coming from to see Gennai walking towards them.

"Gennai, nice of you to show." Torchmon said.

"Digidestined, what's going on here?" _I guess he expected the job done by now._

"Mimi's insane! She doesn't want to fight them." Yolie said.

"Mimi, why?"

"Gennai, they said that the metal wouldn't destroy the Digital World."

"These kinds of Digimon would lie to stay alive. You know that."

"Gennai, you're doing all of this just because you don't want to pay? That's very low." Torchmon said.

"Can I kill him then?" Gatormon asked with annoyance, not even trying to hide their conversation.

"If we attack him then one of those two would defend." He tilted his head towards Flamedramon and Halsemon.

"Why are you saying that only we would? The others would too!" Yolie said.

"See Torchmon, I told you that we should've take care of them before hand."

"Fiterimon, you are done in this area, right?"

"Yes, Torchmon."

"Then head towards the next area. Gatormon, go with her. I'll be there shortly."

"You better take care of them." Gatormon walked towards the water.

"Tempest Wing!" Halsemon yelled and shot his attack at Gatormon. He dodged it fairly easily and blast from his mouth at Halsemon.

Halsemon got hit and fell to the ground, going back to Hawkmon. Yolei ran to him and picked him up. Gatormon then launched at Flamedramon and knocked him into the water. Flamedramon did a flip to avoid landing on his head but when he landed in the water, he went under.

"Flamedramon!" Davis called, running to the ocean.

Gatormon then launched an attack on Davis. He would've gotten hit if Stingmon didn't get in the way. Amazingly, he was still standing, like it didn't do anything to him. This surprised both Supers.

"Fiterimon, get Flamedramon out." Torchmon ordered.

She drove in and in seconds, Flamedramon was on her back and she went towards shore.

"Why are you helping them?" Gatormon didn't seem to be asking Fiterimon.

"I'm the one in charge here! Don't question my orders!"

"I am because you're helping the enemy!"

Davis pulled Flamedramon off of Fiterimon's back. He quickly got up and launched at Gatormon, "Fire Rocket!" He landed a solid punch on his cheek but it didn't affect him at all.

Gatormon grabbed his arm and threw him to the ground and hard. He went back to V-mon and Gatormon tossed him back into the ocean. Fiterimon caught him before he went in.

"Fiterimon, drop him!" Gatormon ordered.

She swam back to Davis and gave back V-mon.

Gatormon launched an attack at Fiterimon. Torchmon got in the way and deflected it away from everyone.

"Do that again and you won't see another day."

"Matt, now is your chance. Attack them while they're distracted." I heard Gennai say in a low voice. I looked over to see that Matt didn't care what Gennai said and was pretending that he didn't hear him.

"Matt." He said a bit louder.

Matt looked over at him, his eyes showing no emotion.

"Attack them while they're distracted."

"If Flamedramon couldn't do anything, what makes you think our Digimon will make a difference?"

"Because of Stingmon."

"Defending and attacking are two different motions."

V-mon went to XV-mon. A flash came and both Stingmon and XV-mon say their names and 'DNA Digievolves to…' The flash ended and Paildramon was in their spot. Hawkmon went to Aquilamon and Gatomon appeared above him. They repeated the same thing that Stingmon and XV-mon did but they turned into Silphymon. WarGreymon appeared and the same with Tai and Kari. Matt looked sad at Tai being there for some reason.

"We were told that you guys needed some help." Tai said. He looked at Matt but Matt didn't do anything. Tai then held confusion but ignored whatever was on Matt's face. "Matt, let's bring out Omnimon!"

Matt sighed before nodding his head. I could tell by body language that he was sad to do so.

Metal Garurumon and WarGreymon fused together to create a warrior looking Digimon. He had Metal Garurumon's head for his right hand and WarGreymon's for his left.

"I guess this means you don't have a choice." Gatormon said, looking at Omnimon.

"And here I thought you were ok with our job." Torchmon looked at Matt then there was shock in his eyes. I couldn't see how Matt looked but obviously there was something there that Torchmon didn't expect to find.

"Omnimon, attack!" Tai said.

Omnimon summoned a laser sword from his WarGreymon's hand and launched toward them.

Both Silphymon and Paildramon fire an attack on them as well.

Omnimon struck both first with one swing then pulled up. The other two blasts hit one of them. When the smoked cleared, the blast from the two only marked them but the cut was did any real damage.

"Paildramon Digievolves to……………………… Imperialdramon!" Imperialdramon didn't waste any time. He attacked them again but they didn't get any damage. Omnimon attacked again but this time with a blast that comes from Metal Garurumon. They dodged those and Gatormon launched his own back at Omnimon. They hit but did little damage to him.

"How can a Mega stand against a Super?" Torchmon asked out loud but more to himself.

"TK, Digievolve Angemon into MangaAngemon!" Yolei suggested.

Before TK could say anything, Gatormon looked at Angemon and blasted at him with what looked like a lot of power.

"Angemon!" TK yelled, knowing that he's powerless to help.

Surprisingly though, Angemon dodged it by moving up. The blast landed some miles away from TK and them.

"What!" Gatormon was shocked by Angemon's reaction time.

"Gatormon, we have to pull back!" Torchmon yelled.

"I'm not a coward! They're just getting luckily!"

"Gatormon, you might get killed if you continue!"

"By some low level Digimon? I don't think so." He launched towards Angemon, or so everyone thought. Before he even reached him, he quickly aimed for TK who didn't have any time to react. But instead of biting TK, he bit Shendramon's tail. He tossed him back to Torchmon.

"One of the missing Digimon. Good, that means we can take you back." Gatormon said as he was getting up.

"Gatormon, you idiot!" Torchmon said. Omnimon, who was showing no mercy, was blasting them on.

Torchmon didn't have enough time to dodge them all and either did Gatormon. The others were doing the same thing but only Shendramon wasn't attacking. A weird looking blast hit Silphymon and sent him to the ground, de-evolving them back to two Digimon. But neither Hawkmon nor Aquilamon showed, only his In-training from, Poromon and Gatomon's Rookie form, Salamon.

I looked in the direction of the blast to see that it came from Fiterimon. Torchmon and Gatormon weren't badly damaged but a few more hits and they could be.

"If they enslaved you then why protect them?" Gennai asked.

Angry tears started to flow from her eyes. She turned to Torchmon. It looked like he was talking to her and more tears started to come down.

Imperialdramon launched an attack on them. Omnimon did the same. Torchmon pushed Fiterimon away but something hit him. He looked at Gennai. The blast hit and a big explosion came. We covered our faces and Digimon but I heard the others falling back.

When only smoke came, I looked up to see that Matt was protecting TK and Ken; Mimi was protecting Yolei, Davis, and Palmon; Tai was protecting Kari. The other Digimon were down graded. Angemon was back to Patamon; Imperialdramon went to Leafmon and Demi V-mon; and Omnimon was Gabumon and Agumon. They were lying where they stood. Torchmon and Gatormon were disappearing. Matt ran to them and I could see Torchmon saying something. Then they disappeared into dust and floated away.

Matt looked down but then ran to Gabumon. Ken went to Leafmon, as did all the ones that didn't have their Digimon in their hands.

"Are you guys alright?" Nereida asked. I noticed that Shendramon was back with us.

"Yea, everyone is fine." Ryan said.

"What now?" Ceres asked.

"We wait until everyone else leaves. That was some good thinking, Digimon." Lily Dawn said.

"No problem." Breomon said.

"Great job Digidestined." Gennai said, walking towards them.

"Thanks Gennai." Yolei said.

"We're just glad that the Digital World is safe." Davis said.

"Kari, who called you?" TK asked.

"Yolei did."

"Well, we better head back. See ya later." Tai said.

Kari smiled was a bit sad but she walked with Tai anyway.

"Yea, I better hurry too. I think the game is about to start." Davis took off.

"Let's head back too." Mimi said, looking at Yolei.

"Right." Mimi waved bye then walked off with Yolei.

"Don't you need to go somewhere?" Gennai asked.

"Not really." Ken said, knowing that Matt might say something he can't.

"Oh, ok." Gennai walked away.

As soon as he was out of our sight, we walked out.

"Are you guys ok?" Matt asked, looking worry.

"Yea, we're fine. Thanks Gabumon." Damon said.

"Not a problem." I could tell that he was lending on Matt's leg.

"What did Torchmon said to you?" I asked.

"He wants Fiterimon to be safe and happy."

"I'm sorry Matt. I didn't want to attack him." Gabumon said.

"It's ok. Agumon was in more control."

"Yea, the same goes for you too Leafmon." Ken said, looking at him. Though Leafmon was sleeping in his arms.

Ceres went over to edge. She looked at the water. "Fiterimon, aren't you going to come up?" Fiterimon came up. "Hi there, I'm Ceres."

"Would it be alright if I stay with you? I don't have anywhere else to go." Tears were still falling from her eyes.

"Of course you can come with us. We didn't want your friend to die." Matt said.

"Thank you." She got out. She had webbed feet, a long tail with a dolphin style end, her body and most of her tail was red; legs and the end of her tail were blue.

Nereida opened a portal. Ceres led Fiterimon through and everyone else followed. We were in front of Matt's house.

"We better go, still need to get ready." Tim said.

"Fiterimon, sorry we couldn't do anything to help." Damon said.

She nodded and they left.

"Well, we have a few hours before we have to go." Ryan said, looking at his watch.

"Then you better make sure you have everything." Ken said.

"Right, see ya." They waved and headed to their house.

Matt opened the door and everyone walked in. TK showed them around the house.

"I better get to work. I don't have that much to do and I might be able to get it done before they leave." Matt walked towards the door where his new room is (letting you know that I wrote the few comments during this time. It was the only time that I had to do so).

"Hope he does get it done. Then he'll go back to normal." I said.

"I hope he does but for some reason, I really don't think so."

I looked at Ken and he was being serious. "What do you mean?"

"I don't really know but somehow… I just know something isn't right. And I can't do anything to help."

"There has to be something that we can do."

"I hope there is." Ken's cell rang. "Moshimoshi?…… Oh, hi mother…… I thought it wasn't until a few days?…………… Fine. See you later." He hung up.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"It seems like convention date was changed. They usually have it on the same days."

"Oh, when do you have to leave?"

"Tomorrow morning. I'm riding myself over though."

"Oh, ok."

TK and they came back.

"Where's Matt?" He looked around.

"He's working. He wants to see whether he can get it done." I said.

"He's in there?" Ceres looked at the exact door.

"Yea."

"Oh, TK, the convention was moved. I have to go tomorrow."

"Really? Ok." He seemed disappointed about something else.

I went into the kitchen and started to make tea.

"Ya know, I know how to do a tea ceremony."

I looked over my shoulder to see Ceres smiling. Fiterimon was with her.

"But we don't need a ceremony."

"I know, but it's really cool to watch."

I put the tea on a tray, "Really?" I carried it out.

"Yea, the grace of the maker is really important."

I sat the tray down and handed everyone one.

"How do you drink this?" Fiterimon asked, looking at hers.

"I'll show you." Plantmon went over and showed her. At first it was difficult but then they found something that worked. She uses her tail as hands but we decided that it would be best for her to use a bowl.

After a while, Matt came out. Everyone looked at him and he smiled.

"I'm finally done." He came a sat down.

"Good." Gabumon handed him tea. He drank it with great relief.

"You better call Hota then. To let her know."

"Right." He got up and started to dial. He told her that he was done with the work and then listened to what she was saying before hanging up.

"What did she say?" TK asked.

"She said that she'll come over to get the work and a few of the other workers that were also helping with the project that I was doing are having a party. She also promised that I wouldn't get any work for a few days, she's hoping for a week though."

"Wow, you have a really nice boss." Ceres said.

"It's only because Matt needs it. He's been working day and night on this for a long while now." TK said.

"Have you gotten any sleep?"

"I wish. But tonight I know I'll get that."

"Great." Ceres seemed a bit nervous.

There was a knock at the door.

"Come on in." Matt said as soon as all the Digimon went to a position in which they could hide.

The door opened and Hota came in. "Hello everyone."

"I'll get the work." Matt went back to the room and got it out.

"You kept them in there?" She asked as she was handed them.

"I worked on them in there."

"I guess it was the closest thing to having your eyes close. Anyway, great job Matt. Are you going to that party?"

He looked at us. TK nodded and the same with me. "Sure."

"Great, have fun then. Bye and it was nice meeting you." Then she walked out and closed the door.

The beeping came and we all headed out. Matt drove us, since the place he has to get to is far away from the house. We said bye to Lily Dawn and Ryan and watched them leave. Gabumon went with Matt to that party and we headed back to Matt's house. When we got there, TK and Ken said night and headed towards their house.

"Let's get to bed." I suggested.

"Right."

We walked in and then went to bed. Before I left asleep though, I took a long look at the picture that I drew. I felt like something wasn't right here. I held Plantmon a bit tighter before actually falling asleep.


	8. Chap 7 Ghost

Panther

I was being awakened by a sudden push on my shoulder. I opened my eyes and turned around to see that Gabumon was the one trying to wake me.

"Gabumon?" My voice was still asleep.

"I think there something wrong with Matt. I'm going to wake Ceres too." Gabumon really did look worry so I nodded.

I got up and walked over to Matt's room, leaving Plantmon in my room. I yawed as I walked over to his room. Before I was able to open his door, Ceres was running down the hallway.

I blinked as she opened the door and power walked in. I followed after Gabumon went in and noticed that Matt was sweating. His eyes were closed tight and he was gripping the sheets while moving a bit, but he didn't make a sound about it. In fact, if you didn't watch for a bit you probably thought that he was having a nightmare or something.

Ceres placed her hand on his forehead and pulled it off after a few seconds.

"This is bad." She said, seemingly talking to herself.

"What is?" I asked.

She looked over at me, "Something very bad is happening to him."

"What is it?" Gabumon sounded really worried now and looked at his partner.

"It's hard to really believe."

"Then how do we get rid of it?" I asked.

"I'm not totally sure… I don't know of anyone else like him so I don't really know."

"Why don't we wake him? It might be a nightmare or something?" I was moving my hand toward him but Ceres caught it.

"That's the last thing we should do."

"Why can't we wake him?" Gabumon asked.

"Then the bad thing will come out."

"How do you know that? Is this some kind of weird disease or illness?"

"Trust me on this one. I've been around the world. I know more than you."

"What if he starts to wake on his own?"

She looked at Matt for a moment then back at me, "Then he doesn't know what he's unleashing. He might think by waking up would help get this feeling out."

"What feeling?"

"It's too much to explain but we can't wake him. He has to fight it himself. Lets hope that he wins." She let go and walked to the door then stopped. "You might want to wake Plantmon. Incase he lose."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure what to do but it would be best if everyone is up." She walked out.

"Gabumon, yell if…" I started to hear a light moan. I turned around to see that Matt was about to get up. "Ceres, he's waking up."

She ran in with Plantmon in her hands. "Nani?" She looked over at him and horror appeared quickly but left.

I looked back at Matt and he sat up like he normally would. His hand was on his face like he had a headache and the moan sounded a bit in pain.

"Matt?" Gabumon asked as he took one step closer.

Matt slowly turned his head at him and removed his hand. He looked deathly pale as he smiled but he quickly grabbed his head and moaned in pain again. Gabumon stopped his movement.

"Get… out…" Matt's voice seemed to be changing, or mixing with someone else's.

"Matt?" Now I was getting worried.

"Get.. out… now…" He was holding his head harder.

"Matt, you got to fight back!" Ceres yells.

"Get… out… now!" He yelled as loud as he could then he dropped his hands. His eyes were closed and he looked like he was unconscious.

Nor Gabumon or I dare move from our spots. His eyes opened and he turned to us. His eyes were sheets of blue, but it was hard to tell since where the white was, it was now black.

"You should've listened to Matt's words even though they weren't applying to you." It was another voice mixed with Matt's own.

"Who are you?" I demanded.

"I am one that you should fear."

"What have you done with Matt?" Gabumon asked.

"He's still here. Though now I'm finally in control." He got out of the bed. Gabumon moved back towards me. He wasn't doing anything but for some reason, I was feeling afraid. I'm not sure whether I was showing it or not but I started to feel Gabumon shaking.

He raised his hand towards us. I didn't know what was going on but my instincts told me to run from here. I grabbed Gabumon and ran to the door. I noticed that Ceres looked ready to fight before I ran to her.

She got the message and we both ran to the stairs. Fiterimon seemed to be waiting by there and when she saw us running, she slid down.

When we got to the bottom of the stairs, I heard an evil laughter and turned my head upstairs. Matt was standing in the hallway that wasn't covered by a wall. Where he stood, he looked completely evil. He raised his hand again and something shot from his hand.

Luckily for us, we moved out of the way. I noticed that the book and orb were still on the table from yesterday. I don't know why but I ran towards them and grabbed them. I looked back at Ceres, "Let's go!"

She nodded and got up.

"What makes you think I'm going to allow you to just walk out of here?"

"_Vincite_!" Ceres said and his hand went down to his side.

We ran towards the door and out. I thought that we should go to the bus station but when I was running in that direction, I heard Ceres's voice. I stopped and looked back to see that she was in front of the close front door. I ran back, grabbed her arm and continued the run to the station.

There was a bus there and we took it. No one else was on so we went to the back. I took the second to last seat and rested my back on the window. Plantmon came over and went to my head and Gabumon to where I would place my feet. Ceres took the seat across from me and Fiterimon went in where her feet would be place. I noticed that Ceres had her massager bag.

"When did you have time to grab it?"

"I ran to Matt's room with it. Now what?"

"I don't know. You might want to explain what just happened to Matt."

"You might not believe this is Matt."

"Of course it isn't Matt! Matt doesn't sound like that for the first thing and second, he can't shot things from his hand!" I was getting angry.

"I understand you're mad, but don't yell. Unless you really want this driver to know."

I looked to the front to see that he was looking at the window that lets you watch the back.

"I suggest that we change and get something to eat before I start telling. 'Cause I can't function properly without food." Her hand was at her stomach and she had a playful face on.

"Even now you still act like that."

"Hey, that was mean." She had a playful hurt look on.

"How are we supposed to change if we don't have any clothes?"

"I have some." She pointed to her bag.

"Oh, right. You're a traveler."

"And I think that my clothes will fit you so you don't have to worry about that."

"Are you going to exchange your money then?"

"Oh yea, I almost forgot about that." She looked like it was an honest mistake.

"Ok, then where can we get change?"

"I don't know… Hm?……… How about a bathroom?"

"In the exchange money place?"

"Iie then…… The park."

"People go to the park."

"Don't worry about that. The Digimon can keep an eye out for anyone."

"Fine then."

"Why did you grab the book and orb?"

"I really don't know."

"Isn't it supposed to glow whenever a person from our group touches it?"

"Yea… And it didn't. Wonder why."

"Maybe the glowing had another affect and since everyone from the group is found, maybe it doesn't need to glow in everyone's eyes anymore."

"What makes you think that?"

"I don't know, but that's one theory to it."

I looked out her window to see a gym. "Driver, stop here."

"But there isn't…"

"Just stop, ok."

He did and we walked up. I paid the man for a ride to the next stop and we got off.

"Why stop here?"

I looked at her to see that she was searching for something.

"I stopped here because we can get change in the gym." I pointed with my thumb.

"But don't you need membership cards or something?"

"I don't know but we can probably fake it."

"… Sounds like fun! What about the Digimon?"

"Gabumon is a dog. Plantmon is my hat."

"Hm?…………… Fiterimon is my kitty!"

"She doesn't look like a cat."

"I know."

"Then why say that."

"'Cuz I like kitties. Anyway, lets walk in."

We walked to the door and it was locked. "Guess they're not open."

"They are, you just got to know which door to open." Ceres said with a sly smile.

"I'm trying to be good. I'm not going to break in."

"Oh but why try? Aren't you?"

"Not always. I was in a gang before."

"And you're in a group now."

"I was a gangster."

"Oh, that gang. Ok, you should've told me that in the first place. So that's why those three men attack, or tried. Wow, that's so cool."

"What is?"

"You being a former gangster. I've met a few before."

"Are you two locked out?"

I turned to see a female with a business suit on.

"Hai." Ceres answered.

"Those night workers. They always lock it. They're told not to incase new members want to check it out." She said this while coming up the stairs. She unlocked it and went in, and we followed.

"Where are the lockers?" I asked.

"Oh, forgot your clothes?"

"Yea."

"Over there."

"Arigato." We walked over there.

We went in the girls' locker room and let Gabumon wait outside. It was really nice and they had showers. Ceres got out some shampoo and conditioner for both of us and we went in.

Afterwards, Ceres got out a black tank top and tight black shorts, white sneakers, and everything else was the same. I noticed that she didn't take off the stones and they were still in the same places but the white and green stones were attached to a thin silver line and that went around her shoulders.

"You don't take them off?"

"What?"

"Your stones?"

"Oh, no. I'll tell you that later."

I got out a loose fitting tank top that was dark blue, loose knee high jeans, and tennis shoes; though Ele was handing me the clothes. She got out afterwards and went into the shower that Ceres used. The water was turned on and after a few seconds, it turned off and Ele was wet. Ceres grabbed a comb from her bag and started to comb Ele's fur.

"Do you know where the exchange place is?"

"Yea. Luckily it isn't that far from here." Then it seemed like she was done with Ele. She placed the comb back into the bag and Ele went in too. She placed the bag back on her shoulder and got up. We walked out and looked carefully before we headed towards the door.

The sun was out and the rays felt good. Ceres led us to the exchange building and she got her money in yens. We found a close restaurant to eat at. Ceres order a good deal of food and ate most of it when I took my first bit and was done before I got my second.

"You eat fast."

"You learn these things when you have to travel."

"Explain everything that happened to Matt." Gabumon said. All he was going to have was fruit and tea.

Ceres took a deep breath in, "Ok, I'm not sure how, I'm not sure why but Matt has this evil inside him. It's not like your normal evil like killing someone but it's still pretty dangerous."

"Matt's not evil."

"Well, it was trying to make an appearance since I've met him. It was like if he makes a wrong move, it would show."

"So you think that Matt made the wrong move." I asked.

"Correct. That's the only way I can think of that would explain it showing."

"Then how do we conceal it? Or is this thing just in him for now?"

"It's not a temporary evil. This has been inside him most likely ever since he was born. This evil is something that, I was told, was passed down through the ages through a class of animals."

"Meaning?"

"That only one kind of animal was able to hold this evil and they must keep it in their line."

"Then why is it in Matt? Unless the kind of animal is man."

"No, it's not mankind. You should know how easily man can turn dark. It's too dangerous for them to use and plus, it's also supposed to be with good."

"Matt is good."

"Well, he is but he's aura says something differently."

"What are you talking about?" Gabumon asked.

"If someone can feel your spirit then they would know that you are most likely like that spirit. In other words, when someone feels Matt's spirit, they would feel his evil."

"Then try to explain if he is evil, why does he have the Crest of Virtue?" I said.

"There something about that that I don't understand."

"Why don't you?"

"Because I'm getting the same thing from Ken and Kari. That means that they all have something in common that I don't yet know of."

"They all went to the dark world." Gabumon said.

"Dark world?" He nodded. "What's that? I've ever heard of it."

"You wouldn't. It is something that's connected to the Digital World in some weird way. Matt told me that he went there since he was losing himself. Ken went there after his brother died. And Kari went there because weird creatures from that world wanted her to do something for them." I said.

"Oh… That could be a connection."

"Would that explain this evil in him?"

"No, it's something that should've been given to him at the time of birth, on his birthday."

"Then how would he get it?"

"The only way I could think of is that someone with it gave it to him but then the question becomes why only the darkness? Why would someone only give him the darkness?"

"Because Light and Dark are too powerful to be held by one person." Fiterimon said.

"I know but they would've known that it was too dangerous for him to have just darkness."

"Why?" Plantmon asked.

"If he didn't have the light side to balance him then he wouldn't have just now turned like this. He would be living like this."

"What about TK? He could've balanced him."

"But he still had about three years. Plenty of time to develop some of it."

"Then maybe the Virtue help."

"Well, maybe adding that he also has Friendship might be enough but I'm also surprised to see that he didn't know about it before. I mean it's not that hard to feel it."

"Oh, Panther. Long time no see home girl."

I turned around to see a group of my old home girls from the gang.

"Why haven't you come by? I know that you can't be gettin' soft." Virus said. She was wearing black flare pants, yellow T-shirt with the letter H, and thin scandals. She's our computer hacker.

"Wo, check out her new style." Jewel said. She was wearing one strap tank top, a skirt, and thick scandals. She's the one that can think up good places to hide a weapon, even wearing something like she is now.

"Not only that, the company she's with." Blade said, looking cool and emotionless as always. She, like me, went to school. But she didn't continue to high school, though she was really good in school. I think also the teachers had something to do with that since everyone knew that she had some kind of bladed weapon on her. Her outfit coincided of a dark blue headband, tight black tank top, and black baggie pants that covered her feet.

"Hey, Panther. We heard that you had to do community service. Is _hanging out_ with a loser like that part of it?" Jewel asked.

I didn't say anything since I didn't know what to say.

"What's with the hat? Is that a girlie present that _Matt _gave you?" Virus asked.

"Stop messing with her. She can kill us if we really wants to." Blade said.

"Come on. She's a goodie-goodie now. She can't harm us even if she wants to. The whole town is just waiting for her to mess up."

"So I'm guessing that you volunteer for the job?" I asked.

"Like we would do anything for them." Jewel said with disgust.

"Hi, nice to meet you. I'm Ceres."

"Whatever. Panther, do you want to get rid of a load and be free for a few hours?"

"No thanks. After all, the whole city is waiting for me to mess up."

"Come on, they let you off the hook. You should feel luckily. We had to escape the hospital just to make sure we didn't go to court."

"Besides, I'm pretty sure that whatever you do, your _guardian_ will come and protect you." Virus said.

"It must be really tough seeing one of your own like this." Ceres said that in a counselor voice.

"Did we ask you?" Virus used her street voice.

"I can tell that it must be really hard but please, don't bring someone with you on your own personal road of life." I looked at her to see that she had a smile on. Like what was in her voice didn't mattered.

"What are you talking about?"

"One's life is a road that only ends when you die. Don't bring someone with you on your own road. Find yourself before you get lost on your own road." Now she is sounding like a wise person.

"Yea, anyway, besides, I told you guys that I'm not coming back because I was only there for Killer. He's gone so I don't need you guys for comfort anymore."

"Oh, so your _guardian _is doing a great job. You only met him a few days before it happened yet you trusted him faster than you did us!" Jewel said with anger.

I brought out my blade from my hidden spot. They became silent and Blade stepped forward. She took the knife in her hands and looked at it with amazement.

"He lets you have this work of art?" She asked, still looking at it.

"He not only letting me, he also bought it for me."

She smiled too quickly for anyone else to see then handed it back. She looked at the others, "Then there isn't a need to worry."

"But what about her company?" Virus asked, looking at Ceres.

"She has the right to make new friends. Unlike us, she did have a good life before joining."

"Whatever. It's still going and there isn't anything that's going to change it." Jewel said and walked away. Virus made one last nasty look at Ceres before following.

"I'm sorry for their behavior. A few of the gang were caught. They're just worried about them."

"Really?"

"Hai. It's troublin' for them." She looked over at Ceres. "I am curious though as to how you became our Panther's friend, if you don't mind tellin'."

"I just met her and all of her friends the other day. I just decided to hang with her today since there isn't anything else to do."

"Then they shouldn't worry about you. Good. Lettin' you know that I went to school with Panther before high school. That's why I would defend her in any way I can."

"I can tell that you're not like the others. You have a much more proper way of speaking."

She looked at her with no emotions but I knew that she was wondering how she knew since she was always practicing to speak with a street voice. Though I usually told her that it didn't work. She bowed very, very slightly and walked calmly after them.

"I'm betting that she has some nobility in her, right?" Ceres asked.

"Yea. That's why she might still have that way of speaking in her use of words."

"That's so cool. Knowing that you have that in your blood and still practice the traditional ways. I love it."

"She doesn't 'practice' it."

"Of course. It's different then what you would normally see it but it's still there. I love that about Japanese. I… visited a place with that atmosphere."

The bill came. Luckily we did have the money to pay for it. We just then went walking around.

"What should we do?"

"I don't know. We can't go back though."

"So, you're running away?"

"What?" I looked at her and she seemed to have a sad face.

"Are you running?" I didn't know whether I should be mad at her comment or just say something. "It's ok. Sometimes you need to run."

"Is there something wrong?"

She closed her eyes and looked at me in a fake smile, "Nothing's wrong. I just knew too many people that did that."

"Oh. Well, I am going back to free him. I just need to know how to do that."

"That good. I think we should. If he was able to keep it locked up this long. We might as well keep it that way."

I looked at the sky and thought that this place was familiar. I stopped and looked around more careful. That's when it hit me where we are.

"What? Is there something wrong?"

"Yea. We better get out of here and now." I started to move back slowly but then laugher was heard.

Ceres looked around as the Gabumon and Fiterimon were getting prepare to fight. I heard it from behind so I turned toward them to see that there were five. There was no way for us to escape them but to go deeper into their territory.

"Looks like you made the wrong turn." Said the one that looked like the leader.

"We just got lost. Can you give us a way out?" Ceres asked.

"Yea, we'll give you the quickest way to get out." They all pulled out a dagger.

"I pretty sure that we don't need to cut our way through."

They launched at us. Before we could do anything, they dropped the daggers and were holding their heads in pain. Then there were footsteps coming toward us so we didn't let down our guard. The person came into view and I knew him as the other one that liked me.

"Who are you?" Ceres asked.

"Panther, how have you been? You know that you shouldn't be wondering around alone."

"It's what I want to do."

"I'm betting that she led you here. You should really get away from her." He's eyes were changing. That's the only way one would know that they're entering a mind.

I looked over at her and she seemed fine. I looked back at him to see that he didn't look surprise.

"You must be a friend of Panther. Hi, I'm Ceres and I'm also a friend of hers."

"I know that you can't be a friend of her. She has much better taste."

"Really?"

"Get away from her."

"Why?" She asked that in her innocence voice.

Now he was getting annoyed. "Do as your told."

"I only listen to people that I know that I should. You're not one of them."

"Ceres please go."

She looked at me with no expression. "_Cur_?"

"What?"

"Why?"

"I don't want you to get hurt. He's apart of an elite group in my gang. He can make you do anything whether you want to or not."

"Really? So he's like a puppeteer?"

"Yea."

"Hey, where are your puppets? No puppeteer can be great without the puppets."

"I'm not a puppeteer!"

"Then you're a voodooist?"

"No."

"Then how do you control people?"

"By goin' into their mind and controllin' 'em."

"Oh… but that's not mind control. Now I know that you're really, really bad."

"What?"

"Ceres don't push him."

"_Cur_? I want some fun." She put on a kid's voice.

"You want to see my power, fine." The change within his eyes was growing more and more.

I looked at Ceres and she still didn't seem affected by him. He looked angry and annoyed.

Ceres put her hand behind her head and he moaned a bit in pain. He was sweating greatly. After a few moments of this, he's eyes were back to normal and he was breathing hard.

"Now that isn't nice. If I didn't guess you won't play fair then I might've lost our game."

"What are you?"

"A human for as far as I know." He was still breathing hard. "Panther, let's go."

I nodded but I wasn't moving. I looked toward him to see that his eyes were changing again.

"Panther? Aren't you coming?"

"I can't."

"Why?"

"He's not letting me." Then he was in greater pain than before. I moved a bit and found myself free. "Let's go." Ceres said like nothing was happening.

We walked calmly away from him. I was getting really, really nervous about the whole thing that I think I was shaking. Ceres led us to a park that seemed empty.

"Are you ok?" Ceres asked and then sat down.

I followed her. "How were you able to block them? No one is able to." I couldn't hide the fear that I was now feeling.

"My powers. That's also how I can defeat them. What's the matter? You're really pale."

I didn't know how to put it in words. I only knew that they might be back but I know that's not what I was worried about.

"Don't worry, whatever they do, I can handle it. My powers are really strong."

"They… might make me do something."

"And you think that I can't split my concentration?"

"They could take advantage of that. Plus, that isn't the only thing they can do." I felt Plantmon's vines wrap around me.

"I have an idea, we'll just rest here. After everything that has happened so far, we could probably use it."

I nodded and I heard Ceres lying on the ground. Fiterimon followed her but I just sat where I was. Gabumon lay near me. My eyes closed on their own.

All of a sudden, my eyes open wide and I was breathing hard. I looked at my hand and it was shaking.

"Panther?"

I looked over at Ceres and she looked worried. "You look pale. Is there something wrong?"

"I… don't know. I guess it was a nightmare that I don't remember."

"Maybe it was a vision that was too terrible that it made you forget."

"Maybe." I placed my head in my hand.

"Let's get something to eat then."

I looked at her again, "How can you think of eating?"

"Because it might help you to remember. We could just get a snack if you like. It's not that close to lunch yet."

"You can get it. I'll wait here." I went back to my hand.

"Are you sure? It might do you some good for you to move around."

"I'm fine. Go ahead. I'll be right here. I want to get better sleep."

"……… Fine. But you better keep your promise."

"Why would I break it?"

"I'll be back."

I heard her getting up and walked away. Plantmon got off my back so I lay down. I looked up at the sky to see that it was calm. The wind was blowing softly so I closed my eyes.

_We have something for you._

I jerked up so fast that my head hurt.

"Panther?" I heard Plantmon asked.

_If you want some fun, go to the free zone._

"What is it?"

_More like whom._

"Who? Can it be!" I got up and started running to the free zone, near the Tokyo Tower.

After the train ride, I was in Central Tokyo. I looked around but didn't see anything out of the place. Then the sky started to turn a weird color. Everyone was looking around and tried to figure out what was going on. I continued my way to Tokyo Tower. I reached there when the earth started to shake. There was yelling all around me but I still kept on looking. Then it stopped all of a sudden.

"Panther?" I heard a voice that I thought I would never hear again.

I looked around and found Killer at my left. I felt the tears coming down my cheeks. He looked like he could use a nap and shower. His clothes were covered with dirt and he was sagging. I ran to him and hugged him.

"Where have you been? I thought that you were dead."

"I'm not sure where I was. But I'm glad that I'm back." He put one of his arms around me and I was glad to be where I was.

"Hey, the sky is going back to normal." Some person said.

I looked up to see that it was true. I wondered why, like the other people that cared.

"Panther, is there something the matter?" He pulled back a bit. I'm not exactly sure what was in my eyes but he looked worried. "I'm sorry for leaving you for so long."

"Don't worry. As long as you're back, that's all that matters."

"Then lets get out of here and back to the hang out. I'm betting that everyone has been missing me too. Hope no one pushed you guys too much." He was walking away but stopped when he noticed that I wasn't following. "Wazzup?"

"I can't go there."

"What! Why not! Did they do something to you? I bet it was him. Man, I'm gone and he just moves on in like I wasn't coming back!"

"It's not that."

"Huh?" I could tell that he was confused.

"I'm no longer apart of the gang anymore."

"Why?"

"Because… I'm living with someone. I haven't been apart of the gang since you left." I was looking on the ground.

"You… love someone else."

"Someone has guardianship over me. I'm being watched by this stupid society. I can't go back and mess my guardian's reputation up. I would never forgive myself…" I looked up with a firm face, "I can never go back and I don't want to go back."

He was shocked and surprised that I would say something like this. Since I remembered that I once proclaimed that I would be the last one to betray the gang and look where I'm standing now.

"What about our buds? They need us to help fight. I thought that you love it."

"I do… I still do… but I can't…"

"Forget about your guardian. They're nothing but trouble if you ask me. I knew too many good fighters go insane because of their guardian. Whether it is their own parents or someone watching them."

"I'm not like them. I'm different and you know it."

"Why don't you tell me your guardian? I'll let that person now their place." He made a fist in front of his chest. "I promise to get you out."

"Does it look like I want to get out? Look at me. Does it look like I've been forced into something? You know me too well to know whether I was force or not."

That's when he took a good look at me. His eyes portrayed his unbelief. "You…betrayed us?"

"I left and I'm not coming back. Killer, why don't you come with me? I know that my guardian wouldn't mind you staying with us." He was looking down at the ground. Now I was confused but he looked at me with a smile.

"Let's go. All this talk is getting me hungry. I haven't eaten anything for a long while."

I looked at him in wonder but I followed him anyway. I trust him with my life and nothing is going to change it.

On the train ride back to our territory I remembered about Ceres and my promise.

"Man, I bet I'm going to be yelled at."

"Why?"

"Huh? Oh, I promised someone something and I didn't keep it. At least you're going to get some food in your stomach." I smiled and looked out the window. _I wonder if she's worried._

I led us the rest of the way. I could sense that he was wondering why we were heading to the park but he didn't argue. As soon as I step in, Ceres was at my face.

"I thought we had a promise Black Cat."

"Sorry but look who I found."

She looked over at him then back at me, "You found a guy, so?"

"This is Killer."

"What!" She took a longer look. Then she looked puzzled. "I thought you told me that he was killed months ago."

"I guess I was wrong. He's here and that's proof enough for me."

"What is your name?" Killer asked in a threatening tone.

Ceres looked at him blankly, as if trying to figure out why he was talking to her like that. But, as I guessed, she just brushed it off. "My name is Ceres. I'm one of Panther's friends."

"You must be joking. Panther wouldn't be your friend in a million years."

"Ya know, I've heard that statement being said in so many different situation and it's only true when the person gives in to that notion. Now I don't know Panther for that long but I could say with confidence that she's not one of those kind of people." She placed her hands on the back of her head and was standing slanted to us.

"Maybe she is just fooling you. She's really good at that."

"Maybe you're a wolf in sheep's clothing."

"What?"

"Panther, how did you know where he'll be?"

"One of them told me."

"You mean the ones that I inflicted pain to?"

"Right."

"I thought that you might run. Ever crossed your mind that it was trap."

"Are you saying that Panther's dumb?" He was getting really angry.

"You should feel really good about this. That means that she wanted to see with her own eyes even knowing the risk. Love has that power I have to say. Well, Killer is it, welcome to the club."

"What club? I brought Panther here so she could say bye to you and her guardian."

I looked up at Killer to tell that he was serious.

"Nice story."

"It's the truth."

"Then why isn't Panther looking at me?"

"Huh?" He looked at me and he looked confuse again.

"Killer, I told you that I wouldn't leave. Not for them. Not anymore."

"But what about your friends that are there? You can't abandon them like this."

"Everyone has to choice their fate and Panther as chosen hers."

He closed his eyes for a few minutes then reopened, "Fine, I heard that there was food here." He looked at Ceres.

She blinked then was wondering something. Then she looked like she made a mistake, "Sorry, I thought that Panther was out to get something else to eat. She can be so picky at times."

I looked at her carefully. Then I got what she was saying. The Digimon were now eating.

"Ceres, I know that you save a good amount for a later time. Just give my boyfriend that and that's all."

"How did you know about my top secret stash?"

"You just said it." I put on a sly smile. Ceres laughed for a while then smiled at me.

"I'll get your pet and plush toy." She walked away and into the woods.

"Plush toy?"

"Yea, I like her."

"You gave your toy a gender? Why?"

"Thought it would be fun."

"I hope you haven't gone soft while I was away."

"I'm kinder."

Ceres came back with Plantmon and the food in her hands. Fiterimon and Gabumon were walking beside her. She handed me Plantmon and tossed the food over to Killer.

"Ceres, be nicer to him."

"Panther, I'm only listening to you since you know these people. But we all smell a trap and it looks like you're falling for it. We trust you so whatever you say goes." She whispered.

I looked down at Plantmon and she nodded. I looked toward Gabumon and he nodded too.

"Alright then. Thanks guys."

"Hey, what are friends for? We wait your orders captain." She said that last part in military style.

I looked over at Killer to see that he didn't like how we were talking over here. I turned toward Ceres, "We better go over to Killer before he does something."

I walked over to him and Ceres followed.

"So what are they?" He looked over toward Gabumon and Fiterimon.

"A dog and a lizard." Ceres answered.

"Weird looking ones to boot. Whom do they belong to?"

"The dog is named is Gabumon and he belongs to Panther's guardian. The lizard is mine and her name is Fiterimon."

"Weird names too. Well, where is the 'guardian'?"

"He's at his house. We're taking them for a little walk."

"Let me go there. I want to tell the guardian something."

"That can't be done. He's a little under the weather today." I said.

"Why are you hiding him?"

"What do you want to see him about? It's all depends on that answer."

"I want to give him a piece of my mind."

"Wow, you can exactly do that and live!" Ceres said with excitement.

"Huh? What are you talking about?"

"Everyone always say that they'll give a piece of their mind but no one was able to exactly take a piece and give it to the person. Now I know someone that can really do it. Ok, show us."

"I meant that as a figure of speech."

"Oh… Then give us an outline on what you're plans are."

"Go in, hurt or kill him, then walk out." I heard Gabumon growling.

"Killer, why do you want to do that?" I asked.

"Because he took you away from us. I'm going to make sure that you come back."

"I don't think you want to."

"Why's that?" He looked over to Ceres. She had a serious face on.

"Because, there something about him that we haven't been able to figure out. Killing him might not be the best solution to the problem. Plus, not only would you have to deal with the authorities, but his friends and family. From what I've heard, they will hunt you down and make you pay. That wouldn't be good for Panther. Plus your girlfriend really cares for him, do you want her to hate you for killing him?"

He looked over at me to see that I was hurt by his words. _I wonder if he would still talk like this if we told him that Matt was my guardian._

He went back to eating but stopped after a few bits. "Why do you care about her guardian?"

"Because he's really nice."

"Ever thought it was a show?"

"Then he's really good. Now hurry up before I eat the rest."

"I think she means it too Killer."

He started to gruff the food. I laughed since I've never seen him so hungry before. Then something hit me, where could he have been where he couldn't get any food for his stomach. I noticed why Ceres thought this might be a trap. _But I have to believe that he's not being use. I just have to._ Then he was done.

"Good, now what?" Ceres asked.

"Panther, let's take a stroll." Killer looked at me.

I nodded and got up. He did too and when Ceres got up, he shot her a warning glance. Though she brush that off too.

"Only Panther and me. We don't need a third party."

"Ok, then I'm with Panther's party."

"Three is a crowd."

"A small one. Whether you like it or not, I'm coming." Determination was in her eyes. _That's something that I haven't seen before. I wonder what she's planning?_

"Fine, then get in front of us. That way I don't feel like you're following us."

"Where do you want to take Panther that you don't want her own friend to follow? You might not like me but I'm not about to leave Panther alone. Since I know that I'm the only one that can defeat your mind controlling friends."

"What? No one can defeat them!"

"I can and that's why I'm not leaving Panther alone. Friends need to stick together."

He looked at the ground again. Then he looked at Ceres but didn't lift up his head, "Fine, do what you want." Then he walked away.

I followed him and walked by his side. He seemed to be mad at something but I couldn't tell what. I thought I should ask but decided against it. I should be happy that he's back in my life. That means that he can meet Plantmon, know my friends better, and maybe we could live together. I wouldn't feel like an outcast because I don't really fit with anyone. _I wonder how strong our friendship really is? I should know that Tim wouldn't like me too much because of who I was. My first friends are scared that I would turn back. Don and Neon like to hang with each other. TK, Ken, and Kari are the only ones that really talk to me and let me in. Everyone else, minus Matt of course, has in some way locked me out. Well, almost everyone. Ceres hasn't but that's most likely because I'm the only one she really knows. Maybe I should go back with Killer. After all, Matt would be better off without me in his life. Then he wouldn't have to worry about me messing up._ I looked up to Killer to see that he was thinking about something very deeply.

"Killer." He looked at me. "My guardian is Matt Ishida."

"What? Really?" I nodded. "That's why you don't want to leave. Why did he take you in? He didn't like us before."

"He did. That's why he saved you."

"Yea, I don't know why I wasn't able to hold my own that day."

"Maybe it wasn't your day."

"But he should understand that you have to return."

"He knows that I won't. I owe too much to him. He saved me from the police twice. The first was when that battle was over. That's when he took me in. Then he got me out from the police when they took me in just because of whom I was. He worries about me too so I know he cares."

"Then you'll never come back."

"Couldn't you forget about them? They're going to get us killed at a faster rate."

"Don't you owe so much to the gang too? We took you in when your parents were killed. We protected you, made you stronger. That's why I can't leave them alone. Their our friends and family; I thought you would remember that. We pledged our lives to them and we have to keep that promise."

"I pledged what you told me to pledge. I promised what you wanted me to promise. I followed you and only you. If you're not there then I don't need to be. I know that I owe much but it's not to them. They're not the ones that protected me and took me in. It was you."

"……………… Well, then I owe much to them. And since I'm going back, you might as well too. I want you to be there went I take over as leader."

I looked at him with shock, "I didn't know that you wanted the title."

"Yea, well, I deserve it. Don't you think?"

I smiled, "I agree. No one has worked as hard as you."

"And I want you to be right there with me. As my wife."

I could feel my cheeks reddening. "I would be more than happy to be your wife. But why don't you be our leader?"

"Who's 'our'?"

"My friends. I know that we could use one or else we need to rely on someone else to lead us."

"How well do they trust you?"

"They trust me."

"Then how well would they trust me?"

I looked down. I knew it would be hard with a few of them. "I'll make it work. They trust me and they will just need time to trust you too."

"It seems that one of your friends doesn't." He looked back without turning his head.

I looked back to see that Ceres wasn't watching us. She was looking up at the sky. Gabumon was the only one that was worry since Fiterimon looked bored.

"She has her reasons but as soon as this is behind us, she'll trust you too."

"Well, I think that your friends brainwashed you into this."

"Do you have that little faith in me?"

"No, of course not but… You won't leave."

"I told you, you were my reason for being there. The only reason why I became strong. I would be alone there and that's something that I don't want to feel. Plus, I have a mission that I can't abandon."

"A mission? What kind of mission?"

"I not sure if I can tell you. I would love to though but we have to keep it a secret since people won't understand. But if you come with us then I have to tell you."

"Why can't you tell?"

"It's a secret. All of my friends are in this group so that's why we can hang together without too much trouble. Though I know that if it wasn't for that, there wouldn't be this friendship that we have."

"Then why be their friend if there's only one thing that's holding it together?"

"I know that there'll be a time when more things will make us a stronger group."

"I thought that you were strongest with us."

"I would really protect you and not care about the others."

"You protected the others many times. How can you say that you only protected me?"

"You were my life. In that world, it became the survival of the fittest. Here, we help each other. We all share similar feelings towards one thing and we all have the same goal too. In the gang, it was everyone for themselves unless they were valuable. So then everyone tried to make himself or herself more valuable than the next person. That's why we didn't understand friendship at all."

"We have friendship. How else could we stand so proud and tall?"

"What does that world worth? What does it value? How long you can live and how many fights you won. It doesn't matter whether you're good or bad, that's all you know, how to live and how to fight. There, you use your skills for your own gain. Here, we combine them to make a team. At times I think I'm just using them to gain something. That's something that I really don't want them to know."

"It seems that you had a lot of time to think about this."

"I never told any of them my past live. Sure, two know it a little but they never knew me when I was with you guys fully. I hid that from them, afraid that if they knew, they wouldn't be my friends. I'm still feeling that but to some less degree."

"Man, is it really right for me to ask you come back? Panther, if you want me to go with you then I'll follow you this time. You show me this new world that you've discover."

"Really? You won't go back to them then?"

"If you don't want to then what do I have there?"

I smiled, "Arigato."

I felt something in the air. I looked at the sky to see that it was changing again. I turned to Ceres to see that she was just puzzled at the meaning of this.

"What's going on here?" Killer asked, looking around.

A mist came around us.

"Panther, Killer, get out of there." Ceres yelled.

Killer grabbed my hand and ran towards Ceres. As soon as we saw her, she was gone. I didn't see Gabumon and Fiterimon as well. I held a tighter grip on Plantmon and she did the same.

"Ceres! Ceres, where are you?" I yelled, hoping that she would answer.

"Your friend isn't here anymore." I recognized that voice.

I turned around and saw him standing there like it was nothing. Killer stood in front of me.

"Where is she? Bring her back."

"Why made such a demand? I'm only doing this because it's apart of the ritual."

"Ritual?"

"To bring your beloved Killer back from the grave."

"What are you talking about?" Killer asked.

"Killer, you know that you're dead so why are you pretending that you went on a trip? It was really assuming though."

"Why did you do that?" I asked.

"To make you come back to us. We all knew how loyal Killer is to this gang so we thought that if he comes back, you would follow like the lamb you are. Though we didn't except you to get him to leave with you."

"Why is Ceres important to this ritual?" Killer asked.

"We need to substitute one body for another. Since she's annoying and unneeded in this mission, she was the perfect choice."

"What if something happens to me?"

"Then the ritual would be broken and we would have to start all over."

"Panther, I love you. Make sure I rest in peace." Killer said in a low voice.

"What are you talking about?"

He brought out a knife. I thought that he was going to cut himself but he launched at him. Ceres appeared in front of him as a shield. Killer stopped and gripped the handle tighter.

"She is really annoying. You should've killed her. That way Panther would be all yours."

"She's not dumb. Knowing your plan, she's not going to fall for it."

Then Ceres moaned.

"Ceres get up. You've been captured." I yelled.

She lifted her head and noticed where she was. She turned her head towards him. "Nice trick. I didn't know that you're shinobi. I'll correct my mistake." Then she disappeared. He looked really nervous about it and he left as well. The mist disappeared and the sky was back to normal but Ceres wasn't seen anywhere.

She appeared again with Gabumon and Fiterimon in her arms. "Is 'playing fair' in their rules?" She set them down since they were unconscious.

I ran to Gabumon and he looked all right.

"Not really. They're like kitsune." Killer answered her.

"But even they play fair. They need to know the meaning of honor."

"Ceres, are you alright?" I asked.

"Huh? Yea, I'm fine. They didn't do anything to me but knock me out. Though I should double check to make sure." She closed her eyes then opened them. "I'm fine."

"What about them?"

"They're fine. I made sure that I check them out before I brought them back."

"What are we going to do? Wait, you said that you have magic powers. He said that they're performing a ritual."

"A ritual? Wow, and here I thought that they wanted me for a slumber party."

"This is serious. You're in danger now." Killer said.

"Really? Wow, I haven't been in danger for so long that I almost forgot how it felt. Oh well, I can handle myself. Did he say what kind of ritual it was?"

"No, he didn't."

"Well, then what do you want me to do?"

"Is there a spell or something that could block all rituals?"

"Don't know. I didn't have to block all rituals before. But if you want that then I'll find a way to make it work."

"Great, Killer, we have to find a place to hide for now."

"He'll find us no matter where we go."

"We have to try."

"Panther, take Gabumon and Fiterimon with you."

"I understand Gabumon but why her too?" I looked up at her.

"I don't want her to get hurt. Incase something goes wrong."

"Right." I placed Gabumon on my back and Plantmon held him there. I picked up Fiterimon and stood up. "You be careful."

"You stay safe."

I walked over to Killer. "Let's get moving."

"Right." We ran off. We stopped when we got to a location a good distance from the hang out. "Why didn't you tell her?" Killer looked at me.

"Because I don't want to believe it."

"It might help. She might know a way to make me stay for good."

"Why did you tell me that? I thought you were going to kill yourself."

"I was prepare for that incase he made me do it. That's why I said it."

"Don't do that again. You really scared me."

"Sorry."

I sat down Fiterimon and the same with Gabumon. Then they started to move.

"Gabumon, glad that you're up. The same with you Fiterimon." They didn't say a word but Fiterimon looked really worried. "Ceres is out looking for a way to stop the people that she fought off. She'll be back."

"Panther, animals don't understand humans."

"They do."

Fiterimon was still worried but there was something else that was on her mind that was getting her angry. She was looking at Killer in an uneasy feeling. I could tell that she wanted to say something but knew that she shouldn't.

"Look, I didn't do anything. Panther asked her to do this for her."

"He's right…" Her glaze went to me. Like telling me not to say another word.

I heard footsteps coming this way. I got ready to defend if I needed to but Ceres came into view.

"Ceres?" She sighed though she was annoyed. I noticed that she didn't have her bag with her. "What happened?"

"They're better than I thought. Killer, I'm not going to force you nor am I just going to hand you over to them. I know that they're going to kill you the first chance they get as soon as they give Panther something. I don't know what that something is but what I do know is that she's not going to be the same."

"I thought you were stronger than that. I thought that you could at least defend off against them. What, they did their tricks again?"

"I had to fight them with my own hands. They happened to notice something and use that against me."

"Then that means no one can defeat them. I might as well go over and let them use me for their plan."

"They don't care about you. They care about Panther."

"I guess he really, really, really likes you if he's doing all of this." Killer said, looking at me.

"What are you talking about?"

"The one that you saw most of the time likes me. He wants me to be his girlfriend."

"Panther, I hate to say it but those guys don't look interested in having a relationship. They're hard core in their powers and a relationship might make them go soft."

"What? What makes you say that? He told me from the beginning that he wanted me."

"Maybe that's a cover story for what they really want you."

"Then why do they want her?" Killer asked.

"If I knew the answer then I would've said it. But we might want to act fast."

"Right. Killer you stay here. Ceres and I are going to get back her pet raccoon."

"I'm coming too. I'm not about to leave you alone."

"Killer, ever thought that they might need you for the ritual that they're trying?" Ceres said.

"Of course I'm needed in it. You're needed too."

"That's not the reason I was tied down. Please stay. If you come then that's just someone we have to protect."

"I thought your group was all about protecting each other."

"It is, but we would have to hide our strength anyway. I don't want to be held too much."

"Please Killer. They might take you away again." I knew my voice held the sound of begging.

"Fine, but I expect you two to be back here as soon as possible."

"Right." I walked over to him and kissed him. "We'll be back, and that's a promise." Then we took off. "Ceres, I want to put on something special for this fight."

"Huh? Why?"

"I want to, is there something wrong with that?"

"Not at all but where is this outfit?"

I stopped in my tracks. "We're totally forgetting about Matt!"

"Man, and that's more important than this is. Sorry to say that but it is."

"Now we have to get him back."

"I know, we'll go over there, get him to a hospital, then take care of this."

"Why at a hospital? What can they do?"

"At least we'll know where he is."

"Right. Do you have a plan to get him there?"

"I do. All you have to is get that outfit of yours."

"Sounds simple but what if you need help?"

"Then that's where you come in."

"Right. Let's go."

We ran all the way back to Matt's house. _Matt, sorry for leaving you but now we're going to save you. Then you'll know that Killer's back._

When we reached the house, Ceres looked inside.

"I think he's looking for something."

"What makes you think that?"

"The house looks like a hurricane came through."

"Then that means we have to clean it up afterwards."

"I wonder if that's your way of acting tough."

"What are you talking about?"

"I thought that you wouldn't care that much since Matt did it. Oh well. Oh, here." She somehow got the orb in her hand.

"I almost forgot about that."

"You felt it on the bench in the gym. The same with the book."

I took it. "I'll get in from the back."

"Right."

I headed for it. I found my window and Plantmon opened it up. She lifted me up until I was able to reach it, then I pulled myself up. I found my room intact so I knew where I placed the outfit that I wear to the Digital World and on the day that Killer was killed.

I changed into them and I put up my hair the way I had it on that day too. I found the golden band and slip that onto my arm. I put the purple earrings and necklace as well. I looked exactly as if I was in the Digital World.

"Why are you wearing that?" Plantmon asked.

"This is the outfit that I wore on the day that Killer died."

"So you never forget him. Since you wear that to the Digital World."

"That's right."

There was a loud crash outside the door. Plantmon got on my back and I headed out. I saw that Ceres looked in pain and Fiterimon was really hurt. Gabumon was also so I knew that I had to do something. I don't know why but I just threw the orb to Matt. It hit his back and fell to the floor.

He looked at the object that was thrown then at me, "What do you think that would've done?"

Then a bright light surrounded him. I looked down to see that it was coming from the orb.

"Ceres!"

"Right." She started saying something but I couldn't hear her. The light wrapped around him and he fell to the ground. The orb stopped sending the light to him but the light around him seemed to go into him. I'm not sure what that meant but what I did knew that it was safe to take him to the hospital.

I walked down the stairs and looked at him. He looked as though he was sleeping. I picked up the orb.

"That was quick thinking. Though how did you know that it would do that?" Ceres asked.

"I'm not sure."

"Then I know we'll be ok. Luck is on our side."

"Maybe I should go alone. You three need rest."

"Get it later. Now let's get him to the hospital."

"Right."

We picked him up and put him in the car. I got in the driver's seat since I knew where he places his keys. I turned on the car and remembered when Killer drove this to our hang out. I pulled out and rode to the hospital. It was a good thing that no cops were around because I was going over the speed limit.

When we got to the hospital, I parked the car in the parking lot. We got Matt out and carried him to the hospital building. Nurses took him after we got in and we followed. They placed him in a room when he started to act weird. Like something was trying to get out of him.

"Ceres what wrong now?" I asked, since it was pretty clear that he was in pain but wasn't screaming.

"I think the evil is trying to push the light out. And the push is hurting him really bad. I wish I could do something for him but there's nothing. He has to fight this on his own."

Then a doctor looking person came to us. The nurses were trying to calm him down and put on some wires.

"Are you two the young ladies that brought him here?" His voice was calm.

"We are." Ceres answered.

"Could you tell me why you brought him here?"

"He was acting really weird this morning but only recently did he fell down and didn't get up. We got really worried so we brought him here."

One of the nurses came through the doors in great fear, "Doctor Hashiba, he's heartbeat is slowing down!"

"What?" He went in.

I looked through the window as they bought in the shock things to restart the pulse. They did that a few times but it didn't help. He walked to his right and disappeared.

"What do you think is going on?" I asked.

"I think the evil is winning."

"What's going to happen to all the people here?"

"Who knows but I can tell you one thing. We'll be running for our lives."

I didn't let my eyes off him. He was in great pain and there wasn't anything any of us could do about it. And worst, I was getting this bad feeling.

The doctor came back and told one of the nurses something and she ran out of the room. He looked at us while waiting for the nurse to come back.

In minutes, she returned with a teapot and teacup.

"What's that for? Are they planning to wait for his death!" I didn't want to hide my anger.

"Then there would've been more cups."

We watched as she pours tea into the cup. The others got him stead enough for the doctor to pour it into his mouth. Since she poured another cup, I guessed he didn't take the first one. He held his hand near Matt's mouth. The others got their hands off him but the doctor still gave him another cup. The others were looking at some monitor, which I guess was for the heart. It was moving really slow and so he kept on giving him tea.

"How is tea calming him?" Ceres asked.

"I don't know. I know that he does like tea though."

"But how would a doctor know that? That's like herbal medicine and they don't really like to use it."

The nurse ran out again. The monitor was picking up some speed but it still wasn't enough. The nurse came back again and the process continued. She ran out again and the monitor was showing better signs. After the fourth time of her running out, the monitor was showing that everything was ok since everyone was relaxed. Everyone walked out but the nurse still went on the route she took to get the tea.

When she came back, that's when the doctor left the room.

"Is he ok?" I asked.

"He should be fine now. But how could someone get in that state by falling?"

"Like we said, he was acting weird this morning." Ceres repeated the story.

"Why didn't you bring him to the hospital then?"

"He's really stubborn."

"We thought that if he stayed home, it would pass. He has been working really hard these pass few months so we thought it was due to that." I said, since I think it was part of it.

"Give me his name so we can put this on our records."

"His name is Matt Ishida."

"Ishida? Oh, the famous astronaut."

"That's him."

"Well, this might also be due to the number of flights he took. I better put that down too." He started to write something on his notepad. "Anything else?"

"That's it."

"Who are you two then? I didn't know that Matt had family members."

"Oh no, we're not related to him. I'm under his guardianship."

"And I'm just a friend of hers."

"So that puts you as Panther, right?"

"Right."

"What's your name?"

"Ceres."

"A last name for that?"

"Just put Ceres."

"Does Matt have any family members? This might run in the family."

"He has a little brother and both parents are dead." I answered.

"Name of the brother."

"TK Takaishi."

"Divorce parents I see." I didn't like how he said that. "When he wakes up, I would need him to fill some papers."

"Right, then don't let him leave here until we get back." Ceres said.

"You're not going to stay until then?"

"We have something else we need to take care of first. Don't worry, we'll leave his dog here." I said.

He looked at Gabumon then back at his notepad. "Kids today."

"Is that it?" Ceres asked.

"Yea, we'll keep him here until you two get back but you better come back."

"Don't worry, we will." I said with confidence.

He nodded his head and walked back into the room with Gabumon following him.

"Let's get moving." I said, looking at Ceres.

She smiled with a pleasing look and nodded. We headed out in a hurry, for now I'm getting a bad feeling like before. I stopped in my tracks, I fell down to the ground and was breathing hard.

"What's wrong?" I heard Ceres's voice, though now I noticed that I was lying on the ground. I got up from the cool pavement but my head hurt greatly so I decided to move slowly.

"Panther, what happened?" Plantmon asked from my shoulder.

The vision I had come back to my mind. It showed both Killer and Ceres falling over a fissure. I looked up at Ceres to catch her worry eyes. "Ceres, you can't come."

"Why?"

"I had a premonition. Both you and Killer are falling."

"But shouldn't Killer be where we left him?"

"He might not be there anymore. We took too long with Matt that he might've thought something happened." I placed my head in my hands. Everything felt so hopeless.

"Well, we don't know if we don't go to them and fight."

I looked up at her to see that she was serious. "Why do you want to do? Both of you are falling and I can't do anything about it."

"If you could see it then you have the ability to change it."

"You can't change what I see. I know this for a fact." I looked at the ground.

"So, you're being a coward. I didn't take you for that kind of person."

I looked up at her to see a bit of disgust. "What can I do? I can't do anything against them!"

"If you really love him then you should go there to protect him. You're talking like we're alone. Even I know that we're not alone."

I thought about what she was talking about. Then it hit me; we still had our Digimon with us. I smiled since I noticed how foolish I was acting. "Thanks Ceres."

"No problem. Now, we have to get going. If they do have Killer right now then that means they have two people to use as shields."

"Two?" I got up and remembered that she didn't have her bag with her. "Ceres, I'm really sorry about wasting time."

"It's ok. I understand that it was important to save Matt first. Ele would also understand."

"Where did you get the orb from? I thought you would've placed it in your bag."

"I did but let me explain that later. We have to get them now."

"Right." We continued our run. I got the feeling that this wasn't going to be easy but there was no other way.

We reached the location and became more cautious then ever. I was scanning the area as we walked along. I could sense that there something wrong in this area but I couldn't tell what. The area was darker than I could remember, since this place is an area where even we didn't go.

"I wonder why they would pick this place?" I asked more to myself. The only reason I came here was to be alone when I first started.

"What are you talking about?"

I looked over at Ceres, "I know this area pretty well. I didn't think anyone else would since it's marked as hunted. Even my gang knew to never enter a place like that."

"Well, this is where they told me to meet them. Maybe they're here for their ritual."

"How do you know about this place?"

"That's for a later story. Come on, they're this way." Ceres ran in the direction that was engulfed in darkness.

I followed closely behind her. I knew that they wouldn't tell her where they were going to be located. _How would she know where they are? They like the darkness almost as much as I do._ Ceres stopped when we saw a glow. It wasn't that big but you knew that it meant that there was an end. We walked towards it. The light became brighter and brighter so we knew that we were getting closer to the source.

We stopped as soon as the alley opened to an area that held a huge fire. I remembered this place as well since I also like to explore this place. _Killer used to call me crazy to come to this place so frequently. _

"They're behind the fire." Ceres said with a light voice.

"How can you tell?"

"I have good eyes. They don't seem to know that we're here. We could use that to our advantage. You said that you knew this place. Do you remember everything about it? It hasn't change."

"You know that how?"

"I'll explain later. We have to get to the other side and take them down without them knowing first."

"That's easier said than done."

"Are you scared?"

"Of course not. Yea, I remember every turn in this place."

"Good, get us a route that we could attack from."

"They'll be able to find us."

"Then don't think."

"Huh?"

"They're abilities have limits. Everything has a limit."

"How do you know that's their limit?"

"I might know what they are. If I'm right then that means they're not that strong. I should be able to stop them but it's not going to be easy."

"Why?"

"Trust me, it's not. I'm not sure what they have if they're not like the other people that I've face with the same power."

"Then good luck. Follow me." I went into the building that was near us. We took the stairs up to the roof.

"It can't be that easy." Ceres said with a lower voice.

"You should've look at the stairs. This is the only one with metal."

"Then why didn't we make a sound?"

"Don't know, never figured that out myself."

Ceres smiled and we jumped to the next roof. I knew that the roof we should go to has a darker atmosphere than the others around here. I led Ceres to that roof and when we got on it, I looked down at what we were facing. I found that they had Killer with them. He was tied to a pole but they were keeping guard over him.

"I thought we told him to stay." Ceres said.

"They could've found him. They do have that power. Now what? We can't go in there when they have him."

"It might be an illusion."

"I don't think so."

"Ok, then they're waiting."

"For what?"

"For us to come and save him."

"Of course we're going to. I'm not about to let them take him away from me."

"Glad to here it."

One of the others came out of nowhere. I noticed that all of them were now there. There were only six of them. The one that just popped out is the muscle of the group. His name is Satogi.

"Did you find them?" asked the brains and strategist of the group. His name is Apofisu.

"No, I don't think they're coming."

"They have to come. There's no way that Panther would let us have Killer." Apofisu looked at him.

"Nor would she ever let him go." Donn said. He was the one that liked me and he chuckled as he looked evilly at Killer.

"She's smarter than you, ya know." Killer's voice was still strong which meant that he was still ok.

"Her brain might be but not her heart."

"Why do you want her?"

"You don't need to know that information."

"Satogi, look for them again. Maybe that annoying friend of hers is holding her back. After all, she might've caught on to our plans." Apofisu ordered. Then Satogi was gone. I looked around the area that he should've taken but knew that I would've seen him leave.

"I can't believe that it's taken us so long to take her." Neraru said with annoyance. He was done polishing a new gun that he'd gotten before I left.

"You can't blame us. After all, she is a sly creature." Dotsun'sa said. He was the one that scared me the most since I couldn't tell what he was thinking and his personality was the hardest to know.

"But it shouldn't take this long." Neraru said as he placed his gun back in its place in his trench coat.

"Don't worry. We'll have her soon. Nothing can stop us now."

"Don't underestimate her." Said their ringleader. He's known as Chaos. I don't know why he calls himself that but I do know that he came here from another country. I don't remember which one but I do know that after he showed up, this group became known. They came in before I joined but Killer told me all about them.

"There's nothing to worry about." Dotsun'sa said.

"If the Boss said don't underestimate then don't. We might not get her with that kind of confidence." Apofisu said.

"Don't worry, we're more powerful than she can ever be."

"Obviously you're forgetting the reasons for this chase." Neraru said.

"I'm not forgetting."

"Then it would be wise to not let your guard so down." They became silent.

"Do you know what they're talking about?" I looked at Ceres once we got to the floor.

"Not really. But it seems that you had some importance to whatever they're planning."

"I thought that they might be overthrowing the leader of our gang. They might what me for that."

"If they wanted the gang they would have it."

"Our current leader is able to block out their abilities."

"Really?" She sounded surprise.

"Yep, that's why he's in charge."

"That's odd. I didn't think he would want power over a gang."

"We have to do something and soon. Who knows what they might do to Killer if Satogi doesn't come back."

"That's his name."

"Yea."

"And here I thought you didn't know their names."

"They're always using me, how can I not know their names?"

"That's not really important. Ok, we do have to do something. It seems like they're forgetting about Ele for the moment. I could use that to my advantage. Panther, make sure that you have a strong will."

"What makes you think that I don't have one?"

"I know you have one. But it seems that around them, you lose that part of yourself. You have to regain it."

I looked at the floor, "It's not easy to fight them. I've tried every time but nothing has worked."

"That's what I'm talking about. You're losing your self-confidence. If you want to win, don't lose it."

"I'll try."

Ceres looked over the edge, "Satogi is back."

I looked over too.

"Any luck?" Apofisu asked.

"None again. Maybe he knows where they are?" He was looking at Killer.

"If he knew then we would've found it." Neraru pointed out.

"Maybe they're here already?" Apofisu said and everyone looked around as we hid back behind edge.

"Panther wouldn't just standby and watch us. That's not her style." Dotsun'sa said.

"But she would hide in a place where she can pounce. After all, that's why she got her name." Donn pointed out.

Ceres tapped my shoulder and held out her hand with three of her fingers up and her countdown started. When she reached zero, we jumped down. As we fell, I heard Fiterimon call out her attack.

"Water Fire!" Her sphere of the mix elements hit the fire they had, causing it to explode.

I felt Plantmon's hands stretching to untie Killer. Lucky for us we landed near Ceres's bag. They looked pissed.

"You know, you should join us. With powers like yours, you could do great things." Dotsun'sa said.

"That's nice. Didn't know that you were looking for a new leader."

"Are you that power hungry?" Chaos asked but didn't seem to care about her earlier comment.

"What if I am?"

"Then the title and position is yours. All you have to do is join us."

"What, the role getting too hard?"

"I know that you're powerful. The one with the most power should rule."

"Cool but no thanks. I do have morals and principals that I follow."

"Oh, so you're saying that you won't join the gang because of them?"

"I won't join and you're not getting Panther."

"Fine, if that's the way you want to play… Then it seems that we don't have a use for him anymore."

"You're not going to take him." I started to run towards him when the earth started to shake. I tried to hold on to my balance when I heard a cracking sound. I looked at Chaos to see that this wasn't affecting him.

"Yo, Panther, a little help here."

I turned around to see that there was a fissure in the spot where Killer and Ceres were.

"That'll get rid of them." I heard Satogi say. I turned to face them but they were gone.

I ran towards the fissure. Ceres was holding on the edge and Killer.

"About time. Was the traffic that heavy?" Ceres voice told me that she was using all the strength she has to hold on.

I tried to reach her but she was too far. Plantmon wrapped her arms around Ceres's waist but she wasn't able to pull them up.

"Something's holding them down." Plantmon explained.

"How are you holding up?" I looked at her.

"It feels like my vines are going to snap. If you weren't here I would've fallen in too."

"Ceres, let me go." Killer said in a low voice, obviously to make sure that I didn't hear him.

"There's no way I'm doing that." Ceres kept the conversation the same lowness.

"Why? I'm dead. I'll just go back to the underworld."

"I would feel really bad if I had to lie to her about why you fell. Especially since she loves you."

"You need to save yourself."

"You told Panther that the group she's in is all about protecting. Well, I'm in that group so I have to protect you."

"I thought you didn't trust me."

"I don't but I trust Panther. If she trust you then I'm going to listen to her instincts………… Plantmon, get Killer. He's slipping."

Plantmon did so but now I had to hold her tiny body to make sure that she didn't go in.

"Ceres, are you ok?" I asked.

"Yea, we have to get Killer out of this fissure. I think it leads to the Underworld. That's why it's pulling him in."

I looked around but couldn't find anything to help out. "Fiterimon, find something that can help."

"Right." She jumped off the roof and landed behind me. Then she ran into a building.

"Panther, you have to let me go. If you don't then your friends will come to the underworld with me."

"Look, we're not going and either are you. So stop saying that." Ceres said.

"Ceres, can you get Killer out of there?" I asked

"I might but I can't since he wants to go down there."

"Killer please, come back with us. I want you to meet everyone."

"Panther, I'm gone. I shouldn't be here. Even if I'm there, they might use me to find you easier."

"Ceres can make sure that they don't."

"Panther, be happy." He forced Plantmon's arms off him and fell into the endless fissure.

"Killer!" I felt a tear coming out of my eye. Then a rumbling sound was heard and the fissure started to close. Plantmon pulled Ceres up just before the land closed. I collapsed to the ground, letting the tears of losing him twice come.

"Panther, you still have a chance to say goodbye before he goes to the Underworld forever."

I looked at Ceres as she picked up her bag and put it on her shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"I saw a door open. He might be going to the place where he first came out. That might be your only chance. We have to hurry there so we don't miss him."

I got up, "Let's hurry." I took off, not waiting for Ceres's respond. We reached the Tokyo Tower as the sky was changing again.

"We have to hurry." I ran faster towards the tower to make sure that I didn't miss him.

Once we reach it, I looked around trying to find him.

"Panther." I looked at Ceres to see her pointed at the farthest corner. I ran to him, "Killer!"

He turned around and looked surprised to see me. There were chains around his hands and neck. Little oni were at his feet, like they were guiding him in. I stopped in front of them.

"How did you know?"

"Ceres figured it out. Killer, is there no way for you to come back?"

"Panther, not many people are able to listen to the warnings."

I looked back to see Ceres coming. "What do you mean?"

"You've heard about the Izanami and Izanagi when Izanami went to the Underworld."

I looked back at Killer who held a sad face. "Killer, I love you."

"I love you as well. Find my grave. I'm not sure where it was placed but do find it."

"I will. Promise. Oh, Plantmon is my Digimon partner."

"Fiterimon is my Digimon partner."

"Glad to meet you both. Does that mean that Gabumon is Matt's Digimon partner?"

"Yea, my friends have theirs as well."

"At least I know that you're protected. Take care."

"See ya Killer."

The oni pulled the chain to make him come into the darkness that the chains were coming from. When he entered it and was out of sight, something moved like a sliding door to close the entrance forever.

"Panther, you'll see him again." Ceres said.

"I know, but it'll be a while." We headed back.

"Ya know I know how you feel." Ceres said as we took the train back.

"You do?"

"Yea, I loved someone while in Spain."

"What happened?"

"He got killed and there wasn't anything I could do to save him."

"Sorry."

"I'm fine but just letting you know that you're not the only one that feel this pain. I know that because I traveled but since you stay here, you might not know. Sometimes, we think that we're the only ones that have this problem but then we find out that it's universal."

"Thanks Ceres."

"Not a problem." She looked out the window. I could guess that she was thinking about the one that she lost. "_Ouos amor verus tenuit, tenebit_."

"Huh?"

She looked at me then blinked, "Oh, did I say that out loud?"

"Yea but what did you say?"

"I said: Those whom true love has held, it will go on holding. It fits this situation, doesn't it?"

"I would agree."

When we got to the hospital, the doctor led us to Matt's room. "Letting you know, he's up."

"Thanks. Guess you want to get those papers sign?"

"We got him to sign it just a few minutes before you two came back. Just let us know when you're leaving so we can sign you out."

"Right." Ceres said and we headed in.

Matt looked normal and he smiled when he saw us coming in. "What did you guys do?"

"How are you? You're the one in the hospital." I came to the side that Gabumon was on.

"I'm fine. I'm not exactly sure what happened though."

"Well, you have some kind of evil lurking inside you. That much we can say for sure." Ceres said at the foot of the bed.

"Evil?"

"Yep, that's what attacked us. Though I have heard of it existence, I only know of one species that is able to hold it. How you got it is a complete mystery."

"Gabumon told me when the doctor left."

"Then I'll say what happened after we got you here." I started my tale.

When I was done, Matt pulled me in and gave me comfort. I started to let some of the last tears roll off since I wasn't crying as I was telling him.

"I'm sorry to hear that. I would've liked him to stay with us."

"I know, I know." I was really glad that he was here.

After the doctor gave his report, saying that it was due to the fall, he let us leave. He told Matt to drink tea, saying that it would help with the behavior from the morning.

"That was weird." Matt said as we walked to his car.

"But that's how they were able to get you back to normal so you should listen." Gabumon pointed out.

"Right."

"But I still would like to know how a doctor of modern medicine would think of something like that." Ceres said, holding her chin.

"Well, he did left for a brief moment." Fiterimon said.

"That's right, he did. That has to be when he found out. Good observation skills Fiterimon."

Matt stopped as soon as we reached his car.

"What's wrong?" I looked at him since he had questioning eyes.

"Why is my car here?"

I looked at Ceres and she shrugged, "That's how we got you here, duh."

"I'm driving."

"Matt, are you ok?" Ceres asked, though we allowed him to get into the driver's seat.

"Fine, why do you ask?"

"It seemed like you didn't trust our word, that's all."

"I trust it." Ceres looked at me and mouthed why is he acting like this.

I shrugged and looked at Gabumon, who was in the front seat. He didn't look worry so he must know why Matt acted that way.

"Gabumon doesn't seem worried." I whispered to Ceres as Matt drove out of the parking lot.

"But it's still weird. Maybe that evil isn't fully down anymore."

"You think?"

"Then wouldn't Gabumon be worried, knowing that isn't Matt?" Fiterimon asked.

"Good point. Then I don't know. Maybe there was something in his past that makes him this cautious."

"What are you two whispering about?"

We looked in the rear view mirror to see that he was looking at the road.

"Nothing really." I said and straighten up. Ceres did the same.

"Matt, how did you think we got you to the hospital?" Ceres asked, trying to figure out why he acted the way he did.

"Maybe by Digimon."

"But then other people would notice."

"Not really sure."

"Wouldn't the logical conclusion be that we took your car and drove you here? After all, Panther does know where you put things."

"True… I don't really know why I thought that this wasn't my car." There was pure confusion in his voice that we didn't get. I looked at Gabumon to see that he held the same confusion, which meant that neither one got why they thought this wasn't Matt's car. Which is weird since Gabumon came with us in this car to get him into the hospital. I looked at Ceres and mouthed weird. She nodded her head in agreement then looked out the window.

As we got out the car and into the house, Matt stopped as soon as he saw the mess that he made.

"Guess we need a clean-up crew." Matt joked.

"What were you looking for?" Ceres asked as she steps over the things on the ground.

"I don't know. I don't remember anything from when I was taken over."

"Well, we better clean up. Ken will be back tomorrow."

"Why didn't TK come?"

"That's right, TK was here the whole time." I just remembered.

"Panther didn't think about calling him." Ceres said.

"I'll call him then. We could use his help." Matt said as he made his way to the phone only to find out that he pulled it out and broke it.

"This is so cool, I can practice on my repair skills." Ceres said with excitement.

"Great, Panther call TK so he can come over."

"Right." Plantmon stretched her arm to my room to get my cell phone.

"I thought that you had it with you."

"We had to run out with hardly any time to prepare."

"Then why are you wearing the outfit that you get when we go into the Digital World?"

"We came back, didn't Gabumon tell you that?" Plantmon handed me the cell phone. I pressed the speed dial for TK's phone.

"Moshimoshi, this is the Takaishi residence."

"TK, we need you to come to Matt's house for a few hours."

"Why?"

"You'll see when you get here."

"Ok." TK hung up.

"He'll be here." I hung up as well. "I'll make some tea since you need it."

"Right, I'll look around to see what else I'd destroyed." Matt made his way to his office. Ceres was already fixing the phone so it would be back in working order.

Once I got the tea made, Plantmon cleared the table and I placed the tray on the table. Ceres was almost done with fixing the phone.

"Wow, you did that fast."

"I'm good with these things."

"Do you use your magic?"

"Not usually. I do know how to work with electronics."

"Guys, do you know where the book and orb are?" Matt appeared from the upstairs.

"We took it." Ceres said.

"At least it's safe. When you're done, place them in my room, ok?"

"Right……… Finished!" She held up the phone and it looked good as new.

There was a knocked at the door I went to go get it since I have a clearer path. I opened the door to see TK there.

"Why did you knock?" I asked since he has the key to get in.

"I forgot my key when I came over. After I hung up, the hospital called me."

"Matt's fine."

"I know, they let him go today. Why was he even in the hospital?"

"We'll explain while we clean."

"Clean?"

"Yep." I stepped aside and saw that he was surprised at the mess that was there. He walked in and looked around.

"Are you guys ok?" TK looked at Ceres and Matt.

"Looks like a tornado came through." Patamon said as he flew down to get a better view of the mess.

"We're fine. Can you help us clean up? I don't want Ken to know what happened." Matt said.

"Right. Anything I should know?"

"Not really, anything out of place I'll put it in its place."

"Why were you in the hospital?" TK picked up some papers and Patamon was picking up some items. I decided to help out as Gabumon got a cup of tea for Matt.

Matt explained what he was told as we gave more information or made it more clear for TK and Patamon. We got most of the house clean by the time we were done. TK was glad that it wasn't something medical serious. I managed to ask TK whether he knew why Matt might think that his car wasn't his but he couldn't give an answer. Though he said that a few times he had to go to the hospital for research, he thought that the car he came in wasn't his. I'm now thinking that it's genetic, however weird it is. I told Ceres about it and she agreed that it would be a weird genetic thing.

After we got everything cleaned up, we made dinner and talked about anything. Ceres was the one talking since she was talking about random things. Afterwards TK and Patamon left.

"Matt, what was the last thing you remember doing before coming home?" I asked, since I remembered during dinner that Ceres said that Matt made the wrong move to get that evil out.

"I was at the party."

"Do you remember coming home?" Ceres asked from the kitchen since she was doing the dishes.

"He was pretty drunk when he was coming home." Gabumon said.

"Really?"

"Matt, I thought you didn't like to drink." I asked.

"I don't but I don't mind when it's a social thing."

"So you had a little too much and that's why you don't remember what happened." Ceres concluded.

"Yea, though I do remember hearing Panther's voice this morning."

"What were you seeing when were sleeping?"

"Horrible scenes."

"What about when you were taken over?"

"All I could see was darkness… Though I know that I wasn't trapped."

"Then you should've been able to get out."

"I'm not actually sure… I'm sorry to say that when I was fighting him this morning, I felt like I was fighting with myself."

"Not really surprising."

Matt looked at Ceres to get an explanation.

"You see this evil is has to be with you since birth. That's the only way it can be in you. That's why it probably felt like that."

"This has never happened before."

She came out and was drying her hands, "Maybe there are other factors that we just don't know about. There could be something that has happened recently that triggered this to happened."

"Guess we have to figure that out later."

"Right, it's time for bed." Ceres headed quickly to her room.

"Night Matt." I said when I got to my room.

"Night."

I got in my bed without changing clothes. I was just too tried to do so. I looked at the painting that I did in the beginning of the school year. I noticed something about Matt that I hadn't noticed before. I colored a dark ring around him. The only way someone could see it though was by looking at the two ladies. Both were glowing a bit and their light should make Matt glow as well. That just made me feel that I knew that he had this dark side to him.

"Is there something wrong?" Plantmon asked.

"Look at Matt in the painting. He has this dark aura around him."

"I see what you mean. But you just now noticed."

"I know, I guess this painting might reveal more than I first realized."

"Maybe Ceres should look at it. She might be able to find out."

"Good point."

There was a thunderstorm. I could hear the rage that it was unleashing. I pulled the covers over, knowing that it was them that were creating it.

"What's wrong?" Plantmon asked as she got closer to me.

"It's them."

"You mean those guys that are after you?"

"Yea. They create fierce thunderstorms to show their anger."

"You think that they found out that Ceres got out?"

"Maybe, but I don't really know what they're mad about. I really don't want to know."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you."

"Thanks Plantmon."

I smiled at her and closed my eyes, trying to get rid of the sound that the thunder was making. Plantmon wrapped herself around my shoulders. I was glad that she was there, and I hoped that they couldn't control Digimon.


	9. Chap 8 The Man Between the Sea and Fores...

Konnichi wa, sorry if anything that occurs during a Japanese summer doesn't happen but I'm not too sure on what happens so… Onward…

Sorry for not writing last time. I didn't have any time to. I had to tell Gabumon about this (no one else knew that I'm doing this) so Panther and Ceres don't come in and see this. Though I think that Ceres knows that I'm doing something since she told me the next day that she doesn't want to be followed and handed me the device broken… Letting you know that I had that on her from when we found out that she was apart of our group. I didn't see her catching it, no one else did either and I checked the cameras on the other people there. I'm thinking that it was with super speed… Though how she's able to go that fast, I don't know…… Gabumon just reminded me that I did play the videos in slow motion as well… So I don't know how… Guess it was her magic powers… Anyway, that's my mystery, it's been a while and Don's group is the last group to come back from their trips. Panther was going crazy whenever she was left with Ceres. They do get along but Ceres just clash with her own personality. Anyway, onward…

Me

I was sitting on the couch with Gabumon watching the news. There was a knock at the door and I was expecting that Ceres was going to get it since she comes out of nowhere to get things like that. I noticed that she wasn't so I got up and answered it. Neon bowed then walked right pass me. I looked at her mother and she looked a bit worried.

"Is there something wrong?" (I've gotten to know all of their family pretty well. Don has shown me pictures of his Grandmother and Lily Dawn of her dad. Tim even shown me pictures he has of their parents)

"Neon has Don's child."

"What?"

"Yes."

"Why did she come here?" I looked up at the stairs then looked back at her, "Would you like to come in?"

I stepped aside as she walked in. She looked beat but not too much. I went into the kitchen and made some tea. I looked at all the tea we had since I need it so that evil side of me doesn't come out (Though, now I'm thinking that we over did it. We have every kind of tea out there. Even for things that I would never need). I took the tray back and handed her a cup. She took one long drink and laid it back down. I poured her another cup and sat down.

"You don't seem too mad about this."

"I'm not mad, just worry. How can she finish high school?"

"You don't want to watch the child? Or is it the fact that she's so young?"

"You'll see when she comes down. It shouldn't take too long."

Footsteps were heard and all three of them were coming down.

"Mom, I'm having twins!" Neon said with excitement.

"Great, tell Ishida-kun what you're planning."

"Oh, Matt, I was thinking that it would be fun to raise them like they would in the old days."

"More information."

"You know, like the old folks use to. Well, she's combining a lot of them." Ceres said.

"Still not getting the hints."

"Basically like the ancient people." Panther said. _Now I know why Rio-san was worried._

"That should be fun. How are you going to pull it off?"

"Ceres is going to help me with what I should do."

"Are you going to be wearing modern clothing or ancient?"

"I'll cross them. I was wondering if you could help. Panther told me that you don't have work for a while."

I looked at Rio-san and she didn't seem to mind this. "Sure, I would be happy to."

"Great."

"Dear, you have to talk to Don about what you're going to do when the children come. With this method, you have to keep an eye on them and the school doesn't allow it."

"I wouldn't mind watching them." I offered.

"Really? Would you? It would only be for the school day. Don's father and mom have to go to work."

"Sure, not a problem." Panther gave me this look that told me that she's going to make a comment afterwards.

"Domo arigato Ishida-kun." Rio-san said with a little bow.

"Hey, Rio-san, if it's alright with you, could Neon come with us to the beach? We were planning on a party there since all our friends are back from their summer activities." Ceres said.

"Sure, Neon, I'll drive you home when you get direction to get there." Rio-san got up, bowed to me, and left (These formal things get me nervous).

"Matt, I know that you don't start on your work right away." Panther said.

"I get it done." (It's sad when the person you're looking after is looking after you. Hey… I'm having more side comments. This is cool)

"Where's the party? I'll have to tell Don."

"You know that abandon beach that's near that high cliff?" Ceres asked.

"Yea, there? But there's someone living there. He blocked off the waters near his house."

"We won't be in his property. 'Sides, if we do go there, we'll make up something." Panther said.

"I see that Ceres is rubbing off on you." I drank my tea, knowing that she was giving me some kind of look. "I know that he put up signs to make sure that everyone knows that they're in it."

"Why does someone own that area now?" Ceres asked having a mad face on.

"He moved there a few years back. I've heard that he's an environmentalist so that's why he has a great deal of the water and forest blocked off." Neon said.

"What! Not the forest too. Man, I remember when I use to go in that forest and play. Now someone's claimed it for their own. That's sad. What has the world come to?"

"It's not really his. He just protects it from people that want to use it. He would never harm it." They just stared at me. "What?"

"How do you know that? They've never said that on the news." Neon asked.

"I've heard that he blocked it off a year or so after he bought the property. If he wanted to use it to gain money then he would've done so."

"Good point. Anyway, so that's where we're meeting?" Neon looked at Ceres.

"Right, we'll be there first so just look for us."

"K, see you then." Neon walked out.

"I bet that it's some rich guy that lives there. Do you know his name?" Ceres looked at me.

"I don't, the news never gave a name or a picture. He doesn't like to make appearance and the only way the reporters knew how to get in touch with him was calling the house. My Father told me that he sounded annoyed with all the calls that you thought he would just hang up and rip out the phone."

"Then why didn't he?"

"He doesn't know, though my Father did think that it was strange that he would mostly answer his questions. I thought that maybe he was being a good reporter, but he didn't think so."

"Anyway, I'll get to the bottom one day. For now, let's get packing." Ceres raised one arm into the air with her fist leading.

"Is Ele coming?"

"Of course and I'm bringing my bag as well. I don't leave anywhere without it." She headed upstairs. Panther followed her but stopped at the stairs and looked at me, "Make sure to get some rest and bring lots of tea."

"I'm guessing that tea is the only thing that I'm allowed to drink?"

"That's right." She headed up.

I got the tray and walked back to the couch. I placed the tray on the table and handed the cup that Rio-san was using to Gabumon.

"By the way, when are you going to call Izzy about decoding the text?" Gabumon asked then sipped some tea.

"Oh yea, that's right. I was going to call him but I forgot. After we come back."

"Ok."

"Are you curious on what it says?"

"Yea, for some reason I am." Gabumon looked confusion for his curiosity.

"Why are you confused?" I smiled.

"Not really sure."

"Well, it might enable you to get to the Super Level form."

"True, that way we can defend you guys against the real evil ones."

"Right." We went back to watching the new since I was already ready.

After an hour, I heard the door opening. I looked over to see Patamon flying in.

"Hey TK, about time you showed." I yelled.

He appeared behind the corner. "Sorry, but it took Kari a while to find the film that's waterproof." She came in and the same with Ken.

"I thought you like taking digital pictures?"

"I do but I am in photography."

"Ok." I got up and Gabumon turned off the TV. "Panther, Ceres, they're here."

"About time, traffic heavy?" Ceres asked after she slid down the rail with Fiterimon on her back.

"Good thing we saved our dad's old van, huh Matt?"

"Yea, otherwise we would have to take two cars."

"I was wondering why it looked familiar." Kari said.

"Yep, it's the one that our dad had when we were fighting Myotismon."

"Great, I was wondering where that went. I thought you guys trashed it." Panther said as she got down. Plantmon was clinging on her back.

"Why would we trash a classic?"

"Anyway, let's get going. We're supposed to be there first." I said that way we get going.

We all left in our dad's van. I've never drove in it before so this was kinda cool. Ceres and Panther were explaining what Neon and Don were planning to do with their kids raising and TK thought that was cool. He was now planning to ask them whether he could write everything they do so he could get good inside information on procedures. Ken volunteered to help with research and Kari wanted to take a picture of them when they came out.

I parked the car along side the gravel road. The grass looked really health and the air was clean. I looked towards the city and wonder how could it be so clean so close. We couldn't see where that man's house was from where we were but that was ok. After all, I didn't want to get into any trouble. Ceres found a good place to set up and we lay out.

Ken and TK were setting up volleyball net so everyone that wanted to play could. I was setting up a grill on more solid ground so we could eat. Kari was taking pictures of the scene and Ceres was walking along the water edge with Ele at her heals. Panther was setting up a place where tea would be served. No one knows that I went to the hospital other than TK. The others think that I just want to be healthier (I read their thoughts).

The first ones to show up were Lily Dawn, Ryan, Breomon and Bellimon. Ceres challenged them to a game and they accepted. TK decided to be the ref and Kari and Ken were on the opposite teams. Ken was with Ceres and Panther. Their Digimon were in the game too. The added rule is that Bellimon and Plantmon can't use their vines to make a spike.

It was an interesting game since the Digimon were in there. Breomon got the ball if there wasn't anyone there to get it. Wormmon was able to do the same for his team but he didn't have to so much because Ken was able to get most the open spots. Wormmon only had to when there wasn't a way for Ken to get it.

Then Neon and Don showed up. They brought things to play in the water. Lily Dawn and Bellimon went into the water as Don and AeroDinomon came in. Neon told me to not tell anyone else since she wants to surprise them. Though I knew that it wouldn't surprise them, just kinda shock them. I told her that I've already told Ken, TK, and Kari but she already figured that. Neon watched the game from the water, as did Lily Dawn. The same rule applied to AeroDinomon.

Don seemed to be a good contrast to Ken. Of course it did help that AeroDinomon is a flying Digimon and the others aren't.

As soon as Tim and they got there, which they brought more equipment to go into the water, Patamon got the idea that all the Digimon should play a game of volleyball. All the Digimon agreed, including Gabumon so another game was set. Shendramon was placed as ref for his size. Gabumon, Patamon, Wormmon, Gatomon, Fiterimon and Plantmon were on one team and the others were on the other. The same rule for spiking was still in play but other than that, anything goes.

Surprisingly, Sakuramon was able to toss the ball. Since of her sizes, they were worried that she might get crushed from the weight that the speed would make. Lightningmon made sure that she didn't poke at the ball. Patamon was able to contrast AeroDinomon and Sakuramon. Gatomon was contrasting with Breomon since she was running to the open spots. Gabumon was the strength for his team as Huskimon was for his. Fiterimon, since she wasn't really playing in the two other games, was using her head and tail to get the ball away from her.

The ball was going over the net and pass AeroDinomon. Lightningmon jumped up and did a roundhouse kick to send it flying back over the net. Wormmon jumped up and hit it back in the air. Patamon head-butted the ball over the net with Breomon just barely hitting it back into the air. Sakuramon pushed it more into the air and AeroDinomon smacked it back over the net. Plantmon caught it and send it back over the net where Huskimon kicked it back with his back legs. Gatomon was able hit it back into the air where Fiterimon was able to get it back over the net. Bellimon flung it back over the net where Gabumon was able to spike it back to the other team's side. That gave them the point they needed to win.

Everyone cheered since it was an exciting game and an awesome end. The food was ready and I knew that the Digimon would need the energy so they got their food first. Luckily for us we brought a lot of food. Everyone was now relaxing. Only Lightningmon, Ele, Gabumon and I stayed on land. Damon and Ryan were racing as were their Digimon. Lily Dawn and TK were surfing with their Digimon with them. I noticed that Panther and Ceres were both on Fiterimon and Nereida was near them. Then they went swimming to the right of where we were with Kari, Gatomon and Plantmon following on land. Lightningmon got up and followed them.

"Gabumon, whose point of view should I get when we get back?" (Gabumon knew a few days before)

"Hm?…… How about Kari?"

"Sure." I watched them run until I couldn't see them anymore.

Kari

Panther and Ceres were racing Nereida. I followed incase they needed some help. Fiterimon is pretty fast considering that she had two people on her. I figured it was due to the fact that the people we got her away from.

"Kari, there's a house."

I looked to where Gatomon was pointing to see that she was right. I didn't see anyone in the windows or deck but you can't be too careful. I stopped running and turned toward them, "Guys, head back!"

They stopped and Ceres looked up to see the house. I noticed that there was something coming at them. Panther looked in the direction that I was looking only to see that there was a shark coming at them. Before anyone had any time to react, a man came flying down with his feet hitting the shark's mouth and sending both of them into the water. Plantmon launched her vines, wrapping both Fiterimon and Nereida and pulled them in.

Once they were close to land, Plantmon let them go and Nereida ran up to me. She was really scared and I couldn't blame her. The shark wasn't that far from her. I looked up to see that Panther and Ceres were looking to see whether that man got out ok. His head popped out of the water where he landed. He swam calmly to shore. That's when I noticed that he had a cane with him.

"Sir, are you alright?" Ceres asked.

"Didn't you see the signs?" He looked up and there was something familiar about him. He looked a bit shock himself. He was looking at me. "Are you all right?" He looked calmer now as he talked to Nereida.

"I'm fine. Arigato."

"You should've looked more carefully." This seemed to his way of getting angry since he didn't sound mad but his words he spoke told you otherwise.

"Sorry, it was my fault. I didn't pay attention to carefully." Ceres admitted.

"Be more aware of your surroundings. Next time this happens, I won't help." He walked between Panther and Ceres and up some path that led to the top of the cliff.

"That was rude." Ceres said.

"Nereida, are you sure you're alright?" Panther looked at her.

"I'm fine, really. Just still shaken. He doesn't seem to be bad so why won't he help if this happens again?"

"Because we now know that there's danger here. At first, we didn't know so he helped." I said looking at the path he took. "I'm surprised that I didn't see him on the deck… How did he survive that fall?" I looked up at the deck and it was still high enough to kill someone.

"How didn't he break his leg?" Ceres corrected.

"There's something odd about that guy." Panther looked at the path that he took.

"Kari, tell the others that Panther and I are going to investigate this guy. Also tell Ele to stay there."

"Right, let me know what you find."

"You got it." They took off with their Digimon following them.

"Come on, we better get going." I walked back to the others with Nereida and Lightningmon.

Panther (since I can't get Ceres)

We ran up the path to find that it led to the front of his house.

"Hey, he must be the guy that owns the ocean and forest." Ceres said, looking at the forest across him.

"Guess so, let's knock." I walked to his front door and knocked.

"Here."

I looked back to see that Ceres summoned up two towels. I wrapped it around my waist before he opened the door.

"Hello. May I help you?" He seemed to know who we were.

"May we come in? We would like to ask you a few questions." I asked.

"Sure, go to the deck though and don't touch anything." He opened the door wider and walked ahead.

I looked at Ceres and she mouthed _weird_. We walked in but slowly so we could look at the things in his house. I heard him cooking something in the kitchen so I figured that he wouldn't know whether we stopped.

"Would you like us to close the door?" Ceres asked.

"If you want."

Ceres closed the door as I looked at the pictures. I noticed that there was one with three little kids glowing. There was another where it seems it was he and his friends. Ceres tapped my shoulder and pointed to the ones at the fireplace. I walked quietly towards it and saw that it was only him but there seem to be something missing from the pictures.

"I thought I said head to the deck."

I looked up to see that he had a tray with snacks and drinks on them. We followed him to the deck. _For someone that has a cane, he can sure go without it._ The cane was in his arms and he opened the door that led to the deck. He walked out first and Ceres closed that door. I couldn't believe how beautiful the water looked from up here.

"You wanted to ask me something?"

I looked at him as he sat down in one of the chairs. Ceres and I decided to follow.

"Are you the one that took the ocean and forest?" Ceres asked.

"I didn't take them, I save them."

"Really?"

"Yes. No one is allowed to go there without my say so. So technically, you and your friends are trespassing."

"That wouldn't stop people from going though." _Guess I'm the only one that's worried._ I can't afford to get into trouble but I didn't let him see that.

"I know when there's someone in them. That's how I knew that you were there."

"Interesting. How are you able to do so?" I asked since it reminded me of their powers.

"I've trained long to gain it. It's not something that anyone can have. May I ask you a question?"

"Sure." Ceres got comfortable.

"What are your names? That's including the others on the beach and your two pets."

"I'm Panther and my plush toy is name Plantmon." I gave him an evil look just incase he thought it was childish to name a plush toy. But he looked like he didn't really mind and that he knew that I was lying.

"Ceres and my lizard is name Fiterimon." She petted her head.

"And the others?" He seemed to want something but I couldn't see what. I could tell that Ceres saw the same thing but he was hiding it so well.

"The one that was in the water with us is Nereida. The one that she ran to is Kari. The girl next to her is Kaminari (Ceres nickname her that… Even though it makes more sense to call her Inazuma). Kari's white cat is known as Gatomon." He closed his eyes and smiled to himself about something. I wasn't sure whether it was a good idea that Ceres told the names.

"Did something amuse you?" Ceres asked coldly.

He looked up at her, "Not at all. Anything else you want to know?"

"Why do you want to know the names of our friends?" He seemed to smile at this question to which made both of us nervous.

"I just wanted to know the people that visited me. I don't get too many."

"If you want visitors then just call the press." I said.

"I suppose."

"We were told that you only really talked to Ishida-san when the press wanted information a good many years ago. Why?" _At least Matt will get some answers._

He seemed more attentive now, "Ishida-san you say. I remember that name. Why would you like to know?" He had a more calm and peaceful look then he had before.

"We know someone that might want to know."

"I'm guessing you two don't trust me?"

"What makes you think that?" Ceres asked.

"If you didn't want to name the person, all you had to do was give me a relationship to Ishida-san."

"Son." I answered.

"If his son would like to know, he may ask me. Unless, of course, you two are interested then I would like to know why you two would be."

"I thought we were doing the interrogation?" Ceres asked.

"Sorry. Are you to hungry or you have food at your site?"

"We have food." I answered.

"Then I guess I really didn't need to bring these out." He got up and took the tray back inside. "I'll be right back." Then he went in.

I looked at the sea again. "Wonder if Matt's getting worried?"

"Maybe but we'll be back."

"I'm not trusting this guy, you?"

"I agree. There is something that he's hiding but there's no way to get around that."

"Now I'm wondering why he thought that Plantmon was an animal."

"Don't know there is something odd about him. I noticed that when we first met him."

"I noticed it too." He came back walking on his cane this time. "Why do you have a cane if you don't really need it?" I asked.

"I need it."

"You didn't need it for when you are carrying the tray." Ceres pointed out.

"I can handle a few moments without it."

"Ceres, let's get going. I don't think we're getting any more information."

"Fine. _Tibi gratias ago tuo tempori_."

"_Salve_." Ceres looked a bit surprised but he just smiled.

"_Quis_ _est tuum nomen_?"

"_Appella me _Date-san." (I'm not sure want language they're speaking but somehow Panther hears the words but doesn't understand them)

"Can you two talk normally?" I requested.

"Oh, sorry. Getting out of hand."

"Call me Date-san."

"Thanks." We walked to the sliding door and walked inside. He followed us out but he didn't seem to care what we were looking at.

I looked back at the pictures with his friends and stopped to look at him, "If you have friends, why don't they come to visit you?"

"They come but it's not the same."

"The same?"

"Right."

"What about those pictures?" I pointed to the ones of the other side of the room, the ones with only him.

"Those have been changed. I really wish they haven't though." He looked sad as he stared at the pictures.

"What was on it?"

"Ask Matt for my number and call me to see whether the pictures have come back."

"You know Matt?" I was shocked; he didn't seem to know him before.

"You were on the news when he saved you."

"That was reported?" I acted like I didn't know.

"People thought it was weird."

"Were you one of them?"

"No, I thought it was befitting."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure."

"How would Matt know your number? He doesn't even know your name."

"I know, but his father would. He would know where he kept things of his father."

"That's if he did, what do I do if he didn't?"

"You could come back and ask."

"Right, see ya." We left his house.

We walked down the path we took to get to his house.

"This guy is strange." Ceres stated.

"I noticed. There's definitively something about him."

"What are you going to do?" Ceres looked at me now.

"As long as I can get my hands on one, I can see what happened when that picture was taken."

"That would be good. I don't think that he really connects with his friends in the pictures."

"Why think that?"

"When he said that it's not the same. He didn't say the same as so I think that there might've been something in his life that gave him more joy. He seemed to be just clinging to life."

"You have a point there."

Ceres looked up at the deck. I stopped and looked up to see that he was walking back into his house. "Date-san. Didn't you tell me that Ken is an amateur detective?"

"TK would think so."

"Good, he can get more information on Date-san."

"Right." We continued our way.

Me

Everyone else left since they had something else. They told me to tell Panther and Ceres to call them when they get back to my house. TK and Ken were taking down the net as Kari was getting the other stuff that Panther put up. I saw them walking back to us with towels wrapped around their waist. _When did they grab towels?_

"Where's everyone?" Ceres asked when they reached us.

"They went home since they had other things to do." TK explained.

"What did you two find out?" Kari asked. All the guys were wondering what she was talking about since Kari didn't really tell anyone what happened to them when they went off.

"Did you tell anyone?" Panther asked, guessing that she saw the confuse look on our faces.

"No, we didn't."

"Ok, this is what happened. We were having a race in the water when Kari called to us, saying stop and get out of the water. Then a shark, I didn't have enough time to see what kind, came out of the water and was about to get Nereida when this guy came leaping down with his feet first on the shark and brought him and the shark to the water, allowing us time to get out. After a few seconds or so, maybe even minutes, he came out walking on an interesting cane that he had. He told us not to come on his property again since something like that might occur again and he won't do anything about it.

"Then Panther and I decided to follow him to get some more answers. We found out that it was the guy that bought the water and forest. He had real interesting pictures in his house. He did offer drink and snacks but we didn't take any. For some reason, he seemed really interested in the names of everyone he met. Panther, you might as well tell the rest." Ceres looked at her.

"Right, first off, he thought that Plantmon was my pet and he seemed to know that I was lying when I said she was a toy. Then before we left, I asked him about his friends since he told us that he doesn't get visitors. He said that it's not the same when they come by but he never told us the comparison. Then I asked about the pictures that only had him in them, which he said that they have been changed. He told me to call him to see whether the pictures have come back and also to get the number from you since he thinks that you keep things of your dad. His last name is Date."

It was silent for a few moments.

"How could pictures be change after being taken?" Ken asked, breaking the silence.

"I'm going to find out."

"It still doesn't make sense. Pictures can't change on their own."

"It could be a spell. A spell could do that to symbolize something. Only he would know what that symbol is." Ceres said.

"Ceres, where you invited to go back as well?" I asked.

"Don't think so but Panther can ask when she calls."

"Right, then we better get home. I have a lot of searching to do."

We got all the stuff back in the van and headed out.

I dropped everyone back at his or hers homes and took the van back to mine. I thought that it would be better if I kept it. Panther called Lily Dawn since she was supposed and I got some tea ready, since I needed to call Izzy about translating.

"Matt, we're leaving around six." Panther tossed me the phone.

"Why?"

"We're going to tell the others what happened."

"They could come here."

"I wanted to do something different."

"Fine." Then she went upstairs. I called Izzy and he said that he would be over in a short while.

When a knock came at the door, Ceres was there in no time. She came back with Izzy and Tentomon following her. "Izzy is here."

"Thanks Ceres." I got up from the couch as she bowed to Izzy and went upstairs.

"Since when did you get another person to take care of?"

"For a while. Anyway, I need you to translate something for me." I got the pages that Panther wrote and handed them to Izzy.

"Where did you get this?" He looked through all the pages.

"Just did, do you think you'll be able to translate it?"

"Yea, good thing that I downloaded all the files I have on that computer to all the other computers that I have." He got out his laptop and started typing something. Gabumon came back with some tea for him.

"It must be pretty hard to explain everything to those girls." Tentomon said.

"Not really." Gabumon replied.

"Wow! This is amazing!"

I moved to get a better view of his computer screen, "What?" The symbols were on his computer.

He looked at me, "These symbols aren't in anything that I have. Either the Digital World has more than one language or these are another form of writing."

"You mean there could be an ancient past to the Digital World like there is for ours?" I looked at Gabumon, remembering that Panther told me that the cat that looked like Gatomon went towards a Gabumon after placing this book with another in a cave. Then it hit me, "What if there is an ancient past?"

"Then that means that there's still a lot we don't know about."

"It could explain why we have these Crests." I remembered that Styxmon's family couldn't read those stories about us. _Since this book might be located near it, then that means that they have to be from around the same time._

"Matt, where did you find these symbols? I know that you would've told me if you found it when we were there."

"I discovered these a day after school was let out. I called you when I did only to find that you were already gone."

"What took you so long?"

"I forgot."

"How can you forget something with this much importance?"

"Trust me. There was something else on my mind." _Like when I have an evil power inside me._

"Well, I would have to do more research. I have to ask Gennai whether he's seen this writing before." He looked at the screen.

"Don't."

"Huh?" He looked back at me.

I looked at the papers that Panther wrote on, "I don't want him to know."

"Why? He could help. Is it because of what you think he did to Styxmon?"

"I know he did but there also something else."

"What?"

I didn't look at him. I wasn't sure whether or not I could tell him. _I know that Styxmon told me that I could tell the others when I find out that no one is able to handle the title of leader but it hasn't been long enough for me to really say that. Though now I'm remembering that I wasn't suppose to tell Tai and Sora about it earlier._

"Matt?"

"Hm?" I looked at him.

"What else is there?"

"Matt." I looked back at Gabumon. "It's ok. The others should know."

"Right." I looked back at Izzy who was patiently waiting. "You remember when I went into the mountain alone? There I found out something about a special group. Kari, Ken, Panther, Ceres and I are in it. What you're looking at now has something about this special group but it's about a lost Crest."

"Lost Crest?"

"Right, the only reason why it's lost is because I don't know the name of it. I know the name of the others though."

"Wait a minute, is that why you guys recently got those amulets?"

"Right," I looked down at mine since we don't really hide them, "They represent the other strength that we have."

"Really? So you have two Crests?"

"The same with Kari and Ken."

"It's a shame that TK can't be apart of it."

"He is."

"Really? But he wasn't on your list."

"He's not a Crest holder but he knows everything from the beginning."

"Wow, so that's why he doesn't do too many things anymore."

"Right, how did you know that?"

"Cody tells me that TK doesn't hang with him that much anymore."

"They haven't been hanging with them much ever since they wanted them to stop being friends with Panther."

"Hey, have you found something?"

I looked back to see that Ceres walking towards the door as Panther was coming down.

"We think that this might be part of an ancient past of the Digital World." Izzy said.

Ceres looked at me with a questioned look.

"He knows."

"Oh… I didn't know we are being allowed to be told about. Cool, you think that the Digital World has ancient civilizations too. That would be the ultimate archeological find."

"I would agree. The only problem is getting into the Digital World without Gennai knowing."

"I thought that only the people that know about this group are revolting?"

"Huh? Revolting? What are you talking about?"

"Ceres, Izzy most likely knows the danger about letting Gennai know about this. That or Matt told him not to tell." Panther answered.

"Aw and here I thought that Matt was recruiting."

"We do support Matt and his decisions most of the time." Izzy informed.

"Are you two about to go? It's a bit earlier." I asked since it was late four.

"Yea, it's a good distance away and Ceres wants to walk there."

"You should never pass the opportunity for excises."

"Where are you two heading?" Izzy asked.

"A meeting with the other people in our group. We'll let them know that you know of their existence."

"Kari did tell me that Sora and Tai knows everyone as well but only by word and pictures."

"I thought so." I knew Kari was going to let Tai on everything. Though it's only fair since TK knows everything that I'm doing.

"When did they know?" Izzy asked amazed that I would tell them when I was holding back on telling him.

"When Yolie and them came in telling the others to forget about us. Matt was making a threat about turning to the dark side and everyone else was with him." Panther explained.

"Dark side? Oh, you mean when you and Tai were fighting? That can't really be called the 'dark side'. You two were just having a little argument."

"I wasn't myself…" _That's kinda what happened to me a few days ago._ I looked over at Ceres and she nodded. I looked over at Panther and she looked a bit worried but was hiding it since she didn't want Izzy to know.

"We all know that. But it's over so we don't need to worry about it."

"When will the others know?" Ceres asked.

"Well, Izzy, you see Mimi and Joe almost daily, right?" I asked.

"Yea, do you want me to tell them?"

"Yea, I'm getting the feeling that Yolie has been talking to Mimi about Kari."

"She has."

"Well, we got to get going. See ya around more Izzy." Ceres waved and both headed out.

"Do they have Digimon too?" Tentomon asked.

Quickly, Ceres came in hugged Tentomon, "Kawaii!" Then headed back out with the same lightning speed. Tentomon looked confused at what just happened and the same with Izzy.

"Ceres thinks the Digimon are cute." Gabumon explained.

"What did she do?" Tentomon looked at Gabumon.

"She came, hugged, and then left. You didn't see her?"

"No."

"Oh… They do have Digimon. They're using Izzy's technology for either hiding their Digimon, like Matt, or using it for other things."

"Really?" Izzy asked.

"Yep, that's why I made up the lie that all the ones that I had were broken."

"That's very clever of you but why couldn't you tell me?"

"I was instructed not to until I found all the Crests. Tai would've found out anyway since if none of them have any leadership quality then he would have to be."

"I think that since they're not too known you should let them be that."

"What do you mean?"

"I know that Tai could handle being the leader for both groups but what about Davis. He has a few important decision-making with the second group. If they think on their own then they could get a lot more done than with someone barking orders to them."

"You think Tai and Davis bark orders?"

"I didn't mean it like that."

"I know. Give an example."

"Ok… Hm… Ok, we're in the Digital World with all three groups. The first two are fighting the front battle but we need to get to another spot in order to be of any use. If Tai had to take the time in telling them to go to there, the enemy might see it and counter that. See?"

"I see your point but letting you know that what they would be after and what we'll be send there for will be two different things."

"The more reasons they should be independent."

"I guess, but they still need someone to bring them together. Unlike the other groups, they're totally different from one another. It showed when they were first getting together. I'm worried that that will surface again."

"Well, that something that they will have to deal with. It sounds like that you're their sponsor."

"I am the oldest out of anyone."

"Are all of them going to school?"

"Yea, though one is in college but he's still younger than me by two years or so."

"Can I mark this down though? It would be important research information to discover the mysteries of the Digital World."

"Sure, what do you want to know?"

"Let's start off with the Crest names."

"Right. There's Virtue, Faith, Peace, Patience, Calmness, Honesty, Glory, Forgiveness, and Trinity that are known."

"Ok, what are they able to do?"

"They can let us enter the Digital World without Gennai knowing. That's about all I know so far."

"Anything else that I should know about?"

"I think that's about it. Though there is a book filled with this information on the Crest."

"Really!"

"Yea, but the things in front of you are the pages that are missing."

"How did you find them?"

"That's for a later story."

"Right. Then tomorrow I'll come back and do more research. I'm going to see whether or not I can find something on the text that I have right now."

"Right, good luck."

Izzy nodded and him and Tentomon left.

"Why didn't you tell him about the orb?"

"That has something about it that's making me think it's not going to let them go so easily."

"Why's that?"

"Since you told me that it was used to stop me. Also when I found Panther's Crest symbol. I wasn't there to see what was in her shadow like we were able to do for the others but it appeared on the orb itself. I haven't figured out why and I don't want anyone else knowing what happened on that day when the evil took over."

"I see."

I looked at the pages. "I wonder if the Digimon cat knew about what was going to happen in the future."

"I think she wasn't aware of what her writing was telling. You told me that TK wrote something but Styxmon helped him."

"You're right. Maybe that's what happened." We sat back down on the couch and watched TV.

Panther

We reached the spot just in time. The meeting spot was the playground since Neon wanted to get the feeling of being a mother watching over her children and since we all were planning to help (she told them after the game), it was good for us too. Everyone else was already there when we arrived.

"Hey guys." Lily Dawn said from the top of the slide. Neon was sitting on the swings with Don lending on the support pole near her. Nereida was on the other one as Tim was lending near the ladder that led to where Ryan and Lily Dawn are. Damon was sitting at the bottom of slide. Lightningmon was near Nereida and Shendramon was small on Tim's shoulder. Fiterimon did the same since she didn't want Izzy to see her.

"So why the meeting?" Ceres asked, jumping to the pole that held swings and sat there. I was planning on standing.

"Nereida already explained what happened unto the point where you two left." Damon said.

I explained the reason, including the part where he wanted me to return.

"You know, I could get us in there without him knowing." Ryan said.

"I could do the same." Tim stated.

"I know but I can't get in trouble, remember? This whole town is waiting and that would just do it."

"That's right, forgot." Ryan said, holding up one hand as a symbol for forgiveness.

"Why can't you get in trouble?" Tim asked with me just remembering that they really don't know.

"I was in a gang before Matt became my guardian. It was on the news."

"Really?" His family looked surprised.

"Ever wondered why Matt was her guardian?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Not really." Tim looked at her.

"I thought that your parents died and he took you in since he was a friend of theirs." Nereida said.

"My parents are dead but he took me in after a long while since their passing."

"Sorry for risking your freedom."

"It's ok. If I wasn't still being watch, I would go for it."

"But knowing what happened isn't the reason you wanted this meeting, is it?" Ceres said looking down at everyone.

"Nope, that was it." Neon said looking at her. "We just wanted to know what happened."

"Then what do you think about the pictures and his actions?"

"I think he's hiding something." Don announced.

"Of course but he didn't let us know it."

"Since he has a cane that might tell us a lot about him." Tim said.

"Why?" Lily Dawn asked.

"You can tell a lot about a person when they have something. The house tells you that he has a lot of wealth, especially since he's able to block off a lot of land. Things inside would tell you where he has been and what he treasures. Things in the bedroom, mainly his, would let you know what's most important to him." Ryan explained, most likely he got this from drawing.

"Since he cooked, that says that he's been alone for some time. He's also a warrior since he doesn't need his cane so often. My guess that he needs the cane for he's either old or something happened to one of his legs." Don analyzed.

"Most likely what were on the pictures were people that were closer to him than his own friends. Someone or ones that weren't just friends but family to him." Neon suggested.

"He did have family members. It looked to be mother, father, two sisters and a grandfather." I confirmed.

"He's also properly trained in the old customs and had a proper speech." Ceres gave.

"Proper speech?" Lightningmon questioned.

"Yea, someone that wouldn't use slang that often or never."

"He defiantly wasn't worried that you two weren't going to try something so he trusts people until proven otherwise." Lily Dawn pointed out.

"Maybe, since he was the one that told me that I was on the news."

"Then were did he get that mindset? It's not a normal one to have." Damon asked.

"From his life. Panther, I think you shouldn't wait for Matt to find the number. It would be quicker for you to just to touch them and get the information." Ryan said.

"True but I'm going to wait. He made it seem that they should be coming back soon. There was hope in his eyes when told me."

"By the way, do you guys remember that attack on Tokyo a few years ago?" Ceres asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Ya know, the one that lay the city in ruins and everyone was captured."

"There were two of them. One with Myotismon and the other by humans." Tim said.

"The one with humans, do you know what happened?"

"Yea, psychos tried to take over Tokyo and they failed."

"I remember most of the members being females." Nereida said.

"They're still psychos."

"How was it solved?"

"No one really knows." Neon said.

"I know that they were moving too quickly to be normal. They got the whole city less than a few hours. I know that Matt told me that not even Myotismon was able to get the whole city." I mentioned.

"Did you see the people?"

"They were wearing weird armors. Like they wanted to go back to the feudal era or something."

"The females weren't." Nereida said.

"There were also big machines." Ryan said.

"Do you have a picture of them?" Ceres looked at him.

"I do."

"Why do you want to know?" Damon asked.

"I just thought it was odd that no one could explain it. I was in another country when it happened but the person that I know here said that the attack was quick. She only knows that people with a good heart saved them though she did over hear that they were searching for people."

"Now that you mentioned it, I do remember that they were looking for a new place or something." Lily Dawn pointed out.

"I do remember them looking for someone. I think the name that I heard was Diana." Damon said.

"There was something weird happening in the Digital World too a few years ago." Fiterimon said, now on the bar with Ceres but still smaller than her normal size.

"Really, what?" Ceres looked at her.

"It was when the Super Level Digimon came down from their realm and started to introduce themselves to our plains. I was captured by Torchmon to be taken to Bossmon. That's when I started to train under Torchmon and work for him as well."

"So that's when it started. That would also explain why he liked you so much." Ceres said with a smile.

"And that's why I'm most likely the closest one to the Super Level power."

"I remember hearing about two humans and a Digimon dying in the Digital World by some unknown being that appeared before." Lightningmon said.

"If it appeared before then why is it still unknown?" Nereida asked.

"It's not like it made a grand entrance to the whole world."

"I do remember that report about humans dying there. The only time that it happened too." Sakuramon said.

"Of course, the Digidestined were the only humans there." Neon said.

"No, after the being appeared the first time, the whole Digital World went weird. Even the Digidestined Digimon were trying to take over the Digital World, I think. Then about a year later, I heard that Gabumon, Patamon, and Wormmon left with four humans." Lightningmon said.

"How did you know there were four?" Ceres asked.

"I over heard it. I was once with the Four Dark Masters when they returned from the Deleted World."

"Deleted World? Would that be similar to the Underworld?"

"It is. The same goes for Devimon, Etemon, Myotismon, and Lady Devimon."

"Myotismon is the only name that I recognized." I said.

"I know that Devimon terrorized File Island; Etemon terrorized the dessert part of the Continent of Server; Lady Devimon helped Piedmon."

"It sounds like you applied for the job." Damon said.

"I just like looking up the history of them."

"Is there a memory area?" Ceres asked.

"No but there's a place where you can get information on almost any Digimon."

"Really?"

"Yup."

"That sounds like a place that needs updates every day." Ryan said.

"I'm sure it does."

"Where is it?" Ceres asked.

"You like information, don't you?" Tim asked.

"I just like to know."

"I don't really remember. I would know the area when I see it."

"Then we need to plan a trip to the Digital World." Ceres had a sly smile.

"Why?" Tim asked.

"To have fun and to explore. We need to know about the world we're protecting. The Digidestined have already known the world before us. We need that knowledge as well."

"You do have a point." Lily Dawn said.

"Who else should come?" Don asked.

"I guess everyone that's involved in this group. Oh, Izzy knows about our group now."

"I thought that we were supposed to be a secret group." Neon asked.

"Izzy's helping Matt with translations about the book for our Crest." I explained.

"Really, I would like to help if I can." Tim offered.

"Ask him. I'm not sure what's needed."

"Right."

"So I'm guessing that it's us, Matt, Kari, Ken and TK right?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Right, they're really the only ones that we need."

"If we're going there to get knowledge then why should they come? Shouldn't we go there by ourselves to get the whole feel of it?" Ryan asked.

"We could but they need a vacation more than we do. You have to remember that they're risking themselves for us. We have nothing to hold us back." I pointed out.

"So for them, it's going to be more like a vacation than anything else." Damon summarized.

"Plus, if we run into something, they can clarify it." Ceres noted.

"We're just too inexperience to really be let lose there." Lily Dawn said.

"But how can we get the experience needed if we don't go forth without help?" Ryan asked though we all knew that it was just us thinking out loud.

"That's why you're in school, to prepare yourselves for the world." Tim addressed.

"But the first seven didn't have any experience going there." Don pointed out.

"True but we just can't leave them out just because we want to have an adventure. They are apart of this group as well. Plus, I know that Matt would worry sick if we went in there by ourselves. Especially since we haven't run into any other Mystical Digimon, Super Level Digimon, or other lower level Digimon. They have more knowledge that we can use to our advantage." I pointed out since I know that it's not fair for us to leave them to worry.

"Alright then, it's settled! We're all going to the Digital World for some fun!" Ceres announced.

I noticed that Neon looked a bit down. "What's wrong Neon?"

She looked at me then back down, "I can't go. Not with two kids coming."

"Oh… right… Not to put you in danger or anything but since you're apart of this group you'll have to take that risk at one point." Ceres said.

"My mom doesn't want me to stress myself out."

"But she should know that you would have to at one point. Especially since you're protecting another world."

"What makes you think that she knows about that?" Neon looked up at her.

"Wouldn't you tell her? I mean it's kinda a hard secret to keep for your parents."

"Ceres, no one has told their parents about what really does on. Most probably think that they just made new friends." I explained.

"What about the other Digidestined?"

"They know because there was a time when they needed to know what was going on. So far we didn't have that crisis yet."

"Neon, it would be a good idea to tell your mom. At least that way she'll understand that you have to risk their lives at one point. Especially since we don't know what will come back or their future. It might be entangled with the Digital World."

"I see your point. Ok, I'll tell her. At least now she can't say that our training is meaningless."

"Training?"

"Right, Don and I train with Don's father in all kinds of martial arts."

"So you two left for training? Cool."

"Yep."

"Anyway, since we're on the subject of the kids, someone needs to be your maiden."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Someone has to be there with you as you're carrying them. When you give birth, it has to be in an enclosed area."

"You mean no one can help me as I'm giving birth?"

"Right, you can pick a room though to make it easier on you, since I don't think you want to make a hut somewhere just to give birth."

"But what if I'm at school or something?"

"Then you need a room where you can get to very easily. You should know just about when they're coming."

"I'll have to take your word on that. Ok, so where can I go to give birth?"

"Shouldn't your house do?" Nereida asked.

"My mom has to go to work during the day. She won't be able to get off quick enough."

"Then you need a place that you can reach incase you're at school." Lily Dawn thought out loud.

"My house can't be use either. My dad has work during the day as well." Don said.

"Matt's house has many rooms on the ground floor. You could ask him to lend you one for your birthplace. That way you can get there quicker and it would always be set up for you." I tossed in.

"That would be great. I'll ask him then."

"Now that you have that settled, you need a maiden."

Neon thought about it for a few moments then looked at Nereida, "Would you mind?"

She smiled, "I would love to."

"Doesn't Neon someone to give her kids milk? I remember reading that." Ryan asked.

"That's if she was rich. Plus, we're mixing the ages and cultures. The cave people didn't have that unless they were important most likely."

"Good, I didn't want to pick that."

"Well, we all better get home. The sun's going down." Damon said.

I looked in the sky to see the clouds reflecting the burning rays of the sun.

"Right, and I have to tell my mom about this group. Do you think it's alright?"

"I'm sure it is. After all, this is important for her to know what could happen to her grandchildren." Ceres jumped off the bar as soon as Fiterimon was on her shoulder.

"Ok, but you let Matt know that she'll know."

"Right. Are you guys going to tell your folks?" Ceres looked at everyone else.

"Nah, it's good to have a few secrets from them. It makes it more interesting." Don said.

"But you're almost in the same boat as Neon."

"My dad understands. Besides, Neon's mom didn't say anything about lightening the training for her."

"Oh…… I see."

"When there's a need to tell our Grandmother then we will." Tim answered.

"Grandmother?"

"Yea, we live with our Grandmother. Our parents died a long time ago." Damon said.

"But I am going to tell her about Neon and my role."

"Shouldn't she know? I mean it's kinda hard to hide your Digimon."

"We have good cover stories."

"I'm not going to tell my brother just yet." Lily Dawn said.

"Brother?"

"We live with our father but he isn't around that much to notice."

"And I'm going to do the same with my dad."

"Cool, then see you guys later." Ceres waved and we all headed off in our own direction.

"I thought that their lives were normal." Ceres said to herself more than me.

"What do you mean?"

She looked over at me, "I knew other people like them but they didn't end up the same way."

"What do you mean 'didn't end up the same way'?"

"They weren't proud of their lives but they knew that they couldn't back now. It's just something that they thought they had to deal with in a negative way. You could say that they ended up like you."

"Like me? Oh, you mean in a gang."

"Yea, but none of them got out of it before it was too late. Most of them are either running or gone."

"You thought their lives were peachy?"

"I'm now seeing that I was wrong. There are still a lot of things that I need to know about everyone."

"Don't feel so bad. You're the last one to be found. It's understandable that you don't know everything about them. I know most of their lives since I was the first one. Plus Lily Dawn and Ryan were my friends before I even entered the gang."

"Really? I was wondering why two normal students would be with a bad girl like you. So they know your real name. Why haven't they slipped up?"

"Because they know better, especially now."

"You didn't threaten them with something?" She was eyeing me with suspicion.

"Of course not but they know that they can't reveal my real name in the past since it was a tradition to get your name change in the gang. Since my family isn't here anymore, they're the only ones that know me from back then. Other gangs would grab them as soon as they find that out."

"So saying your new name is like saying that they only knew you from when you entered the gang and nothing before hand. That's smart. What about Lily Dawn?"

"Lily was her birth name but she added dawn since she wants to have a stage name. Her brother knows this and so he calls her by that name."

"That's so cool."

Neon

I got home to see that my mom was there making dinner.

"Sorry I'm late." I called as I took off my shoes.

"It's fine."

_When would be a good time to tell her?_ "Oh, I figured out some things for the perpation of my kids' birth."

"Really? Sit down and tell me as we eat." She started to serve the food.

I went to the table and set it up. Mom placed the plates down and took her seat. I sat down and we ate for a bit.

"You wanted to tell me?"

"I was told that I needed to have a maiden to help me out until they come. My maiden is going to be Nereida."

"You mean your youngest friend."

"Yep."

"That sounds nice. What does she have to do?"

"I'm not really sure. I'll have to ask that."

"Anything else?"

"Yea, I was also told that I need a private place to give birth. Panther thinks that Matt wouldn't mind."

"What's wrong here?"

"I'm worried that I might start at school."

"I see; that would be a good point. Though I do wish you would rethink this decision. After all this is your first, anything can go wrong."

"I know, I understand that but it would be interesting to do this. Plus the same risks apply to the hospital."

"But they're able to save their lives."

"If I do this right then I shouldn't have anything to worry about."

"I understand that I can't talk you out of it. Just be careful, especially when you're training with Don."

"I will…"

"Is there something else?"

_Now is good time, I guess._ "I have something to tell you. The reason why is because it could put them in more danger than just Don's father's training." I could see her worry in her eyes. "All my friends and Don are in this special group that protects another world. It's called the Digital World. Since we protect it, there are hidden dangers that might come up."

"So that's why you two claim that the training has a purpose."

I nodded my head. "But you don't have to worry too much. After all, all my friends are going to protect me while we're there."

"What brought you to this position?"

"I was always apart of this group. I only recently found this out."

"So there's no way to get out of it… What if they can't protect you?"

"I have a little guardian to help me." I smiled since I've always wanted to tell her about Sakuramon.

"A little guardian?"

"Mom, meet Sakuramon." She appeared out of my hair and bowed on my shoulder. "She's known as a Digimon."

"It's short for Digital Monsters." Sakuramon explained.

Mom smiled her understanding smile; "I hope that you will protect her well when the others can't."

"I will always protect her in the best that I can."

"Do your other friends have someone similar to Sakura?"

"Yes and it is Sakuramon."

"Oh, sorry. Is it ok if I just call you Sakura?"

"It's fine."

"Thank you. Neon, when are you planning to name them?"

"When they come out. Since I don't know what gender they'll be."

"I see. I guess that should be expected since you're not going to the hospital for this."

I looked at Sakuramon and she was looking at the food on my plate "You can have some Sakuramon."

She looked at me and I smiled. She landed on the table, picked up a piece of meat and started to eat it. I got up and got some water for her to have.

"I see that they do need to eat." Mom said.

"They are alive."

She nodded her head and left the table since she was done. I stayed since Sakuramon was still eating.

Me

Panther and Ceres came home (finally). I looked at the time to see that it was 7:45. "I see that you took your time."

"I wanted to walk again. The city is really warm when the sun's gone." Ceres said.

"I forgot it was summer."

"Yea, adults can't tell the difference unless they have a kid or noticed the weather." Panther said as she went to the kitchen.

"What do you mean by that?" I looked back as I heard Panther say catch. I caught the cup as soon as it reached my ear. I set it down and looked again to see that Panther threw the other one that she got. I caught that one in the same spot and set it down as well.

"All you guys do is work." Panther answered.

"Those were nice catches." Ceres said.

"Thanks." I turned around and poured the two cups tea. Panther came and grabbed one as Gabumon handed Ceres's hers. "Are you guys going to make something for yourselves?" Gabumon refilled our glasses.

"Might as well. After all, we can cook." Panther said after finishing her cup. She placed it back down on the table and walked to the kitchen.

"Matt, we were thinking about heading to the Digital World for some adventuring."

"I thought we said that it would be dangerous."

"You did but we're not going to let you out of the fun. You guys can keep an eye on us as we look around. Ya know, get more familiar with the world that we're protecting."

"It might help find the missing pieces that we'll need to solve that book." Panther suggested from the kitchen.

"I'll talk to the others then. Who are you considering to be the 'other'?"

"Kari, Ken, TK, and of course yourself." Ceres answered.

"Hey Matt, have you and Gabumon eaten yet?"

"Yea." I noticed that Fiterimon started to move towards the table.

"Did you two figure out anything else about the words?" Ceres asked.

"Nope. Though I did give him a bit more information."

"Cool. Let us know what those are so we don't trip up on something." Ceres headed over to the table.

"Did you look for that number?" Panther asked.

"Oops, I forgot." I got up and went upstairs. I brought down the ladder that leads to the attic (they didn't know that I have that). I walked up and turned on the light to see that the place was covered with dust. _I should clean this place up every once and a while._ I went to the area where I kept my dad's stuff. I started to look through it when I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

"So this is your secret hiding spot." Ceres commented as all of them came in. Gabumon noticed something and picked it up. He found my old harmonica that I brought along with me to camp when we entered the Digital World. I can still remember when I played that when Gatomon and the others were catching fish.

He set it back down and walked over to me.

"So this is where you keep all your stuff." Panther said as she lifted up a poster with my old band on it.

"I couldn't just through it all away."

"Are we going to clean this up too?" Panther rolled it up and placed it with the others.

"It does need cleaning."

"Cool, we'll get to know your past." Ceres said though she wasn't touching anything.

"Right." I went back looking through what I had of my dad. I lifted up the tape that he once listened to with the happy buffalo. Then I found his listing of all the people he contacted over his years. He once told me that he would never throw that way incase he needed their help for something. I went looking through it and found the number. "Panther, do you have paper and a pen with you?"

"Most likely not, but I do. Ele, paper and pen." Her bag moved a bit then Ele came out with that. Ceres handed me the two and I wrote down the number. I placed the booklet back and we headed down. I put the ladder back and handed the paper to Panther.

"Thanks, I'll call him later. I don't think that those pictures would be coming back any time soon."

"Matt, wouldn't there be more things that would need cleaning? Like the basement." Ceres asked.

"You like to clean?" Panther looked at her.

"It's not that bad."

"Great, then you're doing the dishes." Panther walked to her room and closed the door.

"Meanie!" Ceres stuck out her tongue but went down the stairs and to the kitchen.

"If you don't want to do them you don't have to. After all, you are a guess here." I said as I reached the floor. "Panther really doesn't mind."

"I know. But I'm staying here so I might as well make myself useful."

"Well, letting you know that Izzy is supposed to come tomorrow to see if he can get more answers."

"Cool. I'm done. I have a question."

"Hm?"

"Do you remember what happened a few years ago? When Tokyo was taken over by psychos, as Tim put it."

"Taken over by psychos? When did that happened? The only time that the Tokyo was taken over was by Myotismon."

"There was another time. Maybe you just weren't paying attention to the news."

"My dad would've covered a story that big."

"I wasn't in the country when it happened but I heard that no local or national stations could get any story on it. Not even the newspapers."

"Why are you asking?"

"Everyone else that I've asked remembers something about it. It was just odd that they were taken down just after two days they took over the whole city…………… Is something the matter?"

"What do you mean?" I felt fine.

"Your body's telling me that you're hiding something."

"I'm not."

"Maybe it's similar to what you felt with that map." She pointed to the galaxy map that Hota handed me.

"Meaning?"

"You can't remember mentally but everything else remembers."

"Maybe… Though this is reminding me of the time that Panther saw me sad when I wasn't." (As well as when she mentioned that to me the first time)

"See, you can't but everything else can." Ceres said with a smile and headed upstairs.

"That was odd." Gabumon said from the couch.

I looked over at him and walked towards him, "I don't know. Ever since this school year has started, I don't know what I know anymore." I sat down and let my head fall back.

"Do you think that Ceres might be right? That you just can't remember?"

"Maybe, but a take over of the place where I live is something pretty big. I didn't go anywhere that would take me away from it too long."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember the time when we all separated to return the Digimon back to the Digital World. Japan was left defenseless. I don't want to leave this country that defenseless again."

"So you would want someone to protect it. What if you can't get someone for that job?"

"Then I'm hoping that I'm able to do the job."

"I see. Does that include when we go to the Digital World? Do you want someone to stay behind to protect the Real World?"

"We're protecting your home. I don't mind leaving mine to do that. I know that you would do the same for mine." I looked over at him and smiled. He smiled back at me.

"Thank you Matt."

"Not a problem. That's what friends do."

Nereida

I just got back with Lightningmon after my daily meeting with Heka. I told Lightningmon about her and she, too, promised to keep it a secret. I asked her about what happened in the Digital World a few years ago and she told me that that's when they discovered that they could become Digimon. Almost all the Gods became Digimon and they claimed land in the Digital World. Though they got help from a family of Digimon, they gain quite a bit of power. That's letting me know that there's a family that can create Super Level Digimon. _I guess they can help us. If they can create Super Levels then they might be able to tell us how our friends can get there._

I opened the door to see Damon was standing at the entrance.

"Grandmother wants to see you."

"About what?"

"She said it has something to do with your future."

"My future?"

He disappeared behind the corner. I headed to the back deck to see that Grandmother was sitting near her wave garden looking at the waterfall. I walked quietly to her and sat beside her. She was in mediation position which is something that Tim believes to help her with relaxing, though she explained that it helps with focusing on reaching answers. I never really got what she meant by that but I do know that she looks so peaceful doing so.

"Did you have fun talking with your friend?" Her eyes were still close.

"Hai."

"Then it's time." Her eyes opened and she took a deep breath before letting it out. She turned her head towards me and smiled. "Today, your training begins."

"Training?" She nodded. "That do you mean?"

"I'm not going to be here forever. Someone needs to know what I know."

"Shouldn't you let Tim know then?"

"He wouldn't take it. I know that he won't."

"So I'm going to know this?"

"Right. Do you think you're ready?"

"What am I going to learn?"

"Fortune telling."

"Fortune telling? You want me to tell fortunes for my job? But I want to be an actress."

"You can. Fortune telling is something you can use for your own uses. You don't have to get any money from it. That's how it was once used. I learned what I know from my mother."

"So this is only past down to the girl in the family and since dad was your only kid, it's up to me to carry on this tradition. What if I don't have a girl?"

"You'll know when the time comes. Do you want to learn this?"

I looked at the ground. _At least Heka could help me. She should be really good at this._ I looked up at her and smiled, "Of course."

She smiled back at me, "Alright. Your training begins."

Heka

I just returned from talking to Nereida and Lightningmon. I get nervous whenever Lightningmon is around since she just sits there and listens. I'm not sure what she's thinking.

Artemis was cooking in the kitchen and I could smell our favorite dish from our time cooking to perfection. Artemis has had a lot of time on her hands so I guess cooking was a way for her to get by without getting bored. "Hey, I'm back."

She turned around and smiled, "And in time for dinner."

"Great, I can smell it from here."

"Good. Apollo's over at Hecate's place."

"Why?" I walked over at the table. I started to set up for just us two.

"He was worried about his future with Lily Dawn. I think that she has actually touched a place where no one else has." She placed the food on the plates and brought them to the table. She stopped all of a sudden, like something just paralyzed her.

"What's wrong?"

She set the plate down as she looked at the window. I looked there to see nothing but the clear night sky. The door opened and Apollo was standing there, looking scared.

"I feared I was right." Artemis seemed to understand what Apollo's fright was about.

"What's going on?" I looked back at both though none gave an answer, only silence.

"Heka, there was a sign in the sky. It's from Zeus."

"Zeus?"

He nodded, "I'm not sure what he wants but I saw it while going to Hecate. I'm guessing that someone's going to tell us what's up."

"Maybe we should go to Hecate. She might already know what's going on." Artemis suggested.

"Someone's going to come. We might as well wait for them." Apollo walked closer to us then there was a knock at the door.

We all just stared at the door knowing that what news the person has for us won't be good. Apollo summoned the courage and opened the door to reveal that Aphrodite was standing there with a smile.

"Hey Immortals, what's with this silence?" She let herself in and walked to the kitchen. "Wow, you're having this?" She sat down and ate some of the food that was meant to be Artemis and mines dinner. "Delicious. Just like I remember it." She continued to eat more.

"What are you here for?" Artemis asked though knowing what she was here for.

She swallowed the last bit of food then looked at Artemis, "I'm here to let you know that soon, it's our turn to get those Digidestined."

"I thought Zeus didn't want any trouble." Apollo asked.

"Well Astraeamon just thought of a way to get them. All she needs is the time and the technology. Luckily for her, she has both."

"So Astraeamon is leading the attack?" I asked.

"Of course not. She's too valuable to send to battle. Plus she just recently thought up this plan. She needs to work slowly so no one from her cover figures out what she's doing."

"So what's this meeting about?"

"It's just to let you know that one day you all will be call back to help fight this battle."

"But we can't. We promised not to show ourselves." I reminded her.

"It's not my choice. We can only listen to what Zeusmon says. Those weaker Super Levels that gave us these abilities don't control us anymore. Nothing can control the power of the Gods." She got up and walked to the door. She stopped and looked back as us, " Remember, you have to return to our new world to fight this battle."

"What will we gain from killing them?" Apollo asked.

"The whole Digital World. Zeusmon is getting worried that Gennai will come at us and that's something that he won't let happen."

"But if we attack, Gennai will just send them anyway." Artemis pointed out.

"That's why we get a plan ready for them. We're not stupid."

"But if Gennai even gets a hint of what might happen they'll come."

"But you haven't seen them. A few of them will be willing to come with us to get rid of Gennai. Zeusmon is thinking that they'll be able to help us."

"Fine." Apollo just wanted to get rid of her.

She smiled, went out and closed the door.

"They're just being stupid." Artemis said, looking at the plate that once held food.

"I can't fight them. Not after all the trust I gain from them." Apollo said, looking at the floor.

"What about me? Nereida knows just about everything about us."

"Don't tell her about this. This is something that we'll have to decide together. Right now, I'm too tried to think."

"Same here. Hebe, you might want to go to bed."

They both headed upstairs. I looked out of the window to the silent night. I couldn't believe that I might be forced to fight against Nereida and Lightningmon. I headed upstairs to go to bed, since there wasn't much else we could do.

Wow… an attack on us without our knowing… Good thing that I decided to keep an eye on her. Well, I wonder what they're going to do. I'll let you know once they decided on something. Bye.


	10. Chap 9 Remember the Lost part 1

Hi again, nothing really major has happened yet. Ceres and I found out though that it's not easy researching something that people don't give information on. So she's going by instinct on what the ancient people did. Izzy hasn't cracked the codes yet, though he is working really, really hard on trying to find a place that we haven't seen yet. Well… Onward…

I set down the phone. I just called the school that TK and Panther go to since Ceres needs to go as well. Luckily for her, she's able to get the same classes as Panther. _I hope she doesn't mind Spanish._

"Matt, you don't want to be late."

I looked up to see that Ceres was already dressed up for the wedding of Don and Neon. They thought it would be cool to get marry at a Shinto Shrine. Ceres was able to get them a place for it and they don't have to pay. Ceres designed and made all the outfits that we'll be wearing today. The girls have strapless, kimono like dresses and sleeves that are tied to the arm. The dresses are tied at the top as well and the obi is still around the waist. The colors are bright but not too bright since they do have cool colors to lessen the brightening colors. Each layer has its own design so they could be wore individually if the others want. The final one has the Digimon and crest of the wearer. The guys have layered shirts and fluffy pants but our sleeves are to our elbows. Don is dressing to be like an emperor and Neon an empress. Neon was over now so her make-up could be done. Unfortunately, I wasn't ready yet.

"I'm going." I walked up the stairs and went to my room. Gabumon was already wearing the outfit that Ceres made for him. She also made the Digimon an outfit to wear.

I was able to get mine on quickly when there was a knock at the front door.

"Matt, I can't get that." Ceres called out.

I walked out and got the door to see that it was Izzy standing there. He had questioning eyes as he looked at what I was wearing.

"Are you going to a party or something?"

"Yea. What's up?"

"Oh… I thought that I should work more on the codes but since you're going somewhere. I won't bother you."

"Thanks Izzy."

"Do you remember about tomorrow? I hope you have that whole day off."

"I always do. I won't ever forget about that day."

"Then see you at the TV Station." He walked away. I smiled as I closed the door.

"What's going down tomorrow?" I looked up to see that Panther was coming down with Plantmon on her back.

"I have something planned. You guys can do anything you want."

"That's dangerous to say around Ceres."

"I trust you guys." I walked back upstairs to see if I forgot anything.

"Matt, you are bringing your harmonica?" Gabumon asked. I pulled it up for him to see. He smiled, probably since it brought back all the memories of our younger years.

After a while, TK, Ken and Kari came over and we all got into the van. Rio-san had already parked near the shrine since her and Don's father both have to leave for work as soon as it's over. Everyone else was waiting there when we appeared. Ceres told me that Nereida's dress would be different than the others. Her dress was just barely showing her feet, where Neon's was flowing back a few centimeters or so. The other girls had theirs up to their knees. Of course, everyone had to wear Sobi and traditional scandals.

As the wedding proceeded, I noticed how happy the Shinto priest and priestesses were. I guess most people don't do things in the traditional way that much anymore. That or how we were dressed. As soon as the wedding was over, we headed towards the park. We planned to have the rest of the day at the park to have fun.

Tim and I weren't drinking sake since we're driving. Luckily, I brought tea for us to have. I was also cooking. TK loved the steak since it was the same way mom made it. I was a bit surprised to find that both Ceres and Panther loved the taste of sake. They were the only ones that drank a whole bottle each before stopping. Everyone else had about quarter or less. Ceres was putting on a magic show since she volunteered to be the entertainment and the sake strengthened her enthusiasm. Kari was taking pictures of Ceres's performance so that she could see herself when she was sober.

After Ceres had done the simple tricks, as she put it a day earlier, they put on music for them to dance to. Lily Dawn was showing off her moves, the best she could with wearing the dress, that she was learning in her dancing classes as well as mixing it with nightclub dancing. Neon was singing to the words as well as dancing. She did say that she wants to be a singer but none of us heard her sing before. Her voice was beautiful which only left her working hard for it. Lucky for her, I can get her some connections to start her off whenever she feels like she's ready.

Ceres suggested that we also get the baby-shower over since we were going to party the whole day. So after the dancing session, Neon was opening up the gifts that we got them.

Tim got her two cradles made out of wood. They were polished until they shined and that looked difficult since there were so many cuts that formed ancient Gods of the world. They were also big since, I guess, he calculated that they would grow in a short time. Damon gave her hand woven blankets with different shades of blue and pink. I guessed their Grandmother had an old weaver since they were made out of beautiful silk. The colors formed into a shower of money. Nereida gave her handcrafted plush unicorns. Their horns were made out of pure white silk and the rest looked to be made from some soft material, though one was a bit darker than the other. They displayed their work together with the darker unicorn in the cradle with the blue blanket. Neon thanked them since she could tell that they made them with their hearts and hands. Don also thanked them.

Lily Dawn presented them with two hand-made bowls. The background colors were calming but you couldn't tell what color it was since she mixed a lot together without thinking, as Panther told me, and got that color. It also helped with the shining effect it was giving. Panther also told me that after she glazed it, added all of our crests and glazed it again, which would add to the effect that our crests are floating above it. Both thanked her for her work.

Ryan gave her the traditional pillows. The wood was buffed, glazed, and polished since it came from a factory for outdoor usage. The borders had beautiful red and yellow silk; the pillows themselves were made out of the same pure white silk of the horns and the designs on them were of the Digimon in our group, created out from black and blue silk thread. They thanked him as well.

TK displayed to them baby-carriers that you put either on your back or front. The straps were made from satin from either Egypt or Saudi Arabia, he didn't tell me which; the thin wood that supported both the carrier and baby was from cherry blossom trees (how he got that, I may never know); the inside of the carrier was made from soft and thin fur from Russia; and the outside silk was made in China by friends from when Izzy and Kari went there, the silk thread was from Tim and his family (they know how to make silk. They have a lot of artisans tools) made a nice scenery of mountain, hot springs and forest (though it is in the Digital World, and since this was his first time working with silk thread like this, it is a bit messy). Though everyone else (minus me, he only told me where he got the stuff since he needed money to get them. The satin was the only expensive item) thought that he got the satin and fur from a fabric store and the wood was ordinary. He didn't want everyone else to feel that theirs weren't as good as his so he just agreed (though they knew that the outside silk was from China). They thank him for his work.

Kari gave them four sets of clothing; since no one knew what gender they were going to be. They were traditional children's clothing from our country with simple designs since everyone else was doing something complex, but the silk did came from Tim's family. They thanked her for her work.

Ken gave them four sets of winter clothing. The inside was made from the satin that TK had left over (TK didn't predict the length of it so he made sure to get extra, plus Ken told him what he was planning) and the same with the fur. The inner borders were outlined with silk he got from Tim. He made them look traditional but they weren't really since they flipped like a double coat, which was his attend since weather in winter isn't predictable. They thanked him for his work.

Panther gave four pairs of shoes. Two pairs were made out of soft and flexible material that Tim's family had for summer wearing. The other two had wood for their soles and sobi attached to them for winter use. The sobi was thick since it needed to keep the heat in, so they were like boots. The colors were dark since they needed to get all the sun's rays as possible. The designs were simple since she didn't want them to feel that they had to keep them clean so often. They thanked her.

Ceres gave them scrolls of myths from around the world. She hand written them with as much kanji as she could. She was really glad to know that she was taking Chinese in school since she had to use some of their kanji and wording. For myths that came from the Americas, she wrote names and places in their original text. She also gave them an index scrolls to look up the words that she had to use other country's words and text. They thanked her as well.

Now it was my turn to present my gift (which was the room that they would be using… No, I'm just kidding. That would be mean). My gift to them was many sizes chopsticks. Of course all of them are different from each other, including the wood (only TK knew that). Some of them were for the person who feeds them, since in the beginning they wouldn't be able to hold up chopsticks; some are for them when they how to hold them, the rest are for cooking. The woods came from all over the world (and I did get them made there since that cost less). Since one pair came from the cherry blossom wood that TK used, it's flatter than the others. I would've gotten metal ones but I didn't know anyone that I could call for those, the same goes for ivory. Each is painted and/or has something carved into it (I even put the nine crest of the first two groups). They thanked me then everyone again.

Gabumon announced that I wanted to play something. I took out my harmonica and started to play tunes from the past when we were in the Digital World. After those were done, I played the tunes of some of my songs when the Teenage Wolves were still around (good thing that after we broke up, I played all the tunes on my harmonica). After I put my harmonica away, everyone clapped. Then we had to pack up.

Since the kids would be at my house when they're born, the things would go to my house. Kari took pictures to give to Neon and Don's parents so they could see the gifts. For Ceres's, she opened one scroll and took the picture so they have an idea on what the rest look like. Kari had asked Tai earlier to borrow the spacious device that Izzy gave everyone (Ceres has one too now. She said that it would help her a lot since she's a traveler). I placed it in the back of the van so I didn't have to worry so much on damaging the cradles. We placed the other items evenly between them. Also the grill was put with them and the blanket we used.

Tim was taking Lily Dawn and Ryan back to their homes and I was taking the rest. Kari told Neon and Don that she'll have the pictures developed by tomorrow and she'll come by in the morning to give it to them.

"We can come over to get them." Neon said.

"I have to go somewhere tomorrow. I'll just drop them off as I go."

"What is it?" Panther asked, remembering that I have something planned.

"I'm going with my brother to Tokyo."

"Why?" Ceres asked.

"It's a tradition. When August first hits, that's what we do."

They accepted that. We all vowed not to tell them, though I already knew that Panther was curious as to what I had planned. I was going with TK to walk around the spots when we were with Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon. Then we head to my old house to remember then to his to remember. The other Digidestined walk around to their sites, bringing along any of the new ones. Ken preferred to stay home on this day since he was either recovering from being the Digimon Emperor or being the Digimon Emperor when the newer ones came with us for the first time (I can't remember which). TK always invite him to come with us but he never does. Now, he was asking him quietly since the others weren't supposed to know. Of course, we'll tell them the day after.

I dropped off Don first since his was closer. I would've gone with him but since he's father was at work, there wasn't any point. I made sure he got in before heading out. Neon was next, and she thanked us again for the day. I made sure she was in before going. Kari was next and I went with her since I did want to talk to Tai. Tai was spending the night with his folk since Sora was with Mimi. Kari opened the door and I saw Tai sitting on the couch, watching TV.

"So this is how you spend your days?" I asked at the door, since I wasn't invited in.

"Matt? What are you doing here?"

"Dropping off your sister."

"Are you staying?"

"Nah, I have to drop off Ken. When are we going to meet at the TV Station? I told them that we were coming but forgot to tell them a time."

"How does two or three sounds? I know that you and TK go back to his old house."

"So between two and three or at one of those?"

"Between sounds good."

"That's all I needed. See ya tomorrow."

"Right."

I closed the door and headed back down. I knew that Tai would call everyone else to let them know so all I have to do is let TK know. When I got back in the car, I looked at Ken and he shook his head slightly. Panther had moved to the back since she was sitting with me.

I drove to Ken's house and dropped him off. I went up with him since his parents are tradition in a sense.

TK helped with unloading the stuff and Panther and Ceres brought them in. Neon had already picked a room where she was going to give birth in so that's where they put it. I knew that Neon would come and arranged it to her liking so we just left them. I put the grill in the storage room.

"TK, are you and Matt working on something?" Ceres asked, seeing him going up to the room with a bag that he left here earlier.

"I'm spending the night."

"Why?" Panther asked, making dinner (I remember the days when I cooked. Now I barely do).

"We have to go to the TV Station for a bit tomorrow. It's their busiest day and since our dad worked there, we help out."

"Matt made it sound like it was the whole day."

"We go early in the morning. There's a lot to do there."

I could tell that Panther was cooking up a plan as she walked back to the kitchen. Ceres followed, most likely seeing this too.

Panther

"What's ya thinking?" Ceres asked in a child's voice.

"They're hiding something. So I'm going to follow them."

"But it's a brother thing. You can't invade on it."

"It's not a brother thing since Izzy is going to be there."

"How do you know?"

"He came by when you told Matt to get the door."

"I thought it was TK or someone like that."

"They came together. Also, when Matt came back, he looked at Ken and he shook his head. My bet is that they're planning something and Ken doesn't want to come."

"Hmmmm? If Izzy is there and they invited Ken, maybe it has something to do with the older groups?"

"What makes you think that?"

"When Matt walked Kari back. He took a bit longer than normal."

"Ever thought it could've been the elevator?"

"I even calculated that. Plus, Tai and his family aren't really traditional like Ken's are."

"Good point. So why wouldn't Ken come? Why was he invited?"

"We can find that out tomorrow." Ceres said with a sly voice.

"So most likely they're going to Tokyo and the TV Station."

"Why Tokyo?"

"That's where Kari said she'll be. But we'll only follow Matt and TK."

"Right." Ceres walked away (I wished I could tell TK but then he would like to know how I know… sad).

Me

Gabumon helped me decide that we should act like everything is normal. I woke TK up early, like we planned. He left his stuff to pick up later, since the newer ones decided that we're going to the Digital World tomorrow. Tai knows this so he could make an excuse for us to the others. When we were outside, I told TK that Panther and Ceres were going to follow, since Gabumon convinced me to tell him about my stories (they're supposed to be a secret).

"What makes you think they're going to follow? They think we're having a brotherly bonding." We were walking away from my house since we didn't want to take a car. We didn't use a car back then so why start now?

"I saw it in Panther's eyes when she walked away."

"She could've been thinking of anything."

"Nope, that's what she was thinking."

"Ok, then what about Ceres?"

"She talked to her so most likely she's coming too." I looked back quickly to see that they were following us. "Glance back to see."

TK did just as I did then looked at me, "Either Ken is rubbing off on you or you know them better."

"Panther was around when Izzy came by yesterday. That's what got her interested. She already…" _I almost didn't have to tell him._

"What do you mean 'already'?"

I hung my head, "She knows the area that we're going to be in, the same with the others. She even guessed whose coming and who's not."

"How could you know that? Unless you're hearing has improved."

"It hasn't."

"Then how?" He kept his voice low so they couldn't hear (though they couldn't anyway).

"When I was sitting at home thinking about Styxmon, I wrote what happened."

"I thought you wanted me to do that?"

"I did, but I told what happened, I didn't tell a story about two young people. I even added my own comments."

"Ok, but what does that have to do with now?"

"When Panther came in, I wrote about that too. I kept on writing when we got the others."

"They must be either short or boring, since you weren't there all the time."

"Well…"

"How? There's no way you could've been there."

"You remember the probes that my company is exploring. The ones that are so small that you can't even noticed them, even if they're pointed out."

"Yea… I thought you told me that if I use those in my story that they should be for exploring other worlds. Business first wasn't on your mind, was it?"

"It was but I had to. It's the only way I can see what you guys see and know what you're thinking."

"Who has one?"

"Everyone in this group, minus me since I don't need it."

"Do I have one?"

"Yep, I do think of you as apart of this group. Oh, but somehow Ceres destroyed hers without even the camera getting it."

"Maybe it was due to her magic powers?"

"Maybe, that's the only way it could explain it."

"Can I read them sometime?"

"Sure."

We talked about anything now. When we got to the subway station and got on the train, we were silent. It was the same way we took when we were coming back from searching the city for the Eighth Child. I was taking TK back home so he could go back to mom. We were silent since I didn't want him to go and TK didn't want to leave so soon, though he came back when Myotismon took over the city.

Panther and Ceres were in the cart behind ours. They kept looking to see when we were getting out. Lucky for them, their cart was empty. When the stop Shibuya came up, where Patamon flew out, we got out.

The place hadn't changed much. We walked the route we took when we were looking for Patamon so we could remember when we met up with Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon. Normally we would just go by the window where they tried on the clothes but we decided to do it differently since they were following. We stopped to get ice cream cones and flowers, something that we didn't normally do either. We went to the alley where they hid us from Myotismon and attack him to protect us. I could feel the tears coming since coming here isn't a normal thing either. I looked at TK to see that he was just about ready to cry as well. I handed him a flower and he gave me the ice cream cone. We gave the Digimon the cones to place since they were Digimon. Then TK and I placed the flowers next to the ice cream that was already melting in the sun's heat.

"I wished we were stronger back then. We didn't even see any more Pumpkinmon in the Digital World." TK was holding back his tears.

"Yea…"

"Too bad that Myotismon is Kari's opponent."

"Why are you wishing that Myotismon is yours?"

"That way I can curse him more for what he did to these two." The tears came out.

I comforted him and let out my own tears. They were brave until the end and we own our lives to them. If it wasn't for them, who knows what Myotismon could've done to us.

"TK, Matt, look!" Patamon yelled.

I looked to where we placed the items to see that Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon were walking towards us. I loosen my grip on TK, shock to see them there.

"Pumpkinmon, Gotsumon?" TK wanted to believe that it was them.

"Hey, forgot us already?" Pumpkinmon said like it was nothing.

I knew that TK smiled with joy as I did. We knew that they were ghost but it was still good to see them. We understood how Gatomon felt when she saw Wizardmon again.

"Of course not." TK answered for us.

"We almost didn't recognize you." Gotsumon said.

"How?" I had to ask. I knew that Digimon don't come back in the Real World. And with the arrival of the Deity Digimon, I knew where they were now.

"That's not important. What is, is the danger that you two are going to face." Pumpkinmon said.

"Danger?" TK replied.

"You must face your old enemies again." Gotsumon explained.

"Why?"

They started to fade away. We knew that they couldn't tell us more but TK didn't want them to go. He got out of my grip and ran to them, "Don't go!" His hands went right through them and they were gone. He fell on his knees and lowered his head. I comforted him again, since I knew how it felt since Styxmon stop visiting me in my dreams.

"C'mon TK. I'm sure Panther and Ceres have a lot questions." I only spoke when his tears lessen.

"Is this how you felt when Styxmon last talked to you?"

"Yea."

"We better go. After all, we need to figure out what they said. When are we going to the station?"

"Between two and three."

"Ok."

TK got up and wiped away the last remaining tears. We went in silence back to my old home. I left the door open so they could come in. TK sat down in one of the seats and looked over at the kitchen.

"I remember when you gave me that surprise food."

"Does the taste still remain?"

"I can remember it if that's what you mean."

"I'm now wishing that we brought food with us."

"Yea, but we can't afford to use the electric here."

"I know. I am the one that brings in the money."

"Do you see me running to you for money?"

"Then why did you ask?"

"I didn't have enough."

"Don't you mean you didn't have any? I paid for everything."

"It's not my fault that people aren't buying my books."

"But it is your choice to get an after school job."

"I don't want to go through the school just to get one."

"Then you should write more."

"My deadline isn't coming so fast."

"Why is it that editors hate it when you're late? I know that they do in manga for comedy."

"They also have a tight schedule. I do it to them since it's fun."

"But they call you since they don't know where you live."

"Which makes it more fun. If you two want to come in, be our guest." TK yelled to Panther and Ceres (both were wondering how we knew they were there).

They walked in and closed the door.

"I guess we weren't silent enough." Ceres said with her hand on her head.

"Yep, we could see you."

"For how long?" Panther asked.

"Since we left the house."

"Then why did you take a stroll around Shibuya?"

"This is the day we came back from the Digital World the first time. We lost two every good friends along that stroll." I explained since I could hold back my emotions a bit more than TK could. He got up and went into my room.

"What happened to them?" Ceres sat down in a chair.

"Patamon ran away since TK and he were arguing on the subway. We ran into two Digimon, Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon, who were causing trouble. It wasn't that big of a deal since it wasn't anything really major. We kept an eye on them since they were causing trouble. We befriended them during it; I even remember when they said that they wanted to go to Hollywood to be stars. I think that's when we knew they weren't bad like Myotismon's other henchmen. When Myotismon came, he was displeased that they were hanging with us. The way they were to be on his good side was to get rid of us. They chased us into that alley where they told us that they didn't want to fight. When Myotismon was coming back, they told us to hide in that little space. They fought against him but they weren't as strong as him so they were killed."

"So TK gets emotional whenever you guys do this?"

"We only went through this to show you guys the route we took. It hurts both of us to know that they died protecting us."

"I understand the flowers, but ice cream?" Panther asked.

"I believe that's the only human food they ever had. They got ice cream right before Myotismon showed."

"What did they say? We only heard you two talking."

"They warned us about some danger. It deals with our old enemies."

I looked to see that TK was crying again. He sat back down in his seat.

"Do you know what it means?" Ceres asked quietly.

"We haven't yet."

"You might see them again. After all, you guys are telling me that we're facing Divine Digimon. I'm sure that an Underworld deity is there too." Ceres was giving him reassurance.

TK smiled and nodded his head.

"So, are you guys going to hang here until you have to go to the TV Station?" Panther asked.

"Nope, we're heading back to my house."

"We were just waiting for you two."

TK and Ceres got up.

"Why doesn't anyone live there?" Ceres asked as we walked.

"We still have it." I answered.

"So you also pay for that apartment and your own home? Wow, I don't know anyone that would do that."

"Those memories are dear to us."

"Does the same go for this house?"

"Yep."

"And you're not tight on money? You must make a lot for that. Especially since TK doesn't work."

"Don't worry about money. I get enough to do this."

"Why is everyone meeting at the TV Station?" Panther asked.

"That was the last place where we fought against Myotismon. Also, that's where Gatomon lost her dearest friend, Wizardmon." TK answered.

"Do you think they'll get the same warning?"

"I'm not sure."

After a while, we reached TK's old house. He smiled as he remembered when he first came to live here and met the new kids. Lucky for us, Yolie moved out and Cody is out with Joe or Izzy. As TK explained why they moved here, I looked around. I didn't come here so often in the past so it was nice to see how TK and mom lived. TK left a picture of her in her room so I know where she slept. I went back as soon as I was done looking around.

"Trying to find something?" Ceres asked.

"I didn't visit much when they were here."

"So you look around for?"

"Anything to remind me of mom."

"Oh. Did your parents move or something?"

"How about we explain it as we eat?" TK offered.

"Sure, we didn't eat breakfast." Ceres said, holding her stomach.

"We don't usually on this day either."

We walked out and TK locked it up. We went to a restaurant that was near the TV Station. Ceres agreed to pay for it since she still had money from when she came (though I had read that she could eat a lot, this is the first time that I saw it for myself).

"So, tell us the story." Ceres urged.

"They passed away when I first entered high school." TK told.

"Sorry."

"It's ok, it's not like they went with something unnatural."

"So, even though your dad isn't there anymore the station still allows you to go in whenever you want?" Panther asked.

"Pretty much but we don't since we have other things that we need to do. We only do on this day since it's been a tradition." I explained.

"Wow, that's really luckily. Not everyone has that privilege." Ceres said.

"Who are you going to tell about what they warned?" Panther asked.

"We'll have to tell the others since they mentioned our old enemies." TK looked at me while he said that.

"I guess that means that everyone has to know." I looked back at him.

"But Gennai won't call them into the Digital World if they appear."

"But we'll need their help just the same. Plus, we're going to be in the Digital World..."

"Until summer ends!" Ceres announced.

"No, until you have to take your exams."

"What! What are you talking about?" She looked like she was dying.

"I called the school yesterday to get you into the school. You have the same classes as Panther so they figured that she could help you to study. She did really well since she hasn't been in school for a while."

"But… I might not be able to stay. If my folks send me somewhere then I have to go. Or if something comes up that sends me away."

"What would send you away?"

"I don't know… a death in the family. I do have a family, ya know."

"I know but since we need you for this group. I understand death in the family, but you could always ask your folks to send someone else." I just then noticed how I said 'folks'. It was as if I didn't believe that she still lived with them, though I know that she doesn't for some reason.

"It's only been me and them." She smiled fakery.

"Have them call their company to see if they can get someone else to do so."

"We'll see." I knew that she didn't want to stay, but I couldn't understand why.

"Anyway, do you really think that they'll attack us so early? Plus, when we tell them, we might have a tighter watch on us." TK pointed out.

"Everyone from the first group knows what's going on. They'll make sure that they don't mess with us too much."

"Don't you think that they'll put two and two together?"

"Maybe, but they shouldn't allow anything to happen to them. Do you not want me to tell them?"

"I don't know." He looked down at the ground.

"Don't worry. They can handle themselves. Have more faith in them."

"Yea, but that's Ken's new department." His eyes widen as did mine (wondering why? Well, since we know that the Crests aren't given to us, they are us. So when TK said that it's Ken's new department, that's saying that he just got it. Though of course our eyes confuse Panther and Ceres).

"Something the matter?" Panther asked.

"N-no, n-nothing at all." TK answered nervously.

"Stuttering isn't a good sign."

"Really, it's nothing. Don't worry about it."

"What time do you guys have to be at the station?" Ceres asked.

"Between two and three, why?" _Too bad I forgot my watch and TK didn't bring his._

"Well," she looked up, "it's almost two. If you want to make the time, you might want to hurry with your lunch. Unless you want me to eat it?" She smiled as she faced me.

Panther had already finished hers so TK and I packed the food to take with us. When we got closer to the station, Ceres pulled Panther away from our course. We were confused as to why since we thought they would just hide when we got there. Ceres said that they'd be there so we continued. Waiting on the answered made us a bit late. We got there around three thirty since there was a bit of traffic.

"What took you so long?" Davis asked in his impatient voice.

"So Ken didn't want to come this time either." Yolie said with dishearten.

"Sorry, there was traffic coming here." TK said; we were both worried about Panther and Ceres since they wanted to come.

"You should've been here at two." Davis continued.

"Don't sweat it Davis, they're here now." Tai said, trying to calm him down.

"Let's go in." I suggested.

Kari nodded and we headed in. Gatomon walked to the spot where Wizardmon made his last stand against Myotismon. She placed the flowers and put her hands together. Gatomon walked back to Kari and she placed her on her shoulder. When they were about to walk back, a light was shining from there. They quickly turned, hoping that it was Wizardmon. As we predicted, he appeared.

"Wizardmon…" I didn't have to see Gatomon's face to know that she was crying.

"Gatomon, there's grave danger in the Digital World." Everyone was shocked to hear this, TK and I had to act.

"What do you mean?"

"You must get stronger; the angel is needed again." He was fading as he told us what we needed to do.

I looked back to see that Panther and Ceres were there. Panther nodded her head to tell me that they did hear it. I looked back to see Gatomon being comforted in Kari's arms. Tai walked up and placed his hand on her shoulder. We all walked out in silence. We went to the park where we first discuss on what to do with the new group. TK was with Kari and Patamon was watching Gatomon, who was resting now. Tai was sitting on the top of the bench with Agumon behind him. Sora was sitting next to him and Biyomon nesting near her. Davis and V-mon were near the bench that TK and Kari were on; Yolie and Hawkmon were near Kari but behind her. Cody was sitting next to TK with Armadillomon on his lap. Mimi and Palmon were near Sora with Joe and Gomamon near them. Izzy and I were standing in between the two benches, making it seem that we were the ones that everyone should pay attention to us.

"What was he talking about? If there was danger in the Digital World, Gennai would've told us." Davis said, trying, as everyone else was, to figure out what the words meant.

"Maybe it hasn't come yet." Mimi said.

"Whatever it is, we have to get stronger. Since we already know that there are stronger Digimon out there. It could have something to do with them." Izzy reminded everyone.

"The angel is needed again… We have two angels." Kari said, holding Gatomon like a baby since she was asleep.

"Maybe it's only one of them." Tai suggested.

"Or it could have a double meaning." Everyone looked at me. TK just looked at me with worry.

"Ok archeologist, what could it mean?" Davis said with a cocky attitude.

"I don't know, but you have to remember that someone is allowing him to come back to tell us. It also must be pretty grave for Wizardmon to come to tell us about it. Maybe Angemon and Angewomon need to find a way to have a DNA Digievolving."

"Izzy, could you and Gennai look around the Digital World for some disturbance?" Cody asked.

"I could but unless something happens, he won't be able to tell me."

"You could try." Yolie encouraged.

"We definitely need more information." Davis said, folding his arms.

"This only works once we face the trouble." Yolie said, though more to herself.

"Tai, could we head home." Kari looked at her big brother. She most likely didn't want to hear what was now the topic.

"Sure." Tai didn't argue. He most likely figured that Kari wanted to get Gatomon home to rest better.

They left with Sora following them. Mimi and Joe left with them, since they didn't really know what to say.

"TK," TK looked at Cody, "promise me that you won't talk to Panther. We need your help now more than ever."

"Panther does live at Matt's house."

"Can't you have her moved out? Like having her go to a foster home or something?" Yolie asked.

"I can't do that. I'm guarding her under my own will and by law. I'm not going to abandon her, no matter what."

"Why doesn't she go to her own family? Or is this apart of her sentence?"

"Her family is no longer of the living."

"Oh, sad but I bet that she planned it."

"Don't you say that." My voice was hard with warning. It really scared her but she didn't let that get to her and her stand.

"Matt, you don't really believe that she's innocent? I mean, she was involved with that gang before their death."

"If you know that then why did you ask about her parents?" I knew that it was clear that I was mad since TK looked worried.

"I wasn't sure whether or not you knew, that's all."

"Then how did you get that information? It's not like it's a site on the web."

"You could learn a lot about someone if you looked up the news about deaths especially one with a family."

"So?" I knew what she was implying.

"Aren't you interested in what she's hiding from you? Unless you know everything."

"I know what she wants me to know. If she doesn't want me to know then she doesn't have to tell me."

"So she could lie to you and you wouldn't care?"

"Are you done? If you're not, I suggest that you do."

"Why? She isn't related to you."

"I care for her like she was. Now stop with your bashing."

"Fine, I'm going." She and Hawkmon walked away.

"You know, you guys need to get away from them. They're messing with your head." Davis walked off before I could comment on his. Cody just got up and walked away.

I took a needed deep breath. I was curious as to what Yolie found but I remembered what Panther said to Ceres about her real name. If I knew her real name and what really happened to her family, I might not be able to look at her the same way. "Izzy."

"Hm?" He was just about to leave.

"We're heading to the Digital World tomorrow. I'm going to entrust you with the book so you could get farther ahead. Could you also call me the day before twenty-eighth?" I said the last part low.

"Why?" Izzy was following my lead.

"Ceres needs to take the exams and that's the day they want her to start."

"Right, go have fun. Be careful too." He stopped whispering.

"We will." I did the same.

He and Tentomon walked off, but he stopped and turned around, "When do you want me to stop by?"

"Any time tomorrow. We're leaving sometime near night."

"Don't you think that's a bit dangerous? Especially since we don't know what Wizardmon means."

"We'll be careful."

He nodded and continued his way.

"So only we will know the full danger." TK said once Izzy was out of hearing.

"Only our group will know. Though it will fall down since Kari will tell Tai."

"What if they attack when we're there?"

"Then we'll get some experience in."

I looked back to see that Panther and Ceres were walking out of the bush.

"So what do you think Wizardmon meant?" TK asked.

Panther shrugged her shoulders.

"Who is the other angel Digimon?" Ceres asked.

"Gatomon. She goes to Angewomon." TK explained.

"Well, if Gatomon is the other Angel Digimon then wouldn't that mean that there's three Crest Angel Digimon?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Angel of Hope, Light and Peace."

"So Wizardmon could've meant anyone of those."

"Maybe the book has the answer." TK offered.

"Good thing Izzy is looking over that."

"What else did you ask him to do?" Ceres asked, her head near my elbow.

"Nothing, why?"

"You two were whispering. C'mon, you can tell me."

"It's a surprise."

"Really? I love surprises!"

"Good. You'll see when we come back from the Digital World. Let's head home."

We walked back to my house. We got some food to munch on as we walked back. We were going to meet at my house tomorrow so we know what else to bring. That's when we're going to tell them. Ceres and Panther were walking ahead of us.

"I think our old enemies have evolved." TK said quietly.

"Most likely. If we have to get stronger than they must be stronger." I took a bit of a cookie that I got (we went to a McDonalds for food).

"If they could then there must be a way for ours as well."

"We'll find it. Maybe going into the Digital World could give us the answer. After all, they will need it too." I saw him munching on a fry.

"Now thinking about it," the fry was still in his mouth as he turned to face me, "if…"

"TK!" We heard Cody's voice. I looked ahead to see that they're still walking. We stopped and saw that Yolie was with him.

"Hi guys." TK greeted. I wasn't in the mood to greet them since of the comments that Yolie made.

"Where are you two going?" Yolie asked while looking at me.

"We're going to Matt's house."

"Oh… Do you want to come back to the apartment building? I'm staying there for the rest of the summer. It could be like the good old days."

"You could spend the night over at my house." Cody offered.

"Thanks but no, I'm staying with Matt for the rest of the summer."

"What about your school work?" Yolie asked.

"You think he can't do it at my house?" I had a cold tone in my voice.

"Especially since Panther's there." She didn't answer right away since she was stun by my tone.

I narrowed my eyes, "If you weren't TK's friend, you would've regretted saying that."

"So I'm not your friend anymore?" She didn't pause like last time though there was fear in her eyes.

"Ever since Styxmon died."

"You haven't gotten over her yet? She's a Digimon. There's no way that that kind of love could ever exist between humans and Digimon."

"It was nice talking to you. Let's get going Matt." TK said fast, pulling on my arm to make me come. Even Gabumon was helping TK to get me out of there.

"I have more self-control." I whispered.

"She wouldn't stop. The others wouldn't know what side to be on if you hurt her. Especially Ken."

"I thought he would be on mine."

"He will but he also likes Yolie."

We walked the rest of the way in silence. I couldn't help but think of Styxmon. I wish that everyone in this group could meet her but they can't. I mean she is the founder of this group. Without her, I would've never known that I was apart of this group nor Ken or Kari. They owe a bit to her since it was of that legend that I wanted to find everyone so fast.

The door was left opened but I didn't stop to talk. I didn't hear their voices so they most likely saw the expression on my face. I went up to my room and lay on my bed. Gabumon came in with me and I fell asleep.

TK

Matt walked up to his room without saying a word. I knew that he was thinking about Styxmon since Yolie made her comment. I looked on the ground to see that he dropped his dinner too. I picked it up and placed it on the table.

"Why was Matt so depressed?"

I looked at Panther and Ceres. Panther looked the most worried.

"Yolie and Cody were talking to us."

"Wouldn't he be mad?"

"He was, until she told him to get over Styxmon."

"Oh." She looked up the stairs.

"Did they want something?" Ceres asked.

"They wanted me to spend the summer with them."

"So in other words, your old apartment building."

"Yep, but obviously I can't. Oh, you might want to bring your school stuff." I looked at Panther.

"I've already done my work."

"For Ceres, she'll need to do them too. Matt told us that you two have the same classes so you have to bring them for Ceres to do."

Ceres lowered her head in despair, "Do I have to?"

"Of course and I'm not going to give you the answers."

"Do you want to check after I'm done?"

"Sure."

"Great, then get the work ready tomorrow. I want to enjoy the Digital World. Night." Ceres walked upstairs to her room. Fiterimon went with her.

"I don't see how she can finish it in time but that's her problem." Panther also went up. I turned off all the lights before heading to bed. I grabbed a blanket from the closet and went to Matt's room. He was sleeping above his covers so I placed the blanket over him and Gabumon.

Me

I woke up and noticed that there was a blanket from my closet over me. I figured either TK or Panther put this on (though I check to confirm). I took a shower and got a few more things packed in my pockets (since in the beginning, I didn't have a bag. Ken and Kari are bringing bags though, same with TK, obviously). I looked at the drawer to see my harmonica lying there. I didn't know whether I wanted to take it with us or not but Gabumon grabbed it and handed it to me. I smiled and placed it in my pocket as well. I went downstairs to find that TK was hard at work on his laptop which he only uses for scripts for his manga series or novels.

"By the way, have to you told Kari that you're Angel?" He told everyone about him being a novelist, but not that he's a manga artist, though he pretends in his art class that he's only good in creating things not drawing them.

"No, I really don't know why I don't want that to get out."

"I guess it's a good thing that no one goes to your house for too long. I know that you frame some of your best art pieces upstairs."

"Then don't you mean that no one goes upstairs? Oh, speaking of hiding, I found this really awesome car in my basement and I don't even know how it got there."

"Really?" I poured myself a cup of tea.

"Yea, and it's able to hover too."

"Oh ya, I remember it now." I walked over to the table with a tray and pot.

"How?"

I sat them down and smiled at him, "Are you forgetting how I could know that without you telling me?"

"Oh yea, I forgot about that. It's supposed to be a secret."

"And you telling me about it is a secret? Anyway, are you going to bring the laptop along?"

"Yea, my deadline is coming up so I have to finish it."

"I hope that I don't have to remind you that it's dangerous in the Digital World."

"You don't have to give me that speech. Aren't Panther and Ceres supposed to do homework?"

"They're both asleep."

"Oh. Then you might want to wake them up."

"That just means that Ceres has to do the work in the Digital World."

"But that means that it has a greater chance of not getting done."

"It'll get done. After all, we know what we're there for and so we know to keep a low profile."

There was a knock at the door. I thought that I would get it since Ceres was asleep but she was running to the door with sleepy eyes.

"Hello?" _She got up to answer the door?_

"Hi, is Matt here." It was Izzy's voice.

"Yea, he's with TK at the table." She moved quickly back to bed, leading Izzy in.

"Could you close the door?" I asked.

Tentomon went and closed it for them. I got up and handed over the book to Izzy.

"I'll do my best, Matt."

"Your best is all that's needed."

Izzy nodded and headed out.

"Nice confidence phrase. Learned that from a movie?" TK mocked.

"You would think."

"Who was at the door?" I looked up to see Panther leaning on the rail half asleep.

"It was Izzy. He came for the book to see if he could get anything else from it."

"Oh, could you make breakfast for us? I need to get ready." She said as she walked away.

" Wha'cha doin' TK? "

I turned my head in shock as TK leaped with shock as Ceres said that. She was dressed in a baggie, tank top American jersey with the words 'Wizards' on it; baggie, dark blue shorts; red wristbands, and white socks. The red jewels were still on her back palm and her hair was the same, the same with the other jewels she wears.

"How did you get there?" TK asked, suppressing his heartbeats.

"From the stairs."

"We didn't see you come down, nor heard ya."

"Oh well, your lost. So, what are you doin'?"

"I'm a novelist."

"Oh, so you have a deadline coming up?"

"Yep."

"I understand. I once worked under a writer and it was a lot of fun. Do you have anyone working for you?"

"I just have Matt and Kari. Ken helps with any research that I might need that or everyone else. My publishers don't know that I'm still in high school."

"Wow! That's so cool. You much be really good for them to let that happen. Do you have a pen name?"

"Yea, Tsuki Kibo."

"Moon Hope… That's really cool. Do you like the Moon?"

"Yea, I do."

"Then you'll be happy when we met a Moon Deity. I think everyone had a Sun and Moon Deity." She got a cup of tea and sat down. I was in the kitchen once she explained how she got there so the smell of breakfast was around. Panther sat down as I was placing the food on the plates.

"Ok Ceres, these are the assignments that we have to do." Panther said.

"Ok. This will give me an idea on what those baka exams are on."

When I was placing the food down on the table, she was zipping through the work. I was really impressed by the way she didn't move her torso or head as she did. Once I sat down to eat, I noticed that she was also grabbing her food as she was doing her work. Once she was done, there were two piles near her: one was all of the books that Panther gave her, the other was the work. Her plate was clean and in front of her.

"Did you even do them?" Panther asked in disbelief.

"Of course. When you've been around the world, you tend to know a few things. So you're taking Japanese, Algebra II, World History II, Astronomy, Spanish, and PE."

"Not to mention an art class."

"Then why don't you have work for that class? Do you have an exam for that?"

"You'll see when we get back to school. And we don't have an exam for that class."

"That's great! One less class I have to worry about. After all, art is a general word for a variety of pieces."

"I would agree." TK said from his laptop.

"If you haven't already, get packing." I suggested.

"Sure." Panther went up with her books. Ceres took her finished work and went up too.

"I think I like it better when I could work here in peace." TK said as he was still typing away.

"Like it's not peaceful at your place."

"It is but this is definitely the place to get away to think."

"I call that far."

"Funny."

I picked up the plates and went into the kitchen to clean them.

Around noon, Neon came by. She said that she needed to fix up the room so Panther and Ceres volunteered to help her. She was placing and replacing everything left and right. I think the best thing for her was helping or they might've gotten mad. It was also good that there wasn't that much of things to move around as well. Before the wedding, everyone bought a few things that were homemade looking and we placed that in a rectangular box so that's were some of the smaller items went.

"Hey Matt."

I looked over to TK since I was watching where Neon was placing the things so I don't mess them up. He was looking through his things, "Nani?"

"I can't seem to find my things."

I walked closer to him, "What things?"

"My kit is running low." He showed me his manga drawing kit that I got him to place all his art stuff in. It had all kinds of pens, pencils, easers, rulers, whiteout, and other things that he uses to create his work. Though the easers are barely able to fit in the hand, the same goes for the pencils. I'm guessing that the pens were low and the same with the whiteout.

"I guess we need to get some before we leave."

"Yea, both are due on the same day."

"I thought you were good at keeping them apart?"

"I was but they're the ones that choose it this time, not me."

"And you were too busy with Neon and Don's wedding gifts to work on them," I turned my head to the room, "TK just remembered he left something at his house. We'll be back in a few."

"Ok." Panther answered.

TK got his things so Ceres won't look through it and we headed out. TK went to all the stores that carry them but they were all sold out. We took a bit of rest under some shade since it was getting really hot.

"I can't believe that none of them have any." TK said in frustration.

"I know. Where do we go? I don't know any other art stores."

"Well, there is the one that Ryan told us about."

"Oh, right. Let's go, that's our last hope for now."

We went there and to our surprised, it was closed for the day. I felt like laughing but it really wasn't the time for it. "We could ride around to see if we could find one in another province of Tokyo."

"Don't you want some exercise?"

"I guess so, but you look like you could use a break."

"Water is fine."

We went to the train station and got something for TK and Patamon to drink. We got the tickets so we could ride the train so we waited in the platform.

"Gabumon, why aren't you tried?" Patamon asked since there wasn't anyone around.

"I don't know. I should be since I have fur."

"The train is here." I announced since I didn't want them talking if there were a lot of people on board.

Not that many people got off or on, which was ok by us. We went around, looking for an art store. Though when we found one, it was either closed or sold out of the things that TK needed. I was getting a bit worried since it was getting late and we needed to get back. But I knew that this is important so that TK doesn't have to rely on me for money. I reached into my pockets to find that I didn't find my cell phone.

"Hey TK."

"Hm?" He looked at me with tried eyes, it's around four and the heat wasn't too kind.

"See if you have your cell. I don't have mine."

We stopped so he could check. He looked up at me after checking his bag with worry, "Nope."

"Then they'll just have to wait. And it's taking us this long to get something from your house too." I said to lighten the mood, seeing how tried TK was.

"Good point. We need to say something that's believable." He walked on, though he wasn't handling the heat.

"Not to pick on you, but why are you so tried? We've only been walking for a few hours and it's not like we've never faced extreme heat before."

"I can still get tried."

"Ok, just wondering." I felt something and looked to my left. We were at a university building.

"What's up?" TK asked, probably looking at what I was.

"There something about that building that I need to check out."

"We're on a tight schedule here."

"I know, but there since something about it…"

"Hello, may I help you?"

I looked at the wall to see a lady standing there. There was something familiar about her though.

"Could you tell me what they study in there?"

"They study myths and legends. My Grandfather ran the place before he passed away."

"I'm assuming that you run it now."

"I do. Are you one of Sensei's students that idolize him too much?" She asked with a smile.

"Sensei? You mean the kendo master that no one knows the real name?" I asked.

"That's the one."

"No, I'm not one of his students. I don't even know him."

"Really? Wow, then I'm sorry. You look so much like him."

"Do you know his real name?" TK asked.

"He asked us not to say it to others."

"Us?"

"His friends."

"Thanks for your time." I bowed to her a bit then we walked off.

"Why did you want to know what they studied?"

"Curious. Wasn't the house you and Ken stopped at the same house that Panther and Ceres went to?"

"Now thinking about it, yea."

"So we know at least one of his friends and where she works as well as his last name."

"So Date is his last name… And he looks a lot like you… I really need to speak to his students about coming over some time. I guess it's a good thing that you decided to do those stories."

"Everything has a purpose. Now all we need to do is find an art store."

"Right, then this day is complete."

We walked around more before finding a store that was opened and stocked. I paid for his things and he placed them in his bag. We got on a train and jumped trains to get back to ours. We figured that everyone else was there since the sun was setting.

"What are we going to say?" TK asked.

"You lost it so we had to go out looking for it."

"Then what's the 'it'?"

"Cell phone."

"Doesn't that mean that we need to get one?" I held one up that was brand new. "When did you..?"

"When we found the shop. I thought it up ahead so I got you covered."

"Good."

We headed in. Everyone was there, like I predicted.

"Where were you two? It doesn't take that long to go to TK's house and back." Kari looked really worried.

"Sorry, TK lost his cell phone so we had to get him a new one and for some reason, TK was being a bit picky." I smiled him a small one to show that I mean no harm.

"You're the one that wanted to get me something cheap." TK was just explaining why it too so long.

"Anyway, we're here so lets open that portal." (I told Gabumon to run to my room to grab my cell. Right here is when he just now came back from doing so)

Ken held up his amulet and a portal opened. Everyone went through one by one with their partners. We managed to land on File Island, the place where everything began for us. The new kids never been able to get here so it's nice to know that they will. The only way that I knew it was File Island was by the trees. I walked a bit ahead to see where we were exactly. Finding that we were on the beach where Agumon first went to Greymon and beat Shellmon. The place that Scorpiomon used to capture us wasn't here though but the smashed phone booths were.

A bright light appeared on my right. I looked to see that Styxmon appearing. I smiled and she smiled back.

"I thought you weren't supposed to see me?" Though I was glad she didn't listen.

"How could I stay away? Though you shouldn't be in the Digital World. It's too dangerous."

"But all of the Legendary Digidestined wanted to have some fun here."

"What do you mean 'all'?"

"I found them. Every last one."

"You did? That's great news!"

She was close enough for me to touch her without moving from my spot. I knew that I might go through her but it was something that I needed to check out. I reached out my right hand to touch her face but I did go through and I felt something cold.

"I saw Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon yesterday. They warned us about our old enemies coming back." I didn't move my hand from its spot.

She placed her hand on mine gently, it was also cold, "That's why I said it's dangerous here; your enemies had been brought back."

"Wizardmon told us that we'd need the power of the angel again. Which angel is he talking about?"

Her eyes held a question but she answered it on her own, "I forgot that today is – that – day. I'm not sure. It must have something to do with your enemies."

I nodded, "Izzy is trying to figure out that book that your friends gave us. We've also managed to get the missing pages."

"How?"

"Panther has the power to see into things. She touched it and the image appeared to her. She wrote it down so now we can figure out what's in the book."

She smiled, "You want to prove that legend wrong, don't you?"

"I want to see you in my dreams again."

"I have to get going. Keep an eye out for Gennai since we didn't know that you were going to come here."

"Where do you have to go?"

"Back, I thought that I should warn you but then I knew that you're here for some reason and that reason had to have been good. Stay safe." She moved closer to me and kissed me. It was gentle, light, and cold. I knew that if I applied any pressure, I would go right through. I let a tear fall, since I couldn't yesterday or any other day that I thought about her. She pulled back and smiled before disappearing.

"Matt."

I looked to see that Gabumon was standing near a tree. I figured that he was watching the whole time but just didn't say anything.

"Are the others getting worried?" I walked to him, putting on a cheery face to see if I could fool everyone else.

"They were wondering why you just walked off without saying anything. Did you sense her or something?"

"No, I just wanted to see where we were. I'm not too convincing, am I?"

"I'm sorry to say not."

"That's ok." I placed my hand on his head. It just hit me that he doesn't look older or younger than when we met. It's been years since we first entered and he doesn't even looked age. I wondered if that was due to the fact that he was a Digimon but then Gennai aged over the years.

"Gabumon, do Digimon age at all?"

"That's a strange question."

"You're right. Forget it then." I walked back the way I came and Gabumon followed.

"I don't think we age at the same rate as you guys do. Though I do have a feeling that we're connected to you. Remember how Patamon was when we first met and now look at him."

"You do have a point."

The others were just standing around. Tim was examining the trees and plants around here.

"Sorry to just walk off. We're on File Island and near the beach where we fought Shellmon."

"There! Wow, anything new?" TK asked, his eyes reflected that he remembered what happened here both times.

"Scorpiomon's trap isn't there."

"Didn't you mention that this is where Greymon first made an appearance?" Panther asked.

"Yep. We might as well set camp here since it's late. Everyone pick a spot that looks comfortable and sleep." I walked over to a tree that was close to the beach but still in this area. The others picked other spots for their beds. Neon and Don were next to each other and the same with the three siblings. TK and Kari were near each other and Ken was nearer to Lily Dawn and Ryan. Panther happened to sleep in a tree that was next to the one that Ceres was in. I smiled since we had to be close to the area where Gabumon first went to Garurumon to save me from that Seadramon.

I heard something. I looked around to see that everyone else was fast asleep. I stood up and looked at the sky to see that it was late in the night and the sun would be coming up any time now. I heard the sound again. I looked around to see that no one else heard it so I thought that it might be only me but I still had to check it out.

"Gabumon." I shook him a bit.

"Hm?" He looked at my sleepily.

"Sorry to wake you but I think I hear something."

"Really?" Then I heard it again. I looked at Gabumon and he heard it too.

"Let's go."

He nodded and we headed in the direction that it seemed to be coming from. I know that I should had left a note or something but that didn't cross my mind until we were far away from the site. The noise led us to the lake where Garurumon saved me from Seadramon. I looked around, seeing that it was basically the same, minus the trolley.

"Matt, why are you here? Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

I looked back to see Ceres and Fiterimon walking toward us. Ceres was rubbing her eyes.

"Please tell me that you left a note for the others."

"I did, though I want to know why you walked off again."

"I heard something. Didn't you hear a noise?"

"No, I was asleep."

"I heard it while walking not only when I got up. Did I wake you?"

"Nah can't sleep without some kind of night watch. At least in the forest."

"So you like camping?"

"I've done it plenty of times. It doesn't really matter anymore. As long as there's someone watching for any kind of danger, I'm cool with it."

"Sorry, we should've done that."

"It's cool. So is that noise still around?"

"I don't think so."

"Do you know this area as well?"

"This is where Garurumon first appeared."

"Panther told me that your Digimon needed a reason to evolve the first time. Was something happening that made him feel the need to evolve?"

"A Seadramon was squeezing me to death."

"What's a Seadramon?"

"A sea serpent.

"Cool, so mystical animals have a new home. That's really cool. We better get back before they wake up." She started to walk the other way.

I looked at the lake for one last time before following her. I heard something coming from the water. I turned around to see a shark looking thing bit my leg and was dragging me to the water. I grabbed the ground but he was pulling me in with a lot of his body weight. Gabumon grabbed onto my arms to make sure that I didn't get pulled in.

"Matt, what's…" Ceres started before seeing the effort of Gabumon. He lost his grip on me and I was pulled under the water. I looked at the Digimon that got me and it looked like a shark but not only did it have fins and scales, but gator's arms, legs and tail. I noticed that it had two tails! One was of a shark and the other was a gator. His eyes were as black as any shark that TK ever drew. I started to notice that he was pulling me deep into the lake and my blood was coming from wound that he gave me.

That's when my Digivice started to glow and I knew that I would be all right. A splash was heard; I looked up to see Garurumon coming to get me. The shark/gator Digimon turned really fast and start to drive to the bottom with me still in its mouth. I didn't see any gills but I started to kick it wherever my foot could hit. I couldn't hold my breath any more so I gave up.

I didn't know whether I was dreaming but I started to hear someone calling me. It was a sweet voice, sounded familiar as well. I looked up a bit and in the water was someone that I knew. I couldn't see her face but there was definitely something familiar about her.

"_Fight to live, the others need you. You need to help protect the others." _

I realized that she was a ghost. That seemed to make her leave and I realized that I had to do something. I looked up at Garurumon, who was still following him. I nodded to him, letting him know that it was ok to attack him with me in his mouth. He let out his Howling Blaster on this creature, totally freezing the thing. Its mouth was now wide enough for me to get my leg out. I swam to Garurumon and he took me the rest of the way up. I was coughing up a storm when we hit land. I rested my body on the Digital earth, breathing slowly now.

"Are you ok?" I heard Ceres asked.

"Yea… I think so… How's the leg?"

"It's still bleeding. I'll get something to dress it." I heard her and Fiterimon running into the forest.

"Gabumon, what was that thing?" I thought that Seadramon ruled this lake. _I guess that Seadramon left or something._

"I'm not sure Matt. I've never seen that Digimon before. Do you think that that's the Digimon that called us here?"

"I don't know." I remembered what that ghost girl told me. "We have to get back. I'm having a bad feeling about this." I tried to get up but my body wasn't allowing me.

"Wait until Ceres comes back with something to dress it." Gabumon was supporting me by holding on to my side.

"Gabumon, did you see a ghost in the water?"

"A ghost? You mean like Pumpkinmon, Gotsumon, and Styxmon?"

"Something like them, yea."

"All I saw was you getting pulled by that Digimon. What did you see?"

"I saw a girl in the water. She told me to fight to live since the others need my help."

"Do you trust this girl?"

"There was something familiar about her but I don't know why."

"Matt, I got a good leaf to put on that." Ceres said running back. There was some liquid on it but I figured that it was something that she created. It strung as she placed it on but afterward it was fine.

"We have to get back. I'm getting a back feeling about this." I got up on my own so Gabumon could Digievolve.

"Gabumon Digievolves to…………………… Garurumon!" I hopped on and the same with Ceres and Fiterimon. Garurumon ran as fast as he could with three bodies on his back. There was a hard gust of wind as we were getting closer. As soon as we hit the spot, the other Digimon were in a fighting position and a teenage girl – with silver hair that swirled up; strapless silvery shirt; short jeans and sneakers – was floating in the sky. The wind seemed to be generating from her.

"Are you guys alright?" I got off Garurumon, as did Ceres and her Digimon.

"Matt!" TK looked happy to see me.

"I thought that my sister's pet would've had you for a snack." Her voice was gentle but cruel.

"What was that thing?"

"It's a Digimon, duh."

"Why are you here?"

"I was bored. You know, being stuck in the same place is really boring. So I thought that I should have myself some fun." She smiled evilly. The wind started to pick up.

"Great, she's creating a tornado." Ceres said.

"A what?" I looked at her while holding onto a tree.

"Tornado! Look." She pointed to where the lake was. I was a bit surprised that she wasn't clinging to something like everyone else but I looked just the same. The wind did create a tornado and it was coming toward us. "It looks to be about F1, maybe even F2."

"You can tell?"

"I study these when I was in America."

"Guys, get on the…" Then the wind stopped. I looked up at the girl to see that she was looking at the ground. A girl with fiery hair; blood red, thin strap tank top that showed her stomach; blue jeans and shiny black boots walked out of the forest.

"Firemon, what are you doing here?" The wind girl seemed to be a bit nervous.

"You know that you're not supposed to show yourself anyone of a lower rank." Her voice was heated with anger, though that seemed to fit her look.

"But it's so boring in the Super Realm."

"Deal with it for a bit longer. Very soon the whole Digital World will know of the Super Levels." She then looked at us, "Sorry for this, my friend here doesn't use her head. She's an air-head to speak the truth."

"Why is it bad for the other Digimon to know about the Super Level?" TK asked.

"Don't want to disappoint those weak Digimon that don't even have a form. Not everyone gets one."

"How do you know if you have one?" Ken asked.

"Hope you do. Let's go Airmon!"

"Right. Bye now." She landed and both walked away.

I walked to the others once they were out of sight.

"Where did you go?" TK asked.

"I heard something. I guess it was her since she mentioned about the Digimon that attack me."

"What did it look like?"

"It was weird. It seemed to be a fusion between a shark and a gator since it had something from both."

"Wow, that would be weird. Are you ok?"

"It got me in the leg but I think I'm ok." I looked down at it to notice that it bit on the right leg, near the ankle. I just froze and I don't know why.

"What, it doesn't look bad." Panther said, seeing the shock in my eyes.

"TK, what's wrong?" I heard Kari asked.

I looked to my brother to see that there was horror in his eyes. Then there was suddenly cold water on both of our faces. I looked to see Fiterimon near us. I looked at Ceres for an answer.

"You two looked like it was the end of the world. Matt, it's not that bad and it's not infected. Be happy that you still have your foot. Gators and sharks are known for their tarring actions."

I knew that I didn't look happy but I sounded like it, "You're right. I should be happy. Let's get out of here before anything else happens." I went without allowing anyone to say a word. The foot was hurting, though I think it was due to the fact that I was paying more attention to it.

"Matt, you should see how deep it is before it gets any worse."

"I don't know why I froze like that Gabumon."

"You weren't the only one."

"I know, TK was terrified."

"I was too."

I looked at him, "Do you know why?"

"For some reason, I thought that it will cause a lot of pain in the future. That's why I hope you'll get it check."

"I will. I promise."

Gabumon smiled at me with glee. We didn't understand why we felt this way, which was weird. We just knew that an injury at the right ankle was a bad sign.

We reached the Yokomon Village but no one was around. I remembered about their lake so I went there. I took off Ceres's leaf and stuck my leg in the water. It was cold but that was ok. I looked up at the sky since I couldn't do anything else.

TK

"Poor Matt, it looks like he's been under stress or something." Ryan said.

We were watching him from afar. I could tell that he was worried about that leg of his, as was I. But I didn't know why though. I wanted to talk to him about it but he started walking so fast that I didn't know an excuse to get to him.

"TK, do you know what's up?" Nereida asked.

"I don't know. It might have to do with what Yolie said to him the other day. Kari did tell you guys, right?"

"No, what was it?"

"She was commenting on Styxmon. I don't remember her words but Matt was really upset about it. Not to mention that we visited a site where we lost two good Digimon friends." I just hoped that neither Panther nor Ceres told them what we heard that day.

"Oh, that's why he's probably high stung."

"I'll go talk to him. Could you guys look around for any Yokomon? They look like a radish but pink."

They nodded and started to look around the mini village. I walked over to Matt and sat down next to him. Patamon was on my head. "How do you feel?"

"Tried."

"Did you saw something yesterday?"

"What make you think that I did?"

"It did take you a long time to get back."

"I saw Styxmon. She wanted us to get out but knew that we weren't going to. I told her that we got all the Legendary Digidestined too and she said that was great news."

"You told me that you could hold her in your dreams, what about then?"

"I went through her and she felt cold."

"The others think that you're stressed out. What do you think?"

"That might have something to do with it… I don't know. I'm too tried to really think."

"You should rest some. The others would understand."

"I can't, what if some Digimon comes?"

"It would be good for them. How many times did they really have a chance to bond with their Digimon? Plus it'll also give everyone an idea on what it means to be a Legendary Digidestined."

"Why were you terrified?"

I just stared at him since I really didn't know myself. He looked at me and I just looked at the sunken ship in the middle of the lake, "I have this feeling that you might not be able to use it ever again. Don't ask where I thought that up 'cause I don't know."

"I felt the same way, I think." I looked at him and he was looking at the ship too. He seemed to be searching his heart for an answer, that or his head. Then he looked at me, "I just don't understand why. It's like when I was coming back from the hospital and thought that my car wasn't mine."

"I've felt that way before too."

"When?" His question was also on his face.

"I do need to go to the hospital for information. When I came back, I always felt that there was something not right with the car that I was walking to. Every time I wanted to call you to pick me up or take the bus, but I take the car since I knew it was mine."

"Now thinking about it, Panther did think it was some weird genetic thing."

"When did she tell you?"

"My probe was still on her when I went evil. That's how I know. I didn't comment on it though."

"How are you going to handle that here anyway?"

"I don't know." Then there was this weird glare in the water. We looked out to see it coming toward us. Though Matt was just attack near a lake, this didn't seem to be threatening.

"_Go to Centarumon's labyrinth. You'll find your answers there." _The light disappeared. I looked at Matt but he was still staring at the water.

"Please tell me that you saw that."

He looked at me, "You saw it too?"

"At least I know that I'm not going crazy."

"It's the same voice as what woke me."

"Woke you?"

"That Digimon was pulling me deeper and deeper into the lake. I gave up on fighting it since I lost a lot of my air. That voice, though the form was in a human shape, woke me. She wanted me to fight so I could help you guys out."

"I saw and heard it this time, Matt." Gabumon said, guessing that he didn't the last time.

"Same here." Patamon added.

"Should we trust her?" I looked at Matt for that answer.

"Centarumon's labyrinth? Where is that?"

"Didn't Izzy and Mimi go there when we were separated?"

"You're right. That means that we'll have to ask them."

"Guys, come here."

I turned to see Lily Dawn running back with something in her arms. Matt took his foot out of the water and we ran to her to see what was the matter. Everyone else was there before us.

"It's a Yokomon. I recognized her since Biyomon comes from her." Kari said, as we got closer.

"Is she ok?" Matt asked, looking at her.

She was in a bad condition.

"I don't know. I just found her like this."

"Get her to the spring. Maybe giving her water will wake her."

Lily Dawn did just that. Yokomon moaned before awakening. Lily Dawn was still holding her but we were giving her some room.

"What happened?" Lily Dawn asked since she was closer.

"Who are you?" Yokomon sounded pretty weak.

"A friend. My name is Lily Dawn."

"A Digimon that I've never seen before came and attack the village. Meramon came down to help but he was not match for it either. And now I'm the only one left." Tears were coming out of her eyes.

"Don't worry, we'll protect you."

"We?" She looked over her arm to see us. "Digidestined! You're here!"

I smiled at her, "Could you tell us what stop that Digimon from finishing whatever he started?"

"All I remember was that he stopped and left. There wasn't a real reason for it."

I looked around and there doesn't seem to be any damage to the village.

"Would you like to stay with us?" Neon offered. "It is ok, right?" She looked at Matt.

"Of course it's ok, that's if Yokomon accepts."

"Where's Biyomon?"

"She's home with Sora."

"Sora? Oh, her partner."

"Right."

"I'll go. There's nothing left for me here."

"Great. Now, should we stay here a bit longer is the question?"

"How's your ankle?" Panther asked.

He looked at it and the bleeding stopped, "I think I'm ok."

"We'll rest here a bit longer anyway, is that ok Yokomon?"

"Yes."

"Let's get something to eat." Damon suggested.

"There's some food in the huts." Yokomon said.

"Great." He put his hand in one and pulled it out with birdseed in his hand.

"Great, he didn't take our food."

"Uh………"

"That's what they eat." I explained. "They're not bad."

"Where are the bowls?" Patamon asked.

"They're also in the huts." Patamon flew into one of the huts and brought out a few bowls. He then went into the others to get more. Plantmon was getting the birdseed in the bowls for us. I passed them on to the others. Yokomon was eating up a storm. Matt and Gabumon were sitting back at the lake with their meals but Matt didn't seem to be eating. I didn't know whether to go to him or give him some room.

"What's wrong with Matt?"

I looked to my side to see Tim. "He saw Styxmon yesterday when he went to the beach."

"The one that told him about us?"

"Right, so that's also affecting him."

"It must be hard on him. He doesn't seem depress about it though."

"I bet he thinks about her all the time."

"He doesn't show it then. I think I might have an idea on how he feels."

"Oh, because of your folks?"

"Yea, I think about them often. Nereida and Damon were a bit too young to really remember them."

"Sorry to hear that."

"It's ok. Our Grandmother takes care of us."

"It still doesn't help the pain, does it?"

"Not really, is it because you're a writer that you understand?"

"Our parents are gone too. We haven't gotten rid of their apartments since we're not really ready to move on."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Is that where you're living now?"

"Nah, I'm living in my own house. A writer does get a lot of money."

"Why don't you go over to talk to him?"

"I'm not sure if I should. He might just need some space."

"I think you both get that enough."

"What do you mean?" I looked at him.

"Matt also lives by himself. So he has all day until you get back from school to think. You have the morning and evening to yourself. I understand that you have your Digimon with you but you didn't always have them."

"I know, but he does need some time to think."

"I think you should go over. You just being there might be enough."

"Thanks Tim."

"Not a problem. I am a big brother too so I guess I just understand these things more."

I grabbed more birdseed and headed over to Matt. I just sat there and Patamon was eating at my side. We didn't say anything for a while but I think the others were talking. I couldn't hear them clearly.

"This is a perfect setting for me to play my harmonica, isn't it?"

"Huh?" I looked at him as he put some seeds in his mouth. I smiled, "Did you bring it?"

He set the bowl down and was reaching his pocket. He then pulled it out, "I'm trying not to forget it."

"Then I think you should bring some life into this village."

He smiled and I smiled back. He put the instrument to his mouth and began to play a lively tune. It wasn't something that I've heard before so it was good to hear that he wanted to be happy. I just hoped that I helped him in some way.

Me

Once Yokomon was done healing, we headed out. Yokomon was with Lily Dawn since she felt calm around her. I was leading the way to Centarumon's labyrinth since that's what the ghost wanted. Though I didn't know where it was located, I figured that we'll get there sooner or later. Yokomon was now telling us that there have been many reports of unknown Digimon attacking Digimon. We figured that they were the Super Levels since they were unknown. I was beginning to think that this was the danger that Styxmon warned me about. Of course, since she confirmed that our old enemies are back, I figured that they have a Super Level form. _Why would anyone give them a Super form? They were bad enough when they were just normal. I just hoped that our Digimon have one. _

"Matt, are you sure you know where you're going?" Panther asked, since I guess we were walking for a long time.

"Panther, where's you sense for adventure? It's not how we get there or even the destination, but the way we get there." Ceres said in some kind of grand voice.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Kari asked.

"Not at all. We're walking in any direction to see what happens. This way, we learn more about ourselves and the others that are with us on that same path."

"I guess you would understand that better since you travel a lot." Neon said, "But don't you think that all this walking isn't good for the kids?"

"Women still had to do their job in the past. I think it was only when they were in labor that they got a break."

"So I still have to go PE."

"That's correct. So Matt, don't worry about us, just keep on walkin'."

"Unless your ankle is giving you a problem." Ken said with a concern that I thought that I would only hear from TK.

"I'm fine Ken."

We rested for the night and I decided that I would keep watch tonight so Ceres could feel secured. Yokomon wasn't asking any questions on why there were new Digidestined in the Digital World. I figured that since we were here, she thought it was a new group, though we would have to tell her to keep them a secret from the others. Since they introduced themselves to her, she could give out their names and that would be bad when they got in school. I just hoped that we were close to Centarumon.

"You should rest, ya know."

I looked to my left to see Kari. "I will."

"Not if you're on night watch. I'll watch as you rest."

"Are you sure you can handle it?"

"I think so."

I smiled and got up, "Thanks."

"No problem."

I picked a spot and laid there, kinda glad that my heart was at rest as well as my ankle.

Kari

I knew that Matt needed the rest. He fell asleep real fast.

"Did you notice that Ken was also terrified when Matt mentioned that the Digimon got his right ankle?" I looked down as Gatomon and she was watching the flames.

"I did," I went to looking at them too, "That's something like what happened at school."

"There has to be a reason why they're acting so weird lately, that's including Matt."

"I have a feeling that we're missing something from their past."

"But, shouldn't you know? You were with them when we weren't around."

I looked down, not really staring at anything, "There was something about him that didn't want to be bothered. I don't understand why though."

"You mean that he didn't want anyone around?"

"No… Even before Styxmon died, he was the only one that TK talked to the most."

"But… isn't that reasonable?"

"He was sad about something. I could tell by the way he looked."

"Do you have an idea on what that could be?"

"No, but Ken was acting the same way."

"They both were acting weird? Are they still acting weird? I mean like before."

"It stopped so suddenly, now thinking about it."

"It did? When did it start?"

"It started ever since Ken moved closer to us. Ken was hanging with everyone and TK wasn't hanging with us. Ken looked sad about that for some reason and he became a bit quiet. I didn't understand why but I didn't do anything. That's also around the time when Matt stopped his band."

"Why?"

"I don't know, they don't know. All they could tell me that Matt's heart was lost. They just hoped that one day he could find it again."

"This is all starting to get complex and we haven't figured out anything. When did it stop?"

"Just about when Styxmon died. That's when it stopped completely."

"And now something else is starting up."

"I wish they would tell us what's the problem is. I really want to help them."

"We have to try our best."

"I know. At least Panther and Ceres could keep Matt and TK happy."

"They do seem have that covered."

I smiled and the rest of the night was silent.

Me

Kari was tried as we were walking. I knew that I should've told her to wake me when she felt tried. My ankle was feeling a lot better and I did thank Kari for allowing me that rest. The others agreed that they would help with the night watch so that no one would watch and not get rest the next night, which definitely would make things better. TK said that he would watch tonight, though I knew that he really wanted to get some work done.

We didn't see any Digimon before we stopped for lunch. Plantmon and Bellimon were letting us now what was good to have and not to have. I was setting up a fire as the others were looking around. Yokomon was also helping them in any way she could.

"Matt?"

I looked back to see that Ken was bringing more wood.

"Thanks Ken, those could come in handy."

"Where do you want me to place them?" I could tell that there was something different about him but I couldn't really tell why.

"Anywhere is fine. As long as I know where they are."

He placed them near a tree that was close to him. "Anything else that needs to be taken care of?"

"Oh, Ken, I see that you got the firewood. I thought that Matt would send me to get that when I got back." I looked in front of me to see that TK and Patamon were bringing back some fruits. They placed them on the leaf that we were using for the food placement.

"I thought about it as we were out there. Is there anything else?"

"We could see if there's a lake or something around this area. That way we could use less of the water that we brought."

"Right, let's look." Ken walked to where TK was and they headed off. There was something about the way that Ken was acting that was making me think of how TK would act. I don't know why, but I thought that it was almost befitting if I didn't feel something from TK.

TK

I realized that I was angry at Ken. This isn't the only time that that has happened. I don't know why I felt angry at him when Matt told me that he was apart of this group. I wasn't angry at Kari when we found out that she was also apart of it so I didn't understand why I was angry only at him. I combated against it by trying to get to know him better, since I also realized that I didn't even know him that well. Then of course he does this and I'm angry again. _And there I thought that I was getting to know him better._

"Do you think that there's a water source around here?" Ken asked.

"I hope. That's why we're checking."

"Do you know where your brother is taking us? He seems to have some destination in mind."

"If he does then he hasn't told me…… Though he did mention that we should head to Centarumon's labyrinth."

"Why?"

"I don't really know. It might have something that Styxmon told him."

"Are you mad at me for something? What did I do wrong?"

I stopped and turned to face him. I felt bad for being angry at him, "No, I guess I'm just stressed out. My new book is due soon and I don't have much of it done."

"Is that why you want to have night watch tonight?"

"Yea, that way I have more time for it."

"Maybe you want ought to work on it during lunch. I think Matt is planning on creating a big lunch." He smiled as if everything would be all right. I hoped that they were but I knew that I was mad at him for some reason and I have to know why.

I smiled to show that I agreed, "I think that's a great idea. Let's go find some water so we could save some of ours."

We continued to walk. I felt better, knowing that I wasn't mad at him anymore.

Kari

I found Panther with Plantmon; they were coming back, though I don't know where they went.

"Kari, how well do you know this place?" She asked as she reached me.

"I know this area not too well, I'm afraid. Matt and TK know more than I do, why?"

"Panther thinks that there might be something around here that could help." Plantmon said.

"Really? Like what?"

"I had a vision of a stone building thing. I'm not really sure what it means though."

"That question should go to Matt or TK. Let's go back then."

She nodded and we headed back. I've remembered Mimi telling me one time that she and Izzy were in a stone building when they were all separated. _That might be the place that she was talking about, if it survived the Dark Masters and Myotismon._ That's when it hit me that this world is changing at a fast rate. When they went into the Digital World to stop Ken, the world had changed. _It itself has evolved to meet with the new challenges that it has to face. And it brings new kids to help with that. Now remembering, we were told that there was a group before us that came here. I wonder what happened to them and why can't they sense that the Digital World needs them again._

"What's on your mind?"

I looked at Panther but I couldn't read her thoughts, "I was just noticing how fast this world changes."

"Everything needs a change. Our world has done the same thing."

"But this world has had a lot done to it. Every time there's a new danger, kids are collected to fight to protect this world."

"And our world is perfect?"

"That's not what I mean."

"Look, this world is just like any other. It has its own problems that need fixing and we're the ones that have to do that job."

"I know, but it just seems like this world can't defend itself against anything."

"Maybe, or maybe it just needs some guidance to help it get on the right path."

"I hope your right. Otherwise people will know about this place."

"Humans are greedy, aren't they?"

"The ones that I don't want to come here will be. Then the problems will definitely be bigger than anyone can handle."

"I think you old folks need to relax."

"Who are you calling old?" I really didn't understand what she just said there. I'm usually able to but that was just out of the blue.

"I'm talking about you, Ken, TK, and Matt. You're all too tight. You need to relax and enjoy this world."

"We've never been here to relax."

"Look, we don't know what powers our Crest has on this world. It doesn't seem that we're needed as much as you older ones but there's one thing that's clear."

"What?"

"That our Crests aren't ordinary or else we've would've been there with you and the others."

"You do have a point. Why only now that you're Crest need to be revealed?"

"You're asking the wrong person. The person we need to see is that Digimon that looks a bit like Gatomon."

"Like me? You mean the one that wrote the book?"

"Correct. There's something about her that's not right. I just know there's something not right about it."

"I guess your powers are getting stronger."

"I guess so. That's another thing that's been on my mind. Why do most of these Crest holders have some kind of power? There's a whole list that needs to be answered so you guys can't be so uptight about it. The answers will come to us sooner or later. Ceres once told me that everything has their place."

"You two seem to be good friends as well."

"Yea, we're good friends. I guess since we both live under the same roof."

"I hope that she doesn't leave. I think it's good to have her around to cheer everyone up."

"I think she likes that job too, that or messing with our heads."

We both laughed. When we reached Matt, the fire was ready. Though neither the food nor water was there.

"No one else has come back?" Panther asked.

"Ken and TK did but they went to see if there's a lake or something nearby that we could use instead."

"Wouldn't you know whether there was a lake near here? You seemed to have been here before."

"It might've changed or something happened that created a place for water to collect."

"Do you happen to know where a stone building is?"

He turned around looked at her, "A stone building? Where?"

"I don't know. I was getting some weird bananas when I saw it. I felt that it was important so I was hoping that you knew about it."

"I think I do. Izzy and Mimi were once in a stone-built labyrinth where they found out that our Digivices are an important tool. Though then we found out that the real power was inside of us and not in these devices." He held out his and looked at it. I remembered Tai explaining that to me once we got home. He also told me that a data Digimon was using me to explain to everyone the past.

"Do you know where it is?"

"Not really."

"I'll ask Ryan to find it then."

"There is a Digimon that lives there."

"Really?"

"Yep, though the problem is that he's friends with Gennai."

"Then I think that you guys go and find out why we need to head there. That is after lunch."

"At least I can remember how to cook."

I noticed that she closed her eyes for a few moments before opening them again, "You don't have to worry about the food. The others got plenty."

"Did you see it?" I asked.

"Lily Dawn contacted everyone to see how much food we needed. She just now told me."

"Wow, that must be cool."

"It is. I didn't ask her to get TK or Ken. Do you want me too?"

"They're fine on their own."

"Matt!"

I looked behind to see Ceres running up.

"What is it?"

"I was hoping that we could stay here a bit after lunch. I was hoping to get some mediation in."

"Mediation? Why don't you do that on your night watch or would you fall asleep?"

"What you're thinking is weak mediation. I'm talking about the one that could last days or years if I wanted to."

"Then should you not do that?" Panther asked.

"That's why I wanted to stop somewhere where we could stay a few hours. It doesn't take me long to get into the state and it doesn't take me long to get out."

"We'll wait for everyone else's answer."

"Ok, that's cool." She placed the food on the leaf that the other fruits were on. Then it just hit me, since Matt wasn't looking for any food, how those other fruits got there.

Everyone else came back, placing the food on the leaf as well. Then we were helping Matt get ready whenever they got back.

Ken

We didn't see any signs that there was water around. Then TK stopped so suddenly. I walked up to him to see that there was a stone building of some kind.

"TK, what is that?"

"I'm not sure. I think it's the place that Matt's been searching for."

"You mean Centarumon's labyrinth."

"Izzy and Mimi both met him when we started out. They said that he lived in a stone building that held the code of the Digital World. Let's go make sure." He looked at me.

I nodded. We went to down the hill and into the building. I recognized the symbols on the wall. It was telling us how to get pass the labyrinth and how to bring up an image of the labyrinth.

"This is how Mimi and Izzy described it. That must be the Black Gear that she kicked."

I looked to what TK was looking at and saw a large gear near a root. I do remember reading that there was an evil Digimon that used something similar to my Dark Ring. "Should we head back to let the others know?"

"Yea, that way we can all go together."

We started to head back when there was a quake. We looked at each other than ran outside to see nothing that seemed to be causing it. Suddenly a huge dinosaur-like Digimon came from the forest. It had a metal mask on its head and metal band around its stomach. It stopped near us and just looked at us.

"That's one big Digimon." TK commented in a nervous mood.

"Hope it's friendly."

"You're not the only one."

We started to inch back slowly. The dinosaur would've been a brontosaur if it were in our world. It lowered its long neck so its head was closer to us. It seemed to be smelling us or something. It raised its head back up and walked in another direction. We both let out our breath then looked at each other. We laughed, realizing that we were both scared that that Digimon would do something to us.

"Ok, let's go before anything else weird happens." TK said.

"I agree."

We went back.

Me

I heard something coming from the forest. I looked to see TK and Ken. I felt relieved that they were all right.

"I see that you didn't find any water." I said.

"Yea. So I guess that we'll just use the one we brought." TK said. I searched my pocket for all the gallons of water that I packed. I figured that we'd need it since I wasn't sure where we would land. I brought one out and started to fill the pot with it.

"Sorry."

"It's ok. You were just looking to see." I smiled at him to show him my support.

He smiled back at me and lunch was on. It was big to celebrate their first real trip to the Digital World. Ceres asked everyone if it was ok for her to mediate. They didn't see a problem with that since Panther told them about the stone building. TK and Ken both looked like they wanted to say something. TK worked on his latest novel as he was eating. Patamon was the only one that got close to him. Even I stayed away to allow him to get some serious work done. Patamon brought him any food or drink that he wanted.

Once everyone was done, TK stopped working. We all wanted to see how Ceres was going to do this. She assured that we watching wouldn't mess up her concentration.

"I shall explain the ancient art of mediation to you. I had learned this from monks in the highlands of China." I noticed that she started to relax and breathing slowly. She was in the position that you traditional see them in for mediation. Her eyes were closed, "One's must close all senses so that nothing can disturb that person. I won't do that just yet. I must then quiet my thoughts and feelings until there's silence. With that silence inside of me, I should be more aware of the unspeakable treasure that will help me in knowing other ways of gaining knowledge. Now, I'm going into my mediation. Nothing will be able to disturb me while I'm in this state." Her breathing nearly stopped. I was considered but she seemed to have done this before. Though I wasn't sure whether we were allowed to move since she was like this.

Panther walked up to her and poked her in the head. Her head just moved with Panther's movements.

"Ceres once told me that she stayed in that state for days." Fiterimon said.

"What got her out of it?" Don asked.

"She found out her path. She needed to know whether to get one meal or another."

We all either laughed or giggled, depending on the type of person we were.

"I could just imagine how the host and manager reacted." Panther said with a laugh.

"Well, do you think it safe for us to leave her like this?" I had to know since I didn't want to leave her like this.

"Don't worry about it. We'll stay here and keep watch. You guys need to find that stone building and get some answers." Panther gave me the thumbs up.

I smiled, "Ok, you guys ready to go?"

They nodded and we headed out. After a while, I noticed that TK and Ken were leading us down some path.

"Do you two know where we're going?"

"What makes you that we do?" TK asked in a sly way.

"There it is." Ken said, running a bit ahead.

"Great, I was wondering when we'd get there." TK followed him.

"Do you know what they're talking about?" Kari asked.

"Not a clue." I felt myself smiling but I'm not sure why.

We sped up to follow them. They stopped at the edge of the hill. I looked beyond them to see the stone building that they must have talked about.

"Is that the labyrinth?" I asked.

"It is." TK answered.

"When did you…?" Kari asked.

"When we were looking for some water. We didn't go in far but, according to TK, it's just how Izzy and Mimi described it."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Gatomon asked. She jumped off Kari and ran towards it.

We ran afterward her. We entered the stone building. I looked at the symbols and they did look a bit like the ones in the book, though I could tell that these are a bit different. They were obviously different since Izzy himself was here and he still couldn't figure out the text in the book.

"Ken, do you understand this?" I heard Kari asked. I looked at Ken and he was looking at the wall that I was.

"I can but I wish I didn't misplace my old laptop."

"Why?" TK asked.

"I could decode these better if I had that. That's where I put all my data on the Digital World."

"How could misplace something like that?"

"I'm not sure. I guess I lost it when we were moving."

"If anyone finds that then who know what they could do." Kari looked every worried.

"Let's not think about it. Ken, can you tell whether or not Centarumon is still here?" I wanted to know since he might know why we had to come here. Not to mention why the Super Levels are now appearing.

"This only tells us how to get around the obstacles that lay in the labyrinth. It also lets us know there's a way to call up a hologram of the place." He pulled out his Digivice and started to push the buttons in what seemed randomly. Then there was an image floating above his Digivice. "According to what I see, there is something in there." He looked at the only door that led inside.

"Should we go in and see who it is?" Kari asked.

"That might be a smart move." TK said. Everyone was looking at that door.

"Then let's go. I really don't want to leave them there too long."

They nodded once I said that. We all walked inside and Ken was leading us. They told us that Mimi and Tentomon were lost in this labyrinth until Izzy got them out. Centarumon found them and once they got him off of Devimon's control, he told them about the Digivices. _Now thinking about it, if all these things are just tools to help us realize our power then why was it them that concealed Apocalymon? Shouldn't the light that entrapped him come from us? Maybe they aren't just tools to help us realize our power. Otherwise why would they come in a different form for the new ones? I wonder if this new group follows the same rules as the others?_

"That Digimon is moving." Ken said.

"Moving where?" TK asked.

He looked at us, "Toward us. If it's not Centarumon then what do we do? It's too narrow for a battle."

"We'll wait and see." I said with confidence. Though what was I confident in, I'm not really sure.

It wasn't long before we heard something. It sounded like horse hooves. Centarumon appeared behind the corner.

"Centarumon!" Kari said with glee.

"Digidestined? What brings you here?"

"We were just in the neighborhood so we thought we dropped by." TK lied.

"Well, you're just in time. I was just about to contact Gennai to ask him to contact you to come to the Digital World. I have something important to show you." He went back down his path.

We followed him, glad that we decided that they should stay behind. He led us to a room that on the far wall held an image of the old Digivice. He walked to it and something was being brought up next to him. I noticed that it was an old looking book. It was getting my heart excited.

"Centarumon, what is that book?" I could tell that there was a shock in my voice.

"You…recognized this book?" He picked it up and was coming toward us.

I shook off the feeling, "No, of course not. How could I know about a book that's in the Digital World?"

"This book seems to contain many prophecies about the all the Digidestined." That made me worried.

"All of the Digidestined?" I tried to hide it but it didn't work.

"Isn't that great news?"

"You could read that?"

"A little bit. It's in an ancient text that takes a while to translate."

"But you do have a program that can translate it?" Ken asked.

"I think so. Why?"

"Could you give us the programming?"

"Do you need it for something?"

"Well, if that's book full of prophecies for us then shouldn't we look at it?" TK said, making it seem like we were fooling him to get the book.

"Before you give us anything, is there a prophecy or prophecies that you need to tell us about?" I said, since their words were making us seem bad.

"Yes, it's the one that Gennai gave you when you were fighting against Myotismon. It seems that he messed it up."

"Messed it up?" Kari questioned.

"Yes, I'll read to you want it really said:

The wings of bats will blanket the sky. The rising dead will call the name for the King of the Undead Digimon; when the moon strikes the hour of between, the Undead King will reveal himself to reign over the living. The Angel of Peace will shoot an arrow of its divided power at the protectors of courage and friendship; the new stage will be reached. Recycle."

He looked up at us. Ken looked at us too, "What did you hear it as?"

"The sky will be darkened by the wings of many bats. The fallen people will invoke the name of the undead Digimon King, and when the clock strikes the hour of the beast the undead king will reveal himself in his true form as the beast. Then angels will shot arrows of hope and light at the loved ones of those they have been sent to protect, and a miracle will happen. Please always recycle." TK answered.

"They almost sound like two different prophecies." I pointed out.

"Did he want to give us encouragement? Centarumon, are you sure that's the one that he told us about?" Kari didn't want to believe in this one for some reason.

"I marked this page myself when Gennai looked at this book."

"Then why tell us now?" TK asked.

"I just now decided to look at the prophecy myself. That's when I found out that he didn't tell you the prophecy right. It might be for another time that you're needed."

"But… That means that there are other Crests out there that we don't know about." Kari said. She seemed scared for some reason. TK placed his hand on her shoulder and that seemed to do the trick.

"Well, that's not the only one that mentions an unknown Crest. There are a few others but I haven't been able to translate them."

"Thanks for letting us know." I smiled, since at least we have an idea on what Wizardmon was talking about. _So, in ordered to have everyone reach the Super Level form, Tai and I have to get shot by arrows._

He handed the book to me, "Here, I think you might want to hold on to this. You need it more than I do."

I smiled, "Thanks a lot Centarumon." I took it and smiled greater since I knew that this book had the two legends that Styxmon told me.

"Ken, I'll get you that program."

"Thanks, it'll help out a lot."

Ken followed Centarumon to one of the walls that supported the stairs. I looked that the image of Digivice engraved into the wall. TK and Kari were watching them.

"Is there something the matter?"

I looked down at Gabumon, "I was wondering why we have Digivice when they're all they do is let us know we have some kind of power within us?"

"Maybe this book will tell us."

"I hope that's true."

"Thanks so much, now we might be able to translate that book." Ken said.

I looked to see that Ken was walking back to us and Centarumon was staying where he was.

We waved bye and started to walk away. I stopped and looked at him, "Could you not tell Gennai that we were here?"

"Why? Did he not send you here for something?"

"We're here on your own. So please don't tell him."

"You have my word."

"Do you know anything about attacks from unknown Digimon?"

"Were you attacked?" He sounded considered.

"Yea, the same with a Yokomon Village that we knew. Only one Yokomon survived to tell us what happened."

"I'm sorry to hear that. There have been reports that unknown Digimon are attacking or appearing all around the Digital World. We don't know where they come from or what they want. They seem to be as diverse as we are."

"You don't think of them as a higher level or something?"

"No, all they are doing is causing chaos in our peaceful world. I'm sorry that we can't keep it in order for long."

"That's ok. I don't think we mind the work."

"But, you all have grown to live your lives. It's not fair for you to just give up on your lives there."

"That's nice of you to be considered about us. I'm glad that our friends now how hard we worked to make sure that your world is safe. Don't worry though, as long as you guys can live in peace, that's all we care for." I placed my hand on Gabumon's head, "After all, we have Digimon that saved our lives more than once. We own them big."

I could sense that he was smiling so I smiled back, "Stay safe and thanks for your help." I followed the others. They were waiting for me not too far ahead. I held on to the book like it was gold. Once we get this to Izzy, the same with the program, we can crack the code to both books. I started to wonder whether or not this was the reason that ghost sent me to Centarumon. Though now I can't complain.

"Kari, why are you scared?" I asked.

"I'm the one that the prophecy told about. What if it's Myotismon again?"

"We'll handle him just like all the other times." TK said with confidence.

"What happened the first time that you heard that prophecy?" Ken asked.

"Gabumon and Agumon went to their Mega forms." Then I heard something. It seemed that everyone but Kari and Gatomon heard it too.

"What's wrong?" She asked with worry.

"There's something around here."

"It is the Digital World." Gatomon pointed out.

Then the sound of a tree was falling came to our ears. I looked behind me to see a thick, tall tree falling toward us. "Move!"

We had barely enough time to dodge the thing. TK made sure that Kari was ok. I looked beyond the tree to see a guy wearing a weird looking tank top; pants; a sword case; and long wristbands. There was a sword in his hands and he was smiling evilly at us.

"Who are you? And how did you get here?" Kari asked.

"I'm one of the Digimon known as Twin Warriormon. I walked."

"Twin Warriormon?"

"Yes and here comes my twin brother."

We looked behind us to see a guy wearing long sleeves shirt and baggie pants. He had a wipe with three pongees at the end and he too smiled evilly.

"Let's deal with these humans." Said the first one.

"Right."

They leaped into the air. His sword started to glow. Once it seems like when it reached a good level or its high level, he launched that energy at us and I heard that his brother launched his weapon at us.

Panther

It hasn't been that long since Ceres went into mediation and the others went to find that stone building. I wondered why Ceres now decided to go into mediation. Other than that it's the only time she could in safety, I knew that there was another reason. I've learned that she does things with a reason, however silly she does doing it.

"I wonder how long she'll take." Nereida pondered.

"She might be looking for something important." Neon said.

"What's important about mediating?" Yokomon asked.

"It's supposed to be good for your mind and soul. Though then again, that's only for the low level of mediating." Ryan said.

"The higher ones allow you to find yourself." Don added.

"So she's finding herself?" Yokomon asked.

"She might be." Tim said.

We heard a tree falling.

"Do trees fall randomly here?" Damon asked.

"No, something has to knock it down." Yokomon answered.

"Isn't that the direction that Matt and they went in?" Lightningmon asked.

There was a loud explosion where the tree fell.

"Shendramon, check it out." Tim said.

He nodded and flew up. "**I think there's a fight over there.**"

"Where did that voice come from?" Yokomon asked.

"That was Shendramon. That's how he talks to us." Bellimon said

"Oh."

"Too bad we can't check it out." Nereida looked at Ceres.

Then she opened her eyes so suddenly.

"Ceres?" Fiterimon sounded a bit worried.

"They're in trouble."

"How do you know?" Ryan asked, though we were already to bolt.

She got up from the ground, "When I mediate, not only I can ask about anything; I could see anything that needs my help. It's like Panther's ability to see into the future, past or present."

"So you saw that they were in trouble?" I asked.

"It wasn't clear but they're in some kind of trouble."

"Thanks for explaining, now let's get going." Tim said and we all ran in the direction that they went in, as well as the blast. _I hope they're ok._

Me

We didn't get hit by the blast, I looked around to see that our Digimon Digievolved to block the attack. All were in their next forms.

"Are you alright?" TK asked.

"We're fine." Angemon assured.

"How could low levels block a Super Level's attack?" Questioned the first one.

Angewomon looked beat but that wasn't stopping her determination. Stingmon was holding the wipe thing.

"Don't worry brother. There's no way for them to defeat us. We're unstoppable!" Laughed the second.

"Are you guys alright?"

I looked back to see the others. Ceres was with them as well.

"How are there other humans in the Digital World?" Yokomon asked in shock.

"They're Digimon." Ken said as we all got up.

"So, that report saying that slave Digimon joining up with some kids was true after all." Said the second one.

"I'm sure that Bossmon would love you all to come back to him." Said the first one.

"You work for Bossmon?" Fiterimon said with anger.

"No, but we know him."

Then Stingmon moaned in pain. I looked to see that he was being shocked by the wipe. Before Ken decided to get it off him himself, Angemon got it. That's when the second one called it back. The first powered his sword and launched it at us, though before we had time to react, we realized that it was aimed at the others.

"Golden Dust!" Sakuramon yelled. From her hands came tiny dust particles that shined like gold. It landed on the energy and turned it to dust. It fell on the ground with a metallic sound.

"I guess we shouldn't underestimate you." Then he launched at them. Garurumon got in his way though. They started to fight but I was worrying since they're Super Levels.

Angemon went after the other one. This gave me the chance to get the book in my pocket without them knowing. I had a feeling that if they saw the book, they might want it.

"Get him Garurumon!" I cheered him on since this seemed to be an unfair fight. _If only Tai were here then we could DNA Digievolve._ I started to notice that Garurumon wasn't really losing to him nor was he getting the upper hand.

"Go Angemon!" TK cheered his partner on.

Then there was a blast that came from behind of the others. I looked but I couldn't see what it was.

"I see that Spikelizmon is finally here." Said the second one.

"What took that stupid lizard so long?" Complained the first.

"They brought more." Kari said with worry.

"Don't worry, we'll handle this." Don said. _I hope your right._

Don

There was a Digimon with a spike collar, spiked scales, a tail and sharp claws. He looked nasty but I knew that we could handle it.

"So, you're those Digimon that ran away." His voice was harsh.

"So what if they are?" Damon asked.

"Then they need to be taught a lesson." He brought his right hand closer to his face.

"Not if we have anything to say about it. Let's go get them." Ryan said, looking at Breomon.

He nodded and jumped ahead of us. A black shadow thing came out from Breomon's body and started to take shape of a dog or something, "Black Wolf!" That shadow launched itself at the Digimon and hit him hard. He was sent back a few feet but it was either that he wasn't expecting it or it was that Breomon's attack was strong. Ryan was cheering his partner on just the same.

"What are you cheering about?" He curled into a ball and spun right at us. He hit Breomon and he struggled to get up.

"Breomon!" Ryan yelled, hoping that he was ok.

"Vine!" Bellimon yelled, the vines came from the side of her head and aimed for the Digimon, though they bounced off.

"Sun Laser!" Plantmon's thing on her head lit up and shot a laser beam at the Digimon. But that didn't do anything either.

He rolled right through them too and they were now struggling to stand, like Breomon.

"Bellimon!"

"Plantmon, get up!"

"Golden Dust!" Sakuramon launched her attack against at him. Her dust wasn't sticking so that meant that he wasn't going to be turned into a golden statue. She managed to dodge his attack but it was just barely. AeroDinomon flew into the picture; I used my healing powers to make sure that I didn't fall from my sickness.

"Flame Wind!" He flapped his wings hard several times to make flames shoot out from them, aiming at the Digimon. But he launched at him, disbursing the flames and knocking him out of the sky.

"AeroDinomon!" I yelled, since I could tell that was a hard hit. Sakuramon was near him to make sure that he was all right. She got up above AeroDinomon and started to glow. The wind around her started to pick up as well. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing as well, "Pixie!" The glow formed into a sphere above and shot at the Digimon.

When it hit, the Digimon fell out of his ball.

"Sakuramon!" I heard Neon yell. I looked over to see that Sakuramon wasn't in the air. Neon ran over to them and I followed.

"Are you guys alright?" Neon asked. Sakuramon looked weak and AeroDinomon looked beat.

"We're… fine… just… need… rest…" AeroDinomon managed to say before collapsing completely.

I looked over to where the Digimon was and he was getting up again. Then Angewomon and Stingmon appeared, holding him down.

"Thanks guys." Fiterimon said then looked at the others standing. I looked behind us to see that Ken and Kari were with us now.

"Water Fire!" Fiterimon yelled.

"Thunder Claw!" Lightningmon yelled.

"**Rock Crusher!**" Shendramon echoed in our heads.

"Snow Storm!" Huskimon yelled.

All their attacks hit him in the chest. He was feeling a lot of pain by the way he was screaming. Angewomon and Stingmon moved out of the way and flew in front of him but above.

"Celestial Arrow!" Her glove grew wings and a string that attached the ends; what looked to be an energy arrow formed in her hands as she took aim.

"Sting Strike!" Stingmon grew a laser dragger on both arms. He launched himself at the Digimon once Angewomon shot her arrow.

Once he went through him, he was deleted.

"Are you guys alright?" Kari asked.

"We're fine. What about TK and Matt?" Damon asked.

"Angemon and Garurumon are still fighting them." Ken said, looking back. Then there was a bit of horror on his face.

"What? Nereida asked.

"Matt and Garurumon aren't there."

We picked up our tried Digimon and ran to them to see what he meant. Angemon was still fighting in that area but Garurumon was nowhere in sight.

"Maybe that other Digimon took the fight somewhere else." I suggested.

"But where?" Ken asked.

Then, somehow, Angemon defeated the Digimon. Angemon went back to Patamon, falling back down to TK.

"TK, where's Matt?" Panther asked as we all ran to him.

"The other Warriormon brought the fight that way." He pointed to his southwest.

"Then you guys got lucky." Fiterimon said.

"Why?"

"With that Digimon, you have to hit at the same time and the same way in ordered to have a chance in defeating them."

"Then why do they have different weapons?" Kari asked. I noticed that Wormmon and Gatomon were back.

"To make it that much harder."

"Then that means that Angemon and Were Garurumon were doing the same movements." TK looked in the direction that he knew Matt went in.

"He Digievolved? That would make mimicking that much easier."

Me

Were Garurumon went back to being Gabumon but he was exhausted. I ran to him to make sure that he was ok.

"Gabumon?"

"I'm fine. Just need a little rest." He put on a cheery smile.

"Ok, that's fine. Great job."

"Thanks."

I decided to sit around for a while since Gabumon isn't exactly a lightweight. I brought out my harmonica and started playing. It was helping Gabumon relax and it would also help the others find us faster if we where still close to them.

_You can't hide it forever, Matt._

I stopped playing and stood up. I didn't see anyone around that could've said that.

_Why are you hiding your power?_ "Whose there?"

"Matt?" Gabumon sounded worried.

"There's someone around."

_Embrace your destiny!_

"What destiny?"

_Your place among the evil._

"Evil? I am not evil!"

"Matt, what's going on?"

I looked down at Gabumon who was still too tried to move, "This voice is telling me to join the evil side."

_Why not? You know that you are evil, maybe even the evilest of them all._

"This guy's losing it."

"I'm sorry Matt, I can't move yet."

"It's not your fault."

_Even your Digimon thinks that you should join. You know that it's your rightful place._

"Gabumon, just rest. Don't worry about me. I'm not going down the road I did when Cherrymon talked to me."

Gabumon smiled at me before closing his eyes.

_Only one with a dark heart would turn on their friends._

"_Get out of my head."_

_Finally, you talk with your head._

"_Whoever you are, leave me alone."_

_But Master, I must get you to return._

"_Master?"_

_Yes, you are the purest evil. You have many under you. Don't let yourself be controlled by the light._

"_I'm afraid that you got the wrong guy."_

_Then why did you attack two of your friends?_

"_What? How do you know about that?"_

_I sensed that you were out of hiding. _

"_I'm not evil. I never was."_

_Who says?_

"_I do!"_

_But do you really know?_

"_I know because I have the Crest of Friendship!"_

_But evil are allowed to have friends. It just means that all evil will be loyal to each other._

"_If I really am your 'Master' then I order you to go away and leave me alone."_

_What are you afraid of? You have more power than any light. Oh, I see. You have locks._

"_Locks?"_

_Yes, locks to keep you away from your powers. That pitiful little girl is trickier than I thought._

"_Girl?"_ Then the ghost that told us to go to Centarumon came into my mind.

_And here I thought she was gone forever. No matter, your barrier has already been broken. You must now get free._

"_If that's the girl that you're referring to then I'm not going to do anything."_

_No Master, it's another girl that I'm referring to. She's not in the Digital World._

"_Do I know this girl?"_

_Of course not, but she does want to destroy all evil. That will be you if you don't realize your power._

"_Why do I have the feeling that you're lying?"_

_Why would I lie? I'm only telling the truth. After all, I'm also evil so she'll be after me too._

"_Wait, why am I listening to you? I told you to get lost."_

_But Master, don't you want to be freed?_

"_I want you to get out of my head."_

_To come out, you must remove your locks. One of them is that symbol on your neck._

I looked down to see my Amulet of Virtue. _"I'm not going to remove it."_

_But you must if you want to be freed._

I don't know why I was looking at it or why I was even listening to this annoying voice. _"I'm not evil."_

_Master, those are just comforting words to ease the mind. You know you are; even Ceres and Panther know you are._

I was remembering Ceres telling me that she knew the evil that came out that day. Somehow, I have an ancient evil inside of me since birth though she doesn't know how that happened.

_You know it's true. Embrace your destiny!_

I looked at Gabumon, who I just noticed was looking at me. I knew that I held a sad expression on my face since I couldn't think of what to do. I wanted this voice out of my head but I didn't know how. Of course he telling me that I'm evil doesn't help either.

"Matt." I focused on him again, there was a determine look in his eyes. I wanted him to tell me that I wasn't evil, to convince me that I wasn't. "What's going on?"

"That voice isn't out of my head. Gabumon, I'm not evil, right?"

"Of course you're not."

"What about when I attack you guys? I even went after you." I made a fist.

"I thought you said that you don't remember what happened?"

"I did read it. I wanted to see for myself how Killer died."

"It wasn't your fault. You had no control."

"But, it felt like I was able to do something but didn't."

"You just didn't know how it got out. That's why you're drinking tea."

_That's only to control the emissive power you have._

I sat down, I didn't understand why I was so confuse. I felt Gabumon's paw on my shoulder. I looked at him to see the same smile he gave me when Cherrymon was talking to me. I held the Amulet of Virtue in my hands and looked at it, "I don't want to be evil."

_But you know that you are._

"Control it." I looked at Gabumon; he was still smiling.

"You think I should do what the voice is telling me?"

"I'm not sure what it's saying but you have to follow your own heart."

"That's the problem. I'm not sure what my true heart is."

"It's Virtue and Friendship."

"If it's Virtue then why does this voice keep saying I'm evil?"

"Is he telling you to turn on our friends?"

"Not yet."

_You have forgotten your power. Your power can happen anytime now. Whether you want to or not. _

I placed my hands on my head. For some reason, I knew that the voice was right. "Maybe I can out smart this evil?"

"What do you mean?"

"If this evil is really me then I should be able to control." I looked at my amulet, "I want to try it Gabumon. That way this evil can never control me again."

"I'll be right at your side."

I stood up and looked at Gabumon, "Thanks." He gave me the encouragement that I needed. _I just hope this works._ I reached to the back and took it off. I hooked it back on in front of me and looked at it. I didn't feel anything at first but then this rush came all over me. I went to my knees, trying to control this but I wasn't sure how well I was doing.

TK

We were sitting around, waiting for Matt to return. I was remembering when we split up to go look for Tai. Matt and I were the only ones left before we got to that theme park. That's when he and Gabumon took a boat to see what was on the other side. I waited there for what seemed like years. Then Demi Devimon came and made me mad at Tokomon. I looked down at Patamon, who was now resting as everyone else who got hit, glad to see that that won't happen again.

I heard something coming from the forest. I knew it was Matt and stood up, glad to know that he was ok. I could only see his figure since it was a dark area, but something was telling me that something weren't right.

"What took you so long?" Neon asked.

"I needed to find something." That wasn't Matt's voice but it was.

"Matt?" Panther noticed it too.

I felt him smile, "I guess it's a good thing that I don't have a name." He came into the light. His eyes were black but I could see some blue in it. He held an evil grin on his face.

"How did you get out?" Ceres asked. That confirmed what I feared, the evil that sent Matt to the hospital was back.


	11. Chap 10 Remember the Lost part 2

He just laughed a laugher that I thought only an evil Digimon would, or an evil person. I knew that they told me that Matt went like this before, but to see that he had no emotions was something I wasn't ready for. "What do you think?"

"Where's Gabumon?" Ken asked.

Gabumon came forth. He had the same look as when Matt was fighting Tai. Kari couldn't believe it either.

"At least I don't have to attack him this time." He placed his hand on Gabumon's head.

"Get your hand off him!" Panther demanded.

"But he's my Digimon."

"Too bad we don't have the orb." I heard Ceres say.

"Why?" Neon asked in a low voice, making sure that he doesn't hear them.

"That's how we got him under control. We have to weaken him first so we can get some tea in his throat."

"I can hear you." I heard Ceres growl. "You can't get me with the same trick. Now, who wants to go first? I'm feeling sanguineous."

"You might have Matt's body, but what makes you think that you can take all of us?" Panther asked.

"Are you really that stupid? It's not like Gabumon's only here for show. He's sticking by me like he did a long time ago."

"You mean… you came out when Matt were fighting my brother?" Kari asked.

"He was using me. I wasn't present at that fight since I had two things holding me in. One is this symbol." He held the Amulet of Virtue. "Now I know who I have to kill first." His grin turned into a smile.

I could hear everyone gearing for a battle. _Why are they preparing to fight? This is Matt we're talking about here. Not an evil Digimon. _

"Let Matt go!" I yelled, I didn't want anyone to hurt him.

"I am Matt. A side that he had locked away."

"Then stay locked up."

"Why don't you make me, little brother?"

"Don't call me that! I'm not your little brother." I saw hurt on his face, but that quickly went away.

"Don't be silly."

"Matt, get that thing out of you!"

"You don't have to yell." His voice was now Matt's, but the face hadn't change.

"Matt?"

"I've been here the whole time. I'm Matt and Matt's me. He can't get rid of me or he'll risk getting rid of himself. It's sad really, since I want to have control I need to get rid of my locks."

"What's the other?"

"You."

"Me?"

"You have helped Matt lock me away. With this off me," he held up the amulet, "all I need is for you to die."

I walked over to Kari and handed her Patamon.

"TK, what are you doing?" She asked with worry in her voice.

"I'm going to save my brother."

"How?" Ken asked. For some reason, I was glad that no one else believed in Matt.

I started to walk towards him but someone grabbed my arm. I looked to see Panther, "We'll find a way to get him out, don't go."

"He's my brother. I have to do this." I got out of her grip and continued to walk to him.

He smiled with an evil intention. I got close enough for him to do anything he wanted without much time for the others to do anything. I looked at Gabumon and he held the same confidence I had in what I was doing.

"Trying to be brave I see." He was still using Matt's voice.

"You said that you are Matt and Matt is you, right?"

"That's right."

"Then there's no way that you'll be able to harm me. Matt cares way too much to let anything bad happen to me."

"We'll see about that." I felt cold metal under my chin but I didn't show any signs of fear.

"TK!" I guessed that the others could see what he had somehow. I could also tell that they were getting ready to make their move if he did anything.

"It seems that your friends are worried about you."

"They're Matt's friends as well."

"I guess they would be either way."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. Now how should I do this? I could just let you bleed to death but then a fast death would help me better." He lifted my chin with the knife, "Then again, it's been a while since I've seen blood or taste it."

"I'm leaving my fate in your hands. Do what you want if you think you can but I know that Matt will stop you."

"The first time I came out, I even attacked Gabumon. What makes you think that I would show you any signs of mercy especially since you're the last lock I need to get rid of?"

"Because Matt and I are brothers. We would never do any harm to the other with our knowing."

"But Matt has no say in the matter." There was doubt in his voice.

"He does if what you say is true. I remembered that they told me he didn't remember when you first came out but you're using his body. You might be in his mind but not in his heart." I felt a prick on my jawbone. He moved the knife to just draw blood. Then he wiped it off with his thumb and looked at it. I could feel that more was coming out though.

"Hm……" He placed his right hand on my shoulder, moving to where he pricked me and licked the wound. I had to say that it was weird and disrupting since it was my brother's body, but I did say that my fate was in his hands. He moved back and looked at me, "You're right. I can't kill you." He closed his eyes and Matt's body fell. It didn't fall completely on the ground, just to his knees. I saw a tear falling to the ground.

I got down and hugged him, glad to know that he was back.

"TK… I couldn't control him… I'm sorry." He was crying on my shoulder.

"He didn't do anything."

"He wanted to kill you."

"He didn't. I knew that you wouldn't allow him."

"I allowed him to come out. I'm such a fool."

"I don't blame you."

Matt got up. I looked at him to see him angry with himself. He looked at the others before turning and started to walk away.

"Matt?" I got up, but his voice stopped me from walking as well.

"TK! I can't forgive myself for what I allowed him to do and for allowing him control! This isn't like the time that I didn't know where I was, this is something far more complex than that."

"But Matt? We need you here."

"You don't need me here." He continued. I just watched him leave, not knowing what to do. It was just like those times he left me. Whether it was just to look across the lake or to find himself, it felt the same. It felt like he was drifting away from me. Like he didn't want to be my brother anymore. Both times I had to wait for someone to help me bring him back. I was beginning to wonder if I had to wait again.

"TK, what are you waiting for!" I looked back at the others. Panther looked like she was ready to punch something. "He's your brother! If you can't get him to come back then who will?"

"He made it clear that he didn't want me there." I looked at the ground.

"TK, you were the only one with enough faith in him. You're the only one that can ever get him back." I looked up at Ken. He was right. I was the only one willing to face him without fighting him.

Kari came up and Patamon was awake. He flew into my arms and smiled, "We should get doing before we lose him."

I smiled at Patamon, though I knew he meant by 'not catch up to him' but I also took it that I wouldn't get him back ever. I smiled at everyone else and ran after my brother. Knowing that it's not good for him to feel alone.

Me

I couldn't believe what I just did. I held the Amulet of Virtue in my hands since I wasn't sure what would happen if I put it back. Gabumon was walking with me in silence. I looked at him, remembering how helpless I felt when he made my body place that knife at TK's throat. I didn't even understand why I allowed him to see, feel and taste blood, more importantly, TK's blood. I felt like I let him down.

"Matt?" I looked down at Gabumon. "Do you have control? Or is he just not there?"

"I made a deal with him."

"Deal?"

"I allowed him to taste TK's blood in exchange for letting me have full control again." I held up the amulet, "That's why this isn't on my neck. I'm not sure what would happen."

"Did you also agree to let him prick TK?"

"Yea." I made a fist. I couldn't believe that I allowed that to happen. I noticed that we were in the area where that voice came to me. I kept on walking, hoping that it was only in that area.

We got to a clearing. We were on a ledge that overlooked the frozen part of the island. I remembered there were very hot, hot springs nearby. I saw the steam and wondered if they would go there.

"Matt?"

My eyes widened, I turned around to see TK walking closer toward me.

"What are you doing here?"

TK wasn't fazed by the display of anger. He just continued forward, "I know that you want to be alone so I won't made a sound."

"That's not the point, TK."

"Why do you think I face that guy? To show you that I was brave? I wanted my brother back." He was yelling his frustration, as I was mine.

"What if I couldn't stop him? He's not even locked up! He could come out any time and I might not be able to stop him!"

"Then why don't you lock him up? That way you don't have to worry about him!"

"I'm… not sure how." I looked down at the ground but quickly went back to TK, "Go back to the others!"

"Why? I might be able to help."

"I don't want to even risk the possibility of him hurting you."

"Oh, so leaving me in the theme park was a smart idea?"

"Tokomon was with you…"

"But I still need you. Even when you were finding yourself, I still wanted you around. I know that I said that I was strong but I still needed you… Even now… That's why I faced him. I still need you around."

"TK…… I'm afraid of what he might do. I don't know whether I can trust him." I looked over the ledge to where the steam was.

"He didn't harm me."

"That's because I made a deal with him."

"Did you really allow him out?"

"Yea, I know that was dumb." I felt TK place his hand on my shoulder. I looked at him to see him smiling at me with his kind face. I noticed that blood hadn't stopped. "I don't know why I thought it stopped." I was looking through my pockets to find something that would stop it.

"I forgot about that too. It's not much so it should stop soon."

"The knife was sharp. He didn't have to push hard to have it cut through the amount of skin." I found my box of band-aids. I remembered Joe saying that the younger kids need to bring along supplies incase anything happened to them. I took one out and place the box back in my pocket. I would've hand it to TK, but him trying to feel for it might've made it worse.

"And you wanted me with the others." He said with a smile when I was done.

"Don could've healed that with no problem."

"But then you would've been worried about whether I allowed him or if he did."

I walked to a tree that was edge of the forest and sat down, "Fine, you win."

Gabumon came over and sat next to me. TK was laying down on side that would face another tree to my right.

"Do you want to tell me why you allowed him to be freed?"

"I wanted to know whether I could control him. That way he could never control me again."

"That thought came to you while you were fighting Twin Warriormon? You must have good multi skills."

"It was after Were Garurumon defeated him. A voice was telling me that this evil was just waiting to come out."

"Ever thought that that voice was working for Gennai?"

"A bit… I knew that it wasn't… it wasn't a trusting voice either… I'm now remembering what happened to me before I fought Tai." I looked at Gabumon, "And I even promised that I wouldn't."

"That's ok." He smiled.

"So a voice told you to fight Tai?"

"A Digimon that time."

"What if that voice was like the Data Digimon that went into Kari?"

"That could be a possibility… Maybe that girl can help me?"

"You mean the light?"

"Yea… I'm not sure how though."

"How could she help you if you need to control it?"

"The voice mentioned something about a girl being trickier then he thought. My first thought was her. He assured me that it wasn't, but I knew that he was lying."

"What do you think she can help you in?"

"I don't know… Whoever this girl is, she's the one that put you and the Crest of Virtue as locks."

"But, wouldn't that mean that she would've had to have known you since you were born?"

"You have a point… Whatever evil I am, she gave it to me."

"Past fights don't mean that you're evil."

"TK, I can feel it… I know that I am." I held up the amulet, "I don't even know why I have this Crest."

"It's apart of you, you know that. You can't get rid of it. Why don't you put it back on so you don't lose it?"

"If I start screaming in pain then you know that he's being locked up."

"Right."

I unhooked the chain and placed it around my neck. I didn't know why I stopped but it wasn't like anything was forcing me to stop.

_You did master me once._

"Huh?" I looked around. It wasn't the voice that was talking to me before, but it did seem familiar.

"What's wrong Matt?" TK asked.

"Hold on for a moment." _"Whose this?"_

_You know who I am. _

"_What do you mean that I mastered you once?"_

_Before I came back out, you mastered me with perfection._

"_Then why come out with terror?"_

_I was bored and I couldn't allow the light to have all the fun._

"_You thought that was a game? You thought about killing my brother!"_

_I know, I know, not the smartest move but I don't want to be locked up._

"_I am going to put back on the amulet whether you like it or not."_

_Do what you want, but all that means I get to come out whenever you lose control._

"_Are you saying you want another deal?"_

_Not at all, all I'm saying is that you won't be able to control me ever again. Of course, you've already master one side; you've forgotten how to control me. That's why I really stopped. Your brother reminded me that you once controlled me to help save your friends._

"_When?"_

_That's not important. Do you want my help again? I'll make sure to follow your lead. Just like someone else we know._

"_Let me guess, that's not important either?"_

_Right, you know that you can trust me._

"_Not after what you almost did to TK."_

_Do you feel me trying to stop you? You need to know how to control this power you have. _

"_What would happen if I put on the amulet?"_

_It all depends on what you want me to do. If you don't want me to be sent back then nothing and you can use both powers. Though if you want me to be gone then you'll be in pain as I do… That's not because I'll make sure of it… It just how these things go. Evil just screams when the light seals it up._

"_Fine, but it's only because I want to control you. I don't want you to do any harm to anyone."_

_Now all you need to do is request that a third time and you're be like Dorothy from the Wizard of OZ._

"_Like who?"_

_Never mind._

"_This is the only time that I request this."_

_You might find out one day. Well, are you going to put on that amulet or are you going to look like an idiot?_

"_Is anyone allowed to know that you're out? Or are you going to hide yourself since Ceres might be able to sense you?"_

_Oh… You do have a point… Well, I guess I could hide myself from her, that's a simple task… Though you'll have to once you mastered me again… Though if you tell her then I guess that I don't have to…_

"_That answers my questions."_ I clapped the chain together and nothing happened. I let go of it and waited since last time it was a bit before anything happened. I didn't feel anything happening, though I did start to notice something happening. It was like two old friends were finally reunited.

"Are you ok?" TK asked.

"I'm fine. Guess he was telling the truth."

"Did he make another deal?"

"No, he was just letting me know. He's hiding himself from everyone but he's out so I can control him. He said that I did it before." I looked at TK, remembering him saying that it was TK who made him remember that he was once used for good.

"When?"

"He didn't tell me, saying it wasn't important. Though he will follow my lead if I call on him."

"I guess that means that you can trust him."

"It looks that way."

TK smiled, "Then let's let the others know that you're ok."

"I don't want them to know."

"Huh? Why?"

"I don't want Ceres to constantly look at me to make sure that he doesn't do anything. I don't want the others to worry."

"But, they're your friends. Don't you think that they want to know?"

"I'll say that he's locked up."

"Either way, you're going to be drinking lots of tea. I'm betting that they now have to tell everyone else what happened to you."

"I know. Let's just keep it between us four for now."

"Then we'll say that the power of Virtue was what brought him down."

"Hope I look exhausted."

"You look like you can fall asleep." TK smiled.

We got up and started walking back. I didn't know why I only wanted TK to know. I even had a feeling that Ken might be able to figure it out. I started to feel the power inside of me. I could tell that it was hiding, but it was a sad but comforting feeling. I thought that I was giving myself up to something stronger, but it didn't feel like that. It also felt right at home.

"What are you doing?" I looked at TK who was right beside me.

"Feeling the power a bit."

"Well?"

"It feels at home and it doesn't seem to be alone."

"Well, light and dark need each other to balance." Patamon said.

"You're right. That's what everyone else says."

"Maybe that light is what kept in under control for so long." Gabumon said.

"What do you mean?" TK asked.

"Ceres said that the power Matt now has had always existed in him. The day it first came out shouldn't have been the first. She and Panther were trying to think of a reason why only then had it appeared. The only thing that came to mind was the Crest of Virtue."

"I did have to take it off this time but I didn't the first time."

"What if you show more of the light powers? That way Ceres would think that everything is back to normal." TK offered.

"I'll see what I can do." I closed my eyes to concentrate. I started to feel something happening but wasn't sure what. It was like the two friends were now drifting apart. Then I got the feeling before I even knew I had that darkness inside of me. "I think I did it."

"Good. Now here comes the test."

We were walking as all of this was happening. We reached the others and everyone was happy to see me. Ceres was looking at me with serious eyes but got rid of them. I hoped that meant that she didn't know.

"Matt, are you ok?" Tim asked.

"I'm fine. Sorry for allowing that to happen."

"As long as you're back, we can forgive you." Neon said.

"It's getting late, we might as well camp here." Lily Dawn said, looking up at the sky.

"Right, but we might want to get the food from our old spot. Anyone who wants to help, come with me." I said as I started to move. TK was coming and the same with Ceres. Everyone else was going to set up camp.

"So is he locked up?" Ceres asked as we were grabbing the things.

"I'm happy to say yes."

"You do understand that he might come out another day?"

"I know, but at least he's not out now. Unless you know of a way to get rid of him?"

"Matter can't be created nor destroyed, only change it's appearance."

"Then I'll have to find a way to deal with it."

"I'll help if I can."

"Thanks." We got everything up and were heading back.

"Did you tell the others?" TK asked.

"Sorry but we had too. After all, we did mention that something like that happened before. Though we didn't say anything about you being in the hospital or Killer."

"That's good. How did you explain about the tea?"

"Well, there just happened to be a cup of tea on the table and Panther noticed it. She grabbed it right before Matt shot at her with whatever he was using. She moved in close and Plantmon brought her to Matt's level in the air. She originally planned to make your eyes burn with the water but it landed in your mouth instead. I, seeing that it was affecting Matt, grabbed the pot that was on the table and tossed it up to her. I explained that I was able to do that without spilling was because I was once a person who did tea ceremonies. Then Panther poured the rest into your mouth, which caused you to fall but Gabumon caught you just in time. Fiterimon got another pot, though it was hard for her to keep the water from spilling but there was enough to get you back."

"So you guys were dodging all of that while he was making a mess?"

"That's right. Also while we were eating, talking, waiting, and fighting. Wow, we're really multi-talented." Ceres said with a laugh.

We got to the others. We finished off the last of the meal and everyone went to bed. I stayed up a bit longer since TK was too busy with his novel to have known whether a Digimon was coming. I remembered about the book so I pulled it out. I opened it to the first page to see the same symbols as in the other book. I don't know why I was looking through it since I didn't understand any of it. Then a thought came to me. I got out paper and pencil and went to the prophecy that Centarumon told us about. I wrote it down and the real translation. Izzy didn't really need to know that it was the real version just yet but it could help him translate the book just a little since it does mention 'Peace'.

I looked over at TK to see that he and Patamon were sleeping. I got up and placed the blanket that I was using on them. I saved the work that he was doing and logged on to TK's email. I emailed Izzy the information that I copied and scanned the symbols to him, since TK needs a portable scanner for his art. I went looking through his stuff to see that he only had the writing down for it. Since he told me earlier that he still needs me, I thought that I should help him out. I drew in all the characters in pencil so TK could make improvements since I was only guessing on what he wanted.

I put everything back when the sun came up since I knew that TK didn't want the others to know.

"TK." I said softly, since I didn't really want to wake him up.

"Hm……? Wha…" He almost yelled but I covered his mouth so he wouldn't. He looked up at me and I smiled before removing my hand.

"Was I asleep?" He noticed the blanket.

"Don't worry, I was up."

"Thanks but I really should keep watch tonight."

"Do you really want the others to know that you slept on the job?"

"Good point." He went back typing away.

"I would suggest that you look at your manga."

"Why?"

"I worked on it for you, since you didn't have any of it done."

He went searching his bag. He looked at all the work that I put into it during the night. I was making tea, noticing that Gabumon and Patamon were still asleep.

"You did a great job. You manage to copy my art style."

"Guess I just got lucky. That's why I did it in pencil."

"I do have to change a few things since it's not how I imagined it but otherwise it's good."

"Thanks."

TK put them back and went back to typing. The others started to wake and they were munching on food they brought from home, including Kari and Ken. It was sad to think that we didn't but we knew how to survive this. We did make sure that Gabumon and Patamon ate something though.

Tim was leading us today since I was in the back. I didn't know why this spot had some feeling to it but I didn't pay much attention to it. TK looked like he wanted to continue with his novel but couldn't since we were walking. We got to a clearing that didn't seem familiar. There was a dirt ring and a guy wearing some weird armor was at the far end of it.

"Do you come to challenge me?" He seemed to have some grand voice or something.

"Why would we want to challenge you?" Tim asked.

"Otherwise I would make you challenge me. None have passed here and lived."

"Alright then, we'll challenge you." Don said with determination.

"This is only a Digimon to Digimon battle."

"Ready AeroDinomon?"

"Ready to beat this guy to the ground."

"Big words for a Champion."

"What are you? An Ultimate?" Don asked.

"Worse, a Super."

"That's alright, he'll still take ya, right?"

"Right." AeroDinomon went into the ring.

"Knock him dead!" Sakuramon cheered.

We just sat on the sidelines, hoping that he'll be ok. The Digimon took out his spear and shield for this match. The shield didn't seem to be protecting much but it must since he hasn't lost yet. That or this was he first battle.

AeroDinomon took to the sky before launched right at him. The Digimon knocked him to the side with his shield and was about to stab him before he got away.

"Flame Wind!" He flapped his wings and flames shot out. The Digimon jumped out of the way and threw his spear at him. AeroDinomon managed to catch it with his feet. The other Digimon brought out a net to ensnare him.

"Burn through it!" Don said.

"Fire Wall!" The ring of fire was around the Digimon. Though it wasn't helping much since the net seemed to be too heavy for AeroDinomon to get off the ground. The Digimon came walking through the flames like nothing happened.

"Too bad my armor is made to withstand fire." Then he laughed. AeroDinomon was trying to bit through but it wasn't working.

"AeroDinomon, hurry!" Sakuramon said with worry since the other Digimon was walking up to him.

"Use the spear!" Don said and AeroDinomon was then able to cut the net.

The other Digimon pulled out a sword, "Lot of good that's going to do you." I could sense that everyone was ready to step in but AeroDinomon managed to slip his sword. I then remembered that Don and Neon were trained to be warriors so they might've taught the same thing to AeroDinomon and Sakuramon so I thought that we didn't have to worry too much. Also since Don and Neon would fight to save their Digimon.

AeroDinomon launched the spear back at the Digimon but he brought up his shield to block it. He sledded fast over to AeroDinomon, trying to stab him. AeroDinomon managed to get out of the way but there was no way that he would be able to take his eyes off him.

"Don." Ceres called. He looked back at her. "Do you know what a gladiator is?"

"Isn't that a Roman fighter in the Colosseum?"

"That's what his movements are like."

"Thanks." He went back to the fight.

"How do you know?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Gladiators are trained in an unique way to show off and entertain the spectators. Not to mention to make sure that they didn't lose. They had to make themselves popular with the spectators, so if he happened to lose they wouldn't send him to the loins or worse."

"How do you know how they moved?"

"That comes from studying. There were female gladiators as well, but they're just unknown to the world."

"That's really cool." Of course, during her explanation we were watching to the fight.

Both were jumping side to side, never taking their eye off each other. The other Digimon launched forward, AeroDinomon moved back, swinging his wing to see if he could get a hit but was blocked by the shield. The Digimon tried stabbing but AeroDinomon moved the other wing too fast and knocked out his sword.

"YEA! Go AeroDinomon!" Don shouted.

"Show those Supers that we lower levels can beat them!" Sakuramon cheered.

"Go AeroDinomon!" Neon shouted.

The Digimon launched forward, almost knocking AeroDinomon off balance but he stopped him with his wings. AeroDinomon leaped into the air and did another Flame Wind but this time, the Digimon deflected it with his shield. AeroDinomon circled the Digimon and attacked from behind by launching himself again. The Digimon didn't move until he was about two cm away from his back. He managed to grab AeroDinomon around the neck and looked like he was planning to choke him.

"AeroDinomon!" Don called to his Digimon. Then something was happening to his amulet. He held it up and it was shining a peach colored light. That light hit AeroDinomon and he began to shine in that light.

"AeroDinomon Digievolves to………………………… MetDinomon!" Out from the light came a golden yellow of a flying dinosaur with a metal covering his eyes, upper wing, and tail. He was a bit bigger than AeroDinomon though.

"So you're an ultimate, big deal." The Digimon lost his grip when he was Digievolving. So now MetDinomon was in the air.

There was this grin on MetDinomon. He flew up higher in the sky, "Melt!" A heated flame came from his mouth that the whole area was feeling it. It hit the Digimon since he was melting and deleted him for good. MetDinomon cut off his attack and dedigievolved to a small version of AeroDinomon. Don ran up to him and caught him as he came down to earth. We all went once he had him in his hands.

"So what's your name?" Don asked, holding up the small Digimon.

"I'm LDinomon. The Rookie form of AeroDinomon."

"Well, you don't have to wait long before going to him." Don smiled at his Rookie Digimon.

"He must've used up a lot of his energy with that last attack." Gatomon analyzed.

"What makes you think that?" Neon asked.

"Since he was comfortable as a Champion, going to Ultimate should've been an easy power to hold. I should know."

"At least this way you don't have to fly as much." Don said and everyone knew what he really meant, minus Ceres since no one had told her. LDinomon flew out of Don's hands and was flying in a circle in front of his face.

Sakuramon hit him on the head, "Stop it."

LDinomon went to Don's shoulders.

"Oh yea, we forgot to tell you. Don's afraid of heights." Neon said, looking at Ceres.

"Oh… But he wasn't in the air."

"It's a really bad case of it."

"Wow… Don't worry, I won't send you in the air." Ceres said with not a reassuring smile.

"I guess the Super Levels are making themselves at home with the lowers." Ryan said, looking at the ring.

"We better get moving." Tim said and we headed out.

I thought that it was amazing that our group, considering its size, was able to move quickly. I guess since most of them were use to something like this; though how Lily Dawn and Ryan are used to something like this, I might not ever know. Ken did, at one point, stay in the Digital World for a long time, though him nor Kari never really had the experience of walking and living off the digital land. We'd traveled around the island but we didn't go up on the mountain. I just suggested that we shouldn't, since I knew that Devimon used to live up there. We didn't find any old friends that were on the island or any Super Level Digimon. When the fourth night hit, I knew that we had to get off this island since there doesn't seem anything that we could do.

"Well, the logical conclusion is to build a boat." Tim said. Everyone was up and around the campfire that we built. TK was typing away since he still needed to get that novel piece done. Of course, when it was my turn to have night watch, TK finished his manga so all he has to do with that is think of the colors for the cover and back.

"But, that will have to be a large boat. Can we build one that big?" Lily Dawn asked.

"We have enough man power to do so." Damon said.

"We might not have enough resources. That's the main thing that we have to worry about. Not to mention the environmental effect it would have to this island if we take too much." Neon said.

"You don't have to worry about the environment since the trees will come back." Yokomon assured.

"We're gonna need a lot of rope." Ryan said.

"Why don't we draw a plan of how it should look like? Then we'll decide what we need." I suggested.

"That sounds good." Nereida said.

"Alright, what should we consider while thinking of this boat?" Panther asked.

"Well… the number of Digimon and humans; then the amount of food we'll be able to take; the weight of everyone that would be on the boat; then anything else that comes to mind."

"The room space will be small." Don said.

"We might want to get to bed since we have to get an early start." Ken said.

Everyone nodded his or her heads. They picked a spot to sleep and fell. I was about to do the same when I noticed that TK was still up. I looked around to see that no one else was planning to stay up. I walked up to him and tapped him, noticing that Patamon was out. He looked up at me once he got his sentence done.

"Were you listening to what we were talking about?"

"No, why? Should I have?"

"I would think so but it's ok."

"What was the meeting about?"

"We're going to build a boat to get us to another land mass. Everyone has already hit the snooze button."

"That means that it's only me and you that are up?"

"That's right. Do you want to sleep? You were up with Kari last night."

"I still have a lot of work to do." He looked back at his computer.

"But you still need rest. I'm not about to let you over work when we're here."

"Other than the danger, anything other reason?"

"Not at the moment. Why don't you hold off until we get into the water? You'll have plenty of time to get a lot of work done."

"I'll stay up a little longer to get more work done. I'm on a roll."

"Fine, but don't stay up too late. Then again, I am going to make sure of that."

"Why don't you go to sleep and let someone else take over? After all, only two nights ago were you up." He was typing now and I was making myself tea.

"They could all use the sleep."

"Then before I get the sack, you might want to get Gabumon up."

"You do have a point." I looked at my faithful Digimon though I knew that he wasn't sleeping. "Do you want tea as well, Gabumon?"

He got up, "Sure." He came over to me.

"Could you give color to my manga?"

"Sure thing." I went searching through his stuff to get out the things needed. I was coloring to what TK was telling me and it was turning out pretty good.

"Ok, I'm heading to bed." TK shut off his computer. He stretched a bit before putting his laptop away.

"Have a good night rest." He was heading over to Kari with Patamon in his arms.

"I will." He sat down next to her and her head automatically rolled onto his shoulder. I smiled since he fell fast asleep like the others. I sipped my tea and looked into the fire.

"I wonder if we'll find something when we hit land." Gabumon sounded like he was talking to himself.

"What are you hoping for?" I noticed that he, too, was looking at the fire.

"I guess something that might help with translating those books."

"I'm wondering if we'll find anything about the Digital World ancient past."

"That would be something, since we've been hearing a lot of legends surrounding you guys and other items around the Digital World."

"You do have a point. I guess it is important to find out what really happened to your past. It might explain the Super Levels coming up all of a sudden."

"True, they could've done something as we were fighting the evil Digimon."

I started to notice that everything was taking a turn towards being weird and confusing. I started to hope that all this wouldn't get to any of them, like it did to me.

In the morning, I set jobs for everyone. Tim and his family were going to look for wood thick enough to support the weight of everyone; Lily Dawn and Ryan were to look for something that we could use for a sail; Neon and Don went looking for some food that we could take with us, of course Yokomon did mention the birdseed; I send TK and Ken to look for a launch site; Panther and Ceres were thinking up a good idea on what the boat should look like; and Kari and I were looking for something that could hold the thick logs.

Damon

We were riding on Shendramon since we needed the logs fast. I knew that I was hoping to get off today but I couldn't read the others thoughts.

"Tim, what about those?" Nereida was pointing to a thick forest that we didn't go to before.

"Those might be good. Now all we need is a landing site."

"I'll take care of that." Lightningmon jumped down. There was a big explosion of thunder and a lot of the trees fell. Huskimon jumped down and both were moving the logs. I could tell from up here that they should do the job. Once there was enough room for Shendramon to land, he did.

"These are really good." Tim said as he was looking around at them.

"How are we going to take them back?" I asked.

"I'll drag them back." Huskimon said.

"But you don't have a clear path nor anything to pull them with."

"You could lift the bottom logs just enough for him to drag it." Nereida said.

"That still leaves the rope." Tim said, looking around.

"I could see if I could make my lightning into something that Huskimon could hold." Lightningmon said.

"You could do that?" Nereida looked at her.

"We'll see."

"**I'll take off the branches.**" Shendramon said as he was using his tail to mash the branches.

Huskimon was getting ready and the same with Lightningmon. I was preparing my mind since I had to make sure that I'd be able to lift them and hold them for a long period of time. Once all the logs were piled, I lifted the bottom ones a little off the ground. I found that Matt's training has greatly helped us out since the whole thing felt light as a feather. Before, it would've taken almost everything that I had just to lift them an inch off the ground. Lightningmon was able to form a lightning rope for Huskimon and off we went.

Nereida and Tim were in the back, making sure that none of them fell. Tim was also making us go through the trees so we didn't have to destroy more of the forest. Shendramon was leading the way to TK and Ken.

Ryan

We couldn't find any cloth for the sail so we were just using leaves for the sail. It was taking us a bit longer than we thought to sow the leaves together.

"Yokomon, do you know anything about the Digital World's past?" Lily Dawn asked.

"No, I don't. I'm sorry."

"That's ok. I was just wondering."

"Why were you asking?" I asked.

"Panther told me that Matt might be looking for the something that could lead to the past of the Digital World."

"I think all of us are curious as to what that is though."

"She thinks that he's trying to find out more as to why they have their Crest. Remember when TK said that they were choose by people who were like Gennai, she thinks that's the reason for him wanting to get off the island."

"You do have a point. After all, we could learn a lot of things on this island. We already know that it's relatively safe, it's dangerous for us to be seen by too many Digimon."

"I think that Matt knows what he's doing." Breomon said.

"Same here. After all, he wouldn't let his friends down." Bellimon encouraged.

"We know that he wouldn't." Lily Dawn said.

"You also can't stay here. Otherwise, how will you get to know your limits?" Yokomon asked.

"That's a good point." I said.

We went back to sowing.

Don

We reached the Yokomon Village and got the rest of the seeds. We did grab other fruits that we ran across but it wasn't much. Matt always told us that our Digimon need the food more than we do but we were never really sure on why. The Digimon weren't sure either, at least our Digimon.

"Ok, that's the last of it." I poured the birdseed into a bag. We had three bags, all full of birdseeds.

"Do you think that this will be too heavy?" Neon asked.

"There's only one way to know. Ready to go?"

"Don, I'm worried. We've never sail on an open boat before."

"What are you worried about?"

"What if you can't handle it?"

"I only get air sick, not sea sick."

"But you'll be looking at the sky."

"Let's not think about it." I placed my hand on my stomach. I hated how I'm so strong but so weak at the same time.

"Alright." She picked up one and I picked up the other two. I would've carried all of them but Ceres did say that she has to do her work. We raced back to where we left them last.

Ken

We were walking along the edge. I knew that our launch has to be low so it wouldn't do too much damage when the boat hits the water. Unfortunately, what we were seeing of the ledges, they were too far from the sea. Then TK stopped for some reason.

"What is it?" I looked beyond him to see nothing.

He turned his body towards me but wasn't fully facing me, "We didn't find the Primary Village."

"Primary Village? You mean where you guys found out that Wormmon was able to Digievolve into Stingmon?"

"Right. It was supposed to be on File Island." He looked at the only mountain on this island, "And this is File Island."

"Maybe it was moved? I don't remember that village being on an island."

"You're right. I don't know why I thought that something happened to it. But then again, maybe something already has. Since the Super Levels are attacking."

"Think positively. We'll look for it when we get to the other land mass."

He looked back at me, "Alright." He smiled and we continued.

After a while, we found a good spot. It was perfect for launching the boat. Then Shendramon flew over us. We looked behind us to see that Huskimon was pulling a load of logs.

"How will the others know where we are?" Nereida asked as they came over to us.

"Shendramon could let them know." TK said.

He nodded his head and, I guess, was sending a message to everyone else.

Panther

We finally got one design that would work for us. It took a while since Ceres was drawing boats that would take years to build. Shendramon came into my head, saying to find him for the location of the launching site. Plantmon lifted herself of my shoulders and looked over the trees.

"They're over there." She pointed in the direction that TK and Ken went.

"Let's show them our awesome boat." Ceres said with confidence. Though why, I'll never know. I just accepted that she's weird and that's that. We started to head over there.

Kari

We hadn't found any vines when Shendramon told us how to find them. I didn't remember seeing any vines as we walked around but then again, we didn't really look that hard.

"There they are." Gatomon said, running over to trees with vines.

We were pulling on them first to make sure that they were long enough before cutting. We had about eight piles by the time we were done. Matt started to wrap them like one would rope so I decided to help.

"Matt."

"Yea?"

"Have you ever saw Ken and TK acting weird?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well… on the last day of school, in gym, they were playing against each other in basketball. Though they were passing the ball to the other players, it was mainly them. I've never seen them like that before."

"I guess TK does get competitive at some point. And Ken was once known as a sport superstar so that would explain that for Ken."

"But TK is layback when it comes to sports."

"He might be layback but that doesn't mean that when he's out on the field that he doesn't do his best."

"Guess your right……… Well, I'm done."

"Same here." He carried two and Gabumon carried two. I did the same but Gatomon could only handle one so Matt took an extra one. Gatomon climbed a tree to see where Shendramon was and then led the way. As we were walking I was remembering more about what happened. Their acts seemed weird but I don't know. _Maybe Matt's right… maybe it was only due to the fact that Ken was once a superstar and TK doing his best. But they should've sweated or something. _

TK

The last people to come were Matt and Kari. I guessed that it was hard for them to find the vines. Once they sat down the vines, we got to work. Panther's design was just like our old one but it had a few extra things to it. One was a way for us to steer the boat and the other was a railing at one of the corners. My guess would be that it would be use to make sure the driver doesn't fall in the water. The mass had a little lookout box, my guess for either LDinomon or Sakuramon since it looked like only they could fit. The barrel was where the food was going to be placed; of course we weren't surprised to hear that they didn't find too many fruits. Luckily for us, we had enough wood to make it and we had some extra. Matt told Gabumon to make one end have a point.

"Why are you doing that?" Ceres asked.

"There are normal fish around here."

"But there's no way for us to cook them." Ryan said.

"For starters, we do have fire Digimon, though my main idea was for the Digimon."

Matt took what was left of the vines and turned some of the sticks into rods. Everyone was helping in making stones hooks. It was around lunchtime when everything was finished so we were eating the fruits since we were hoping for fish when we get to the water.

Once the Digimon were on the boat, the humans pushed it into the water. It floated nicely so we knew that it was safe. Shendramon allowed us to use him as a bridge to get from the land to the boat. Then he shrunk himself so his weight wouldn't affect the floating ability and went to Tim's shoulders. Fiterimon shot us off and we headed out.

As I was typing since the ride was smooth, I heard someone throwing up. I looked to see that Don's face was over the edge and Neon rubbing his back.

"Does he have sea sickness too?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Nah, we just never had been in a boat like this before. The openness of it is getting to him."

"Too bad we can't put something so he wouldn't get sick." Tim said.

"Don't worry, as soon as there's nothing left, he'll be fine."

"At least nothing is getting on the boat." Damon said.

I was about to go back to typing when I noticed that Nereida and Fiterimon weren't on the boat. "Where are Nereida and Fiterimon?"

"Huh? Oh, they went for a swim." Tim said.

"There are water Digimon."

"That's why Fiterimon is with her." Ceres said.

"Oh, ok." I went back to typing.

Nereida

The water was so cool and clear here, more so than back at home. I was really glad that Tim made that formula so my cloths would become waterproof. I wasn't swimming too far or too low from the boat since I knew that Tim and Damon would get worried. Fiterimon was swimming a bit closer to the boat since all she was here for was to keep an eye on me.

I turned to look at the bottom of the sea. Unfortunately, I couldn't see the bottom and I wanted to explore. I started to sense something coming from behind me. I knew that meant that something was coming toward me since this feeling only comes when something does. I turned around to see this shark combined with an alligator's tail and legs. I managed to dodge it but it did a sharp turn. I couldn't dodge this blow but then flames pushed the creature down. I looked up to see Fiterimon closing her mouth. I swam up to her and we headed for the boat. I looked down to see that the creature wasn't coming after us.

TK

I heard a splash and figured that Nereida and Fiterimon were back.

"Matt, that Digimon that attack you is in the water!" This made me stop typing. She was on the boat and the same with Fiterimon. Don was also done.

"What? Maybe there's more than one. Are you ok?"

"Luckily I was able to sense it coming and Fiterimon was there." Tim handed her a towel to dry herself with. She was shaken but not too badly.

"Wonder how safe it is to stay in the water?" Ryan asked, since we all knew that that Digimon is able to do serious damage.

"Don't worry, we'll be able to handle it." Ceres said with confidence.

"But we're sitting ducks out here." Damon said, looking around. There wasn't any land in sight.

"All that really means is we have to be more alert. We can handle most things that come our way."

That seemed to do the trick. Everyone was more relaxed about being in the ocean. I looked at Matt to see that he was resting a bit since he did have night watch. I figured that he'd stay up tonight since he is the one at the steering pole. I went back to typing.

I felt something tapping my legs. I saved what I was doing and looked beyond my computer to see Matt looking at me. I noticed that everyone else was asleep and that Kari was near me.

"I think you should go to bed."

"And let you have night watch again, don't think so."

"Then you'll pay attention to what's going on."

"Fine, I won't type right now." I turned off my computer and placed it back with my other things. "Are you going to stay up all the nights we're on the sea?"

"Yea, I'll get my sleep in the morning or something. I'm used to that by now."

"Oh yea, before Panther came into your life, you usually stayed up."

"How did you ever fine time to sleep?" Gabumon asked.

"Later in the day. I was always working at home."

"Minus when you went to space." I added.

"How are you doing to do about that now?" Gabumon asked.

"What do you mean?"

"If you are sent into space, what will we do?"

"I haven't thought about that……… I don't know."

"Panther and Ceres could always stay at your house. They do have a key, or at least Panther does." I suggested.

"Gabumon, if that does come up, you're coming with me, right?"

"Of course." He said with a smile.

The rest of the night, we were talking about anything.

Unfortunately for us, we couldn't handle too many days of staying up. Matt wouldn't allow anyone to stay up to let him sleep, so he slept in the morning when someone woke up. I couldn't allow him to stay up by himself since he might start to think that he was alone, so I, too, stayed up with him for his company. Patamon was also staying up with us when I told him about it. Of course, when we fell asleep in the morning, the one that woke up took over the steering. We usually slept to noon or something so all we had was lunch and dinner. We were hearing that the others were just discovering the art of fasting, luckily Matt and I were used to it. We just made sure that our Digimon ate since we knew that they needed it more than we do since they protect us.

One of the mornings, forgetting how long we've been out on the sea, I was being woken up early. I knew this by the amount of light that I noticed.

"Sorry to wake you but there's a storm coming." I heard Kari's voice saying to me.

For a moment, I thought that I was dreaming or something. Kari's face looked a bit fuzzy so I thought that it was a dream. I looked behind me since I didn't see any blacken sky behind her and started to realize that it might not be a dream. "Are you ok?"

"I don't know." I placed my hand on my head. I figured that it was due to the fact that I was woken up early but then I thought that I should be used to it since I have to pull all-nighters a lot of times and still go to school.

"Maybe I woke you from a dream?" Then the fuzziness went away.

"Maybe… Whatever it was, it's gone now." I looked to where Matt was supposed to be and Panther was still trying to wake him up; Plantmon, Gabumon. I looked at Patamon and he was still asleep.

Later on that day, the waves were high. A lot of the water was coming onto our little boat and I was surprised that our boat hadn't fallen over. Tim was making sure that his siblings weren't going to go into the water; Don was protecting Neon and she was with their Digimon; Lily Dawn was holding tight to Yokomon and Bellimon; Panther was making sure that she didn't fall; Ryan was holding on, with Breomon under him; Ceres placed Fiterimon and Ele in her bag and she was making sure our birdseed in the barrel wouldn't be lost in the sea; I was protecting Kari, holding on to the wood rail that we made; she was protecting our Digimon so they wouldn't be lost at sea. I looked over at my brother to see that he was still trying to steer us through this storm. Ken was holding the sail so it wouldn't rip. I wished that I could help but I didn't know what to do so I figured the best I could do is to protect Kari like I was doing.

I didn't know how long we were rolling in the wild water but when we hit land, I knew that everyone was glad and took the nap that was needed. I didn't think we had much strength after it. Everyone was staying on the boat and slept but for some reason I still had energy. I placed Patamon on my shoulder and started to climb the cliff. When I reached the top, I saw a forest a bit away but it shouldn't be too far. I looked down at my friends to see that Matt and Gabumon weren't there. I looked around for them before I heard some rocks fall. I looked down the cliff to see him and Gabumon coming up. When they were close, I pulled them up. Both were exhausted but I couldn't tell if it was from the climbing, lack of energy, or both.

"Why are you up? You should sleep." I said before realizing that I should be doing the same.

"That's good advice from someone that doesn't follow it."

"I wasn't tried so I thought that I look around."

"Found anything?"

"Only that we're near a forest. I'm not even sure if it's the one before the Koromon Village."

"If we do find it, I wonder if there'll be anyone there. Let's head back down so the others won't get worry."

"Right."

We headed down to the others. Matt was creating a fire so they could warm themselves up if they wake up around nightfall. Plus, he was making himself tea. I was near Kari since I knew that she would want me near her. "Why are you making tea if you're in control of the dark being?"

"I just know that I should. Don't really know why."

"Why don't you ask?" He just looked at Ceres who was looking so peaceful and stressed as she slept on the barrel. "Oh yea."

"I don't want her to know. She might tell Panther, which might stress her."

"That storm, it seemed to have come out of nowhere. We didn't see it the night before."

"I noticed that too. We should've at least heard it."

"You might want to go to sleep. We need to save our strength."

"Then you should go to sleep too. I'll go when someone else wakes up."

"Fine." He walked over and handed me some tea.

It wasn't until late in the night that someone woke up. Panther moaned as she got up slowly.

"Are you ok?" Matt asked, bringing over some tea.

"Yea… I think so." Her hand was on her head.

"I know that this might be too much to ask but could you stay up and watch everyone? TK and I need some sleep."

"Didn't you?" She looked at him.

"I didn't feel tried when we landed and Matt got up for some reason."

"Oh… Ok, sure."

"Thanks." I closed my eyes without a second thought.

I woke up to see that a girl was smiling at me. She looked familiar somehow; I figured that she must be like the other one that Matt meet. I looked around to see that no one else was around me. She grabbed my hand and was pulling me somewhere. I remembered that Lily Dawn told me to let go when you need to mind travel and a dream is in the mind so I tried that. It seemed to work but I was really scared that I would wake up by myself or someone else. She looked back at me as if she knew what I was worried about and smiled some kind of reassurance. _Don't worry, I'll show you quick. I'm, too, worried about waking up._

I blinked, knowing that her voice was in my head but I, somehow, knew the voice. _Are you in the Digital World?_ Luckily, Lily Dawn taught a bit on how this worked.

_I'm but you might not see me. _

_Why not?_

_I'm not in this form and I'm not sure if you saw me in my true form that you would be safe._

_Are you saying that I can't trust you?_

She looked at me with some kind of hurt. _You don't recognize me, do you?_

_I don't._

She looked down for a bit before looking back up at me, forcing a smile on her face. _That's ok; I should've known that her wish would've worked. I guess I was just hoping. _She smiled, saying my Crest. _Here we are. Look down there._ She pointed to a scene that had all of our Crests showing. They formed a circle with Tai's at the top.

_What's this? _I noticed that she didn't let go of my hand and I didn't understand why I didn't make her. I guess since I thought it was the only way I could see this.

_This is a way for you guys to get to the Super Level form once an event happens. I'm not sure what that event will be otherwise I would show you._

_I think we already have an idea on what that event will be. It's a prophecy that we learned was told wrongly to us._

_Really? Which one?_

_Don't I need to see how this works?_

_I'm sorry. _We watched the show. All the Crests started to glow and a stream of light shot from them and went to the sky. I noticed that she lifted her hand and Patamon appeared. _This is to show you how this works._

_Why Patamon? Shouldn't you use Gabumon, Gatomon, or Wormmon?_

She smiled. _Because I like Patamon a lot more than any other Digimon._ She looked back at the light. I looked too to see that Patamon stepped in the light "Patamon Super Wrap Digievolves to……………… Mega Angemon!" The light stopped and an angel with a tall headdress that engraved the Crest of Hope and covered his eyes; shoulder blade shields; sword and shield on his arms; and was wearing a robe. His hair seemed to be the same length and he only had six wings.

_So they say 'Super Wrap'. That's really interesting. Who thought that up?_

_I'm not sure but I think it's the ones that made it possible for some Digimon to reach this level. It fits though, just like going to Mega._

_I have a feeling that you know a lot about Digimon for some reason._

_Of course I do… _She seemed to look worry about something.

_What?_ I knew that there was something wrong.

_The Digimon that I'm staying in is trying to wake up. I have to take you back._

_Are you done showing me?_

_No but I'll show you at another time. Oh, but you have to look for the jewels of all the Crests. I'll explain them to you later but you must find them._

_Where do I?_

_The ones that are single are found where you first found them. I have to tell you another time about the other locations. _I felt like she was bringing me back.

_Why are you telling me this? Shouldn't one of the others know?_

_I want you to know first. You can tell everyone else if you want. Here's your stop. _She let go of my hand and I started to fall. She waved bye before she disappeared.

"TK, are you awake?" I heard someone asking. I opened my eyes slowly, trying to remember where I was. "Hey, TK." I heard Ken's voice.

I looked up and saw my friend's smiling face, "What's up?"

"Everyone but you. The others, but Matt and me, went to go look around."

I looked passed him to see my brother. I remembered that the girl told me that we'd to find the jewels where we found the Crest. "Matt, are we near the Koromon Village?" I almost yelled this so it did surprise everyone that was still here.

He stood up from where he was watching the fire, "I think we are, the others are looking around for that answer."

"I thought that they were exploring." Ken stated.

"We'll know if they find it. Why?"

I stood up and Patamon was on my head, "Another girl came to me in my dreams. She told me that we have to find jewels of our Crests."

"Where do we find them?" Matt didn't seem to have an opinion on the subject, yet.

"She said where we found them before. That's for the single Crest, anyway. She's going to tell me the rest later."

"Ever thought that it's some Digimon that's luring us to a trap?" Ken asked.

"What do you think, TK? She talked to you." Matt seemed to understand, that or he saw something in my eyes that I didn't know.

"I know that she was telling the truth." I looked at the hand that was connected to her. I still felt the warmth from her touch.

"You really think she's telling you the truth? Anything can happen in one's mind, especially if the other person has strong ESP."

"Ken, aren't you supposed to hold faith? That doesn't seem what you're doing." I knew that I wasn't mad at him but that's how my words sounded. "Ken, I didn't mean to sound so angry."

He closed his eyes, "If you need time alone, just say so." He walked away and Wormmon followed. All I did was watch him leave.

"Maybe you should talk to him." I heard Matt say. I looked over at him to see that he was looking at me with eyes that didn't belong to him. It wasn't evil but there was something about them that was calming.

"I don't even know why I said that."

"It might have to do with your lack of sleep. You have been over working in the Digital World. You're not used to work and travel."

"I still feel bad."

"Then you should talk to him. If the others come back before you come back then I'll say something that won't make them worry."

"Thanks Matt."

"That's what's brothers are here for." He gave me a smile that was his. I smiled back and headed after Ken with Patamon flying at my side.

Ken

I couldn't believe what TK was implying. I'm the one with the Crest of Faith so I do hold up faith. _Don't I?_

"Ken, are you ok?"

"Hmm?" I looked down at my partner who I knew was worried about me. "I'm fine. I just need some time to think."

"Why do you think TK was so mad?"

"I'm not sure."

"Ken!" I heard TK's voice. I looked behind me to find him running up to me. For some reason, I was moved.

"TK? Why are you here?"

He stopped to catch his breath. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry for what I said earlier. I don't know why I even said that. I'm really sorry."

"Are you trying to drive me out or something? You've never acted this way towards me before. Minus the time I was the Digimon Emperor."

"Of course not, you are my friend. As for the way I'm acting, I don't know. I'm worried about it too."

"Do you really trust that girl?"

"There was something about her that makes me trust her." He looked at his left hand again, though I don't know why.

"I guess we'll never find out until we look for them."

He smiled and looked at me, "If it is a trap then all the blame is on me."

"Do you think we'll find them before we have to head back. We did spend a lot of time out at sea."

"Well, hope that we do." He smiled his happy smile that I usually see on his face. "Do you want to head back? I don't want Matt to say something to the others and they know that it's a lie."

"Right." There was something about this that made it seem right. Us going back to Matt, worrying about him; though it's understandable on why TK should feel that way but I do too for some reason. I think I'm seeing why TK might not realize that he's being edgy. He thinks that he's losing his brother to someone else. _And criminal psyche is only supposed to work on criminals, not friends. Though, friends can easily become criminals._

Me

TK and Ken came walking back and I knew that everything was well between them. I just minded my own business and them two were just talking away like nothing had ever happened.

"It's good to see those two getting along so well. It's almost like their brothers or something, don't you think?" Gabumon asked.

"I guess it does seem like it. They do hang out together a lot, if my memory is still holding."

"Come on, you're not that old yet." Gabumon had a smile on his face.

"You're right, I still got a lot of good years in me. I hope the others get back soon. I don't like them being out there for too long."

"You know, I think you're becoming a great leader for them."

"Thanks Gabumon but I can't have that title. I have to find it in one of them."

"Don't you think that they're all leaders in their own way?"

"You do have a good point there. I guess they are, but that can be said for any group."

"Not true at all."

" Yoh! I think we found something interesting." I looked up to see that Ceres and Fiterimon were standing on the cliff.

"What is it?" TK asked, more excited than we were.

"It's looks to be a village. Yokomon identified it as a Koromon home."

"That's perfect." TK grabbed his stuff from the boat and was about to run to the cliff when something crossed his mind, "Do we need anything from the boat?"

"Nah, we got it all." I poured the ocean water over our fire. He made his dash and started to climb with boundless energy. I just smiled and walked over there too when Ken reached the cliff. _Whatever that girl said to him, he's sure going to do it with excitement._

Ceres led us to the Koromon Village. It looked almost how we left it, minus that all the tents were still in one piece. The best we could hope for was that everyone got out ok.

"Who could've done this?" Ryan asking more towards himself.

"A Super Level Digimon, maybe. Are there anyone around?" I asked.

"Don is still looking around." Neon said.

"The cave might be a good start since that's where they go when there's danger." TK reminded me.

"We'll wait for Don first." TK knew that was the right choice but his eyes wanted to see.

It didn't take Don long before he returned. He didn't find anyone around here so we led the way to the cave. The waterfall was still there but the boulders were too. TK was searching for some way in.

"TK, I don't think that any of the Koromon would be in there." Kari said, seeing how determined he wanted to get inside.

"TK, I'll take you inside." Tim said.

"Thanks a lot." They walked to the boulders. Patamon was in TK's arms so all Tim did was placed his hand on his shoulder and they headed in.

Tim

I don't know why TK wanted to get in here so badly but I was willing to help. It was too dark to really see anything but TK seemed to know where he was going so I just followed. When TK stopped, I knew that we reached the end.

"There doesn't seem to be any Koromon here." I said then TK got down on the ground as Patamon was feeling the wall.

"**What are you two doing?**" Shendramon asked, he was still small on my shoulder since he says he likes the size.

"We're looking for something." Patamon said.

I thought I should let them be; after all they were here earlier than us. I leaned against the wall and I felt something weird. I got up and felt around the area. When my hand touch something smooth, an orange light engulfed the cave. I backed up as TK moved toward it. He took it out of the wall and an entrance came where the end was.

"And that's how we fled. Let's get the others."

"Right." I was still surprised that a jewel could do that.

I brought everyone through the rocks and TK led them back down the same path. Everyone was amazed that we were seeing a forest, since Ken told us that this was miles away from that village. It wasn't late in the day and everyone thought it was a great idea if we got to an area a good distance from here. TK said that he knew a good spot for them to camp and said that he hopes they don't mind the desert.

My family and Don's family were on Shendramon; Lily Dawn rode with Kari on Nerfertimon and Kari was holding Yokomon; Ryan was riding with Ken on Stingmon, though Stingmon was just carrying them; Ceres rode with TK on Pegasusmon; and Panther went with Matt on Garurumon. Matt and TK were leading us to the place where we could camp. I started to notice that a stone building was appearing in our pathway. Once it was in full view, I realized that it was something like the Colosseum of Rome.

"We're stopping there." TK yelled to everyone. Everyone was too high up for Matt to tell us anything.

We landed in the middle and everyone else was setting up camp. I wanted to look around to see this building. I noticed that a side was completely destroyed and another was damage. It had some kind of viewing screen but that, too, was damage but some flying object. I noticed two soccer goal boxes but only one was damage. The other was seemed to be guarding something.

"If you want, you can look around the place." I turned around and Matt was smiling at me like he knew what I wanted to.

"Do you know how this ended up like this?"

I noticed that there was sadness in his eyes, "Unfortunately, I know whom, how, and why this looks like it does now."

"May I know?"

"When Tai found his Crest, this was our next stop since Joe's tag was glowing. Our enemy at the time trapped us in the undamaged cage but Agumon was still out. Our enemy brought out another Greymon and Agumon fought him but was losing. Once we got out, Tai made a stupid move and tried to put himself in harms way to make Agumon get to his next level. He went to his Dark Ultimate, as Tai now wants to call it, and that side did all this destruction."

"Have you guys explored this place?"

"Nope, we really didn't have the time. So go ahead if you want."

"Thanks, let's go." I looked at Shendramon and he nodded. He went to his small size and we headed out to explore. There were a lot of paths to choose so I just picked one and recorded what I found. The structure itself was like some copied it from a Roman site or something. Though I've never been to Rome to see the structures myself; I had seen photos of the buildings. And they were real documents too. The place just spelled mystery and I didn't know how long it would take before I found something.

When I got to the top, I really wondered why this area was here. It wasn't really that good for fighting of any kind and from here, it look like you were watching from a censor screen.

"**Is there something the matter?**" Shendramon made his words clear in my head.

"There has to be some reason why this stadium is here and it can't just be for watching fights, like in Rome."

"**Why does it have to have a purpose?**"

"Then why would it be here if it didn't service some purpose?"

"**Maybe we need to look around more before coming to a conclusion?**"

"Good idea." I continued to walk around at the top. I spotted something glistening at the corner of the wall and floor. It was a black jewel with a cross and triangles at the corners inside. I knew that this was odd and I was planning on showing it to Matt.

"Hey Matt, I think I found something." I went straight to him when I got back to the ground floor. There weren't any underground paths, at least none that I found, so it didn't take me long to get back from exploring.

"What is it?" He gave a smile like he was already ready to listen to what I had to say.

"I found this at the top walkway. I'm hoping you might know something about it." I handed it to him. He looked at it every closely before looking at me.

"This is a jewel with the Crest of Faithfulness in it."

"You mean Joe's Crest?"

"Right."

"Does that mean that this belongs to him?"

"I guess so, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens."

"Right. What about the other one that I found in the cave? Has TK shown you it?"

"Not yet, tell me about then."

"When I touched it, it glowed orange. If that helps any since I didn't get a chance to look at it."

"That's most likely Courage. Maybe TK knows something that we don't since he didn't mention it to me yet."

"Maybe…"

"Tim, Matt, foods done." Panther called as everyone else was eating. We headed over and didn't say another word on the subject.

TK

Once everyone else hit the snoozed button, I was typing a little bit to make sure that everyone was asleep. Matt and Gabumon were doing night watch, though I knew that he shouldn't since he has been ever since we were out at sea. After a while, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked to see Matt smiling at me, "Yes?"

"You really should find out more about the jewels."

"I'm making sure that everyone else is asleep."

"If you don't hurry then you might not be able to tell everyone tomorrow morning."

"Is that the real reason you want me to go to sleep?"

"Think what you want but you should really go to bed."

"The same could go to you."

"But I'm not the one that'll get the information."

"Fine." I typed in my last train of thought before saving.

"Are you scared of something?"

"What do you mean?" That was really out of the blue. I looked at Matt once I put my laptop away.

"I thought that you would've been the first one to go to sleep. The excuse could've been from working hard these pass days."

"You do have a point."

"Get to bed now, we'll deal with it in the morning."

"Right, night."

"Night." I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

When I woke this time, a bright light was surrounding me. I looked around for that girl but I didn't see her. I was afraid to say anything since I wasn't sure how I got here or who got me here.

_Sorry for not appearing when you came._ I turned around and she was there, smiling.

_Weren't you the one that brought me here?_

She blinked a few times. _I felt you coming here. I was waiting for a good time to come and get you. You know, let you get some sleep since it wasn't that long ago that I got you._

_I came here by myself?_ I looked around, wondering how.

_Do you want to finish the lesson?_ I looked back at her and nodded. She motioned with her hands to look to my right so I did. All the jewels of all of our Crests were there in rows. It seemed to have them with the group that they belong in. Then the Jewel of Courage lifted from the group. _You must give this to Tai first before anyone can even dream of using it. The same goes for all of the others._

_Why?_

_They have to activate it and only they can use the power once activated too. _

_There seems to be two Lights and Hopes. _

_That's because you and Kari belong to both groups._

_That would make sense._

_The Jewel of Courage is like a substitute for the tag and Crest. Courage is able to give power ups but once used, it will drain the owner's own energy. Which could take days for him to recovery. Love is able to combine however many Crest powers together into one person. This will tried out the owner and once she faints, the binding is stopped. Friendship can be used as a distant attacking weapon, but once used, he can only fight hand-to-hand combat. Knowledge turns into a short attacking weapon, after being used he can only use distant weapons. Faithfulness is able to turn into a shield but then the defensive ability is taken away. Purity is able to heal anyone but can't heal the owner. Light is able to either brighten up an area or blind someone but then she'll go blind for days. Kindness is able to camouflage but then he'll be paralyzed for days. Hope is able to go fast but you'll be slow for days, which isn't good for PE. Any questions so far?_

_How long does these effect last?_

_The only one that can't over come their side effect is Purity, but otherwise you can overcome them. You just have to train really, really hard to make sure that the side effect doesn't affect you guys anymore. Which might be hard since you guys are still in school and on first try, it last for days._

_Are only humans able to use them or can the Digimon?_

_If I remember correctly, the Digimon were once the users of these powers. I think they can but the side effect might get them too._

_It seems that the side effects make it hard to know whether they're really worth the trouble._

_That's true but I do hope that you're going to find them before someone else does. I can only hope that Gennai doesn't know where they are._

_I see your point. Ok, let me know the rest._

_Unfortunately, I can't give you the full list of what the Legendary Crest powers are. I'm still looking them up. I really want to give you the full list._

_Ok, so what about location?_

_Right, do you have any right now?_

_I have Courage and we're at the stadium where Faithfulness is._

_Ok, Purity is still in the cactus and that cactus is still there. Friendship and Knowledge are near the location that they got it from. I think I remember hearing it was a well that they found it in. Unfortunately, that well doesn't exist anymore. Yours is still an entrance to a cave but it's in a canyon. Love is where the pyramid used to be. Light is where Myotismon's castle used to be. Kindness is in the desert where his base crashed. Courage and Friendship is located near a mountain…_

_What do you mean 'Courage and Friendship'?_

_Davis's Jewel, the two symbols are overlapping inside of the jewel._

_Then that means that the ones with two Crests are able to use both powers a…_

_And have their side effects, yes._

_Wow._

_Knowledge and Faithfulness is located on the beach. Love and Purity is located near the restaurant that Matt and Joe worked at. The Legendaries are in a temple. They're the only ones that are together._

_Since there are three groups, do they have a special group they go to or can any set be use on any of the three groups' Digimon?_

_Agumon, Biyomon, Palmon, Gomamon, Tentomon, Gabumon, Gatomon, and Patamon go with the original Crest. Gatomon, V-mon, Hawkmon, Armadillomon, Wormmon and Patamon go with the mental Crest, even though Ken doesn't appear to have one. Let me see if I can remember the names of the Legendary Digimon._

_You know them?_

_I was told their names a long time ago._

_Then that means Gennai already knows what's going on._

_TK, this information came from an ancient source that not even Gennai knows about. Well, he knew her but she wouldn't tell him anything even if it were going to cost her greatly. Lets see, there were Fiterimon, Lightningmon, Shendramon, Huskimon, Sakuramon, AeroDinomon, Plantmon, Bellimon, and Breomon… Was I right?_

_Right on the money, are these jewels also ancient?_

_They are but the Legendary ones only came after something. _

_Tell me._

_It's kinda pointless to say. You didn't know it before and I don't want to confuse you with information that you really don't need to know._ I noticed her sadness before she hid it. _Oh, Virtue can hold the original Crest, Faith can hold the mental Crest, Peace could hold yours and Kari if you wanted to since all you two need is those four for it to activate. Unity can hold the others. But only you and Matt, or other people with your blood, can release them once they're placed in there. If your parents knew this, they wouldn't be able to release them though._

_That's interesting. Shouldn't it be that the Crest Protectors, lets call them, be able to bring them out?_

_That would be a logical thought if we weren't sad. _

_We?_

_It's pointless to tell you who else since you don't even remember me. Well, she's done with her nap so I got to get going. I'll come get you when I get the whole list, ok? I don't want you to get hurt._

_Things can hurt me here? _I looked around with a wondered of how.

_Many Digimon can go into the mind. I'll see ya later. _She smiled and disappeared.

I woke up and noticed that rays were appearing.

"At least you slept." I heard Matt's voice. I got up and looked at him. "Did she come?"

"Well, I went to her really." I stood up and looked around; everyone else was still asleep.

"How?"

"I'm not sure but she told me that I got there by myself."

"Interesting… Are you going to tell the others now?"

"Yea, since we need to cover a lot of ground."

"Ok, I hope Gabumon gets back." He looked to the damaged wall.

"Why? Where is he?"

"He went out looking for some food. We don't have that much birdseed left and I'm worried that everyone else won't have enough food to eat."

"Since we're veterans, I guess it's our responsibility to look after them."

"That's right."

"I'm really impressed that you can endure so much too."

"Huh?" He looked at me like he didn't know what I was talking about.

"Well, all the night watches you put in."

"You were doing the same."

"I know but I'm use to it since I had to put in late hours for my novels. You don't."

He poured himself tea and sipped, "I am the one that brought them together." He looked at everyone that was sleeping. "I'm worried that they'll fall apart."

"Why would they? They're friends."

"But they all come from different worlds."

"I wouldn't worry about it. There has to be another reason that you're worried."

"I guess since I'm the oldest, I feel like I have to protect them. I also know that their parents are also excepting me to protect them."

"You know that you can't protect them from everything but at least you had practice." He smiled with one that said brotherly love. "Looks like Gabumon's back." Matt turned quickly and then relaxed. I knew that was odd but I had to ask him later.

"Good job, Gabumon." Matt took some and placed them on the blanket that I didn't know that he had. He reached into his pocket and walked over to me. "Tim found this yesterday." He opened his hand and showed me the Jewel of Faithfulness. I took it and smiled for some unknown reason.

"I know that smile very well, though I'm not sure why you have it." I looked at Matt; there was something on his face that I couldn't really read. "It's the smile that says 'I'm happy that I found it. My mission is almost done'. Is that how you're feeling?"

I placed it in my pocket where I kept Courage, "I don't know why I would be. But I know that I am a bit joyful that I now found two of the twenty-two jewels."

"I guess it seems smaller."

"Wait, I forgot. It's really twenty-four since Kari and mine repeats."

"Yea, it seems really small. I wonder if the Trinity Jewel is broken like their Crest."

"I'm doubtful."

The others started to wait up one by one. Once everyone got some food in his or hers stomachs, I told everyone what she told me. I did mention that she seemed familiar, though not that I went to her a second time, so that's my reason for trusting her. Kari wanted to know why but I couldn't give an explanation on it. Ceres thought it would be a good idea to split up so we could get the jewels faster. I knew that we had to since it has been a long while since we entered the Digital World and time was running out. The plan was to spread out and find them. Once we did, we'd come back here and wait for the others. The groups were: Ceres and Panther; Tim, Nereida, and Damon; Matt and Ryan; Ken and Neon; Kari and Don; and Lily Dawn with me. To get us to the area faster, the ones that didn't have flying Digimon went with a flying Digimon. Everyone took a bit of food before heading out; Ceres took a little more since of Ele.

Lily Dawn and I were flying over the desert. Ken gave everyone around the area that they should be in so everyone headed in their own direction, though how Ceres and Panther are going to find that temple is completely out of our hands. I was holding on to Yokomon as we looked for the cactus.

"TK, is that it?" I looked to see where Lily Dawn was pointing. There was a field of cacti and I knew that it would take us a while before we found it.

"There must be an easier way to find it."

"There's no better way then looking."

Pegasusmon landed and we went looking. I thought looking for the one with a flower but half of them did.

Ryan

It was really rough riding on Garurumon, but we got it to the area in no time. We weren't told much about this time, but I figured that it took much longer their first time than what it took us. I due it to the fact that Matt was the one who thought up our training and Gabumon was helping with the training. Though, there wasn't any well when we got there.

"I guess this means we have to dig." I said. Breomon started to dig in the sand and the same with Garurumon. I noticed that Matt was thinking hard. "Are we going to help?"

"There's something wrong here." I heard them stop.

"What is it, Matt?" Garurumon asked.

"I should feel something… Unless I no longer have Friendship." There was something in his eyes that I just couldn't read, but I knew that he was worried about it.

"Don't worry about it." He looked at me and I smiled, "I'm sure it's just the sand blocking your sensing. Were you able to sense it before?"

He smiled, thanking me for reminding him about something, "You're right." He picked up his amulet and looked at it, "Maybe this can help." One of triangles glowed purple. Matt moved his amulet slightly and the glow went to another triangle but in the same direction. There was familiarity in Matt's eyes. "Breomon, kick a few times with your back left."

Breomon looked at his leg and did as ask. In a few strokes, he stopped and picked up something. He ran over to me and dropped the jewel in my hands.

"The Jewel of Knowledge." Matt said, knowing I was curious on the name.

"Then let's get yours." I looked at him, putting it in my pocket. He nodded and looked at his amulet but this time, there was no glow.

"That means it isn't here." Matt sounded worried.

"How can that be? You guys said that you two found them together." They gave us a little history lesson before splitting up.

"Maybe someone took it." Breomon offered.

"But who would want to steal it since they can't activate it?" Garurumon pointed out. Then his amulet was glowing. He turned behind him and looked there with determined eyes. "What is it?"

"Someone had to have taken it. Otherwise it wouldn't be in that direction."

"So now we're on a hunt?" I asked, looking that way.

"Let's go. That Digimon has a good head start." He walked to Garurumon and we did the same. I was really hoping that I would just have to ride Garurumon back to our spot.

Neon

We got to the location of the pyramid pretty quickly and, ironically, it's near the same location that Ken's base crashed. We were looking around the rumble, but we didn't really know where to begin. The area was huge and they did tell us that there was an underground levels too. And the sun wasn't giving up on the heat.

"If you want to rest Neon, go ahead." Ken said.

"I'm fine."

"Just don't push yourself then, ok?"

"Don't worry, I won't." I lay against a tall wall, which was blocking the sun's rays but not the heat. I was really wishing that Don were here to take it away.

"Neon, why is you're back glowing?" Sakuramon asked.

"My back?" I got up and I saw a red light coming from the wall. I went to the source and it stopped. I looked at the jewel more closely to see something inside of it. It was a weird way to shape a heart but I knew that it was the Jewel of Love. "Ken, I found it!"

He came running over. I showed him the jewel and he smiled, "Good work. How did you find it?"

"It started glowing as I was leaning on this wall."

"Then that's luck. Let's hope the same goes for my jewel."

"May I hold on to this?"

"Sure." I placed it in my hair and we headed out for the other location. But this time, Ken gave me a blanket to place on my head so the sun wouldn't be too hot for me. Sakuramon liked it too.

Kari

I didn't really like the fact that we were first heading towards Myotismon's castle, but it was an easier bet on finding my jewels. I didn't want Gatomon to have to relive painful memories. We got there to found that the castle was still standing.

"I'm half wishing that it wasn't here." Nerfertimon said.

"At least he's not around anymore." Don tried to reassure her.

We landed and walked in. Gatomon was leading us to the entrance where that gate was that the others were talking about. I noticed that Gatomon was on edge about something.

"This is Myotismon's room." Gatomon opened the door but there wasn't anything in the room. Gatomon pushed something on the wall and the far wall opened up. "Everything's the same." She walked down the stairs and we followed. There was something eerie about the place but I couldn't place my finger on it. We came to the camber where the gate was and it still was there.

"What's that in the middle?" Don asked. It looked to be a stand or something.

"That's where the cards go when you want to open this gate." Gatomon answered. I felt this tug and it was leading to the stand. When I got there, it started to glow. I didn't know what I was doing, but I placed my hands over the stand. My jewels came out of the stand and into my hand. Then it stopped glowing.

"Kari?" I looked over to Don and he looked worried. I looked down at my jewels and they sparked. "Well, I guess it doesn't really matter that you were acting weird as you got them."

"I just… felt them…"

"I guess it only works with your Crest. Let's get outta here."

I nodded and we headed back upstairs, but I now got this feeling that we were being followed. When we reached outside, I looked at the mountains nearby. I blanked out and when I woke, Don and Gatomon looked worried.

"What happened?" Don helped me up and steadied me.

"I'm not sure." Then I remembered what I saw. It was mountain that I knew wasn't far from here and that's where Davis's jewel lies. "I know where we'll find Davis's jewel. The mountain isn't that far away."

"How do you know that?" LDinomon asked.

"I don't really know. I guess it's something like what Panther can do."

"But you've never been able to before." Gatomon said.

"I know."

"Well, it's a start in either case. So Ms. Leader, where do we go?"

I pointed away from the castle, to an area full of mountains, "That way."

Gatomon took off her tail ring, knowing that's the only way for her to get to her Co-Ultimate form, and handed it to me. "I'm ready."

"DigiArmor Energized!"

"Gatomon Armor Digievolves to………………… Nerfertimon, the Angle of Light!" We got on and headed for that area.

"I've never really understood why you took off her tail ring." Don said though I knew it was really a question.

"Gatomon lost her tail ring when Ken was the Digimon Emperor. She didn't get it back until we defeat Myotismon for the third time. With her tail ring off, Aquilamon and Gatomon are able to go into Sliphymon and the same goes for the others. The only ones that don't follow this is Metal Garurumon and WarGreymon since they first DNA Digievolve when we didn't even knew the name."

"So the only way for her to get to this stage is by not having her tail ring. What if you put it back on now?"

"I'll go back to being Gatomon. We've tried many things to see what will work and what won't." Nerfertimon answered.

"Nerfertimon, it's that one." I pointed to the one that looked to be in the center of the place. Nerfectimon moved closer and Don jumped off. He looked around before looking up.

"Where is it?"

"It's around this side somewhere near the top." Then he started to climb. It didn't take him long find it.

"I got it." Nerfertimon got closer and I helped Don on. He showed me the jewel and it did have both Crests inside. The color swirling inside seemed to be mixing the two colors and the light was allowing you to see both around the edges. It was really pretty and I wondered if the other two Crests were like this. "I'll hold on to it for a while." Don put it in his pocket and we headed back.

Neon

Ken was searching around the area where his base crashed, but it seemed that the sand was covering it, which would be really weird since we found the pyramid ok. He was looking with his laptop on what lay beneath the sand.

"I knew it was here. It's just under the sand."

"How far is it?"

"It's pretty deep but why wouldn't the sand bury the other stops as well?"

"Maybe it wants to forget your past? But in either case, we have to start digging."

"That would be a waste of time and effort." He started typing on his laptop.

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"I'm going to see if I can bring up my base so we can go inside. I know that my jewel is in there somewhere."

"Then let me do it."

He stopped and looked at me, "Meaning?"

"I've been training, with Don's father, to control time itself. I'm still a little rusty but safe."

"I thought that you could only freeze time."

"That's what I can do normally but Don's father wants to make sure that I have more power so that's what he trained me in. The only thing I can't do is go into the future."

"Are you sure you'll be alright?"

"Yep, I've done it recently. Well, before we left."

He stopped typing and put his laptop away. "Go for it." Wormmon jumped onto his shoulder.

I placed my hand on him and everything was turning into lines. On the sides, one could see what has happened over the years that I was going back. I went back far enough to where I could feel the jewels were created. I looked around and his base was still above ground.

"Neon, look at the sky over there." I looked to where Ken was pointing and there was this big flash of light that I knew wasn't natural, even though it looked small to us since it was really far away. "I wondered what that was."

"I don't know." Small beams of light shot, what looked like, everywhere. One of those color beams landed inside the base. "That would be yours."

"Can I really get it even though this happened in the past?" Then his base started to sink.

"You can and we better hurry."

We ran inside from a hole in the base. Ken led me through all the wiring that was there. He stopped and was trying to reach something between the wires. I heard it sinking even more.

"Got it." He said as he was getting up.

"Let's go." We ran back out.

Once there, the whole base fell into the sand and that was the end of that.

"What would've happened if we were still in there when it fell?"

"We'll be trapped there. We are in the past."

"I see. Do you think we can take a peek around in the Real World? I want to know when this happened."

"Do you want us to be invisible to everyone there?"

"If that wouldn't harm you."

"Right." A bubble came around us. Ken opened a portal and we stepped through.

It really didn't look that much different from our own time so that meant that it wasn't that long ago. We walked around to see what was happening.

"It might take us a while to see what's going on." I said, wanting to explore.

"It could but here's something that could give us a better clue." He pointed to a newspaper vending machine. He looked at the newspaper for a moment, "That event in the Digital World happened about six years ago."

I looked around the area and knew we were in Tokyo, "What's the month?"

"Early December, why?" He looked at me.

"That means it happened months after the takeover of Tokyo."

"Takeover? What are you talking about?"

"You don't remember? When those people took everyone in Tokyo hostage for some reason."

"No, I don't."

"That's odd… Matt doesn't remember that either, according to Ceres anyway."

"Well, at least we know the year and month so that should be some good news."

"Then lets head back." Ken opened the portal to the Digital World and, once there, I went back into the present. I fell to the ground, tried from the travel.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. It just takes a good amount of energy to pull that off." I got up. Ken looked at his jewel. "Is the feeling still there?" He looked at the spot where, I'm guessing, he knew it was at.

"The feeling's gone now."

"Then we have it."

"Right, let's head back."

I nodded and Wormmon went to Stingmon and we headed back.

Lily Dawn

I climbed up the last cactus with a flower on its head. I looked around its petals and felt something hard. I picked it up and it was a green jewel. There was a teardrop imbedded in the center and I knew that we found it. "TK, I got it." I said, then started heading down. When I landed, I showed TK it.

"That's Purity alright. Let's stay here for the night. We'll head out in the morning. Why don't you hold on to it for a while?"

"Ok." I placed it in my pocket. We found a good spot to sleep but I remembered about night watch. "TK, who's gonna keep watch?"

"I will. Don't worry about it." He smiled at me, but I remembered that he usually stayed up with Matt.

"I'll do it this time."

"Ok, if you don't mind."

"Not at all. You and Matt have done so for a long time." He smiled and him and Patamon hit the snooze button.

Ryan

We camped in the desert with nothing to protect us from an attack. Matt was looking mad that someone took his jewel, but I couldn't really blame him. I would probably do the same thing if I ever knew. We were still following the path that his amulet was leading us.

"Matt," he looked at me, "I'll stay up tonight. After all, you've been doing so for a long time."

"I don't mind, really."

"But you should get some sleep. We're supposed to take turns so that wouldn't happen."

He smiled a soft one and the same with his face, "Do you insist?"

"Uh…… Yea?"

"Ok then. If you feel like you can't handle it then get me up, ok?"

"Ok…" _That was easy._ So I stood up and watched for the night.

Neon

We were the first ones that came back.

"I thought that Matt and Ryan would be back before us." Ken said.

"Matt's boosting back fired." I smiled.

"Someone's coming." Sakuramon said, looking in the sky. I looked to see Nerfertimon coming and landing. Don got off and I ran to him, glad to be in his arms.

"I thought it would've taken you longer to get them." Ken said.

"I thought so too but I knew where Davis's was." Kari said.

"How?" I asked.

"I think I'm getting Panther's powers somehow."

"That would be odd." Ken said.

"Should we tell them now?" I asked.

"Yea, we found out when the jewels first came to the Digital World."

"Really? Neon, did you?" Don looked at me and I smiled.

"When?" Kari asked.

"Six years ago, around early December."

"A few months after the takeover." Don repeated my words.

"What takeover?" Gatomon asked but Kari looked confused too.

"You don't remember the takeover of Tokyo six years ago?"

"There wasn't any takeover of Tokyo." Kari said, sounding like Ken.

"I wonder if TK remembers? Ken and Matt also don't remember." I said and Kari looked at Ken.

"I don't remember any takeover. I do know that it's around the time that I came to live near you guys."

"That's also around the time I started to date TK."

"Man, I wonder why you don't remember. It was on the news days after the people disappeared. Many people were helping with the rebuild and the clean up the place." Don said.

"Well, it's late away so lets head to bed." Kari said, trying not to think about it. So we all headed to bed.

Damon

We found the restaurant that they told us about. We started to look around but didn't find any sign of the jewel.

"Too bad the Digimon moved out." Nereida said.

"But we don't have any money so it doesn't really help." I said, tossing a rock into the lake.

"I guess we have to dig around. They said that that's how it came in the first place." Lightningmon said.

"But they also found her other mental in a temple so we can't really go by that." Huskimon said.

I skipped a stone into the lake and it hit the other side, knocking a rock over.

"Did you use your powers?" Tim asked.

"Nah, that's my own skills." I saw something shining over there. I got up and went to where the rock used to be to find a jewel with one of the symbols being Faithfulness. "I found Cody's." I picked it up and walked back. They looked at it and their spirits were rekindled.

"Then we have to find Yolie's." Nereida said, running inside the restaurant. In minutes, she was back out and with her jewel in hand.

"At least it's easy to guess which one's which." Tim said.

We all got on Shendramon and headed back to the stadium.

Ryan

"We're getting closer." Matt said. I looked beyond him to see that we were heading into the forest. Garurumon slowed down enough to not run into a tree. "Garurumon, stop." He did and Matt got off. "Ryan, stay there for a moment."

"Do you really think he's safe there?" A girl's voice said, echoing from everywhere.

"Who are you? And why do you have my jewel?"

"I don't see your name on it."

"It has my Crest symbol and that's as good as any name."

"Then that means that the Digimental of Friendship belongs to you and not to Davis."

"I couldn't lift it which means that I wasn't meant to have it."

"And you didn't find this so it doesn't belong to you."

"I'm the only one that can activate it."

"Oh… That's why this pretty little thing wasn't working." Someone dropped from the trees. It was a girl that was wearing a tank top that showed her stomach, jeans, sneakers, and a necklace. Her long hair was tied in the back but there were highlights on her body that made you think she was made out of glass but her flesh tone told you that she looked like another human with good skin care. She smiled like a little kid would, "My name is Mirrormon, glad to finally meet you."

"Just give me back my jewel."

"What if I don't?"

"I really don't want to force you to hand it over."

"That might be fun if you come at me. After all, I am a Super Level and a Champion wouldn't be much fun."

"You think killing lower level Digimon is fun?"

"Killing? I'm not killing low level Digimon. That's the other Supers that are bored out of their minds or just want to destroy this world and rule over the Real World."

"Do they really think we're going to let that happen?"

"Oh yea, now I remember why I took only this one and not Knowledge." She hit her head a few times, "Letting you know that everyone that you know, that both partner and human are still kicking, has a Super Level Form."

"What are you saying? That was one big riddle."

"Ok, the humanoids that have a Digital partner that are still alive have a Super Level Form. There's only one more Digimon that we need to give a form to but he's saying he doesn't want one until his mother figure comes back to him. Anyway, that's beside the point. I thought that you guys should know that way you don't have to worry about them not having any." She tossed the jewel over to Matt.

"How do you know this?" I asked.

"I'm one of the three creators for the Super Level Forms. That's how I know all about it. I thought I should be nice and let you know in advance."

"Thanks." Matt said.

"No problem."

"If they're your creations then don't you want to see them win?" I asked.

"We created them but we didn't give them personalities. They gain those on their own. That's why some are good and some are bad. And others don't really care. Well, I gotta go now. Byebye." She disappeared, somehow.

"That was weird."

"But she did give us important information that we needed." Matt hopped back on Garurumon and we headed out.

"Can we really trust her?"

"I really don't know, but we'll soon find out."

I just left it like that.

Lily Dawn

Bellimon had her vines around TK and he scaled the walls of the canyon. It was too narrow for Pegasusmon to go flying down so Patamon stayed with me. Then one of Bellimon's vines was tugged so she slowly recoiled them. Once TK was on the top, he showed us his two jewels.

"That's great." I didn't know what else to say.

"Let's head back. DigiArmor Energized!"

"Patamon Armor Digievolves to……………… Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!" We hopped on Pegasusmon and headed back to the stadium.

Panther

I didn't know why I was following Ceres on the location, but it was as good as any since I didn't know where to begin. Ceres was feeling, supposedly, for the vibes of our jewels by using our amulets as guides.

"We're here." Ceres pointed to a temple on a hill.

"Why can't they put a bus or something?" I knew Matt said that we'll have to do a lot of walking, but I didn't want to climb up the stairs that looking like it would take two days to just walk them. When we got to the base, a scorpion-looking thing popped out, "No one may enter here."

"What's up there?" Ceres asked.

"Some powerful jewels that are only for the new rulers of the world."

"Do these rulers have some way of activating them?" I asked.

"I do not know but you're not going to get pass me." He buried underground.

"That's real nice of him. We didn't even make a move." Ceres was acting like she wasn't worried.

Everyone got ready since we didn't know where he'd strike. Then he came out where Ceres was but there wasn't much reaction time. Fiterimon managed to jump in the way and stopped his stinger with her body. Ceres somehow pushed him back and Plantmon wrapped him up.

"How is she?" I then saw her break up and started to float away. I saw a tear fall on the ground before she turned her attention to the Digimon.

"What's your name, Digimon? I don't want to delete you without getting your name."

"My name is Evolve Scorpiomon and no human can delete me." Plantmon let him go, letting Ceres to get her revenge.

"You want to test that?" She leans to one side and brought a flame to her hand.

He went underground again but this time the ground was quaking. He came back up but there was a rock under him. Ceres summoned another flame and sent both at him. He was consumed and deleted. She fell to the ground and Ele came out to comfort her.

"Ceres, they told me that Digimon go back to a Digiegg. She'll come back."

"Death is still the same!" There was a lot of hurt in her voice as much as sorrow.

I heard her crying but most of the time when something like this has happened I usually yell at the person. Though I'm not sure I should do that. "Are you afraid of death?"

She looked at me with hateful eyes, but they soften with some thought, "I forgot, you don't know anything about me."

"Then why don't you tell me? I've faced death many times so I'm not too scared."

"I can face death a million times and not show fear. But I hate it when a friend dies for me."

"That shows how much they care for you."

"But they die at my cost… Even my own boyfriend." More tears were pouring out quietly.

I sat down; those jewels weren't going anywhere, "Tell me about it."

She looked at me before looking at the ground at her side, "It wasn't that long since I've met him. I just decided that I was going to live in Spain among his village and friends. He was an orphan for a long time so he and I had many survival skills in common. He was also the leader of one of local orphan gangs and there was a report saying that some of his friends were in trouble. I knew something was wrong, but we went to check it out. We found them massacred in a horrible way. Then we found out that the organization that's out to get me killed them. I told him a few things, but not all about them. I begged them to run to fight another day. As we were running away, they killed them as well. He told me to run but I couldn't. Only when he promised me that he'll come back. But when he didn't returned, or any of his friends, I got worried and went back to the site. They confronted me before I even got there with his head. That's when I ran away like a coward."

"Is that what happened to most of your friends?"

"Anyone that I stay with."

"Then you just have to get stronger. Otherwise you'll be running forever."

"I don't want anyone to get hurt, too many already have."

"And you think sitting around crying about is going to change the fact? Unless you have a way to bring back the dead."

"Look, I'm not like you! I do care for my friends that I stay with."

"You think I don't care about my hom's?" I grabbed her shirt, not believing she believed me to be that heartless, "I care about them like they were my family. I watched my family get killed in front of my eyes and there wasn't anything I could've done about it. That's why I got stronger so those people would pay. You need to do the same."

She lowered her eyes, "I can't. I'm trying to protect everyone."

"Then you're not going a good job at that. Look," I pushed her back to her feet, "You can coward away but what about Fiterimon? Do you really want her sacrifice to go wasted? She's waiting for you to come and get her. You're not the only one that lost a Digimon in the Digital World. Ken and TK know exactly how you feel since they both lost theirs."

"Really?" Her tears stopped at least.

"TK lost Angemon to Devimon and Wormmon died to save Ken from himself. All we have to do is go to the Primary Village and find her Digiegg."

She smiled and wiped away the last of her tears, "Thanks Panther. Too bad my other friends can't come back the same way."

"Everyone meets back up in the end. Now let's get those jewels."

She nodded and we headed up. Though we could've rested during the night, I knew it was best that we kept on going.

In the morning, we reached the top and those jewels look really awesome. Ceres picked up her symbol and looked around. "Panther, we need to get that." I looked to where she was looking and found that there was Digital Writing.

"That's in our writing." Plantmon said.

"What does it say?" I brought paper and pen to get this down.

"It names all the Crests. There's Virtue, Faith, Peace, Forgiveness, Glory, Patience, Calmness, and Honesty. They are the power-giving Crests. The item Crests are Trinity and the combined Eternal and End which brings forth the greatest power of… It's been blocked out."

"Well, whatever my Crest name is, it's very important." Ceres said, "Plantmon, what about that?"

I finished with the wall and I looked to the other one with everyone else's Crests there. I started on that as well.

"The power-giving Crests are Courage, combination of Courage and Friendship, Friendship, Hope, Knowledge, combination of Faithfulness and Knowledge, Faithfulness, Kindness, Purity, combination of Love and Purity, Love, and Light. The item Crests are Miracles and Destiny to bring forth Virtue."

"So that means these two are connected." Ceres summarized. I finished this one and with the translation.

"Get the jewels and we'll head out." I placed the notes back in my pocket.

Ele was placing them in Ceres's bag. Once done, we headed back.

Me

We were the last people to get back and everyone was worried about Panther and Ceres. I knew that they'll be ok but I was still worried.

"Lily Dawn, what's wrong?" Yokomon asked with worry. I looked over and her eyes weren't focus.

"Yokomon, it's ok. I guess Panther's talking to her." Ryan assured her.

Then her eyes came back, "Matt, Panther wants to know where the Primary Village is."

Ken started typing on his laptop to find out.

"That would be hard to say since we don't know where she is. Why do they want to go there?"

"Fiterimon was deleted."

Everyone was silent. I looked over at TK and Ken and both were remembering their moments. TK was holding Patamon tighter, "How?" TK didn't really want to know.

"She said as she was protecting Ceres." Ken went back typing, trying to get the image out of his head.

"Ah, it's not that far from her location. Tell her to go towards the forest and mountains. It's in-between there." Her eyes unfocused again.

"Ken, how long would it take us to get there?" I asked.

"Not too long if we fly there as soon as we can."

"Then that's what we'll do. Let's get packing as Lily Dawn wraps things on the other end." We were getting everything and Bellimon was getting all of Lily Dawn's stuff.

"They'll be waiting there for us." Lily Dawn said.

"Alright then. Get your things ready." She nodded and Bellimon handed her things. Once that was done, we headed out to Primary Village.

It took us a day to get to the Primary Village. It didn't look like it did in the past but then TK did say that it did change. We found them near the egg field and Ceres had an egg in her hand. It was blue with colorful spots. Ceres was holding it like a mother.

"Are you ok?" TK place a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine. How do I get her back?" She looked at him.

"Just rub gently." TK said with a smile.

She rubbed it and it started to move. A smile crept onto her face and that made me feel better. Ele came out and was watching the birth. When the top half broke off, a yellow thing came out. Tears were rolling down her cheeks and everyone was glad for her. She rubbed her cheek with its and she became happy. She quickly said her name, but I didn't catch it though Ceres looked surprise.

"Is something wrong?" Kari asked.

"Do Digimon know ancient languages?"

"I don't think so."

"Then I guess her name is Bonumalamon. Long name to boot."

"Isn't that Latin?" Tim asked.

"Yea, that's one of my favorite languages to speak."

"That must be a short list of people that you can talk to." Damon said.

"Well, Date-san knows it."

"So that's what you were speaking." Panther said and Ceres smiled. _But then how can Panther follow with their words? Well, I guess since Spanish comes from Latin._ Then I heard something coming. I looked in the sky and saw this butterfly-looking Digimon flying by, releasing some dust. There was no way for us to get away in time.

"Ceres, put Bonumalamon and Ele in your bag!" She looked at me but Ele went in with her.

Then dust hit us and we were all to the ground, paralyzed. I looked up at the sky to see a fire-looking bird crossing the sky. The tops of the buildings were on fire. Then thunder and lightning came from a dragon-looking Digimon. This was causing the trees and parts of the ground to catch on fire. We were lucky that none of the eggs, or us, were struck by it. Only after a while since they left, we were able to move. We were putting out all the fires and moving the eggs to make sure that they weren't hurt or harm. TK and Patamon were looking for the baby Digimon that were able to run. Kari and Gatomon were soothing, along with Neon and Don, the baby Digimon that were sacred.

"I vote we label those Digimon the most powerful Digimon. Even if other Digimon try to rival them." I looked over to see Ceres petting Bonumalamon with Ele on her head.

"Why say that?" That was really out of the blue, but I could tell that she was really worried.

"It's a joke since I'm guessing that they're not really that powerful."

"I wondered if Izzy could use his DigiAnalyzer with these."

"Analyzer?"

"It's something that allows him to get information on Digimon that he've, or we've, seen. Since we're the only ones that's encountered Super Levels and I really didn't tell anyone about it so I didn't ask him."

"You should." I looked at her again. "I mean he knows about us and we can use all the help that anyone is willing to give. Baggers can't be choosers."

"You do have a point." I said with a smile.

"Is there anything else that needs to be done?"

"I think everything is being taken care of. We're just waiting for TK and Patamon."

"We're back." I looked to my side to see that TK and Patamon were walking behind an army of baby Digimon.

"Are they alright?" Ceres asked.

"They're fine, really." Patamon said.

When the little ones were with Kari and them, TK walked over to us. "They said that they wish someone was here to help them out. Those Digimon attack almost weekly."

"Weekly?" Ceres was worried since if we were late by a day, with who knows what would've happened to Bonumalamon.

"We have to find someone that can protect them. They also have to go off to many villages once they're born but they don't have a way to do that."

"How were they able to do so before?" I asked.

"I guess Electmon did it."

"But he wasn't here when Ken was around, was he?"

"I don't think he was. I don't know back then; maybe they were too sacred to go anywhere without evolving first."

"That would make sense. I guess that means that we have to find someone that will take care of them."

"It also has to be someone that can transport the Digimon to their villages." Ceres pointed out.

"That's a good point. Who will look? We can't send everyone since someone has to stay to keep an eye on the Digimon." TK analyzed.

"What are you guys talking about?" Kari walked up with Gatomon in her arms.

"We were wondering how to handle this situation since there's currently no one protecting the Digimon here." Ceres summarized.

"Really? No wonder they weren't too shaken up. Are we going to find someone?"

"We'll have to. Otherwise we shouldn't be here to protect this world." I said. "Everyone, come over here. We need to discus something."

Everyone stopped what they were doing and walked over. Some of the Baby Digimon were coming too and I knew that it was ok for them to hear this since it is the future of the Primary Village.

"Ok, we need to look for a Digimon that can protect this place."

"You mean that wasn't a one time attack?" Nereida asked, then looking at all the damage that they did.

"Apparently not, but we all can't go out and look for someone or ones. A few have to stay here to help protect them incase other Digimon come by."

"They're the only ones that ever come." A Koromon said.

"But that doesn't mean that others wouldn't come sooner or later. Why do they come?"

"It seems that they can't terrorized anywhere else."

"That's so low." Don said, creating a fit.

"How should we handle this?"

"I'll stay. I have to get my novel done anyway." TK said.

"I'll stay as well." Ken said.

"I'll stay too." Neon said before walking back to the Baby Digimon.

"The rest of us can look around for those Digimon." Ceres said.

"We should split up so we can cover more ground. Also remember that it has to be someone that can fight against Super Level." Panther pointed out.

Then we went in different directions, hoping to find someone that will help them. Panther went with Kari; Don with Ryan; Lily Dawn with Nereida; Tim with Damon; and Ceres with me. Some of the ones that were able to reach the In-Training level came with us.

TK

Neon went right to work with caring for the little ones. Ken and I went looking for some food for them to eat. Luckily, a river was nearby and Ken built a net to catch them in. I knew, from Agumon, that Digimon can eat things raw but Neon was being mother so we also built a fire to cook the fish. She also wanted us to make little beds for them. I was just wondering where their beds went that they are born in. As for the eggs, she wanted them to be warm. Luckily Wormmon was able to turn his silk attack into silk we could use to make blankets. Once they were all asleep and Neon was happy, we all relaxed.

"You know, you're being a good mother so far. I'm guessing this is like practice?" I asked as I was typing.

"I guess so. Though it is going to be different."

"Of course it will be." Ken said with encouragement.

We were quiet for the rest of the night. I was keeping watch so they got some sleep.

"You know, you're acting like your brother now." Patamon said as I was typing but I wasn't fixed on it completely.

"I'm betting that he's up right now." I looked at the moons of the Digital World. This is the first time that I noticed this world even had moons. "Wow, I wondered why I didn't saw them before?"

"Hm?" I heard Patamon looking up. "The moons?"

"Yea."

"I guess you just didn't care too much." I was so amazed for some reason that I knew it wasn't my will that was keeping my eyes on them. "Don't you want to work?"

I looked back down at him, "Yea." I then went back to work.

Me

We were both up since she didn't want to rest until we found a Digimon.

"Matt?"

"Hm?" I focused on her since she was a bit ahead.

"How much are you paying for Panther to go to that school?"

"You don't have to worry about it. As long as you do good on their exams you'll be fine."

"But that's more of a western school so I know the cost is pretty high. I don't want you to waste your money where you don't have to."

"So that means that you don't have parents."

"Guess I wasn't doing a good job hiding it. How did you figure it out?"

"The story just wasn't adding up. Don't worry about money, ok?"

"Sorry, it's just that I've never had someone looked after me before. It's kinda new, ya know."

"Well, you are going to be living with us so you might as well go to the same school with everyone else."

"They all go to the same school? Wow, that's impressive."

"That's how they all met each other. Though you'll also see Davis and Cody casually."

"So I guess that means I'll know just as much as Panther?"

"Maybe you'll both learn more. No one can really predict the future."

"Matt, I hate to give up your hopes but I'll have to leave before the school starts again. I'll take those exams as plan though."

"Why?" I could hear her trying to cover up her hurt. And it wasn't for me either. I knew that she wanted to stay.

"There are just some things that I have to do. I'm a wanderer and I normally don't stay in one spot for too long."

"Want to tell me how you became that way?"

"Ever since I can remember, I was alone. I don't mean that my parents were too busy and so they were never around; I mean that I was alone. I don't know why though but somehow I knew that I had something to do. My foster mother picked me up and took me to live with her. She was very superstitious person so she also thought that I had a greater purpose. I told her when I was three what I felt before she found me. She agreed that I needed to go see the world to find out where I belong. So I did but I wasn't too wise so I was caught. They brought me back to my foster mother and she thanked them, saying that I ran away. So then she trained me in her art. That's when I realized that I'm a fast learner so gaining and learning knowledge and wisdom wasn't going to be a problem for me.

"I then traveled all around the world and learned anything they were willing to give. The first place I went was America and that's when I ran into my first trouble. This organization started to come after me. I'm not even sure why but they were making sure that whatever country I went to wouldn't be pleasant. Even when I wanted to stay and live in one of the countries, they wouldn't allow it. So I kept on hiding, running. I have to, to make sure that no one gets hurt because of me."

I smiled to myself though I knew that she couldn't see it, "Right now, you're reminding a lot of Panther."

"Huh?" She was looking at me. I think she was surprised to see me smiling.

"Panther was afraid that something would happen to me since those guys were after her. Though they caused you two some problems, they haven't come after me. And you really don't have to worry about me since I know how to take care of myself. I'll keep you both safe."

"Someone else that I really cared for said the same thing. They slaughtered him and his friends." She looked down at the ground.

"If they do anything to me, the police will be on them."

"You don't understand they're not a normal organization. I've tried to hack into their system many times and they're unable to be found."

"Don't worry, I'll keep myself safe as well as you two."

"Plus, I'm here now." Gabumon said at my side.

Ceres smiled and looked at Bonumalamon.

"That's right, you also have your own Digimon to protect you."

"Why can't we protect them?"

"We can but they're also here to help us. We're friends and that's what friends do for each other."

"I've almost forgot how to have loyal and deep friends."

"Isn't Ele your loyal friend?"

"She is and so far she's the only one that I've allowed to get close to me."

"That sounds like me a long time ago."

"Really?"

"That's for another story."

"We do have a lot of time. Does Panther know?"

"She knows since she was the first person that came into this group."

"Then I should know."

"Does that mean that you're staying?"

She made a sour face at me but then smiled, "We'll see. If I can fit it in my busy schedule."

Don

In the morning, we resumed our search for a Digimon that was willing to help. And, of course, it was only now that we both realized that our Digimon couldn't let us cover more ground.

"I can fly you know!" LDinomon said as he was flying around my head.

"I know you can but your other stages aren't big enough to carry us." Ryan said.

"You might want to stop. I didn't think you're helping Don any by flying around his head." Breomon said.

He stopped right in front of my face and looked at me, "Something the matter?" He tilted his tiny head to the side.

"Nothing." I said in a nervous way, though I was really trying to calm my stomach. Only know do I wish that I didn't eat breakfast this morning.

"There's something the matter otherwise you wouldn't look like you're going to hurl… Oh yea! That's right! Sorry." He went onto my head.

"It took you this long to remember that?" Breomon asked.

"Well why didn't you tell me then?"

"You should've remembered on your own." Breomon had a cocky tone in his voice.

"Now Breomon, LDinomon just didn't remember. There's no need to start something." Ryan was attempting to be a peacemaker.

"If I start something then I'll finish it."

"Good to know for the future." LDinomon said with a ready-to-fight voice.

I smiled but then I heard something from my side. I stopped and looked that way, knowing that something will come.

"What's wrong?" Ryan asked in a low voice.

"Something's coming."

"Better get ready then Breomon."

"Right."

I heard us being surrounded. "Unfortunately, it isn't just one Digimon."

"That's perfect." I heard him moving to watch our backs.

That's when three machine Digimon and one female humanoid Digimon came out and looked ready to attack. The machines looked like each had their own usages, especially since one didn't have any legs.

"We would just like to give you a message." We looked at the path we passed to see this other weird looking machine walking up to us. "Just so you know, there are many different Digimon that want to rule this world. You could either join up with us or die." His voice sounded that of a fired employee of some evil person.

"What do you mean?"

"We know that you are acquainted with Mirrormon. Her family is very powerful but only their oldest sister wants to rule over the Digital World. Though, of course, her siblings are willing to help her in any way they can."

"Then who are the others?" Ryan said. I looked at him to see that there was something on his face that was giving me the impression that he knew this Mirrormon.

"Another group would be the Digimon that like to be known as the Deity Digimon. Their leader is known as Zeusmon." _That was the group that got us started_. _And here I was hoping to thank them._ "Gennai is the next obvious one. All Super Levels know that he's bad to the bone but we act like we don't. Then there's Megamon and his group of followers. Unfortunately, we don't know how he came into existence but he did. Then there's our master but you can't know her name just yet."

"How many groups are considered powerful?" I asked, though knowing that all groups would consider themselves the most powerful.

"That would be Megamon's group, ours, and maybe Gennai. Mirrormon's siblings are strong but they're not as aggressive as the others. The Deity Digimon are just show offs that think they're powerful."

"Why place Gennai as a maybe?"

"He has those Digidestined brats on his side. Luckily their Digimon don't have Super Level forms."

"Then before we decide on whose group to be in, may we talk about?" I was hoping that either they would leave or let us talk.

"Fine then but the offer doesn't extend to humans." The others left. He just walked over to a tree and waited.

We turned our backs toward him so he wouldn't hear us too easily.

"Do you know who Mirrormon is?" I asked Ryan.

"Yea, she took Matt's jewel just to tell us that our Digimon to have a Super Level form. Matt wasn't sure if we could trust her but now I'm thinking that we can't."

"I guess that means she has some angle she's playing. Maybe trying to gain trust to get at us better."

"Well, on the scale of evil groups it appears that our Deity Digimon are at the bottom of the charts."

"Yea, but they have to have something to back up their claims."

"Maybe they think they're Gods. You know, like in those myths you and Neon read to us?" LDinomon said.

"That's right. Matt did say something about Gods being Digimon." Ryan said. "I remember being suspicious about Apollo because of his name."

"We don't have to worry about Gennai too much since all Super Levels hate him. That just leaves their group and Megamon's." I summed up.

"That means we better head back to the Primary Village. That way we can tell everyone that there's a gang war about to break loose."

"You might be right. Right now they seem to want reinforcements handy incase of a fight."

"I wonder why they're not going to Bossmon for those reinforcements?" LDinomon asked more himself then us.

"Explain." Breomon said.

"Bossmon has his men, like Torchmon, to go around and capture Digimon. He then has them train. Once they're good enough to fight Megas, he sales them."

"What happens to the ones that can't reach that point?" Ryan asked.

"They're deleted under exhaustion and/or hungry."

"That's just awful."

"They might be thinking of something differently. After all, Fiterimon was with them and Torchmon got attached to her. Maybe they don't want that." I pointed out.

"Then they just want Digimon to train to fight?" Ryan asked.

"It could have something to do with their master. Ryan, could you remember how to draw him so that way we can show TK and Ken?"

"Sure I can but why?"

"It's the way he said their group. There was disgust and hatred."

"I see, and you think they might have encountered… How could they have encountered him if he's a Super Level?"

"Maybe he wasn't a Super Level at first. Maybe he was a lower level Digimon like them who just got lucky and was given one."

"Don't worry, I'll remember."

"Good," We turned around, "What's you're name?"

"I guess it's only fair. My name is Upgrade Datamon."

"Upgrade Datamon eh? Thanks and their answer is no."

"Then I guess that it's their time to be deleted!" Then he launched weird looking tiny missiles at us. Ryan touched my shoulder as I was about to jump out of the way. We started to disappear into tiny spicks. He looked awestruck at what just happened but we managed to get away. Once at a good distance, Ryan reformed us and we ran back to the Primary Village.

"That was really awesome, Ryan." I said, since this was my first time I went through that.

"And you didn't get sick either."

I just realized that and smiled.

Nereida

We were in an open meadow that was shining with the wind. I never saw something like this before but I loved ever glance at it.

"This is really beautiful but unfortunately we don't have the time to admire it." Lily Dawn said.

"You're right." I said with a smile. I looked out one more time when I noticed that there was a white Digimon flying above the tall grass. "Lily Dawn, there's a Digimon out there!"

"What?" She looked and there seemed to be some recognition on her face. "Hey, could you come over here?" She yelled to the little Digimon.

He looked our way and came over as fast as he could.

"Hi ya." His voice was so cute. He was a white Digimon with wings on his back and head. There was also a curved teardrop on his forehead.

"What's your name?" Lily Dawn asked.

"My name is Eternalmon! What's yours?"

"My name is Lily Dawn and this is Nereida, Bellimon and Lightningmon."

"Hey, you want to play? Do ya, do ya!" He was really happy for some reason.

"What game do you want to play?"

"It's a fun game. It's going to the Real World and exploring!"

"You're able to go into the Real World?" I asked with amazement.

"I sure can!"

"How are you able to get back in the Digital World?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Oh, Endmon comes and gets me."

"Eternalmon, what have I told you about talking to humanoid Digimon?" A black cat with a big head came out from the grass. There was a scar on her left eye and blue swirl on her forehead.

"I'm sorry Endmon but they looked like fun."

"Come on then, let's head to the Real World before they do something."

"Bye." He flew over to Endmon.

"Wait, we won't harm you…" A portal opened and he went through it. Endmon jumped into it since she was on the ground.

"Do you know them somehow?" I looked at her.

"They were at your house the night you invited us."

"Really?"

"Panther and I feared that other Digimon might want them. Now I know that's true since she was worried about them being around humans."

"She said humanoid Digimon." Lightningmon corrected.

"Well, we might as well keep looking. There's nothing we could to for them right now." She headed out.

I felt sad for some reason and I knew it had to deal with Endmon and Eternalmon. I followed after one more look at the meadow.

Kari

We were walking along in a forest area. I didn't remember seeing a forest like this before but then again, it has been awhile. I noticed that it reminded me of forest where Sliphymon first came into existence. I was then wondering why Yolie has changed so much than normal over those years. Back then I believed that she would be there for me when I needed her to help me. _Though then again, I'm keeping things inside again. But she should've said something._

"Penny for your thoughts?" I looked up at Panther who was ahead of me.

"This forest just reminds me of the one when Sliphymon came."

"Oh, you mean Gatomon's and Aquilamon's DNA form."

"That's correct."

"Ken said that you guys were in the Dark Ocean as well. Are you scared that it'll come back?"

"Not really."

"Then you're just worried?"

"I guess I am."

"Don't worry about it. I'll know when it starts to break through its gate."

"Were you scared when you first entered?"

"Not really. Sure, it was dark and lonely there but I didn't stay there long enough any of the times that I went."

"I was really scared every time. Bravery isn't one of my strong suits."

"If that were the case then you wouldn't even be here. Matt told me that you gave yourself up just to protect the others from getting hurt."

"Thanks."

"I guess more of your brother went into you than you knew."

"I guess so." She stopped all of a sudden. "What is it?"

She reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, "Kari, there's two more Crest that we'll need to find."

"What? I thought we got them all?"

"There are two others. End and Eternal."

"How are you so sure?"

"At the temple where we found the jewels, there was an inscription about them. They mentioned End and Eternal."

"Wouldn't they be written in the ancient text?" Gatomon asked.

"They weren't though. I was able to read it." Plantmon said.

"Then we still have some searching to do."

"We better head back and hope that the others found a Digimon to protect the village."

"Right." We headed back.

Tim

I thought it was weird that all the In-Training Digimon were following us. I thought they would follow one of the girl groups. Unfortunately with them with us, we couldn't cover more ground. It wasn't that long into the midday when we stopped by a waterfall. It was really clean and it was a beautiful site.

"Tim, look up there." Damon pointed to the ledge where a female humanoid Digimon was sitting down doing something.

"I'll go up and talk to her then." I jumped on Shendramon and we head up.

She looked a bit surprised to see us but she was really calm about it. She was wearing a tank top that showed her stomach, jeans and boots. Her long hair was up and she was drawing the landscape.

"Hi, may I help you?"

"I was wondering if you could watch over the Primary Village? There's seemed to be three Digimon that just love to terrorize it."

"Why would I want to watch over some baby Digimon?'

"Well, weren't you once a Baby Digimon?"

"I don't know and I really don't care."

"**Do you really want to see the little babies actually going into this war? They need someone to protect them.**" Shendramon said. Something was crossing her mind and I was wishing that I had Lily Dawn's powers to know that it was.

"What are the job requirements? I'm just considering my opinions here so don't give your hopes up."

"Able to fight off Super Levels and to get them to their villages." I explained.

"Fine then. I'm able to do all those things. But I'm hoping that you'll find someone else later on."

"We'll do our best and thank you very much."

"I'll head over to the Primary Village my own way. See you there." She got up and left.

We headed back down, "She'll watch them."

"That's great news! Where is she then?" The little ones were jumping with joy.

"She said that she'd get there her own way." I got off Shendramon. "Let's head back now."

"Right." And we headed off.

Ken

When we woke up, TK ate a little bit of food before going to bed. Patamon, also, fell asleep. Neon placed a blanket on them before attending to the little Digimon. I heard something coming from the direction that Don and Ryan went. They were running towards us with importance.

"What's wrong you guys?"

"Where's… Matt?…" Ryan managed to say between breaths.

"Him and Ceres haven't come back. What's up?"

"We have to tell everyone that trouble is coming to the Digital World."

"What kind of trouble?" I looked to the house where the Baby Digimon were at. Neon had this worried looked as she was holding a Pabumon.

"Don't worry, someone will watch out for them." Don walked over to her as he said that.

"Why tell Matt first though?"

"Tell Matt what?"

I looked behind me to see that him and Ceres were back.

"It seems that we might not be able to trust that Mirrormon."

"Really?"

"Her older sibling is planning on taking over the Digital World."

"I guess we just need to wait for everyone else before I hear the explanation… I guess TK had night watch?"

"That's right." I answered.

TK

I opened my eyes to see white around me again. That girl was smiling happily at me. _I thought that you would never fall asleep._

_Did you find the other information that you were looking for? Letting you know that we found all the jewels. _I noticed that I was sounding like I wanted to please her.

She smiled. _I'm glad that you did. Now for the rest of the jewels: Virtue's angle is able to do rapid shooting but then the energy will be low, the triangles are able to use the other crest with their side effect; Faith's bird is able to take aim but then has low fighting energy, the triangles are used as missiles but has the same side effect as the bird part; Peace allows the owner to think clearly but then she'll get a giant headache for what seems like eternity; Glory is able to absorb heat and use it as an attack but only in small amounts; Forgiveness is able to make anyone merciful but then she'll get all their negative energy; Trinity is able to decrease any power by three but they'll be drained by that much for days; Patience is able to hide in the shadows but then her body will light up for a week; the lost one is able to dimension hop but only to those she has a picture of; Calmness is able to find the source to a complex problem but she'll have an attitude for a week; Honesty is able to see the truth behind lies but then he'll tell lies for a day; Eternal is able to lead to the Real World but only once a day; End is able to lead to the Digital World but only once a day._

_Are you telling me that we have to look for two more people before our group is complete?_ I just then felt sorry for Matt since he wants Styxmon back so badly and he still has to wait.

_You don't need to look for any more people. Eternal and End have found their place with Digimon. But unfortunately, they don't trust anyone since many Digimon want them._

_At least my brother will be happy about that. Do those Digimon have the jewels as well?_

_No, Patience and the lost one have them. Just the amulets of those two are with the Digimon. She's waking up soon. You better get back to you body._

_Right. Can you only talk to me in the Digital World or are you like Styxmon?_

_Styxmon? Oh, that kind Digimon. Unfortunately, I can only talk to you when you're unconscious in the Digital World. I wish I could visit you elsewhere._

_That's alright. It was nice talking to you. Thanks for telling me all this information as well._

_It wasn't a big deal; you guys need everything that's given to you. I hope you'll use them to help save the Digital World. It seems trouble comes here every few years or so._

_I know what you mean. We have to keep on our toes for anything new._

_Stay safe TK._

_Could I at least know your name?_

She just smiled. _I can't be apart of your life anymore but I'm glad to see you one more time. I wish you the best of luck._

_Anymore? You do seem familiar but I still don't recognize you._

_Maybe it's for the best. Good luck on your quest. I know this is hollow now but I love you. _She disappeared.

I woke back up with the sun's rays glaring in my eyes.

"Glad you're up. Had a nice nap?" I looked ahead of me to see Kari smiling. I smiled back and got up. That's when I noticed that everyone was back and there was a new Digimon with them.

Me

"Ok, Ryan and Don go first in telling us what they found out." I looked at them.

"Ok, there's seems to be gangs of Digimon that are planning to take over the Digital World. There's about five major groups then there's Bossmon." Ryan said.

"The groups are: Megamon, Zeusmon, Gennai, Mirrormon's siblings and a mysterious group. Though only Megamon, Gennai and the mystery group seem to be the strongest groups. Mirrormon's would be on the charts but they're not as aggressive as the other groups. Then the rest of the Super Levels consider Zeusmon's group to be a joke. Gennai is hated by all the Super Levels but they only consider him strong is because he has the "Digidestined" on his side. The only thing that we found out about Megamon is that there's a mystery surrounding his existence. The Digimon didn't give any information on his own master. Ryan, did you finish that picture?" He looked over at him.

"Yea." He walked up towards me and handed me a picture. "His name is Upgrade Datamon."

"Datamon?" I looked at the picture to see Datamon there. Though I never was there to see him personally but Izzy allowed us to see him when we were looking for Tai.

"Have you faced him before?" Don asked.

"Kinda, this Digimon lured us to the pyramid where Sora's Crest was at. Then he captured Sora and tried to clone her but Tai saved her. We never really knew his fate but we all knew that he had to have been deleted since we never ran into him again."

"Then his master somehow is able to bring Digimon back from the dead."

"Or it could be something else but we can't rule that out. Ok, now Lily Dawn and Nereida."

"Panther, Neon, remember those two Digimon that we saw when we went to Nereida's house? We met up with them again. Their names are Endmon and Eternalmon. They have the power to go back and forth to the Real World and Digital World but only Eternalmon can bring them to the Real World. Endmon is able to bring them back."

"They also don't trust humanoid Digimon." Nereida added. I noticed that what they were saying was sparking something in TK's mind. _I guess he's last to give information._

"Is that it?" I asked.

"Yea."

"Panther and Kari?"

"We might have to look for other people. The jewels have two extras that are called End and Eternal." Panther explained. I looked at the ground, since I thought I was done. I looked at TK to see that he still has something to say.

"Is that it?"

"Yea."

"Tim, Damon, introduce us to your new friend."

"Well, this is the Digimon that will watch over the Primary Village." Damon said with gladness. All the little ones cheered with joy as the rest of us were happy to know that someone got a Digimon to help.

"My name is Artmon and I fit all the requirements."

"That's great and thank you for your help."

"Well, babies shouldn't fight that young. Rookies should worry about war."

I smiled to hear her say that. Then my phone rang. Everything was silent as I brought it out and hit the button to receive the call, "Hello?"

"Matt, this is Izzy. You wanted me to call the day before the 28th."

"Oh yea, thanks so much. There are a lot of things that I need to tell you."

"I can't wait. Oh, do you really know Seto Kaiba?"

"Kinda, why?"

"He seemed to have called everyone asking where you were."

"Don't worry about it."

"I thought it was creepy."

"I think he's mad that I beat him at his favorite game."

"Oh… I guess you better tell me that later. Well, see you when you get back." He hung up. I put my phone away, wondering how he got all my friends' numbers and why didn't he call mine.

"Who was that?" Ceres asked.

"That was Izzy. He called letting me know that it's the day before we have to head back."

"Let's hope that nothing else happens while we're here." Ryan said.

"Right. TK, it seems like there's something on your mind. Does it have any addition to what was going on here?" He looked like he was surprised a bit.

"Well, that girl came to see me one more time. She told me the powers of your jewels. She also said that we don't have to look for any more people since the Amulets of End and Eternal have found themselves on two Digimon. Endmon and Eternalmon's abilities are the same as the powers, but they can only do so once a day."

"I thought that the powers were in the jewels?" Ceres asked.

"She did make it appeared that way. Matt, when are we going back?" I could tell that he was going to ask her.

"We'll stay one more night then head back. Is that ok with everyone?"

Everyone nodded his or hers heads.

"Can you tell us the powers then?" Nereida asked.

"Sure. Virtue's angel is able to shot rapidly but then there's lost of energy, the Triangles are able to use the other crest but then there's their side effects; Faith's bird is able to aim and the Triangles are used as missiles but then there's low fighting energy for both; Peace is able to think clearly but then there's a giant headache that will last for a while; Glory is able to absorb heat and used them into an attack but only in small amounts; Forgiveness is able to make anyone merciful but their negative energy will be absorb in you; Trinity is able to decrease any power three folds but they're weaken by that much; Patience is able to hide into the shadows but then your body will glow for a week; the lost one is able to dimension hop but only to ones that you have a picture of; Calmness is able to find the source to a complex problem but then you'll have an attitude for a week; Honesty is able to see the truth behind lies but then you'll tell lies for a day."

"But I was able to control heat even before I knew about you guys." Don said.

"Really?" TK looked at him.

"Yea, I thought it was apart of my power."

"Then that just proves that these powers are not with the jewels so then what are they use for?" Panther asked anyone who was going to give an opinion.

"It does but that means that we have to see. Maybe they become clearer with the jewels." I suggested.

"Well, the jewels are the key that allow our Digimon to go to their Super Levels."

"You do understand that your Digimon might not have a Super Level form." We all looked at Artmon. "Not every Digimon gets a Super Level and some Super Levels don't have a lower form to go into. I'm a perfect example for that since I just exist in this form and no other."

"Really? Isn't that kinda sad?" Lily Dawn asked.

"It all depends on how you look at it. Most Supers don't have a lower form. Even if a lower level knew they have a Super Level form, only another Super that takes pity on that Digimon will teach them on how to get there."

"So only Super Level Digimon understand the full power of that level?" Neon asked.

"That's correct but it's not just any Super Level. It's the ones that didn't need to evolve to get to that level."

"What makes them so powerful?" Yokomon asked.

"It's the ability to learn and adapt to anything. Though all Digimon are able to do so, it's not understandable to them."

"You're saying that we can learn to change our attacks to be just as powerful as Super Levels?" Bellimon asked.

"That's if you know how to get that untapped power. Don't even ask me how this power came to be but that's what Mirrormon told me a long time ago."

"You know Mirrormon?" Ryan asked.

"I know her and we're friends. She's not as bad as you made her sound. The same goes for her siblings. Though her older sister wants to control the Digital World, she's not going after it just yet. She wants to see what the other Digimon are able to do. That's including the other Super Levels. Though that mystery group is a mystery to even them. They don't even know who's running that group but they know who are the followers."

"I guess that Digimon doesn't want to be known just yet."

"Though you'll know about that Digimon sooner or later."

"That's true."

"Well, all this walk has made me hungry. Let's get something to eat!" Ceres said with a fist in the air.

"That's a plan I like." Panther said and everyone got to work. Artmon was just drawing in her sketchbook. Everyone was talking and eating, including Artmon. She was giving us a demonstration of her power. Her drawings were able to come to life if she wills it and that was really awesome. Then there was a light that came from Ceres. There was a piece of food in her hand.

"Bonumalamon Digievolves to……… Gelidardormon!" The yellow Digimon turned into a seal Digimon that was just as small as its last form.

"Wow, how did that happen?" Ceres looked at her Digimon.

"Babies usually grow with food. That's what happened to Patamon with just one bit." TK said.

"That's awesome. Hi Gelidardormon." She lift her up before rubbing her cheek with its.

"Hi Ceres! I'm glad to be back."

"So this is your In-Training form. I wonder if your other forms use Latin as well."

"Latin?" She tilted her tiny head.

"Yea, Bonum means good and mala means bad. Gelida means cold and ardor means heat."

"Wow… Cool!" We went back to eating.

Afterward, everyone went to sleep. TK was typing away, I guess waiting for everyone to fall asleep. Even Artmon was sleeping with them.

"I think it's safe to say that we gained an ally that's a Super Level." I said, hoping to get TK's attention.

"You might be right. We have to give her a way to contact us."

"You do have a point. Are you going to talk to her?"

"This is my last chance. She can only talk to me in the Digital World."

"I see. Then good luck."

"Thanks." He turned off his laptop and placed it in his bag. Then he fell asleep.

"Is there something on your mind?" I looked down at Gabumon then back at TK.

"I'm wondering why he wants to see her. It's like he likes this girl as much as Kari."

"What makes you think he goes?"

"I don't really know and somehow, I want to let him see her. Like that would answer some of my own questions."

"I guess will see later on if you're right."

"I know I'm right but I just don't know why."

TK

I woke up in the same place but she wasn't around. I just hoped that her Digimon form was asleep.

_Danger doesn't stop you, does it?_ I turned around to see her smiling.

_I have to ask you something. _

_Ok._

_The powers you were telling me can't be with the jewels themselves since the two Digimon are able to use them and the Owner of Glory is able to use the power way before he even knew about this group or this world._

… _I guess I was making it sound like it… Sorry._ She put her hand behind her head. _Ok, the power is within the Crest itself. Like in the name of the Crests._

_Then that means that the power should be inside us._

_So it never occurred to you that you could pass on your Crest? The Digimon will always be the same but the person will change._

_But our Digimon are loyal to us._

_I mean by species not the same Digimon. For example, a Patamon will always be the Digimon of Hope._

_Then Gabumon will always be the Digimon of Friendship and Virtue._

_Well, he will always be connected to Virtue. I guess that's why Faith can go with anyone but always following Virtue. _There was a smile that looked like it was for remembering.

_That means that Ken will follow Matt._ I knew that meant that I'll be moving out of Matt's mind and Ken will be moving right in. That has already happened.

_I thought you and Ken are friends? Did something happen that made you hate him?_

_I think so but I'm not sure where it began. We're still friends but I just get mad at him. It usually involves Matt or his Crest._

_Does he get mad at you?_

_No really._

_Well, if this helps, the last time I'd seen you two it was like you two were brothers that haven't seen each other in years._

_I've never considered Ken as my brother before._

_I guess it was due to the adventure that you two, and Matt, went through. I'm not too sure on details since I had something that I needed to take care of so I'm not sure what happened between you three. I think that you guys agreed to be brothers._

That just made me remembered that most of the time, we hang out together. Normally we do things that are fun together and sometimes when I'm with Matt. _I guess we do act like brothers at times…_

_And don't brothers fight at times?_

_Now I'm curious as to why you're so interest in what's going on with me?_

_Well… You looked stressed. _She was blushing and for some reason I could feel something inside of me stirring, like an old feeling that I had lost or forgotten. _Anyway, I'm sure everything will turn out alright. I have faith that you will find a way to bring peace between you and Ken. I don't think you want your friendship to end._

_Thank you. I just know that your faith will help me somehow._

She blushed again. _I would be happy if I could help._

_I guess I have to be going now. This is the real goodbye._

_Right. Good luck._

She started to disappear and I woke up with the sky still dark. I saw the moons and somehow knew that she was there. I was seeing her image and another image but I didn't recognize her. I could see that they were together, that they were connected in some way and they are connected to us, only Matt and me, no one else. _Maybe that's the reason why she was happy to say that we are the only ones able to release the jewels from the Crest Protector._

"I see that you're up. That talk only lasted a few hours." I got up to see Matt smiling his brotherly smile at me. "I hope you got something out of it."

"The powers are with the name."

"So they're not totally in the jewels."

"And we're able to pass on the Crest we have to anyone if we wish."

"Well, I know that I'm not giving up my Crest just yet."

"I agree."

"What about us?" Gabumon asked.

"Your kind is always connected to the Crest you help uphold."

He smiled. I looked back at the moons but I didn't understand up.

"Weird, this is the first time that I've noticed them."

"The moons?" I looked at him and he was looking at the sky.

"Yea, and I'm supposed to look up to the sky."

"That's true."

Once everyone was up, we packed up and said goodbye to Artmon and the little Digimon.

"Lily Dawn." She looked down at Yokomon. "I would like to stay here. To help out with taking care of these little ones."

"I thought that you might want to stay."

"Take care of yourself. Call if you need our help." Bellimon said.

She nodded and hopped over to Artmon.

"Protect the little ones. Once Sora's Biyomon reaches her Super Level, we'll come back so you can go there too." Lily Dawn gave her a thumb up as Tim opened the portal. We headed in as we waved goodbye.

Me

I rode Ceres over to the school. This wasn't her class's exams but to see whether she was going to be able to get into the school. Panther was holding onto her bag and Ele and Gelidardormon were with me. The hood was down to let in the heat of the day.

"Do you think she'll do alright?" I looked at Panther who was looking at the level where Ceres was.

"I think she'll do fine. She's smart so there's no problem with her getting in. Why are you worried?"

"She doesn't like to stay in one place for too long."

"I see that you've gotten attached to her."

"I think I understand her better than the others."

"I can see that she also needs a good group of friends that she doesn't have to worry about."

"When are you going to see Izzy?"

"Later on. I don't need to rush."

"Mr. Ishida." A guy at the entrance looked worried and a bit upset. I got out of the car, hoping that he wasn't telling me that Ceres didn't make it.

"What is it?"

"Well, it seems that we have a problem. Follow me please." This was getting me worried.

"Panther, stay in the car." She nodded her answer.

I followed the man into the principal's office. Ceres looked mad at something and the principal looked mad as well.

He noticed that I came in, "Mr. Ishida, I understand that you're well respected in your field but you have to do something about her," pointing to Ceres, "There's no way we can allow her to come to this school."

"What's the problem?" She didn't seem to be affected by what was going on. "Did she get a bad score?"

"If it were only that simple. She got perfect scores all around," said a guy that looked to be a teacher.

"Then why can't she come here?"

"They don't like my artist choosing of color." Ceres said, making no effort to put a tone in her voice.

"We can't have someone coming in here having pink for their hair color."

"Is that's what all this is about? And here I thought it was something serious." I said with a smile.

"This is very serious, Mr. Ishida. It would tarnish our school's reputation!"

"If I remember correctly there are students here with unnatural hair color, which goes for a global look and they're still in this school. If you really don't want a perfect student then that's fine, I guess another school could have her." I could see that he was in my trap. If Ceres didn't go to this school then I was planning that she wouldn't go to any other. Though he didn't know that and he still wanted this school to be a highly respected.

"Wait, maybe we could make some kind of a deal?" He was now nervous.

"Deal? Ceres, do you want to make a deal?" She looked a bit surprise about something.

Then she smiled a confident one, "Let's hear it but it doesn't mean that I'll agree."

"How about you have your hair like Mr. Ishida's? That way it'll be with our code."

"Nope, anything else?"

"Uhh…………"

"Then I guess I don't have to come here. Let's go Matt, this is wasting our time."

I nodded but before we turned around, he stopped us with his voice, "Okay, you win."

"Meaning?" I looked at him; he looked defeated.

"She can keep her hair color the way it is."

"Thanks. Tomorrow she'll come in for her class's exams." We walked out.

"I didn't know that you wanted me at this school so much."

"I'm not the only one either. Panther was worried as well."

"So now what?"

"We head home. I want to get some rest. Once you're done with your exams, we'll eat out somewhere."

"That sounds good to me."

"What was the problem?" Panther asked as soon as we got into the car.

"They wanted me to change my hair color."

"That old stunt? They wanted me to do the same."

"Matt didn't say anything about that."

"I was at this school before I met Matt."

"I didn't know that you were still interested in going to school."

"I had a special thing where I go for the first two days, take their exams, then I could do whatever I want."

"Wow! What did they want you to change?"

"My eyebrows are my real hair color. I kept them like this since I still want to remember my past." (Letting you know that her eyebrows are like my hair color and her hair is brown… Incase I've never told you before… I'm too lazy to really look to find out)

"So they wanted them to be the same color as your hair?"

"They didn't want me to have any foreign appearance."

"How did you get by that?"

"I didn't care since I wasn't in school that much anyway."

"Cool… Matt! Stop the car!"

I looked around and found a place to park, "What's up?" I looked back but she jumped out.

" Yoh, Daniel! "

A guy turned around that looked like he was a traveler. " Ceres! This is awesome. " She hugged him for a moment. She then led him back towards us.

"Panther, Matt, this is a traveling bud of mine. He's name is Daniel."

"Nice to meet you." I said.

"Like wise." He said in Japanese.

"Matt, may he come over for a short while?"

"I don't see the harm in that. Just let me enter first."

"Thanks. Well, you heard him, get in."

"Alright and thanks mister."

"Not a problem."

They hopped in and I took off.

"I see that you took my advised and came to visit Japan."

"I'm really glad that I did. It's really awesome here."

"I know. I wish I came back sooner."

I told Gabumon that we were having a guest over so he went up to my room. Panther and I were cooking as they were talking.

"It's nice that we got the chance to see one of Ceres's friends."

"I don't trust him." I looked at Panther.

"Why?"

"I really don't know but I usually don't go against my instincts."

"Maybe you wanted to be her only friend."

"I know that's not it. I just don't trust him."

"You can go talk to him then, if you think that will help. I don't think Ceres would mind too much."

She finished what she was doing before walking over.

Panther

When I walked into the main room, Ceres looked sad about something.

"What's with the gloom face?" I sat down and had an eye on him.

"Nothing." He lied.

"Panther, remember that group I told you about…"

"You told her about it? You know that it's dangerous for outsiders to know."

"Because they like blood?" He looked at me with surprise at my cold tone. "I like blood too."

"They're too dangerous."

"Daniel, it's ok. Panther, they've killed a few of my other friends trying to find me."

"Are you scared that they've found you or something?"

"I'm sad for my friends that dead for my sake."

"It's not in normal nature for humans to protect things with their lives unless they loved that thing dearly."

She smiled with a sense of hope.

"You don't know anything about the world, do you?"

"What do you know? Just because you've traveled it doesn't mean you understand it."

"I know more about it than you do." He was getting angry.

"Daniel, you'll lose this battle with her. She's stronger than what she shows."

"You're on her side?"

"I know that she doesn't like to lose. So you might as well give up while you can." He wasn't too happy about that answer.

"I bet you're hungry." Matt brought out the food and placed it on the table. "I see that something serious was being discussed." He sat down near me.

"That group that's after me killed a few of my kids."

"And here I thought you didn't want to in danger anyone." Daniel said with harshness.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"And that's a nice comment to make in front of the person that's giving you food." He just looked at me, trying to hide his anger.

"Ceres, do you fell like eating?" Matt didn't seem to care about him.

I looked at Ceres right before she swallowed an unnatural amount of food. Once in her stomach, she smiled to try to hide her hurt. Daniel ate some of food as I was almost fighting with Ceres for the food. I didn't noticed until he brought us tea that he didn't eat much.

Daniel was to sleep on the couch, making me feel better. Before I was about to fall asleep, I heard my door opening.

"Panther, can I talk to you for a moment?" I got up and saw Ceres closing the door.

"Why not, you've already woke me up." I moved closer to the top of my bed, leaving room for her to sit at the bottom. Plantmon was still sleeping and I knew that she likes to sleep and sleeps pretty heavily. I noticed that Gelidardormon was with her but not Ele.

"You don't trust Daniel, do you?"

"Glad you noticed."

"Don't worry, no one has ever gotten close to me without my knowing."

"So you don't even trust him?"

"There's something about him that I run into in most places. I'm seeing what's up."

"Meaning?"

"There's something wrong with him. He seems to know a lot about this organization."

"Then you should know about them. That's of course assuming he told you anything."

"Everything that I already know, you have ever right not to like him. I was wondering if you knew why Matt couldn't sense it?"

"I think he does."

"At least that's good to think about. Well, letting you know that you have to keep your toes around him but not give him any important information."

"Shouldn't you also tell Matt this?"

"Matt looks like he knows how to play people to his liking."

"Really?"

"That's how he got me in the school."

"Alright then, we'll play this guy. How long is he staying?"

"I'm not sure but he usually hangs with me for a few days."

"Right. Night."

"Night." She went to bed. I, as well, went to bed.

Me

Something woke me up and I didn't know what it was. I went downstairs to see that Daniel was talking on the phone. When he hung up, I made myself own. He looked worried about something but relaxed when he saw me, "You scared me for a moment there."

"Thought I was Panther?" I went to the kitchen and was making myself tea.

"Or a robber."

"Then I wouldn't come from the stairs. Who were you talking to? I get the impression that you leave everything behind for that kind of life."

"I still keep a close tie with my family."

"Out of nation calls are expensive."

"I'm sorry."

"You must meet a lot of good people then."

"This is the first time that I've been out of my country."

"Why are you lying? It's not a nice thing to do." I sipped my tea.

"I'm not lying to ya."

"And for someone that hasn't been out of their country, you've grasped our language every well."

"What about Ceres?"

"I was hoping that you would slip. She is the one that told you to come here." There was shock in his eyes. "Please leave before I force you."

"I thought that you were kind to travelers."

"I trust Panther."

"And Ceres?"

"Her too. That's why I was giving you a chance."

He went to get his stuff before leaving. I didn't trust that he left calmly. I used my dark powers to find all the bugs and cut them off. I looked at the phone and went up to grab mine. I called Seto to ask him to search my calls for the past few days. I figured that he was able to do so but I got his machine so I left it like that.

The next day, Ceres passed all her exams and was eating like there was no tomorrow. Panther did ask what happened to Daniel and I told her what happened. That seemed to pleas her and I'm sure that she told Ceres.

Later that night, as I was watching TV with Gabumon, the doorbell rang. Ceres went to answer it but stopped when she was near the door. I went up and touch the doorknob when she stopped me by her hand on mine.

"What is it? Them?" She nodded. "Don't worry." I opened the door to see that two foreign men, who were dressed in all black. "May I help you?"

"We would like to talk to you about a girl name Ceres. We need to take her to a foster home to get her into a good home."

"She's old enough to pick her own place."

"Matt, what's going on?" I looked behind me to see Panther walking over.

"We're here to take Ceres to a foster home. So if don't mind…" He reached his hand for hers but I stopped him. He looked at me and I just smiled.

"Where are the papers?"

"Papers?"

"I'll adopt her." They just looked at each other. "Is there a problem?"

"Not at all." He pulled back. "We'll be back tomorrow with the papers." Then they left.

I closed the door and Ceres headed upstairs. "Where is she going?"

"I don't know." She came back down with her cape and hat on her head. "Where are you going so late?" Panther asked.

"I have to leave before something happens." She went straight to the door.

"Running away?" Panther's voice was colder than I've heard her use.

"Panther, you understand."

"What about Fiterimon? If you're not here then how can you protect her world?"

"Ceres, we'll be fine." I assured her.

"That's right."

"But…"

"Ceres, I know that you want to stay. I think you want to stay here more than any other place on this planet. We'll make sure that they'll never take you away."

She took off her hat before turning around. There were tears in her eyes.

"Ceres, we want you here." Panther said with a friendly tone.

She walked up to me and cried on my shoulder. I hugged her in comfort.

"I'm scared." She said in almost a whisper.

"We all are at one time or another."

"And you know I'm the perfect example." Panther said as she placed her hand on Ceres's back.

Ceres got up and wiped the last tears, "Yea, you were crying like a baby with fright."

Panther eyed her with some threat in them. Ceres took flight and Panther followed closely behind. I smiled and went back to Gabumon.

"Do we have anything to worry about?" Gabumon asked as he watched Panther chasing Ceres around the house.

"I don't think so. They're just happy about what's going on."

"If you say so. Do you think that those people will come back?"

"If they do then the papers will have something that will make me reveal more than they need to know."

"How do you know?"

"That's just how they made it seem."

We went back to watching the show.

Well, that was sure interesting. Lots of information and lots of mysteries, like the mystery girls and the gang Digimon groups. But good thing that we have lots of information on what's going on and we finally have an ally that's a Super Level. All we need now is a few more and we have a good army on our hands. Of course, they don't need to fight, just get us inside information on what's going on in the Digital World.


	12. Chap 11 Discoveries for the Mind

Hi again. Letting you know that I got up real early this morning so I could get an early start on reading on what went on in the Digital World when I wasn't present. Though now I have to make sure that I don't spill up on anything. Gabumon is with me in my room, telling me that I shouldn't have done so but I just couldn't help it. I guess I'm just worried about them… It must be that they're all around TK's age… This is going to be interesting…

"Matt, they're here." Ceres said from my door that's closed at the moment.

"Right, I'll be right there." I typed in my last sentence for the intro of this chapter ("This is going to be interesting…") before getting out of my seat. I kept my computer for our adventure stories in my room that way I have an easier time getting to it. Though in the beginning, it was in the room that I locked myself away in (Panther only knows what I've moved one of the computers from that room to mine but she doesn't know why).

I went to the door, noticing that Ceres was hiding since Panther wasn't up just yet. I opened the door to see that those men were back and they didn't seem to change their outfit much. "I'm assuming that you're going to give me the adoption papers?"

"That's correct, Mr. Ishida." One of them handed me a piece of paper. I knew that there should at least be two or three papers that I need to fill out, but I, also, knew that they wanted something else from this one paper.

I took the paper and went back inside to grab a pen then went back out. I didn't trust them to let them out there by themselves. I filed out the information with what the questions asked, but not with too much revealing information. All the questions on here had little or nothing to do with adopting her, but if it will keep them off my back for a good while then I'm fine with it. I handed it back to them and they reviewed it right there.

"Thank you very much. At least now she has a good home and environment." The other said with false expression. They were both mad at what they saw on the sheet, but very one answered the slots.

"You're welcome and please, never come around here or Ceres ever again or you'll find yourself in jail. Have a nice day." I closed the door and dropped the pen onto the nearest table.

"Matt, TK wants to talk to you." Ceres said, handing the phone over.

"Hi bro, what's up?"

"Nothing really but I was wondering if you could cut the probe thing on me for a while. There's something important going on and I want to announce it to everyone without you knowing and acting like you didn't know."

"Ok, I'll just make sure that I don't receive anything from that probe. I'll call you back when I did, ok?"

"Thanks a lot. Why did Ceres sound like she was worried?"

"Some men wanted to take her away. They're gone now though."

"That's good but why did they want to in the first place?"

"I'm not really sure since she hasn't told me."

"I see, ok. Let me know then. Bye." He hung up.

I placed the back in its spot and looked at Ceres, who looked sick from worry.

"They're gone and if they ever show their faces around you again, I'm sending them to jail."

She smiled, "Thanks but it might not be them that comes by."

"As long as you say 'they're with them', the authorities don't need to know that they personally didn't show up at my door." She smiled again.

"What did TK want?"

"Letting me know something. Speaking of which, I better go and do so before I head over to Izzy's." I walked into my 'office' and typed in commands to let the probe following TK around not send me back anything, but still store it in its own memory banks. Once done, I noticed that Ceres was standing at the door.

"I bet you're wondering how I found your probe?" I looked at her, knowing that my face was answering her question. "I'm smart and sharp with my senses. I was planning on leaving it with you so you wouldn't waste it but then I'm not going anywhere. I fixed it up but I did make some adjustments to it."

"May I know what they are?"

"Unlike the other probes, this one can only give information within the third person. That means that you can't read my thoughts, only my acts."

"You don't want me to know what's going on in your head?"

"Something like that. Don't you think that that's more interesting though?"

"I guess I can't really complain. How were you able to find it?"

"That's why I don't want you to go into my head. I think that's it's only fair that you should at least know what's happening to me since I'm now under your guardianship as well."

"Thanks."

"Not a problem." She walked away. I went back to my computer to find that the probe I set on her was activated again. Of course, it only hit me now that she's really amazing since this was supposed to be cutting edge and no one was supposed to know of its existence. I called back TK to let him know that I cut the receiving end.

"Thanks a lot Matt. And don't worry about not getting anything on me during it. I'm staying with Kari until school starts."

"At least you're not going on adventure without me writing about it."

"Yep. Talk to ya later." He hung up. It just now crossed my mind as to what he should do with the other cell phone. _I'll ask about that later._

"Matt, there's something wrong with Panther!" I heard Gabumon saying from the top of the stairs.

I ran up to her room to see her rolling on her back and holding her stomach. Plantmon and Ceres were trying to calm her down.

"Panther, what's the matter?" I asked when I reached her bed. She looked awful.

"She started acting like this when she woke up." Plantmon informed me.

"She hasn't been able to say what's wrong yet." Ceres said. The phone rang. "I'll get it." She walked out and I placed my hand on her head. She seemed like she was getting a fever. "Matt," I looked back at Ceres, "It's Kaiba-san." I nodded. Normally I wouldn't have bothered, but I was the one that called him first.

I stepped out of her room, but was still watching her, "Hello Seto."

"I got your message and was curious as to why."

"A stranger was making a call somewhere and I want to know where."

"You allow anyone to use your phone?"

"I thought that I could trust him. I was proven wrong."

"Hold on then." He put me on hold. I was watching Panther rolling in unbearable pain, wondering what I could do to help. "You still there?"

"Yea."

"That person made a call to America. Then that phone line called someone's cell phone that was around California. Then that same cell called back to the main phone around your house."

"That's a bit more than what I asked but thanks. Any way to find what that main phone line is?"

"It's an unlisted number in the America but that cell phone calls that place and it calls him frequently."

"You were able to find all that in a short amount of time? I'm impressed. Thanks."

"Now that I've done you this favor, where were you during this month?"

"I was camping with my little brother and some of his friends, though they are my friends as well." He hung up, meaning that he was done I think. I placed the phone down anywhere and went back to Panther. "Any improvement?"

Ceres shook her head then looked back at Panther. "I'm not sure what it is."

"Maybe something's wrong around her stomach?" Gabumon said.

Ceres touched her stomach when she missed her arm making Panther freeze with pain. It was hard to tell how much can she endure.

"Panther, what's wrong?" I asked at this moment, hoping that she'll answer.

"A really bad case of crams." She said with one breath.

"I guess that means that I'll have to take care of this." Ceres picked her up and carried her to the bathroom. She walked out but was standing near the door. I was hoping that it wasn't due to the fact that she went to the Digital World.

I went downstairs to wait for them since I figured that Panther didn't want me around during this time. I was busying myself with cooking something for her since she just woke up. I heard the phone ring and picked it up, "Moshimoshi?"

"Matt, I thought you said that you were coming over?" Izzy's voice was on the other end.

"I am but there's a bit of a crisis happening right now. I will be there though, promise."

"Ok, at least nothing happened to you along the way."

"The only thing would be if Yolie knocked me out and took me someplace. Talk to you later."

"Right." He hung up and I put the phone away.

A bit after that, Panther and Ceres came down with Panther looking beat.

"I'm betting that you're hungry." I placed down a plate for her but she looked mad for some reason.

She sled it over to Ceres, "I can't eat for a while." Ceres was already eating it.

"Why?"

"This always happens when summer ends and school begins. Unfortunately, this was the only way I knew when I needed to go back for my next set of exams."

"It's really that bad?"

"Yep, I can only drink, not eat. Eating hurts too much."

"But you need some way to keep up your energy since you can't miss school, right?" Ceres was done with the plate, leaving nothing left.

"That's the unfortunate thing about it. Normally I would just go for a day to get all the exams done then rest it out."

"Why do you think that I wouldn't allow you to do it now?" I asked, knowing that I could just say that she's sick or something believable like that.

"The school will send someone to check."

"Good point. I could give you a note saying that you can't be involved with PE during this."

"Questionnaire time."

"Oh… Then you need some way to get the energy that you need."

"How about vitamins?" Ceres suggested.

"Those are solids."

"Oh… This might take a while." Ceres closed her eyes to think.

"I'll get you some tea then." I walked back into the kitchen.

I didn't know what I was doing during that time, the only way I knew something was up when Panther called out to me, "Matt, what's taking you so long?"

"Nothing…" That's when I noticed that there was a pan in my hand as well as food in it. It wasn't anything that I made, it was cereal that Panther liked and something looking like tealeaves was with them. I dropped the pan and looked on the counter to see the box sitting there and the stove turned on high. The teapot was waiting for the leaves to come.

"What's the matter?" I heard Panther's worried voice. I looked at them and they looked puzzled.

Ceres picked up the pan and looked at what was inside it. "Trying something new?" She placed it back on the stove. That's when I noticed that there was a black mark where the pan was.

"I thought you were making tea?" Panther asked, reaching to the place where we store them.

"I was… I know I was…"

"Well, there are tealeaves in here. I'm surprised that they're not brunt." Ceres removed both items out of the pan. That's when I noticed that there was also water in the pan. "Experimenting?"

"Panther, have you added the leaves yet?" I looked at her as she was about to. "Could you fill me up a glass of hot water before you do?"

She grabbed another cup, filled it, and handed it to me. I picked up the leaves and placed them in the water. I stirred it until the water was colored green. I sipped to find that it tasted like Chinese Green tea with a hint of the cereal.

"What is it?" Panther asked, seeing the expression on my face. I handed it to her and she tasted it. She looked at me with shock as Ceres finished it.

"Wow, when did you learn this cool trick?" Ceres asked.

"I'm not sure."

"He was doing it subconsciously…"

"Oh yea… Then that means that you learned this trick around the time that you can't remember."

"Then how can I remember it if I don't?" I looked at her, hoping that she could give me an answer.

"Like I said before, you can't remember the events but everything else can. You're heart and time hasn't forgotten the lessons and feelings you gain. It's only your mind that's failing you." I looked down at the spot, remembering the dark being was saying the same thing to a degree and the same with the girl that was talking to TK. Though, for some reason, Ceres's words were somehow giving me comfort.

"Matt, however you were able to do so, I think that you should try again." I looked at Panther. "It tasted like the real thing. I want to see whether or not that will help me during this. Then you could teach us how to do it." I smiled at her and nodded.

I didn't have to clean the pan but I was going to make something a bit bigger. I remade the breakfast that was for Panther but I near the end, I wasn't in my kitchen. I was in a kitchen but it looked nothing like mine. I saw my hands move at a rate that was inhuman. I was cooking a different meal and my hands were young. I looked around to see that there was a fest on a table and the room was mainly white. I noticed that it felt safe and warm for some reason.

"_Matt?"_ I heard Gabumon's voice calling to me but I snapped out of it when someone touched my shoulder. I looked behind me to see that Panther looked worried. "Are you ok?"

"I think so." I looked back to see that there was only water in the pan. I somehow knew that it was done and poured it into a glass. I gave it to Panther and she drank it.

Once done, she put the glass down. "That seems to be doing the trick. I don't feel hungry."

I smiled and placed everything that I used in the sink. "I have to get over to Izzy so you two can have a free day. I left money on the table near the TV if you guys want to go shopping or anything."

"Before you go," I looked at Panther, "What were you seeing? I couldn't see whatever it was."

"I'll tell both of you when I come back, ok?" She nodded. I smiled then headed out to my car.

"Matt?" I looked at Gabumon from the corner of my eye since I was driving, though the frame of my sunglasses where making that a bit difficult. "That seemed familiar."

"What did?"

"You making that for Panther. I knew that you've done that before."

"The past that we've forgotten. Things are really becoming confusing for us, isn't it?"

"That's really true. Too bad we can't ask anyone."

"I have one but I don't want the others to know."

"Plus, he might not tell you. You said that he said some things weren't important."

"That's true as well." I breathed in deeply, wanting to clear my head.

"Maybe all of this is connected in some way." I looked at Gabumon again, seeing that he was in thought.

"That would be something. Well, here we are." I parked near Izzy's dorm and walked up to his room. I rang the doorbell and he answered it right away.

"Is the crisis over?"

"Yea, let's get to work." I hid my worries since I didn't want Izzy to worry about me as well. I have too many to do that already.

I set the new book on the table as he got us something to drink. He came back with snacks and sodas. I would've asked for tea but I knew that the dark being would let me know if I make the wrong move again.

"Ok, what you send me helped out a bit with this book." He placed my other book on the table as well.

"That's good news."

"Well, I was only able to decode a few words out of it."

"Ken has to give you the program that Centarumon had."

"Why?"

"That passage was the real prophecy that Gennai happily rewrote for us."

He opened the book and pulled out a print of what I sent him. "The wings of bats will blanket the sky. The rising dead will call the name for the King of the Undead Digimon; when the moon strikes the hour of between, the Undead King will reveal himself to reign over the living. The Angel of Peace will shoot an arrow of its divided power at the protectors of courage and friendship; the new stage will be reached. Recycle… That's the really prophecy?" I nodded. "That means that Angemon and Angewomon are the Angel of Peace when they combine their powers. You might've been right when you said they might have a DNA form."

"Maybe all Kari needs is for TK to give her some more power. Remember, Kari is the Digidestined of Peace." I just remembered how scared she looked when she heard that prophecy, fearing that Myotismon was that King again.

"Shouldn't that mean that Gennai has some idea of what you guys are?"

"Why else would he want us… That's right, he can't do it himself."

"Huh? You've lost me."

"We learned that there are five groups of Digimon that want to take over the Digital World. Gennai is one of them."

"Where does that put us?"

"His puppets that slay anyone that gets in his way."

"I'm betting that the other groups are Super Levels?"

"That's correct."

"How does he except us to fight them?"

"I'm not sure whether or not he knows this, but not all Digimon can go to the Super Level form."

"Really?"

"It's not like the other stages that everyone has. This form has to be created before you get one. By the sounds of it, most Digimon might not be so lucky."

"Then we just have to find a way for ours to get there, if they hav…"

"They do, I was assured that they do. As for process, TK was given the full load down as to the way it works."

"I thought you were exploring known areas."

"The Super Levels are tried of waiting."

"What!"

"Some have attacked villages. The Yokomon and Koromon Village had no one. Even the Primary Village was being attacked by three Digimon."

"Why hasn't Gennai sent us in?"

"I really don't know but I know that Super Levels can be beaten by lower levels with enough training."

"Training? You mean those fighters on TV?" Tentomon asked.

"Just like them." Gabumon answered.

"Did someone tell you?" Izzy asked.

"No, I saw it happened more than once."

"Was it because they were with other Digimon before they went to them?"

"That might have something to do with some of theirs but Were Garurumon and Angemon were holding their ground as well."

"I see, and Tai did tell me that you guys were able to delete two Super Levels."

"That time as well."

"By the way, what's with the book?"

"This is where that prophecy came from. It contains many prophecies."

"And we'll know them soon enough."

"That's right. Oh, our old enemies are back and have Super Level forms."

"They were given one?"

"It appears so."

"Who creates them? Do you know?"

"I know that three siblings do, one of them is named Mirrormon."

"Why do you know only one name?"

"She showed herself to me and told me that our Digimon have their forms. Oh, every Crest has a jewel that goes with it."

"Really? Is there anything special about them?"

"They help us realized that our Crest is able to give us power."

"What kind?"

"They differ from Crest. Yours is able to use short distant weapon but afterwards you can only use long distant attacks. Our Digimon are able to use them as well."

"Is it safe to assume that everyone has a side effect?"

"Everyone single one does, some are better than others. This is what they look like." I pulled out mine since his is with Ryan and I forgot to ask them to hand them over so I can give it to their rightful owner. He picked it up with caution and examined it.

"This is amazing. How many are there?"

"TK said twenty-four since his and Kari's repeats. Though two Digimon have two Crest but not the Jewels. Though they're able to use the powers of their Crest just the same, the Jewels just makes us able to realize the power within the Crest name."

"What's theirs?"

"One is able to go to the Real World and the other is able to go to the Digital World."

"That's amazing."

"That is but they don't trust humanoid Digimon."

"That's sad." I nodded my head.

"Izzy, do you remember any other takeover of Tokyo? About six years ago."

"Six years? I thought the only takeover was with Myotismon."

"That's what I thought as well." _So it's not only us. I'm willing to bet that everyone else would give the same answer._

"If you want, I'll look around to see if I find anything. Isn't that around the time that Ken and his family moved closer and you broke up with Sora?"

"Yea…" _Maybe those events aren't as small as they first appeared? Those girls hold all the answers for us but they're in the Digital World._

"Something on your mind?" I looked up at Izzy. "You seemed to be thinking about something that made you mad."

"I was only thinking about how everything is becoming a mystery again. Letting you know that around that time is when the Jewels were created."

"Really? Wow. Then I'll definitely look around."

"Could you… never mind."

"Hm? What?"

"I was going to ask whether you could look up something for me but I don't even know their name. It's this organization that's after Ceres."

"Do you know why?"

"Not in the least. I might want to get going." I got up.

"Do you want the book back? I scanned everything into my computer."

"Sure, I'll leave the other one here with you. Just make sure you don't lose it."

"I won't."

"I'm half talking about book. Ken lost his laptop that contained everything he ever knew about the Digital World."

"I see… You don't have to worry about that." I smiled as he handed me the first book. Gabumon and I left.

"You didn't want to tell him about the two girls, did you?"

"I know that they're our key to remembering everything that has happened to us. TK's girl practically said so herself."

"That is true."

"I'm going to talk to him."

"Why?" I parked somewhere that way I don't have to worry about the road.

"I want to know what he's able to give me."

Gabumon smiled and I closed my eyes. I found myself walking in a dark place. I figured that it was in my mind but I wasn't too sure. Then I sensed him all around me.

_Come to chat?_ There was more warmth to his voice. _And here I thought I was only going to be mastered. _

"_I want to know what answers you're able to give me."_

_Answers?_

"_That's right. Right now I have other things to worry about then myself and I don't have the time to really go through this ordeal again."_

_You mean like with Cherrymon?_

"_That's right."_

**_He sighed._** _I'm not sure what to tell you? You see, your memory was one of the things that got hit big time. And I mean really big. If it were a physical blow then you would've been knocked out._

"_What were the other things?"_

_That would be TK, Ken, your friends, and many other people. There's only one that does remember everything from beginning to end._

"_Tell me who. I want this thing to be over and done with."_

_It's not time yet. Just understand that you have something that no one else has. You and TK have it. It's a gift from your closest friends that love you more than themselves and would do anything for you._

I smiled to myself. _"So, what you're saying is that I have to be patient for the answer?"_

_That's right. You might also want to tell TK as well. You guys need time to over come this and get stronger. I'm sure that's what he would like to see before you come to him._

"_So the person is a guy and we know him well?"_

_That's right. Just tell Panther and Ceres that weird things will happen around you, TK and Ken. There's also might be something weird going on with Kari as well but I'm not really sure of that one._

"_Why?"_

_I'm not sure as to what her heart knows. Though I'm sure by the end of all this, your answers will be revealed. _

"_I guess that's reassurance."_

_I see what the problem is; you have no one to really be loyal to… Wow… I didn't know that she affected you that much. Hm?… TK has Kari but you really don't have anyone since Styxmon is no longer of the living._

"_She? You mean that ghost girl in the Digital World?"_

_Yep, the one that talked to you is loyal to you. The same thing goes for the other one for TK._

"_Wow… But why don't I remember her?"_

_Her Digimon wanted everyone to forget. She used their knowledge to know whom to get. But she didn't have enough power when it came to the last person._

"_I thought Digimon are loyal…"_

_She is loyal to her but she's like Gatomon in a sense that she had a past before her partner came to her. By the way, weren't you planning on giving Izzy your Digivice for: A) to see if he can get any information on the Super Levels that you've seen and B) to see whether or not you really need them to help your Digimon?_

"_That's right! I forgot. Thanks." _ I started to leave.

_No problem. Drop in any time. I don't mind the company!_ I just smiled as he said that.

I opened my eyes to see that I was back. I looked at Gabumon who was watching out the window. I turned on the car and he looked at me with a smile. "Any luck?"

"He said that I have to be patient for the answers and I won't be alone on this weird ride." I pulled out and headed back to Izzy's.

"Why are we going back?"

"He reminded me that I wanted to give him my Digivice."

"Oh yea, sorry."

"That's ok. I'll explain on the way."

I told Gabumon everything that he told me. He understood that we're going to keep this as much as a secret as possible. I handed Izzy my Digivice and he looked at me with puzzled eyes.

"I was hoping that you might be able to get information on the Super Levels with your analyzer. Take your time on it as well, I want to test something I thought up."

"Are you sure? What if someone attacks?"

"Then that's when I'll test my question." I waved bye and head back down so he didn't have time to hand it back. Once in the car, I called TK.

"Moshimoshi?"

"TK, sorry to disrupt you but just letting you know that everything in the Digital World will get crazier. I'm not really talking about the issues about the Digital World. I mean what was going on between you, Ken and me."

"Why Ken?"

"I'm not really sure but he's involved as well. So your hate towards him might show up again more than you want."

"Did you?"

"Yea, I was bored so I read it."

"You better let me read them."

"Don't worry about it. I'll fill you in on the details later. I don't want Kari to know."

"Right. Talk to ya later."

I hung up and headed back home.

I would've headed straight to bed but Panther was having another cramp attack so I was making the special drink that I somehow know how to make. Though this time I was conscious as to what I was doing. I was moving at a rate that I knew you needed a really trained eye to even follow (I was able to follow my own hands). I added a little water then whatever I wanted to make it taste like it._ I wonder where I learned this trick. I'm doubtful that someone normal taught me this… I wonder why I've never used this before if I'm able to go it unconsciously._

I walked upstairs to Panther's room with a water bottle in my hand. She was rolling in pain like before and I was wondering what caused it and how was she able to stop it before.

"Were you able to make it?" Ceres looked at me with her on the edge of Panther's bed, though she wasn't under the covers.

"Yea, how she's doing?" I walked closer. It didn't look that much this time.

"She said that this happens three times the first day. So we should expect this to happen again." She looked at her.

"I really hope this drink will help in someway."

"Were you able to find anything with Izzy?"

"I just gave him information. He has the other book."

"Oh."

Then it just hit me. I placed the bottle down and grabbed my cell to call Don. I only got his house massage machine so I called Neon to only get the same thing. I ran downstairs to look at my number book to call one of theirs cell phones. Unfortunately, they were off.

"What are you looking for?" I looked up to see Gelidardormon looking down at me.

"I was hoping that Don could help her."

"Were you able to get him?" Gelidardormon asked after looking back at the room.

"No." I walked back up the stairs and Panther was now resting.

"I'll stay here to make sure she's ok when she wakes. Try to see if you can get him." Ceres said.

I nodded and I went back downstairs, grabbed my phonebook, and went to the couch. Lily Dawn was out on a date, according to her brother; Ken was hanging with Davis; Ryan was in an art class and his cell wasn't being picked up; Kari and TK were going to look around town to see if they were on a date or something; the Shuni family (Nereida, Tim, and Damon) were also going on this search. I was really glad that everyone that was able to search was going to help Panther, since I'm wondered that something might break them apart.

"Matt." I looked up at the stairs to see that Panther was slowly coming down as Ceres was helping her. Plantmon was also helping as Gelidardormon was hopping in front of them. I got up and helped her to the couch. Ceres handed her the bottle that I left in the room and Panther drank a little more than one-third of it. Then her head rested on the back of the couch.

"Are you ok?" I asked, knowing that her body was really tried of this.

"As well as I'm going to be for a while."

"A few people are looking for Don."

She looked a bit confused until she remembered that he had the power to heal. That's when she closed her eyes and rested. I grabbed a blanket from the closet and laid it over her.

"She's in real pain. I hope that they find her." Ceres said more to herself.

"I told them to call me at the house. Maybe I should look as well."

"You should stay here. There's something in her eyes that's saying she's glad that we're both are here." I smiled hearing that.

A few hours later, the phone rang. I ran to pick it up and Tim said that he found them.

"They're heading over right now."

"Thanks Tim. Did you call your siblings?"

"I even called Kari and TK."

"Thanks." He hung up.

"That's great news." I looked back at Ceres who was smiling.

"I agree."

Fortunately, we didn't have to wait long. As Don helped Panther, who is still asleep, Neon told us that they were watching a movie around the time I called. Tim found them as they were walking back to their homes.

"Well, at least they were able to find you." Ceres said with a smile.

"Who was looking for us anyway?" Neon looked back and forth between us.

"TK, Kari, Nereida, Damon and Tim were the only ones that I was able to get."

"I would've felt bad if it was the whole group." She said with relief.

"She should be fine. Let me know if you still need me." Don said as he was walking up to us.

"Thanks."

"No problem. Anything to help out a friend." He looked over at Panther with worry in his eyes. "What was the problem anyway?"

"This seems to happen every time summer ends and school begins." Ceres said.

"Man, then that's really painful." He somehow understood where the pain came from and the amount she was in.

"What is it?" Neon asked. Don whispered to her the problem and she's surprised. "That's awful."

"If it's something more than cramps then please let us know." Ceres said.

"No, it's just the worst case of it that I've ever heard of."

"The same could go with your air sickness." Neon mentioned.

"True. Well, our parents are want us home soon."

"Right. Do you want me to drive you anywhere?"

"That would help." Neon said, guessing that they were late as it is or something.

I grabbed my keys and we headed towards the door. I dropped each at their houses (yes, they do live far apart). When I got home, Panther was up and she looked better than before.

"I guess Don's powers helped a lot." I tossed my keys on the table.

"I've never felt this good during this." She moved her fingers, amazed herself.

"Now you can rest normally. Are the food-drinks helping?"

"I would say so." She held up the bottle to show that it was almost empty.

"I guess that means I should make something else. Anything you want?"

"Your rice balls."

"Right." I went into the kitchen and started to make just that. After I handed her the drink, her and Ceres were playing a game of cards that I know are well liked in casinos. Luckily they weren't playing with money or Panther would've owed Ceres big. I was surprised that I was able to catch Ceres at her bluffs and also at how well Ceres was able to hide her weakness. After that, we all went to bed.

Next morning, I was reviewing a few things that Hota sent me to review (of course she was sending them to me during our Digital trip). Gabumon was waiting around the front door since Ceres and Panther went to deliver our group's Crests and there wasn't much he could do. I heard the doorbell rang and he went to see who it was. I assumed that it was either them or someone else that knew about the Digimon since he opened the door.

"I wonder why this seems familiar." I looked at the door to see that TK was standing there.

"I thought that you were hanging with Kari?"

"She's with Yolie. Yolie basically dragged her away."

"Why didn't you try to stop her?" Gabumon asked.

"We did but she said that it was important and that it would take all day." Patamon answered.

"So you came over here because you're bored?" I asked, since I wondered why he just didn't hang with Ken to see what's causing his anger problem.

"Well, I could either hear what you have to say about the troubles that are brewing or I could read one of those stories."

I got up and walked to the table. I knew that I might not get a chance like this so it was better that I tell him what the dark being told me first.

"Ok, first off, those girls that we saw are loyal to us."

"What do you mean by 'loyal'?" He sat down at the table.

"They're our friends that love us greatly and would do anything for us. I'm guessing that their last act was great."

"And they have to have been in the Digital World." He looked really sad. I guess now I understand why I wanted him to see her and why he wanted to pleas her. "But then why did only one have a body and the other one didn't?"

"Maybe that meant that her body was killed again. I wonder who she was as a Digimon. Maybe we could've protected her or something."

"Well, whoever it was wouldn't know about our friends and are dangerous if we met them."

"Maybe they have some instinct that will bring them to you. After all, if they were your friends and are very loyal to you then they want to return to you." Patamon said.

"Do you know how you're memories were erased of them?" Gabumon asked.

"Mine ghost's Digimon erased everyone's memories minus one."

"Who's the minus and why?" TK asked. I could see that he was hoping that that person would be able to give us information.

"It's some guy that we know but don't remember. The dark being figures that he wants us to get stronger before finding him."

"Why did he leave you with even more questions?"

"He said that it wasn't time yet. Oh, and they gave us something that no one else has."

"I guess that's why she was so happy that we're the only ones that can bring these out if put into the Crest." He brought out his two jewels. "Why is Ken apart of this?"

"He didn't give me an answer to that but he also said that Kari might be as well, but he doesn't know since he doesn't know what her heart remembers."

"So our four lives are going to be a mess by the time this is all over."

"But hopefully we'll be stronger by it."

"Just don't turn dark on us again. Otherwise Tai can have a punching spry." He said that with a smile.

"I don't think you have to worry too much about that. When I talked to him, he sounded happier."

"So you're saying that he doesn't want you to turn dark either?"

"He might not and would try to stop it before I do."

"Interesting. Is that it or is there anything else that you're able to squeeze out from your conversation?"

"I think I dissected it pretty well."

"Then could I read one of the stories?"

"I just remember, didn't you guys say that you clean your own homes the day before school starts?" Patamon asked.

"Oh yea… I'll do that later." TK said, not wanting to give up on this.

"Same here. I have a few more things that I have to look over." I went upstairs and brought out a printed copy on what's on my computer. I handed him the first story that started all this. He started to read it and I went back to working.

"Matt, that was really interesting. Very different from the one that I worked for you." I looked at the door to see that TK placed the papers a table in this room (the room is big with a lot of equipment around. It's not as dark when I went in solitude, but it is darker than all the other rooms).

"It's safer in my room. I don't want Panther or Ceres to find out what I'm doing. Especially Ceres." I grabbed it and walked upstairs.

"Why?"

"She modified my probe." I placed the papers where I'm keeping all the other ones. I'm not really sure why I even printed them.

"Wow! No wonder why she had perfects scores." I nodded my head as I was coming down the stairs. Right then the phone rang and TK picked it up. "Moshimoshi?………… What! Where?………… We'll right there." He hung up, "We have to get going." He ran towards the door.

I followed him, knowing that he'll fill us in on the way. We jumped into my car, since the roof was down, and I sped off. "Where are we headed?" I put on sunglasses since the sun was glaring my vision.

"Ken called saying that a Digimon was attacking the province Shiba. He described it as being a dragon looking, metal Digimon. He and Davis were chasing after him as we speak."

"And taking a car is the smartest idea. We'll never get there in time."

"Yes we will." He pulled out one of his jewels.

"What are you doing?" I had a feeling this wasn't going to be good. He held on to Patamon tighter.

"It's just what you think. Gabumon, you might want to hold on tight." I looked in the back mirror to see him holding onto my seat. "Are you ready Matt?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, but if we crash just remember you thought of this."

"Right. Let it rip. Hope!" His yelling made his jewel start flashing with readiness to explode. My car got a powerful jolt and then it took off. I was making all the turns surprisingly well, not even hitting a car. The bridge was a little too tight so I went on the rope part.

Obviously it didn't take us long to get there and we did spot the Digimon. I parked the car, which stopped on the dime, and looked at TK. He looked fine other than that he looked tried as well, our Digimon were also fine.

"TK?" I placed my hand on him but it took him a bit longer to respond.

"I'm fine." I knew that he wasn't.

"Gabumon, now's a good of a time as any."

He nodded and we both hoped for the best. "Gabumon Digievolves to………………. Garurumon!" And it worked!

"Alright!" I picked up TK, who was now fighting to stay awake, and jumped onto Garurumon. Patamon went on my head and TK was in front of me so he wouldn't fall. Garurumon jumped onto the roof of the nearest building and we were following the Digimon.

Ken

Stingmon and XV-mon were flying after the mysterious Digimon.

"What do you think that is Ken?" Davis asked from XV-mon.

"I'm guessing a Digimon. He seems to be leading us somewhere."

"Where?"

"The park." We were coming on to it fast. I was wondering where Matt, TK, Panther and Ceres are. Unfortunately, they were the only ones that were available since everyone else was unable to be reached.

He landed in the park and so did we. He seemed to be smiling when he saw us.

"Alright, who are you?"

"I'm known as Botdramon and this is your unfortunate day." His voice sounded metallic.

"Ken." Davis looked at me and I nodded.

"XV-mon………. "Stingmon…….. "DNA Digievolve to……………………. Paildramon!"

"You think a weakling like him can stop me?"

"We'll see about that. GO Paildramon!" Davis shouted. I was getting the computer ready. Them two went at it, punching and kicking so far.

"Glad to see that we're not too late." I turned around, glad that Matt was here. I noticed that he was carrying TK. I also noticed that Ceres and Panther weren't around but I couldn't say anything on that just yet.

"What happened to TK?" Davis asked.

"Never mind that, how was that Digimon able to get here?"

"We don't know that answer but we're planning on sending him back there."

"You really think he's a lost and confused Digimon."

"Then what should we do?" Matt didn't answer him. I was wondering whether he thought this Digimon was a Super Level. I looked back at the fight, seeing that Paildramon was doing all right.

"Garurumon, you might want to get ready." I heard Matt saying. Right then, Botdramon slashed at them and they went back to their divided Baby forms.

"Gabumon Warp Digievolves to……………… Metal Garurumon!" Metal Garurumon started fighting him. Davis and I ran to get our Digimon then went back to Matt and TK.

"Are you sure that Metal Garurumon is able to handle him?" Davis asked.

"Agumon Warp Digievolves to……………….. WarGreymon!" He went to help Metal Garurumon. I looked up to see Birdramon flying down with Tai and Sora.

"Is TK alright?" Sora asked. I finally got a good look at him and he seemed to be asleep when I noticed that there was something in hands, but I couldn't see it.

"He's fine. Don't worry about him. We should be focusing on that Digimon."

"Should they combine?" Tai looked at Matt and he nodded. Then it just started to happen. They fused into Omnimon, making Botdramon a bit worried.

"So, I get to meet the Digimon that killed Torchmon and Gatormon."

"You know them?" Matt asked.

"I've heard that they were great fighters and that greatness went to Torchmon's head." He launched small missiles from his mouth, but they didn't do anything to Omnimon. The sword came out from Greymon's headpiece and cut the metal Digimon diagonal. He deleted and I closed my laptop. Gabumon and Agumon were back and came walking back towards their partners.

"It seems that only Omnimon is strong enough to really fight against Super Levels." Tai said to Matt.

"It seems so."

"By the way, Izzy told me the experiment that you're going."

"Then you know the result."

"It's just amazing that it would work."

"What experiment?" Davis asked.

"Something I wanted to see. Well, we better get moving. See ya." Garurumon came and Matt rode him somewhere.

"Matt does have the right idea, see ya later." Tai and Sora walked away and we did the same.

"Maybe Imperialdramon can do the same." Davis said more to himself.

"Maybe but I'm curious as to what experiment Matt was performing. It wasn't really obvious since I didn't really notice it."

"Ask Izzy or something. Or TK when he wakes up, I wondered why he was sleeping? Didn't you say that he was the one that picked up the phone?"

"He was…" _Something must've happened between then and now._

"Let's get something to eat." Chicomon pled. We headed towards a fast food place.

Me

I rode to TK's house first since he was supposed to be with Kari. "Patamon, make sure that he wakes up tomorrow. I'm still going to call to make sure." I laid him on the couch.

"Right."

I smiled at him then walked back to my car and drove off.

"Where were you?" Panther asked. I noticed that the TV was on and it was on a news station. It was reporting about the Digimon attack.

"I guess you knew where I was unless you just turned on the TV."

"But you couldn't get there fast enough. Not at the time that they reported it started to attack." Ceres said.

"I had help. I'm fine if that's what you're wondering."

"They were hoping that Gabumon didn't go to his Super Level form." Gelidardormon said.

"The others don't have theirs, plus only Tai, Sora, Davis, Ken and TK were there." Gabumon said.

"Why didn't he come over and I thought he was with Kari the whole day?" Panther was sounding like a mother.

"Yolie dragged her away so TK came over. The reason why he's not here now is because he used his Crest's power."

"What happened?" Ceres asked.

"He was drained and since school starts tomorrow, I can't really bring him here without some clothes for him."

"That's true, and you're clothes are too big for him." Panther said.

"Oh, we gave everyone in our group, minus you, Ken and Kari, their jewels as well as retrieve the other two groups." Ele was bringing them out from Ceres's bag.

"Then I better hand them out tomorrow. Thanks."

"Not a problem. Night." Panther said, heading for bed. I looked at Ceres who was waving bye to Panther.

"Aren't you going to bed?" She looked at me and smiled before following after Panther.

"Tomorrow is going to be a fun day." I walked back to my room to see that I only had a few more things to look over. I turned off the screen and head to bed.

"You're not going to finish your work?" Gabumon asked.

"I do need my sleep. I'm not in any real rush so I can take my time on it." Gabumon smiled then headed up with me.

I was cooking breakfast when I heard Panther yelling at Ceres for sleeping in. As Ceres is dragged out of her room, she yells 'five more minutes'. I heard Panther tossing her into the bathroom and closing the door. She walked downstairs. She's not in the best of moods when it's this time of the month and no food is in her stomach. I figured her gang stayed clear of her and tried not to get on her bad side. I brought her the food drink and she drank most of it. Ceres came walking down with sleepy eyes.

"What was that for? Just because I slept in doesn't mean that we're going to be late." Even though she had a substitute of food she wasn't about to apologize.

"Panther gets like that when there isn't any food in her stomach during this time." I explained. She blinked a few times then moved her mouth in an 'oh' motion. She sat down and I got her food out.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Ceres asked once she golfed down her food.

"I'll wait." I went to the phone and called TK's house.

"Moshimoshi?" It was Patamon with a lower voice tone.

"Patamon?"

"Oh, it's only you. TK is moving slowly, I guess that means that the side effects are great when first used."

"Ask him if he wants me to come over there to pick him up?"

"Hold on." Patamon placed down the phone. It didn't take him long to come back, "He said to call Ken. He's a bit closer to his house than you are."

"Right." Patamon hung up and I called Ken.

"Moshimoshi?"

"Glad I caught you. Could you pick up TK?"

"Why?"

"He's unable to move."

"What happened yesterday anyway?"

"He used his jewel to speed up my car. You have to ask him what happened to him since I had to watch the road."

"Right. I'll pick him up." He hung up.

"What's with the phone calls?" Panther asked with a bit of unemotional tone.

"TK can't seem to move that well."

"Man… Should he really be going to school?" Ceres asked.

"You'll soon find out. He obviously thinks he can."

"We better get going then." Panther got up and was walking to where her bag was.

"Have fun." Ceres waved bye. Panther just gave her a death glare. I walked into the kitchen and grabbed the other bottle and tossed it to her.

She looked at me with a question on her face.

"It's your lunch since you can't eat."

"Thanks. Ceres, let's get going."

"But…" She was behind me, "I want to stay and bake cookies." Panther raised one of her eyebrows as I shrugged my shoulders.

Panther grabbed her bag and Plantmon grabbed Ceres. Ceres managed to grab my leg, "I want to bake cookies!" I knew that she let go on her own and was pulled all the way to where Panther was.

"I would throw this at you but Gelidardormon and Ele are in here so you better get up." Ceres stood up fast and grabbed her bag.

"Let's head to school! C'mon, you don't want to make us late." She walked towards the door. Panther followed and they went off. I watched until they were out of my sight.

"Do you think that she'll do that ever morning?" Gabumon asked.

"I don't think she will. At least not on a regular bases." I went back to work, hoping that TK was ok.

Ken

I went to TK's house and Patamon answered the door. I didn't see TK anywhere around. "Where's TK?" I looked at Patamon.

"He's getting change. He's able to move normally right now."

I didn't have to wait long. TK came sliding down the rail and smiled, "Thanks Ken."

"It doesn't seem like you need my help."

"I may look normal but it took me most of the night to get here. Patamon, can you go around collecting my books? Just bring them here." Patamon went off. TK walked to where his book bag was and every time Patamon came back with books and paper, TK just placed them in there with no real logic.

"I think this is the last of them." Patamon said, handing him the last of his books.

"Thanks. We're ready."

"Let's get going then."

We walked to my car and I noticed what he meant. Normally he would jump in but he just opened the door and got in. I drove us to school.

"I thought you walk to school?" TK asked.

"I park it close to the school. Then my mom comes to pick it up afterwards since I don't need it to get to Matt's house."

"That's clever… Why did you guys move here? Was it bad over there or something?"

"To tell you the truth, I really don't remember. When I was asking that question, my parents just said that they thought it was the best and reminded me how much they love me."

"I thought you had all that straighten out after you came back from the Digital World."

"That's what I thought… Maybe it had something to do with that, now thinking about it."

"And it took them a year to decide to move here?"

"Finding a house?"

"Do you think that's it?"

"No." I parked the car and we walked the rest of the way. Luckily, we weren't late to get into class.

"What happened? Tai told me that you were sleeping yesterday." Kari was really worried.

"I'll explain after school." I could just imagine him smiling right now. I sat down at my desk.

"You might want to get into your seats. The bell is just about to go off." Damon said. They got in their seats and the bell rang. After our teacher took roll, "I have an announcement to make. Anyone with the math teacher Mr. Girio now has a new teacher. Her name is Mackenzie-san. It's been a while she since she has taught at a Japanese school so please be kind to her. I'm not sure she'll treat it as a normal Japanese class but you'll soon find out. She also doesn't have a first period class so don't count on her being here in the morning for help. Now on to my lesson."

"I guess that you three will have to tell us how she is." Neon whispered.

Panther gave her the thumbs up.

Ceres (remember that this will be in third person, not first like the others)

Panther, TK, and Ceres were the one of the first people in the classroom. Their teacher wasn't anywhere inside but they took their normal seats with Ceres taking one close to them. Panther took out her water bottle and placed it on her desk. It wasn't full so it had to be the one from the morning.

"You haven't finished that yet? And all that would've gone to waste." Ceres said with teary eyes.

"I didn't think you were that healthy." TK said.

Panther looked around before leaning in more, "This isn't really water." Her voice was low so others wouldn't hear.

"Then what is it?" TK was following her lead.

"Matt is able to make food into anything other than what it originally was." TK looked at her, almost in disbelief. "Here." She handed him her drink. He drank some and looked surprise. He looked around, seeing that more students were coming in.

"I didn't know that he was able to do that." He handed it back to her. "So why bring it out now."

"I want to see how much we can get away with."

"You're testing a new teacher?" Ceres asked, though there was only a question and not surprise.

"Why not?" The bell rang and everyone took his or hers seats. Right then, their teacher came walking in. She was wearing a black jacket, a white folded skirt, and a pale shirt underneath. She had a warm smile and took roll by looking at everyone.

"Ceres?" Her voice was sweet but mysterious. Ceres stood up. "Did you introduce yourself in your first period class?"

"I wasn't asked to… But if you would like me to, I will right now."

"Mackenzie-san, in this school we don't have to do that." Another student said.

"Now, now, if she wants to be traditional then let her. Mackenzie-san, if you want me to, I will."

"That would be nice, thank you."

Ceres walked up to the front of the room and turned to face her classmates. "Ohayo, my name is Ceres, no last name. I, like Panther, am staying at Ishida-sama house. I've traveled the world in search of knowledge and wisdom, but unfortunately all my new friends like my company and my parents' last wish. I hope that this school year will be enjoyable." (From 'I've' to 'wisdom', she said it in a way that would be in a play then she went back to normal)

"Thank you Ceres."

"Not a problem." She went back to her seat and their class started.

During class, Panther was drinking the water and their teacher didn't seem to care. Ceres pulled out a mirror and looked like she was looked at something on her face, but she smiled and did a 'V' sign (saying that she knew it was focus on her… Though how does she know, I might never know… And to make it weirder, it seemed that their teacher also could see this as well. And it's supposed to be unseen).

"Ceres, would you like to solve this problem." Ceres looked up and she looked surprise. She noticed that Mackenzie-san was looking at the probe, but no one else did.

"Of course." She smiled a nervous one, which made Panther and TK looked at each other in confusion. She walked up to the board and was solving the problem with perfection.

"Great job. You may return to your seat." She did so. "Panther, may I ask as to why you have a water bottle in class when you're not in any after school activities?"

"Water's healthy." She said in her old tone but not as harsh.

"True, but it wasn't that full when I came in and it seems that you're only drinking it when I'm facing the class. May I have a taste to make sure that it's safe?"

"Don't trust me?" The whole class was getting nervous.

She walked up with a small cup, "Are you hiding something?"

Panther handed her the drink. Mackenzie-san poured some into the cup and sipped some. There was a quick surprise in her eyes, "Mineral water, very healthy. It has an interesting, but good, taste."

"Uh.. Yea, Matt added some health thing in it that he got from a book."

"I see. See me before heading to lunch, ok?"

"Right."

Mackenzie-san went back to teaching, though she still had some of the drink in the cup.

When the bell rang, most of the students headed straight for the cafeteria. TK and Ceres watched outside to make sure they heard the story (the probe moved to see what was going on).

"Yes?" Panther seemed that she wanted to challenge her but Mackenzie-san brushed it off.

"Did Ishida-san really make this for you?" She looked at the cup.

"Yea, you can call him if you don't believe me." Panther was surprised to see a smile on her face.

"I believe you. After all, he was a good cook."

"He still is. He just doesn't go in the public eye anymore."

"How long has he been making this?" Mackenzie-san looked at Panther.

"Over summer."

"You may go to lunch now."

Panther just walked out and they walked for a while before anyone said something.

"I wonder why she was covering for you." TK said.

"Maybe she didn't know?" Panther offered.

"She knew." Ceres said in a serious voice, making both turned to her, "She's not dumb. I know that she knew what was in there. She's definitely not an ordinary teacher."

"Just because she didn't try to get Panther in trouble doesn't mean that she's not ordinary." TK said.

"Really? Teacher's do that?" She looked at Panther.

"Some do."

"Ok, other than that, she had this strange aura around her."

"Aura?"

"Yea, like it was there to conceal what was really there. I couldn't break through it either which means that she's a strong person."

"Maybe there wasn't anything else there?" TK suggested.

"No, I knew there was something there."

"Was this before or after she called you to the board?" Panther asked.

"After, I noticed something odd when I got near her so that's when I decided to look."

"I thought things like that jump at people when they first meet."

"Sometimes they do… Actually, most times I can sense it right off the bat, which proves even more that she's strong."

They reached the lunch area. They saw their friends and headed over there.

"TK!" He looked behind to see that Davis was coming up to him. "Why are you late coming in?" That's when Davis noticed Panther.

"We were asked to do something by a teacher."

"They actually trust Panther."

"Did you finish your breakfast?" Ceres whispered.

"I finished it when her back was turned. And yes Davis, teachers do trust me." She sounded mad. TK thought it was the comment but Ceres knew it was lack of food since her breakfast was finished almost early on in the class.

"Let's go Panther." Ceres grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the scene. TK followed.

Kari

"What took you guys so long?" I asked. Ceres sat Panther down and TK came over to me.

"Our new math teacher wanted to talk to Panther about her drink."

Panther pulled out another bottle and was drinking that.

"Wait, why aren't you hostile?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Yea, I almost forgot about it." Ryan agreed.

"Try it." She passed it to Lily Dawn and she took a sip.

"This is why?" She handed it to Ryan and he did the same thing.

"Wow, when did you learn to make this? This is brilliant!" He handed back to Panther.

"Matt did somehow. It seems to work so far."

"Mind telling us?" Ken asked.

"During the first week when we return from summer break, Panther is always in a bad mood. So bad that we're the only ones that dare talk to her. Most of the time, her parents left her alone." Lily Dawn explained.

"Then we found out that it was due to the lack of food in her stomach but during this time she can't eat anything since it hurts her too much."

"Have you gone to a doctor?" I asked.

"No, I've never been to the hospital for myself."

"So what should we expect from our new math teacher?" Ken asked.

"A good teacher but you can't really get away with anything in her class." Ceres said. I finally noticed that she was feeding Ele and Gelidardormon.

Everyone was talking about anything.

"By the way, why did Yolie dragged you away yesterday?" TK asked but no one was listening. I would love to tell him that Yolie gave me information on Panther's dark past that's making even me wonder if she's really trustworthy. After all, he does spend time over at Matt's house and for all we know she's using Matt as a scapegoat. Though this topic as came up many times before, this is the first time that I'm worrying about Matt's trust in her. Even Gatomon's worried a bit. I wanted to talk to Tai before I talk to anyone else, even if Yolie said to keep this a secret.

"I'm sorry TK. I promised Yolie that I would keep it a secret."

"Ok, but did it pertain to this group?"

"Not really."

"Ok." He smiled his usually one and went back to the others. He seemed to believe me, but I hate lying to him.

Ceres

It was nearing the end of the class and they just discovered how hard she could really be. Everyone thought it was due to Panther's lack of respect, but she assured everyone that ever class would get the amount. The other thing that was puzzling Panther and Ceres was the fact that she allowed TK to leave early, not really giving a reason as to why.

"That was really weird." Panther said as they walked in the direction that would make them run into Ken.

"Maybe she noticed how TK was moving… I mean, he was moving slow."

"But he made it look so natural that none of the other students noticed it."

"She's not an ordinary teacher. There's something about her that I know makes her different."

"Maybe it's because she hasn't taught in a few years." They looked ahead to see Ken smiling. "Where's TK? I thought that he would be with you?"

"She allowed him to leave early. She made it seem like it was prearranged but we know better. Besides, that only means that she knows how a student mind works."

"Oh, and here's a warning. She's giving lots of homework so you know that at least we're going to be busy." Panther said.

"Thanks. See ya after school." They went their separate ways.

"What took you guys so long?" Neon asked when they arrived. TK was already in the room.

"We had to tell Ken something. The new teacher will give lots of homework." Panther said as they sat down.

"Man, we'll be busy." Don said.

"TK, have you come to any conclusion as to why she allowed you to leave early?" Ceres looked at him.

"I haven't. Though I must admit that there's something about that seems familiar."

"Meaning?" Panther asked.

"I felt like I've met her before but I can't really remember where."

"It has to be during your memory lapse. She's apart of your past, that makes her more interesting." Ceres said.

"What makes you think I have a memory lapse?"

"Do you remember when Tokyo was taken over by humans?"

"By humans? Tokyo was never taken over by humans." TK smiled one that said he knew what he was talking about.

"Of course it was. It was about six years ago." Neon said.

"Six years?… Nothing happened six years ago other than a few changes within our own group."

"A group of humans came and took over Tokyo, holding it for two days. When they were defeated, the whole city was in ruins and everything had to be rebuilt. I do have to say that it was a fast rebuilding but no one really complained about it. Ask your other friends to see whether they remember anything from around that time." Panther said then class started.

Ken

"Panther and Ceres said that Mackenzie-san will give a lot of homework."

"I guess will soon find out. She doesn't seem so bad." Our teacher was watching as the kids stepped into the room. She looked every kind and peaceful.

"They never said that she was bad. They were just saying that she's unlike any of the other teachers." Then class began.

Just like they said, lots of homework.

"If anyone thought she was going to be easy, they're sadly mistaken." Kari said.

"That's for sure."

"Yea guys." Davis said coming up.

"Hi Davis." Kari smiled.

"Ken, I hope that you and TK are ready. I heard that it's another free day and I'm going to play."

"I'm ready any time but I'm doubtful that TK will."

"Doubtful about what?" I looked to see that TK was right behind Kari with his arms wrapped around her shoulders.

"Are you ready for some basketball?" Davis said, ready to take the challenge.

"Right now, I'm really wishing I could."

"Why? Oh yea, why were you sleeping yesterday?"

"I'll have to tell you later." We entered the gym.

Kari

Davis was right, it was open gym and he and Ken were playing a really nice game, but Davis was clearly not at the same level as Ken and TK.

"Davis is pretty good." TK said, still holding me.

"Why don't you play so Ken has someone to compete with?" I looked at him.

"If I play in my current condition then I'll lose for sure and Davis will think that I'm doing it on purpose."

"Why?" I knew I looked worried since TK gave me one of his reassuring smiles.

"I'm not going to leave you in the dark but I want to make sure that everyone hears it at once since it's important. You know, killing the birds with one stone."

"Let me guess, you're only telling our group. Everyone else will be in the dark."

"If you already told Tai about our adventure then you should tell him about what I'm going to say. Otherwise, they'll be confused with too many unknown facts."

"Hey TK, why don't you join us?" Davis yelled.

"Davis, TK can't right now. Maybe later on." Ken said.

"Ken's right. Just keep having fun." So they continued.

"Ken seems to know what's going on."

"That's because I needed his help this morning."

"Why didn't you call Matt?"

"Matt did call me but I didn't want to take Matt away from his house incase he was planning on taking Panther and Ceres to school since it was Ceres first day."

"So you called Ken to help you?"

"Matt called him."

"If you weren't feeling well then why come to school?"

"And miss out on Ceres's first day? She has the same schedule as Panther so I'm in most of her classes." He pressed his head against mine, "I promise that I wouldn't keep things from you for too long. I love you too much."

"I love you too." I smiled. Even though he might keep things from me, I at least know that he will tell me. I figured that a few things will just need to stay lock up until he has figured them out. After all, I'm doing the same thing right now.

"Patamon." TK said and I looked over at him, thinking that something was wrong. He did a quiet Boom Bubble over our heads. I looked up to see that a basketball was going to land on our heads.

"Sorry about that." Another student said, picked up the ball and went back to his friends.

"Are you guys alright?" Davis and Ken came over.

"Yea, the ball didn't hit us." TK said with a smile.

"I don't think anyone noticed what Patamon did since the ball was close to you guys." Ken said, scanning the gym.

"Why ask Patamon to do it anyway? That was really risky." Davis said.

"I didn't ask him." TK lied, "I just wasn't paying that close of attention to what was going on in the field."

"Let's go back to playing." Davis headed back to the floor.

"Be more careful." Ken returned as well.

We watched them play. I envied Ken and Matt since both are so close to TK that they seem to know him inside and out. I know that it's reasonable for Matt, but Ken was supposed to be Davis's best friend since they DNA Digievolve together. I know that's why I'm so close with Yolie even after everything she said to Matt and Panther. Though ever since Ken moved closer to us, he and TK spent more time together then once his parents passed away, he went over to Matt more and more. Unfortunately I never really pushed TK to spend more time with me since I was hanging with Yolie a lot more. It really was a surprise that TK asked me to marry him. _TK is really a mystery. Actually, all three of them are that it's kinda scary that we don't really know them._

TK pulled me closer like he knew what I was thinking. I love the safe feeling I get when he does. It's like I know he'll do anything to keep me safe from anything.

"Hey TK." I looked over to see someone from another class running up. "Since you're not playing with Ken how about you come over with us?"

"Thanks for the offer, but if I wanted to play then you wouldn't be asking only me."

"Ok." He went back to his friends.

"I remember the last time you and Ken played against each other. It was really interesting."

"It was fun. I only played against him one on one before."

"Who usually won?" I was wondering if that's where the competitiveness came from.

"Most time we stop when we were getting tired. When we were playing for points, I say it was pretty even, like switching back and forth on who won."

"So no one dominated in the game?"

"Not really. Though we're so good at predicting the other's movements that it takes us hours to finish the game." There was a question in his eyes that made him look at Ken and Davis.

"Is something wrong?"

"Is it really possible to hate someone that knows you so well?"

"What do you mean?" That question really confused me. Was he saying that he hated Ken, who was now his best friend?

"Sometimes, I just get angry at Ken for things that are so small they're not really worth the fight. We're so alike that people could call us brothers if they just met us."

"I've never seen you two mad or argue."

"I usually don't show it since I don't understand why I am mad. Arguing has only recently happened. Matt was the only human that saw it." _That must mean they argued in the Digital World._ "But it was only one argument and it really wasn't a yelling or going back and forth argument. I just said the wrong statement."

"Want…" The teachers whistled, signaling that everyone put back everything. TK walked over and picked up everyone. Gatomon quickly jumped onto my shoulder and we walked over to Ken and Davis.

When we stepped out, Cody was waiting for us.

"Hi Cody. I guess that means that you didn't go to that tournament. Sorry." TK said.

"That's ok, I know that last opponent somehow cheated."

"I thought Kendo was supposed to teach you respect and honesty."

"That's what it's supposed to teach. Obviously he didn't learn it so well."

"Maybe his sensei never taught him that." Davis suggested.

"Maybe."

"Well, we have to get going so we'll see you guys around." Ken said and we continued to walk on.

"Kari." I turned around and looked at Cody. "Yolie says that she'll call you."

"Ok." I knew what he meant and was glad that he didn't say anymore.

"Why will Yolie call you?" Ken asked.

"Just to talk, like the old times."

"I'm kinda wishing it was like the old times." I keep on forgetting that Ken and Yolie like each other. _I guess he feels torn by what's been happening._

Everyone with a last period was waiting.

"So now what?" Ceres looked at everyone, waiting for an answer.

"We go to Matt's house to study. Tim comes over every now and then when he needs help with something." Nereida said.

"What does he do?"

"He goes to college." Damon said with pride.

"Oh… That's really cool. Did he get into a good one?"

"He did but unlike everyone else there, he really studies."

"That's cool." Then she said something weird.

"What was that?" Ken asked.

"It's Latin. I'll say it one more time in Latin. _Ispa scientia potestas est._ It means: Knowledge itself is power."

"You could've just said it like that." Ryan said.

"But where's the fun in that?"

When we got to Matt's house, we found Don and Neon sitting at the table.

"I thought you guys would be training right now?" Lily Dawn asked.

"We train?" Ceres asked.

"Matt's sleeping in his study. Gabumon said that he has been for a few hours." Don said.

"I guess that means that he didn't hand out the other's jewels." Panther said.

"I'll wake him." TK said with a devious smile. He walked into the room and was out with Matt looked a bit mad at TK. TK was smiling like nothing was wrong.

"I'll go make something before you guys get started." Matt went into the kitchen and we all sat down. Ele came to me with my Jewel of Peace and to Ken with the Jewel of Faith.

"We were meaning to give them to you at school but forgot." Panther said.

Matt came out with delicious looking snacks and tea.

Me

"The tea has a small meal inside it so no one can really tell." I whispered to Panther.

"Ok, before we get started on our homework, I have something to announce. Remember the story that I worked on during our trip, well it wasn't for my regular publisher. They gave it to a well-known publishing company and they're going to produce my work from now on."

Ceres clapped and everyone was congratulating him. I now knew why he didn't want me to watch him.

"Oh, I think the jewels are able to transfer the power of the Crest into other things. Yesterday a Digimon was attacking Shiba and I used my jewel to get us there faster. The side effect was really great. I might look like I'm doing fine but it took me the whole night just to get here. So if anyone is thinking of using his or her Crest's power that has a long lasting effect, just be careful when you do if you can."

"Thanks for letting us know." Lily Dawn said.

"Not a problem." They got to work. I fell asleep before they went to lunch so I just now found out that their math teacher gave them a lot of homework. It looked threatening but the problems weren't really that big of a deal. I figured that she was testing to see who would do it. Of course, Neon, Don and Lily Dawn got it done along with the others. After everyone was done with his or hers homework, everyone was training, minus TK.

"Why were you sleeping anyway?" TK whispered.

"It seems like without our Digivices, we're able to help them evolve still but it takes a lot more energy to do so."

"I see. I'll let Kari and Ken know."

"Thanks. I'll turn on my probe as soon as everyone leaves."

"Ok."

After a while, Nereida said that she had to go. I said bye and she left to go meet Heka.

Hebemon

It's been a month since I last saw her and nothing really has happened to me. Apollo was really down since Lily Dawn was gone as well. Artemis said that she really has made an impact since he hasn't been upset about this kind of thing before. I couldn't really remember where she said that they were going but she was real excited about going. I saw her and Lightningmon coming up.

"Did you have a good trip?" I asked when they reached me.

"It was fun to be there. I was real surprise on how safe it seemed. The Digital World is a real interesting place."

I was surprised to hear her say that, "Oh yea, you said that you guys were going to the Digital World. I completely forgot about it."

"Don't tell me that you came to this spot since you forgot."

"No, I knew that you guys were going somewhere I just forgot where."

"That's good. Why are the Super Levels terrorizing the low levels?"

"Well, it's not really everyone. It's only the ones that have some power that either want to test or want their skills sharp. Most Super Levels leave each other alone."

"But there are groups forming from the Super Levels."

"Oh, those groups. How did you guys found that out? They don't make public appearances."

"One group wanted LDinomon and Breomon to join them."

"Which one?"

"The mysterious one."

"I'm glad that they didn't. They would've deleted them."

"Why?" She was really worried.

"That's how that group works. I know since once I went to the Underworld and Hades gave me a massage to give to Zeus. He told me that a powerful Digimon warned him that if he tries to stop her that he'll regret it dearly."

"What did he want Zeus to do?"

"To find a way to delete her but he has never been able to find her. In fact, Gennai is the only one that's really out in the open. Everyone, including us, is in the shadows of the Digital World, waiting for the right moment to strike."

"They said that your group was a show. That you guys aren't really a threat."

"That's the act that we're putting up. We're really dangerous when we unleash our might. After all, we know how to control many things and we've learned how to use those as attacks. We're not as weak as we first appeared but we just kept up that appearance."

"Oh, our Digimon have a Super Level form as well."

"Really?" I looked at Lightningmon, who is normally quiet on these walks. She nodded. "That's great to hear. This form is one of the best forms. Its limitless power is one of its many gifts. How do you guys reach this form?"

"With jewels." Lightningmon answered.

"We have these jewels that help with their evolution. TK is the one that really knows since some girl was giving him all this information."

"Did he trust this girl?"

"He did, should he not?"

"I don't know. Some Digimon are clever. Like……… What are your fox demons called again?"

"Kitsune."

"Yea, like kitsune."

"Well, we do have the jewels and the power of the Crest is true."

"Power of the Crest?"

"Yea, each Crest has its own power. She told him about them and he was able to use his yesterday."

"Wow… That's cool. What's yours?"

"We have the power to decrease any power three folds. Unfortunately, we're weakened by that much."

"There are side effects?"

"Yea."

"I guess most power comes with some kind of tag."

"I was wondering, are the other Gods and Goddesses from the other countries Digimon?"

"To tell you the truth, I really don't know. I only know Egyptian, Norse, some Roman, and Greek. Maybe they are."

"So you don't know anything about the other countries?"

"I'm sorry to say that I don't."

"Then how about this Saturday I'll take you to a Shinto temple? Afterwards, we could head to my house so you could meet everyone and have a Japanese style meal."

"Would that really be all right?" It sounded like a great plan.

"Yea. My brothers are waiting to meet you anyway."

"All right then, it's a plan." I smiled.

"I guess I'll let the others know not to attack." Lightningmon said.

"Would they tell my brothers?" Nereida promised to keep my true identity a secret.

"I will tell them not to."

"Thanks Lightningmon." I said. Her look told me that she was only doing so because of Nereida. "Oh, do you want to meet Hecate?"

"You mean your advisor? Sure. Didn't you tell me that she's somewhat a fortune teller?"

"That's right. Lightningmon, are you going to come along?"

"I'll stay and help your grandmother cook." She looked at Nereida.

"Ok. Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow. Good night."

"Night." They got on the bus that came and left. I walked back to my house.

"Artemis! I have some exciting news!" I stopped to see that Hera was there. Apollo and Artemis looked worried.

"I hope the news is something on the Digidestined?" Her voice was cold with control. It was almost impossible to talk back to her as it was to Zeus.

"No Hera, it's on a plan that I thinking."

"Do tell."

"Well, I thought that since I don't know that much about this land that I thought I should go to a temple this weekend to see what this religion has to offer. You know, incase they're also Digimon and want the same thing as us."

"That is a good plan but we will bring them under our wing."

"The other deities from the other religions are with us for their own gain, not ours."

"That's what they think now." She walked passed me and out the door.

Once I was sure that she was gone, "Why was she here?"

"She said that since we're not doing anything useful, she's sending Nyx's three sons to live with us. They're going to be attending the same school as Nereida and her friends."

"Why? Why them? There are other Digimon that she could send."

"One wants to do something with one of the Digidestined but he didn't say who and the other two are just bored."

"I'm worried too. They could reveal our secret friendship with them." Apollo looked like a wreck.

"Especially mine… When are they coming?"

"Tomorrow night. I have to get them in that school though." Artemis said. "Know any good Japanese names?" She looked at me since I'm the only one that has one that sounds like it.

"I'll let you know once I look up good Kanji names for them." She nodded her head.

"Is there anything else about the weekend plan that you would like to tell us?" Apollo asked.

"Oh, Nereida invited me to her house for a Japanese meal. She's also taking me to the temple. Afterwards, I'm bringing her to Hecate."

"That sounds good. You have to warn her about them."

"I will. Don't worry about that." We had dinner. I promised them that I'd take lots of pictures, including of the food.

Ken

TK told Kari and I about Matt's experiment and what happened afterward. We were walking to his house so he could grab a few things since he was going to spend the night over at my house until this side effect passes.

"TK."

"Hm?"

"You might hate me for saying this, but for some reason it seems like you found a hole in your love for Kari and you're fighting to get rid of it." I wanted him to say that I was joking but when I looked at him, he wasn't assuring me that it was my mind. He was looking at the sky with sad eyes. "I'm right?"

"I would be lying if I said that you're wrong. I want to be wrong, blaming it on nerves since our planed wedding day is coming closer with each passing month but that's supposed to happen during the month of the wedding. It's like a hole has reopened and I'm not sure how to close it or even if I want to."

"You two liked each other ever since I meet you. I'm even talking about my Digimon Emperor days. I remember seeing you standing protectively in front of Kari. You even told me once that when you met her, you fell for her."

"I know but there's some cloud over those years as well as many others. I can't even remember what I did during the three years I wasn't with them. Ever since I met that girl… My heart fells torn."

"Collect your thoughts as you get your things."

He nodded and he headed inside. I was really worried about him. I was hoping that I was wrong but I wasn't. I was then wondering if Matt was able to see it as clearly as I was. After all, they are blood brothers and the only family they have left. I remembered TK telling me that his biggest wish was that their family was back together. MaloMyotismon used that against him in that dream world but he still wishes that. It didn't take TK that long to get his things. I had to carry the heavier things, finding out that it was slowing TK more than usual.

"Sorry Ken. Normally I could carry all this without any help."

"Well, you spending a few nights over at my house isn't a normal circumstance itself."

"That's true… How could you tell?"

"About your feelings?"

"Yea."

"When you were holding Kari, normally it feels right, like everything is at peace. But today, it felt odd, like it was in the right area but not in the right spot."

"I guess you're allowing your heart more air time." TK said with a smile.

I smiled back, "I think it opened when you said I wasn't being faithful."

"Speaking of which, Matt told me that us three have a grand adventure ahead of us."

"Us three?" I never thought I would hear TK say something like that. Usually, he says that it would be good for Matt to have more company. I followed them as a sidekick.

"Yep, but it's an adventure that will leave us in a complete mess but stronger. He also thinks that Kari might be apart of it as well."

"How did he come to this conclusion?" I was happy that I would be apart of something that they're involved in, but it seemed too much out of the blue to really be thought out logically.

"He wanted that to be a secret for now. But I'll call him when we get to your house."

"Ok."

He greeted my mother with the traditional respect and we dumped his stuff in my room. My new room was a lot bigger than my old one in Tamachi and I had a lot more extra room. TK called Matt, making it sounded like he was just letting him know that he made it ok and was in one piece. I was impressed that they were able to do that but then again, I was able to as well so it wasn't any real surprise. My mother made dinner and we ate it in my room since our Digimon needed the food. I was also surprised on how my mother treated TK with great respect, like she owned him something so big that there's no way to repay it. She also acted the same way towards Matt.

"Hey Ken, I know your mom is a bit traditional but she wasn't this kind the first time that we all came over." Our Digimon were eating what we didn't.

"I noticed that too. And it seems it's only towards you and Matt. She treated Davis as just another friend."

"Weird."

"What did Matt say?"

"Oh, he said that I could tell you but you have to keep it a secret from Ceres and Panther."

"That's fine."

"Ok, remember the dark being that came out?"

"You mean the one that Ceres and Panther sealed up before?"

"Right, but this time he's not."

"Shouldn't you be worried that the same thing will happen again?" Even though Matt wasn't really acting like himself, since he was looking and acting wiser, I knew that he was ok.

"Matt was worried about that at first but then he talked to the being and found out that he was able to trust him."

"So now the dark being is out. Why can't Ceres sense it?"

"The dark being is hiding from her. Matt doesn't want them to worry about him."

"So this being was the one that told Matt that us three will be on an adventure."

"That's right and it's connected to the girl that visited me and another one that helped saved Matt and told us to go to Centarumon's Labyrinth."

"So there are two girls?"

"Yep, and they were once our dearest friends that would do anything for us."

"If they were that close to you guys then why don't you remember them?"

"Matt's ghost girl's Digimon erased everyone's memory of them but one."

"Who's that one?"

"We don't know. The being told Matt that this person would like us to get stronger before we see him again."

"I guess that also applies to me?"

"I would think."

"I wonder if our past has anything to do with whatever happened six years ago." I lay on my bed, looking up at the ceiling.

"What do mean 'whatever happened'? You know just as well as I do."

"Do we really know? I mean, the others know about this takeover of Tokyo six years back. I don't even remember what I was doing until December."

"Now that you mentioned it, I do remember waking up and everything feeling out of place." I looked over to him; he was lying on his stomach and looking at my wall. "Like I woke up from a dream and I wanted to return to that dream."

"Weird, I felt the same thing." He looked over at me. "I mean it. It was like this life was going to be a nightmare and I was trying everything so it wouldn't be."

"But no matter how hard you tried, it still hung around until you gave up and allowed yourself to live in this world and its reality." He said my thoughts actually. I knew it was on my face, making TK surprised. "That's also how Matt felt and why he was being distant."

"Was that including you?"

"Yea and my dad."

"Why didn't your dad do anything?"

"I think he didn't know what to do… though he and mom did meet for lunch or something once a day since then until their passing. That was always giving me hope that they'll finally get back together."

"Ken, are you two done with your dinners?" My mom called from the door.

"I'll bring them out Ichijoji-san." TK picked up the plates as fast as he could, I guessed what we were talking was stirring old, suppressed feelings that he only shared with Matt. It was even possible that he had never shared them with anyone and they were now overwhelming him again. He opened the door and handed her the plates.

She took them and left. TK closed the door, "We should probably head to bed. I don't know if I'll wake up on time tomorrow." He faced me after that, hiding his old pain.

"Right." I got out a floor mat and laid it out for him. He just fell asleep but I was worried that this adventure was going to be more like a roller coaster of confusion and heartache.

Kari

I called Tai at Matt's house before I left. No one really asked why so that was a good thing since I wasn't sure what I would say. I was sitting on the swing at the park that I fell from my fever. Gatomon was sitting on my lap, not knowing what happened here. I never blamed Tai for that day but my mom did. Ever since that day he had never allowed me out of the house whenever my fever came back. I'm not even sure when it passed away but so far it hasn't affected me.

"Hey, you called?" I looked up to see my brother walking towards me with Agumon at his side. I always wanted my brother around for his strength.

"Tai, Yolie gave me information on Panther." He sat down on the other swing.

"Panther? Oh, you mean your friend and whom Matt has to be the guardian for. What kind of information?"

"Her past. She said that she was searching around for one of her classes and she came across it."

"I guess you didn't know about her past before."

"I knew that she was apart of a gang but she got out of it when Matt was given her by the court."

"So you defended her without knowing who she really was. Does Matt know?"

"She says that he doesn't and it seems like he doesn't want to know."

"What about the others?"

"I guess Lily Dawn and Ryan might know something but they probably wouldn't tell us. The others don't know the information that she gave me."

"Could you still defend her with this information?"

"Do you want me to tell you?"

"If you think that will help."

I took in a deep breath, "Ok, on the day that her family was killed the reporters gave a lengthy story on her and her family. They said that when she was around six her parents reported her missing and none of her friends knew where she went. Two days later, she was found with a bunch of little kids that bear the symbol of one of the top gangs in the area. She was fighting against the police until they reached her house. She just kept on yelling that it was her destiny. The police didn't know what made her stop resisting but they knew that it wasn't the parents since she was seen with the same group of kids a few weeks later.

"The police was trying everything they could to stop her since they know that there was an age requirement to join the group and she wasn't at that age. They found out that she was following a kid that was determined to join this group so she was determined as well. Her parents had given up on her so it was up to her siblings, friends and the police. Though the police found out that it was really only her siblings and them since she only had two friends after they found out what she was doing. They remained anonymous since they don't want to bring harm to her. Her older brother was the one that was delivered her punishments but they didn't really work.

"When she was twelve, there was a fire at her house. She arrived too late to do any good and the fire fighters there had to hold her back from running in. Once the fire died, they walked in, to see whether anyone was in there. They found the whole family tied down and evidence pointing that it was arson then random. Everyone thought that her tears were fake as she cried over her parent. A year late, her name was changed to Panther and she handed over the people that burned her house. They had burnt marks and were barely alive. Even when they were release, they still had those marks.

"Then Panther ran with that group from dawn 'till dust. Only when there was something for school that she really goes but most of the time she just skipped. It was real amazing that she was able to go through school without her grades suffering or anything. Of course, her reputation gotten worst with the years."

I looked at Tai; he was listening carefully as well as thinking. "Has she killed anyone? Someone could be in that gang and not kill."

"There are reports from the police that say she had her own special markings in the style of claws. Even if they were shot, she left her mark. They never said how many though."

"And they only allowed her to be watched and go to a service center for a few weeks! I thought our justice system was better than that."

"They said that they couldn't prove that she was the one that killed them though. But they knew from their own instincts that it was her since no one else had a signature."

"I didn't know that Matt was so naive. How could he defend her without knowing her past?"

"I've now beginning to wonder the same thing myself. But, I know that she has change."

"She was in that gang way too long to change."

"I guess… But near the beginning of school, I was defending her like it was second nature."

"But you didn't really understand her past. Now you do. You have to do something. I'm not saying that you should stop being her friend but there has to be something. I don't want you to get hurt by her past."

"I'll try Tai. I'll tell you tomorrow since I have to watch her more carefully."

He nodded and placed his hand on my shoulder; "Don't worry about making TK or any of them mad. If anything else, just tell them that I said so."

"Thanks Tai."

"Matt's not the only one that looks after his sibling. Remember that."

I smiled to show that I understood. He got up and walked away, "I won't tell Sora. She still has faith in Matt's decision and I don't want to break that." _Sora still cares for Matt? Poor Tai. It must be heartbreaking to know that and still love her._ "You better head to your house before mom starts making calls."

"Right." I sensed something around us. I knew it wasn't good and Tai was already gone.

"What is it?"

"There's something around here."

"Where?" Gatomon got ready.

"I'm not sure but I'm going to run."

"Ok." She was still ready but I ran just the same. I felt like I was out running it. I didn't stop when I got to my apartment either. I only stopped to open the door. I went straight to bed, wondering what I was running from.

Neon

I just stepped into my music class and I can't wait to start singing. I know that its just confidence but I know that I'm the best singer in this class. I took my spot it the row and waited for class to begin.

"Neon." I looked down and saw my teacher.

I smiled, "Good morning. Is there something I can do for you?"

"May I speak to you outside?" She looked worried about something. I followed her to her office and she took off her glasses. Right now she was reminding me of how Mackenzie-san looked before she started class. She was stressed by something and it was making me worry. "Can I assume that you're expecting?" She looked at me with seriousness.

"I am…"

"Have you even thought about what it will do to your music career? And your school attendance?"

"I did and I have come up with a plan that will help with that."

"Let's here it then."

"Well… I was going to bring them like in the old world. You know, before machines were placed on this natural planet. Once they are born, they're going to be staying with a baby-sitter that is more than happy to watch them. My mom and my husband's father will watch them whenever they can. Then we'll watch them the rest of the time."

"You're married to their father? Who is it?"

"Don Tomi."

"Oh… I guess that's all right. You two do seem to be madly in love. You're positive that this baby-sitter will be able to do the job?"

"I trust him with my life already."

"What's his name?"

"Matt Ishida."

"You know Ishida-san?"

"That's right. He's willing to watch them for me."

"Well… I guess I don't have to worry about your future music career. When you make it big, you know you'll make your voice teacher and me happy. I'll tell her so you don't have to repeat this again."

"Thank you." I smiled; glad to see that even with my reputation as a fighter with no heart that two of my favorite teachers care about me so much. I also forgot that she has met Don on the first day since he came by so we could walk to lunch together.

"You may go back to your seat."

I bowed before heading back. It has always been my dream since I was a little girl to become a singer. Even though Don wants to do something with fighting, he vowed when we were little that he will always protect me and make that his first job. Now he's promised that he'll be my personal bodyguard when my career begins. I placed my hand on my stomach, knowing that his protective veil now extends to them. Everyone will do everything within his or hers power to protect them as well. I'm glad that Panther extended her hand to us that day. I never thought we'd have friends like them in all my life.

Me

I was just walking back from Tai and Sora's house. She said that Tai had gone out and she didn't know when he'd be back. I would've handed his jewel to her but I want to make sure that it got to him without Yolie coming by or something. Of course I handed her the Jewel of Love and just told her of the power within her Crest name. I didn't want to stay too long since there was a longing hope within her eyes when she saw me. _I wonder if Tai knows this… I don't know why she still hopes when I drifted away from her and she knows that I now like Styxmon… Maybe even that ghost girl… I wish I could remember her but her Digimon erased my mind of her. Well, I am going to remember. I just have to._

I went looking around town on foot but couldn't find him anywhere and I couldn't spend too much time out on the streets since I have to get my work done before they come back from school. I decided to give him a call when I get home since I forgot to grab my cell phone before leaving.

When I reached my house, Tai was standing nearby but not close enough for Gabumon to see him if he was looking. I didn't see Agumon with him and for some reason I had a feeling that this was going to get ugly.

"Hey Tai. I was wondering where you were." I grabbed his jewel and handed it to him when he fully turned around. "This is your Jewel of Courage. It has the power of powering up anything but then you'll be drain for days. That's what happened to TK when he used the power of his jewel but he'll be slow for a while. Everyone has a jewel but I just haven't found the right way to give it to Yolie, Davis, or Cody. If you have any advice then I wouldn't mind hearing it." I said all that really fast. I would've listened to my instincts to walk along but I wanted to know why he was standing there like everything isn't ok between us. He was serious and I didn't know why.

"Thanks for the information." He placed it in his pocket. "How much do you really know about Panther?"

"Where did this question come up?" I lost my pleasant face. I could tell that this was going to be something like with Yolie and the others.

"Answer the question." He looked like he was trying to hide his anger.

"I know everything she's willing to tell me."

"I'm doubtful that's everything."

"If you're asking if I know her past before I meet her, before the day I took her under my wing then the answer is no."

"How can you not want to know? I mean, aren't you curious as to what it holds?" He sounded like he knew her past. I did read to the part where she was about to tell him but I stopped before she started. I didn't want to know if Panther wasn't willing to tell me herself.

"Tai, what I do is my business. I trust Panther just like I trust Kari or anyone else that I know are my friends."

"What if…"

"What if what? I don't care if her past comes back and bits me. I would gladly place my life in front of her to protect her. I know that she's worried about it but I know that her past is in the past and that she has to live with only the memories."

"Why do you care for her so much? She's not even related to you!" He grabbed my shirt, "Her past will not only hurt you but everyone else in that group of yours. I don't want to put Kari in that kind of danger."

"I don't want TK to get hurt either but I know that there are some things that must be done in order to have peace. Your sister knows that since she holds the Crest of Peace. Your sister once defended her so I don't understand why her past is so hard to swallow. She openly admitted that she had killed people in front of them and she placed it as no big deal. Unless your sister is an actress and likes to fool people."

"Don't you dare talk about Kari like that! She has more heart than you ever did!"

"You want to know why I care for her so much? I understand her; she lost her whole family when she was young. She witnessed the Dark Ocean and visited there many times. She thought that her dark path was her only path. I helped her realized that that's not her path. She even tried to bring a friend of hers with her but he was killed for trying to leave. She was able to leave since her boyfriend died and everyone was in the hospital so no one was able to stop her."

"You should just let her return. There's no way that she can change. She's been at this life for twelve years."

"She's being careful. She doesn't want to hurt me even though she knows that anything she does won't bother me. I even brought her a knife."

"You gave her a weapon?" He was shook.

"I gave her something to defend herself with. Guns are so boring so that's why I didn't give her that."

"But she has a Digimon that can protect her."

"Everyone in this group that's new to the whole experience loves their Digimon. Everyone has a past before meeting them. Both will do anything to protect the other and both sides are able to uphold that promise since they're able to fight. This group isn't like the other two where we have to stand by and watch them fight their opponents. They will fight along side them since they're able to."

"Matt," He let go of me and for some reason I had this feeling that something like this happened before, "You've changed and it doesn't seem for the better. Just promise me that Kari won't get hurt."

"Tai, how can I promise that when TK almost got killed? Everyone in this group has secrets that they want to hide from everyone. I know that includes Kari and maybe one day they will all release them. But until that day comes, everyone is in danger of the other's secrets. I just know that as long as we stay as a group and face everything together that everything is ok. Everyone here is a leader of their lives and they know it by heart. They will go out and do everything on their own. If MaloMyotismon came and brought them into that dream world, I not sure how well they would fair."

"When was TK a target and by who?"

"When, in the Digital World. By who, me."

"You? That's a laugh. You could never hurt your own brother and everyone knows it."

"Maybe that will be our own fault but I was the one that placed a knife underneath his chin and dug it deep enough into his skin to draw blood just to drink it." I was saying this without any emotion that it was scaring Tai. "But luckily he had enough trust in me to know that I wouldn't allow anything more to happen to him. That's what Kari and you need in Panther. She won't let things go beyond her own control. She might seem bad as she does so but she cares too much about her new loyal friends that she won't allow them to get hurt. I know she'll face her own demons to do so."

"I don't know anything about this group other than what Kari tells me so it's not my decision to make. But if she decides to not deal with it then she's not coming back here."

"I didn't know that an old member would make the whole group fall. Especially the bearer of Peace, that's ironic ain't it?"

"That just means that the others aren't wise."

"I wonder if you learned this tactic from Yolie or if she learned it from you. Tai, I'm not going to give up on Panther and I'm too old to let you boss me around like in the past. You might be the leader of the Digidestined but now I'm needed in a place that's more important than both groups."

"Are you saying that this group is more important than the other two?"

"It is. I'm not calling myself leader since I'm not sure whether that title belongs to me or one of them, but if you can't believe in this group and their bond of friendship then you can't be the leader either, even if there isn't a true leader among them."

"You make it sound that you were ready to choose me from the start."

"I wasn't the one that said that. Styxmon told me that if there wasn't a leader among them then you'd have to be it. Unfortunately, she didn't see this within your heart."

"I know that you loved her but she dead now. She's not coming back."

"Maybe not physically but she'll return within my dreams once the threat in the Digital World is taken care of."

"Ever thought that your love is blinding you to the dangers that are ahead?"

"Isn't that what love is supposed to do? Make you blind to logic? If you're unsure then why don't you ask Sora? After all, she is the holder of Love." I started to walk away. I didn't want to be mad at Tai as well.

"Matt!" I just stopped but I didn't turn around.

"I guess I know why you didn't bring Agumon along. You knew that I would get mad and that you would do the same. Tai, I don't want you to be on the same level as Yolie in my eyes so please, just go before something happens that change your position. I don't want to lose our friendship over our lives. We're too old to let something like this to stand in the way." For some reason, I was getting this feeling that this was all familiar. That something similar happened a long time ago and now it has come back in a new form. But this time, it might have a different out come.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt by her."

"I can't be. You probably think that I'm putting a blind eye to her actions but I know that whatever she does has justice behind it. She went to school even when she was in the gang. She never really stopped going. She's been going to that school since the beginning of her high school years. I'm sure she wants to make something for herself but she just hasn't told me." I turned to face him, "The judge even asked me what you already know. I told him that some secrets are meant to remain a secret and I'll wait until she's willing to tell me. She holds the Crest of Patience and that's what we have to be."

"You shouldn't really be telling me this… It should really go to Kari since I'm going to follow her."

"Unlike me, you still have some influence over your sibling. I guess that's why I treat Panther and Ceres the way I do."

"Ceres? Oh, I thought that she was a drifter."

"She was. She's apart of this group and she wanted to stay here where she knows that people will love her in a way no one ever had."

"So you have two wild girls in your home. It's amazing that you can stand it." He smiled in a way that I knew that everything is okay between us.

"It's also like they're sisters. Panther keeps Ceres under control and Ceres allows Panther a reason to loose up to someone that also had a hard live like her. Now thinking about it, they both do look alike and that means that they also look like Styxmon."

"Really? No wonder why you defend her with everything you got."

"Yep, Izzy knows since I told him while we were running from a rival gang."

"I guess I still have a lot to learn then. I only hope that Kari will make the right decision."

"I think she will."

"Why do I get the feeling that all the Crests are now within you as well?" _I guess Kari told him all the Crest names._

"I do hold Virtue."

"But you weren't like this before. It seems that only recently that you started to."

I looked up at the sky, guessing that it has something to do with my past that I can't remember, "My mind has only recently been opened to the world around me." I looked back at him, "I'm getting stronger for the others."

He smiled, "I'll say that you're doing a good job of that. Good luck."

"Same with you."

He walked the way I came. I looked at my house and it seemed to be changing.

_May I say something since Ceres isn't around?_ I looked around to make sure that no one was around.

"_Sure, I didn't know that you were listening?"_

_Well, we are the same person. _

"_You wanted to say something?"_

_Oh, right. It seems that even without your memories your heart just needed the right sparks to send the feelings back to your mind._

"_You mean that I fought Tai in a familiar fashion?"_

_That's correct._

"_So why does it feels like my house is changing?"_

_That's because you're heart is understanding someone else's actions a lot more clearly._

"_Ken was right about that roller coaster."_

_Do you think you'll be able to handle it?_

"_We'll soon find out."_

I felt him smile before going back into hiding. He really wasn't as bad as he first appeared. I guess he also helped me with understanding Panther better as well. _Tai, you're not the only one that needs to learn._ I walked to my house that's now changing into a place that feels secure.

Kari

I had to talk to Panther before lunch was over. "Panther, could I speak to you alone?" She looked puzzled but didn't argue against it. We walked to a place that I knew that no one would be able to hear us or bother us.

"What's on your mind?"

"Yolie has been digging up your past." Her eyes widen a bit, but then looked at the ground.

"I'm assuming that she told you what she had found and now you're really starting to wonder whether Lily Dawn and Ryan were right in worrying about me." She looked up at me with eyes that you couldn't read.

"Why do you want to keep it a secret?"

"I was told by other people in my gang that other gangs will use you're past ties against you. Luckily, Lily Dawn and Ryan were never hurt since they were the last friends from there."

"So that's why you were upset about your family's death."

"That's right and why I made sure they paid."

"Then why make a signature?"

"Oh, that." She sounded like she almost forgotten it. "I never said that everything I did was smart. Unlike everyone that has ever been in the Dark World, I know that I belong there; that the word dark or darkness fits me. What are you worried about?"

"I guess since I'm light…"

"You need to make sure that I don't go back."

I smiled a bit, "I guess it would be something like that."

She placed her hand on my shoulder, "As long as I have people that believe that I'm not supposed to be there then I'll never go back. Matt has given me more than I ever had with my own family and I can't thank him enough."

"Thanks for letting me know."

"It's ok for you to know my past."

"That's good. What's your real name anyway? Yolie is trying to find that out but she can't so far."

"Konke."

"Konke?"

"My natural hair color was a lot like Matt's. Ke is for spirit."

"Golden spirit, that's a really interesting name." I smiled. "So why dye it?"

"On full moon my hair would shine like the sun. It still does that but not as intense."

"Are you going to let the others know?"

"One day. Let's go back and you better think of some excise as to why you wanted to talk to me alone."

"Don't worry about it. I already thought that up." I said as we were heading back.

TK was the only one that asked me but it was real quiet. I said that I was wondering how to cook something but Panther wasn't really sure on how. He accepted it without a second thought. I knew that I would have to call Tai since he most likely talked to Matt today (she knows her brother well).

Hebemon

Thanatos, Hypnos, and Aither hadn't come yet, which was really good. I didn't want them to tag along to see what I did. I heard Nereida running over.

"My Grandmother is really glad that she'll get to meet you. Since I told her that you help me with my fortune telling skills." She said with a smile.

"That's good but unfortunately I have bad news."

"Huh? What?" She didn't like how I said that.

"Hera has assigned three brothers to live with us and attend the school that you guys go to."

"Why?"

"She probably wants to weaken you guys by them gaining your trust. They haven't come by yet but they're bad news."

"What are their names?"

"I'm going to give them Japanese names so they blend in better. Their real names are Thanatos, Hypnos and Aither. Thanatos is the guy that pulls people to their death in their sleep and Hypnos puts them in that sleep. Aither signifies light or heaven. Their mother is name Nyx and she brings forth the night. Their sister is Hemera and she brings forth the day."

"Ok, so if they're three new students with the same last name then I know not to trust them."

"That's right."

"Thanks for letting me know. I just hope that I could make sure they don't do anything to us."

"I'm sure that you can and I'll help as much as I can."

"Does this means that you can't come on Saturday?"

"Zeus himself can't stop me." I said with a smile and she smiled back.

"I guess you better go before they arrive. Should I meet you here tomorrow?"

"Sure. See you on that day then."

"Right." I smiled then walked back to my house.

They still haven't arrived and I was wondering if they ever would.

"You did warn Nereida?" Apollo asked.

"Yea, she knows to watch out for three new students with the same last name." There was a knock at the door and Artemis answered it.

"It's been a while since we've seen you. I hope we're not interrupting anything." Aither said like it was no big deal that they were coming over.

"What took you three so long to get here?" Apollo asked.

"We found out that you have to take these test to get in to these stupid schools. So we took them as Hera messed with their minds." Thanatos said.

"Hera also told us that Hebemon would give us our undercover names." Hypnos said in his sickening way.

"But you don't have to think one up for me." Aither said like he was a sport star.

"Why?" I was hoping to give that pretty boy one ugly meaning.

"I thought up mine a while ago. It's Karu."

"Karu? Why? That's sounds dumb."

"It's not lame to me!" He made it seem like it was the best name in the world.

"Fine, whatever. Thanatos, your name is Shikyo." I wrote it down and handed it to him. Nereida has been teaching me the Japanese writing system so I'm the only one that knows how to write and read Japanese.

"Could you give me mines as well?" Aither said with eagerness. I wrote down his and handed it to him.

"Hypnos, your name is Fuhai." I wrote it down and handed it to him.

"That sounds weird." He said as he studies how to write his own name.

"What are you guys going to do with Japanese class? You'll fail every subject just because you can't read it."

"We'll find a way. Hera knows that some of the Digidestined are at that school so you guys better find what classes they're in and fit us in there." Thanatos said.

"What ages are you guys?" Apollo asked. We both know something about school system since our friends tell us. Mine more than Lily Dawn but she does as well.

"Eighteen." Aither said with pride.

"Fine." Artemis brought out a laptop. I was wondering where she got that as she was hacking into the school's computer system. They went up to the rooms as we were searching. I was helping more than Apollo since I could read what was on the screen. She managed to pull up all of their schedules to find the best compo of keeping them safe as well as making it seem like we were doing what we were told.

"Hey, make sure most, or all, of my classes are with Kari." Aither yelled.

"Why?" Apollo asked.

"Because I said so."

"Fine." We went back to organizing their schedules. We managed to put them with at least two of the Digidestined so they can protect each other and they didn't have all the same classes as them so they were as safe as we can make it. _Now it's up to them to protect themselves._ I wrote them down so I could give it to Nereida to help her out better.

"Let us see our new schedules." Aither said as they reached the table.

"Can you read Japanese?" I asked.

"No."

"Then you can't. Don't worry. I'm translating it into Greek right now."

"At least tell me that I have classes with Kari."

"You do."

"Good." Then they went to bed.

"We've done as much as we could." Artemis sent in the schedules before closing her laptop.

"I hope that they'll be all right. Lily Dawn always says that they'll fight anything to protect everyone." Apollo looked out of the window.

"They'll be fine. Nereida is the one that's going to protect them now." She assured her brother.

We headed to bed, all hoping for the best.

Wow… That was really interesting… They're in danger and they don't even know it… I wonder if they're really after the new group or the old one but they sure think that they're after the new one… Though only they know about this new group… Unless they somehow know about their existence… I guess that means that I have to tell TK since they might not be after him. I wonder why Aither wanted to be with Kari… I guess we'll find out soon enough… Baibai.


	13. Chap 12 One Saturday's Adventures

Right now it's Friday. The week has been pretty boring. Other than that Aither, a. k. a. Karu, was a bit mad that he only had a few classes with Kari but there really wasn't much else. Nereida knew from the start who they were. Well, might as well let the others tell the story…

TK

I was watching from the sidelines since I still can't move that fast. It's really getting me annoyed since all I can do is watch Ken have fun while being bored. Kari is just confusing on what she has to do. The two new kids aren't that good, but I know that there's something about them that I don't like. Though I only told Ken, and most like Matt knows (smiles), this since Kari befriended one of them. I noticed that Karu, the one that she befriended, was walking over to her. Luckily she was staying close to me to hear.

"Hey Kari, want to join us?" He was motioning towards his brother, Shikyo.

"That's ok. I don't want to leave TK alone."

"Why? So what if his brother got him out of PE. Just because he wants to stand there doesn't mean that you have to follow. After all, he does have his other friends to keep him company." I didn't like how close he was to Kari.

"He's on medication. That's why his brother got him out of PE since it said so."

"So where is this 'medication'? I don't see him take any."

"He doesn't take it during class."

"Brother, watch out!" Shikyo shouted. Karu turned around to get hit with a soccer ball. I looked to where it came from and it looked like Davis missed the ball that Ken shot. He smiled to show that it was on purpose. Though, unfortunately, Karu was ok.

"Jeez, sorry about that. I didn't know that you were back there. I guess I should really look before doing one of my power kicks." Ken said with the look of an honest mistake.

"Then watch next time." He said with anger as he threw the ball back. Kari was already with me by the time that he looked at her. "You shouldn't waste your time, Kari."

"I'm not wasting my time."

"Kari, you know that you should be participating." One of the other girls in our class called.

"Coming. I'll see you later then." She kissed me on the cheek before heading over.

"She's too good for someone like you." I looked at him when he said that. There was real hate in his eyes.

"That's probably true but she is my fiancée."

"Fiancée?"

"There is a ring on her finger. So leave her alone."

He narrowed his eyes before going back to his brother.

"TK!" I heard Ken yelled. I was watching Kari so as I turned to see what was he yelling about, a soccer ball hit me in the face. Normally I can catch something like that but unfortunately I'm not that fast. I looked to where it came from and Karu was in that general direction.

"TK, are you ok?" Ken asked. I heard Kari running towards me.

"I'm ok. Which one kicked it?"

"TK, are you ok?" Kari sounded really worried.

I turned to her and smiled, "I'm fine." She was checking my face to make sure.

"Why did you kick the ball that hard this way?" Ken almost yelled at Karu. He wasn't even hiding it.

"I guess I just wasn't looking where my kick would lead the ball." Both of them smiled.

"All right everyone, get back to the activities," said a teacher. Kari kissed my forehead before heading back.

"I'll keep him out of your hair." Ken said, walking over to him. He said something to him then they walked over to where Davis was and started playing a game. Davis and Ken were beating them really badly.

"Why did we even play against them? They were really bad." Davis said in the locker room.

"Because I wanted to get them off of TK's back. Karu really hates you." Ken looked at me.

"He also likes Kari just a little too much."

"I bet that you're just worried that Kari will break up with you to go with him." Davis said as a joke.

"I know that she won't. I don't like how close he gets with Kari every day."

"So you are worried."

"He means physically." Ken said.

The bell rang and I moved quickly to get to Kari (just remember that it may look fast but it really wasn't). Somehow, he was talking to Kari and she seemed to have forgotten what happened during PE.

"Kari." I said with a forceful smile.

"TK, you are ok, right?" I walked up and kissed her long. I didn't care who saw right now. "Are you sure you're alright?" She made it seem like that kiss was nothing and I couldn't figure out why she was acting like this.

"I'm fine. We better get going." I sensed that Ken was nearby.

"Ok, see ya later." I was lightly tugging her away from him. He was just smiling like he had won.

"TK." I turned my head to see that it was one of the students of Sensei.

"I'll catch up later, ok." I kissed Kari on the forehead before letting go.

"See you outside." And they continued walking. I looked behind us to see that Karu was gone.

"Hi." I was wondering if his teacher was releasing anything.

"During the summer break, Sensei was at a tournament with another student. He has returned so we were wondering if you would like to come over tomorrow around noon or so to watch. He said that he is interested in talking to you."

"Did you tell him my name?"

"Unfortunately we only know your first name."

"That's ok. Sure, I'll be around there at noon. Thanks for letting me now."

"Not a problem." He walked away.

As I was walking outside, Cody came running down the hall.

"Slow down Cody, you're not running to protect the Digital World." I said with a smile.

"Huh?" He didn't even notice me until then, "My opponent is coming back and I'm going to get my revenge."

"I see. Good luck." He continued.

Everyone was waiting for me, but Kari seemed to be acting like she was caring and only Ken was noticing it.

"What took you so long?" Panther asked sounding annoyed.

"Sorry, a friend wanted to let me know something. We better get going." I placed my arm around Kari and she smiled her usual one, but I could that something was missing.

Hebe

I was packing my things for tomorrow. I was taking a lot of film since I wanted to take lots of pictures for not only myself but for Artemis and Apollo as well. I heard Aither and them walking in, laughing about something.

"What are you laughing at?" Apollo asked, annoyed that they think they own the place. I placed the last amount of film and headed downstairs.

"At TK. He doesn't have a clue at what's going on." He laughed loud again.

"What do you mean?" Artemis asked, knowing that he's involved with the new group that he might as well be apart of it.

"I placed a spell on Kari and increased the amount every time I'm around her when we're alone."

"Why?" Now Apollo was getting mad.

"Why? Because I should have her and not him."

"Is that why you wanted to be in the same classes as her?" He was making a fist. I remembered Nereida telling me that they're engaged and it seems like nothing can stop them. _I guess Lily Dawn told him the same thing._

"That's why but you guys didn't make that happen."

"Her other classes were full." Artemis lied.

"Whatever. The only important thing is that I can put my spell on her."

"You shouldn't though." Apollo said.

"Why?"

"TK and Kari seemed to be really in love."

"And like you know what that is." Apollo hated what he was saying. Before he blows our side, Apollo got up and walked outside. "What's his problem?"

"Hebe, could you take care of the food?" Artemis asked as she walked after her brother.

"Sure." I went over to the food, making sure that it was ok.

"Why don't you go to school?" Hypnos asked.

"Not everyone goes to high school here." I was getting the food on the plates.

"Too bad we couldn't be one of those." Thanatos said with a light attitude. I served the food to them, wondering how Apollo is (I think the third person probe wasn't a bad idea… Right now, I could really use it).

TK

I was cooking dinner since Matt told me that we might be able to move fast. So I was hoping that this would help me regain my speed.

"TK, are you going to help with cleaning the house tomorrow?" Ichijouji-san asked. That reminded me that I needed to clean my own house.

"Sure, but I can't stay for too long."

"That's ok."

"TK, you don't have to help." Ken said as soon as his mother left.

"I know but it's nice to help. Besides, that just reminds me that I also need to clean my own house."

"Would you need any help?"

"Probably just getting to my house. Oh, could you give me a lift to a kendo dojo?"

"Oh right, what did he say?"

"Sensei is back in town." I told him what Matt and I discovered before we headed to the Digital World.

"Really? Where was he?"

"At some tournament with one of his students."

"Cool, sure."

"Thanks."

"Do you need me to pick you up as well?"

"I'll call you when I'm done, ok?"

"That made it seem you're calling me Matt." And we both laughed (they're on better terms since TK did tell Ken that he gets mad at him at times and Ken was able to pick out when, surprising TK but glad that they're working things out).

"That reminds me, Matt was also cleaning his house tomorrow."

"I thought he was always good with keeping it clean."

"He does but we always have this day that we clean the whole house spotless."

"With the sizes of your homes, it must take you guys about two days."

"We usually help out the other."

"Then you do need the help."

"I guess so." I placed the food on the table.

"I guess living on your own helps with your cooking skills."

"I don't think that's really the case."

"Why?"

"Because I'm also able to cook." Patamon said from the table.

"Really?" Wormmon asked.

"Yea."

"Wow… Do you think that Matt's ghost's Digimon even erased the Digimon's memories?" Ken asked.

"That could be a possibility." I said, thinking about it.

"Mom, dad, dinner's ready." Ken called to his parents. I walked over to where Patamon was and sat down. They came in and we had dinner together. I envied Ken since his parents were still together. It was reminding me of my wish that my family was back together. Unfortunately our parents will never be with us but I guess this will have to do.

Heka

I left early in the morning to make sure that they didn't see me. I waited by the bus stop that she told me to. I knew that she didn't really say a time so I'm glad that I came early. It wasn't a long wait.

"I thought that I would be waiting for you this time." She said with a smile.

"I wanted to make sure that they weren't going to follow."

"Do they know this area?"

"Not really."

"Good, then they'll never know where we're going." The bus came and we hopped on.

After we were dropped off at a train station (Nereida has also been teaching her the new things that we have), we took a train to Shimbashi. I was taking pictures left and right since they haven't really been far from the area where the Digidestined are. She showed me how we were going there but the map looked real confusing so I told her that I trusted her.

We took the subway to Ginza Station. We transferred to a train that took us to Hibiya then to another train that stopped at Nezu, which was our stop.

"See that wasn't so hard to see on the map."

"Just because it was color coded doesn't mean that it was less confusing." I said with a smile. We hopped on a bus that would take us to the temple, though I found out that it was a shrine. I still took tons of pictures. She said it was called Toshogu Shrine. We saw other shrines and a temple in the middle of the lake before hopping on a subway to get to Asakusa. We headed to Asakusa Kannon Temple. It looked nothing like the one back in Greece or Rome so it was really awesome.

My stomach growled.

"Hungry?" Nereida said with a smile.

"I didn't have anything to eat this morning."

"Well, we can have a morning break."

"How about after we look around inside?"

"Sure."

I took the pictures, even in some areas we weren't supposed to. Once we were done looking around, we sat on a bench and she brought out some Japanese food. I've never tried any Japanese food before but I have at least one of everything that was there and it was surprisingly good.

"Wow! Who made these?" I took another one with my hands.

"Lightningmon, she doesn't have that much to do when we're in school so Grandmother teaches her."

"I thought you come over from Matt's house?"

"She and Huskimon come over. Remember that you have to show that you are Japanese at my house so my brothers think you are."

"Am I doing something wrong?"

"Do you know what chopsticks are?" She held up a pair of wooden sticks that looked like you have to break it for some reason.

"No."

"These are what you eat with traditionally. I'll show you. I had to teach Lightningmon too." So she showed me the art of eating with chopsticks. It was hard at first but then I got the hang of them. She told me that I didn't have to be perfect since it's not really a require skill.

"Well, let's get going." She said with a smile.

We got up but then we heard an exploding sound. I looked near the temple to see that a Digimon was on it. He spotted us before jumping down.

"This should be fun." He said with an evil intent. He was known as InsanV-mon. He wore a mask with fangs at the front and rounded horns on the back; body armor was dark; hands were covered with a round metal with a dragger attached; and the same idea with his tail. He was a nasty Digimon that loves to terrorize. "Killing humans should be a blast."

"Police, hold it right there." There were law enforcers behind him. He ran after them and they followed their instincts and ran as well.

"We better get out while we still can." I started to walk away.

"You're not going to do anything?" I looked at her, surprised that she would without her Digimon around.

"There's nothing we can do to stop him. Besides, someone else will come along and do something."

"I don't know what the others are doing. And in either case, I can't let him hurt the people or the temple. I'll see you at the bus stop." She ran after him.

"What! Wait! What are you doing?" I yelled.

"I'm going to stop him." _Is she insane? There's no way to stop him. No other Digimon has been able to before so what makes her think that she can make a difference? Mortals!_ I ran after her. I couldn't let anything happened to her since her family is waiting for her and Lightningmon.

"Hey ugly, I'll put up a more interesting fight." I heard her say. He turned around and smiled. He jumped and she headed towards the park area, "Catch me if you can, ugly!" He, of course, followed. I stopped and looked around at all the other mortals run. Even their own lawmen were still running. _Pathetic._ I went after her.

I stopped at the edge of an open area to see that she was fighting him and wasn't doing half bad. I could tell that she wasn't about to give up fighting him. _I wonder if she has this mind set before knowing about the other Digidestined._ Unfortunately, he knocked her down with his tail. He raised his arm to strike.

"Why don't you mess with someone that's your equal by level?" He turned around and I stepped out of the woods.

"You're a Digimon? You must like living among the humans."

"I'm used to it. Mortals are so easily fooled."

"Mortals? Only those Deity Digimons talk like that."

"That's what I am." I lost my disguise and gained my originally outfit. I did wear a tunic but you couldn't really tell since it seemed that my skirt end was apart of my tank top. There was a purple strap across my skirt to show that I was a Deity Digimon. Only the rivers and the other religion deities didn't have some purple on them.

"Now this is really gonna to be fun." He moved his body to fully face me. I looked down at Nereida, who was now realizing what was going on. He charged at me at full speed.

I jumped to the right and shot sap to hold down his legs. Luckily there was enough heat to turn it hard fast. I summoned pollen to my hands and blew one hand at a time towards him. Once they stuck onto him, they floated away while carrying his data to Hades.

"Wo, that was so cool." I looked at Nereida to see her brush off the dirt.

"That's why we're someone to consider when thinking about the groups."

"Well after what we just did, I think we need that lunch." We both smiled and headed on out to the bus stop.

"So what's with the purple?" Nereida asked as soon as we got on the bus. I had already changed my outfit back to what it was this morning.

"It's to symbolize royalty but since we're pretty high above kings and emperors, we have it somewhere on our Deity outfits.

"That's so cool. Does all the Deity Digimon have purple on them?"

"The Underworld Rivers and the other religion's Deities don't."

"Why not the Rivers?"

"Think about it, do you really want to dunk something in purple water?"

"That's a good point. Do they have anything that makes them stand out though?"

"The other Deities have their own style of dress. The Rivers just look different."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, their outfits are of the same design but the coloring is different. Also their hair is an unnatural color."

"Is it the same among them?"

"Some shade of blue. And that's for both."

"Oh."

We took a boat to get to Hinode Pier, got on the Shiba-Koen subway station, went up to Hibiya, transferred onto another sub-train to Ebisu, ran to catch the rail train to Yoyogi-Koen.

"I thought you said you take the bus from Odaiba to your house." I rested my head on the top of the seat.

"I do but there's only one bus that leads us there. Unfortunately, it doesn't make any other stops.

"So then how does your brother get home?"

"Before, we always have to go together but since Huskimon doesn't mind pulling him all the way home and he can move objects with his mind…"

"I see, so it's easier for him to not take the bus to and for."

"Right."

"No wonder you said that the map wasn't confusing."

"I guess so."

Once at Yoyogi, we walked the rest of the way. I took pictures of everything that I saw. When Nereida announced that she was home, Lightningmon came to greet us.

"Glad to see that you both are here. Lunch is almost ready." Hinting that I could take pictures before everyone else got there.

Nereida showed me where to go and I took one big picture of the table.

"You must be Nereida's new friend." I looked towards the kitchen to see this peaceful old lady smiling as she placed down a teapot.

"Yes."

"I'm her grandmother. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too."

"Nereida, get your brothers so the food won't get cool."

"Right." She ran to get them.

"Have a seat." She gestured with her hands where I was to be seated. "I can tell that you're not like most people by spirit but you are by heart." I was confused by what she just said. "You're much like the other guess in this house. But then again, you're not like them either." _Does she know about Digimon?_ "Where are you from?"

"Grandmother, are you scaring Nereida's friend already?" I turned to see that her brothers were coming in. She sat down near me as Lightningmon took her spot opposite of her. "Sorry about that."

"That's ok. My name is Heka."

"I'm Tim, the oldest brother."

"Damon, the older brother." He said with a punkish smile.

"Nice to meet you."

"Same here."

Then we had lunch.

TK

"Thanks Ken." I said as we stopped in front of the dojo. The place seemed a little too quiet.

"Not a problem. You really didn't have any other way of getting here."

"I could've walked." I said as I got out.

"But then you would've left around three am." He said with a smile.

"That might be true. Well, as soon as I'm done here I'll give you a call and you can tell me what else that needs to be done."

"Right. See ya until then." He drove off. I watched until he was out of sight before heading inside.

"TK, glad that you could make it." I looked to see that the group of students from my school was coming up to me.

"Glad that I was invited. So, is Sensei ready for some questions?"

"He has classes today but I'm sure he'll make time."

"That's ok. I'm not in any time crush."

"Great. We'll show you around." A few went away so the remaining students showed me around their dojo. It was really awesome since I've only seen Cody's Grandfather's dojo. I also realized that this is a really big dojo.

"Are there many teachers here?" I asked on my tour.

"Yea, they all teach in their own way."

"Does Sensei have more students then the others?"

"Not really, he's really the last step before graduating."

"So if someone old, like thirty-five, came to be a member, that person will have to go through everyone else before getting to Sensei?"

"That's right. We were told that he impressed the other teachers that they knew he was at a skill far above them."

"So you guys have the privilege to experience more than one instructor."

"That's right."

"Do many people drop out?"

"In the few beginning classes. Later on, they don't."

"Why? Other than that they most likely like it by then."

"Because you see that everyone in the higher class does not have to wear the traditional gear."

"Meaning?"

"Normally we have on the traditional gear but with Sensei, we don't have to wear them at all. He teaches us how to fight outside of traditional ring," said another student.

"Shouldn't they see it when they enter though?"

"No, everyone changes into those gears and outfits in the dressing rooms. They only discover about Sensei when they reach a certain level," said the one that I knew more.

"Wow. That's really interesting."

"Here's his dojo hall. Excited?"

"I guess I am." I said with a smile.

"I think you'll like him." He opened the door and I saw what they were saying about not having on the traditional gear. Everyone on the floor was practicing with their street or school clothes. I sat down outside of the arena and also sat Patamon in my lap.

"That's Sensei over there." One whispered and I looked to where they were pointing.

I saw a guy with golden, yellowish hair that covered his left eye. He didn't look that much older than Matt but their expression was almost the same. His expression is like he has had it since he was born and Matt only recently gain it. I now understood why his friend would think that he was one of his students. He looked over to where I was and he looked surprised about something. He quickly looked back at the floor but he was smiling to himself.

I decided to watch everyone else practice. I did ponder as to why Cody shouldn't be here but then remembered that he's devoted to his Grandfather's dojo since now it's his turn to run it. I noticed that there was more than one door that leads into here and the one that was opposite of Sensei slammed opened with anger. I looked to see that it was Cody! He brought along a good amount of people that had on the Kendo gear. _Why is Cody here? I thought he said that he was going to get his revenge today… Wait a minute… Didn't they tell me that he just gotten back from a tournament for one of his students?_

"May I help you?" His voice was calm and familiar. I knew that he could give strength to anyone he really cared about.

"I want a rematch against your student!" Cody demanded.

"I'm sorry. He's no longer here. Once a student enters into high enough tournaments and win, they have passed this class."

"Then I challenge you!" He pointed to Sensei with his kendo sword.

"If you want to fight someone then fight me." One student said on the floor. All the others were ready to do the same. I can really feel the deep respect that everyone had for him.

"You want a fight? Fine." One of the other people behind Cody came charging up to that guy. They clashed a few times before Sensei's student won. Another from Cody's side was about to launch himself but Sensei stopped him.

"Cody, do you really feel that bad about losing? You did a great job."

"Your student cheated somehow!"

"My students would never cheat in a competition. I wouldn't allow it but if you really feel that you must prove something then I will take your challenge."

"Sensei, don't do it. They're not worth the time," said one from the floor.

"Do you want your teacher to be known as a coward?" Cody said.

"No one would believe you." One said angrily.

"I guess we'll find out then."

"It'll be alright. I'm not weak." His students were still worried but they trusted their teacher so they walked off the floor to the other side of the room.

Sensei picked up a kendo sword and got into a defensive position as Cody placed on his helmet and got into an offensive position. They were studying each other every carefully. Sensei seemed to know what he was doing so I didn't understand why his students were so nervous. After all, he supposed to be really good so why doesn't he show it?

Cody launched at Sensei and the battle was on. Sensei was seeing his movements before he even struck. I was watching carefully as to the reason for consider and then I found it. His right foot shown that it was a bit weaker by the amount of muscle that was there compare to his left leg. I remembered Panther and Ceres saying that he had a cane with him when they met. _So that injury makes it so he can't really fight? I wonder where he got an injury like that. After all, there's much doctors can heal, unless it was cut off._ That reminded me of Matt's ankle injury that he got in the Digital World.

Somewhere in the battle, Cody saw it too and struck at his ankle. There was pain on Sensei's face but he quickly got Cody away from him. Cody went after him again but he blocked it as he moved away. Somehow, Cody got another shot at his right leg and struck. Everyone gasped when they saw their beloved teacher fighting the pain. Cody struck him in his stomach but that didn't seem to do much other than move him. Cody ran up and was able to strike from the air but I used my Crest's power to get in the way. I knew that Sensei couldn't fight so well and it wouldn't be a real victory for Cody.

But he didn't stop his attack. He hit my shoulder really hard then my forearm, which had enough force to push me down. I looked at Cody to see that he was about to strike again but Sensei got in the way. I could feel his anger rising right now. I looked at his right ankle to see that he was standing on it, before he was making it seem like he was. I knew that couldn't be good for Cody.

Sensei launched at Cody but he moved to the side. Sensei stopped on the dime when he did and turned to face him. They were making that this next move will decide it all. I could tell that Cody was still mad as Sensei was determined to make him see his place. They both launched at each other.

Sensei's kendo sword broke near the handle but Cody was down on his knees, holding his stomach. I was able to see that Sensei was doing weird movements that I've never seen anyone else used in Kendo before striking. The only reason it broke was because of the force behind his blow. I think that if Cody weren't wearing his gear, that blow would've done more damage than what it did. Sensei said something to him in a low voice and Cody didn't like what he heard.

Sensei walked behind him and came walking towards me. I looked at Cody to see he was getting up and about to strike.

"Cody, stop!" That's when he finally noticed me. Sensei looked when I said that and he looked mad that Cody was thinking about striking when his back was turned.

Cody removed his helmet and he looked really sorry, "TK… That was you?"

Sensei continued to come towards me. He helped me up onto my legs since my arm hurt too much to really move it.

"TK… I'm… really sorry… I thought…"

"You thought he was one of my students that didn't want to see his master get hurt. Even if it was my student, the fight was between you and me and no one else." His voice echoed wisdom that also seemed familiar. There was also anger in his eyes as he looked at Cody. Then he looked at me with concern, "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." I said with a smile. He smiled back and let me see if I could stand by myself. I felt my legs getting weak again but I'm hoping that it only does so with the amount that I used. _Tomorrow is definitely going to be fun._

"Cody, please leave so I can continue with my classes." One of the other people went up and pulled him out. "I'm sorry that you had to put yourself in his path but why did you feel like you had to step in?" I looked at him and he wasn't mad, he just seemed to understand.

"He struck your bad ankle. I didn't think he should've struck when you were down."

"Thank you for your bravery but I'm able to defend myself." He led me to the edge where Patamon was. I could see that Patamon was really worried.

"Sensei, are you alright?" One of his students asked.

"I'm fine. Someone get the doctor around here. I want to make sure that TK is all right." Then someone ran out.

"I'm fine, really." I picked up Patamon with my other hand.

"You are afraid of moving it." He said with a smile. The door opened and a guy that looked like a doctor came in. Sensei explained what happened and he touched my shoulder first. It felt like it was badly bruised but that's it. He did the same on my arm and I felt the same thing.

"Nothing seems to be broken, which is good but you might want to check with another doctor. When you get home you should get some ice on it."

"Thanks." He walked out. Sensei returned back to his class.

He didn't seem to have much for this session. Everyone bowed goodbye before walking out. That's when Sensei grabbed his cane and came walking over. "Some of my students said that you wanted to talk."

"That's true."

"Mind if we talk outside?"

"Of course not, anywhere is fine."

"Follow me then."

He led me to an area where we could see the entrance to the place. The air seemed to have some calming effect right now.

"How's your ankle?" I asked, looking at him.

He looked at me and smiled, "It will be fine as soon as I get home."

"Nothing really seemed wrong with it, other than it's weaker than the other."

"I made sure of that. Unfortunately, it was damaged some time ago and it can never completely heal."

"Why?"

"Consider it a virus that has no cure."

"Why don't you want anyone to go looking around your past, Date-san?" He looked surprised a bit.

"I'm assuming that Panther and Ceres told you about me."

"Only what they noticed."

"Did they manage to get my number?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"Are you curious?"

"A little."

"If my past were to be looked up, they would see some gaps within it. If you asked me directly, you'll have all the answers."

"Do you have a dark past or something?"

"No."

"Everyone has gaps. I mean no one can know everything."

"That's true. What I mean by 'gaps' is in the records that everyone should have."

"You mean school records?"

"Yes."

"So you want your past to be a secret?"

He nodded.

"What's your full name?"

"That must be a secret for now."

"Why?" I don't know why I'm being so humble towards him. It was like I knew he was deserving of this respect but I couldn't figure out why.

He seemed to see this and smiled more to himself about something, "You should be able to find my name if you look up my family name."

"So you're allowing me to look?" I said slyly, letting him know that that decision might be dangerous.

But he just kept on smiling, "If I told you that I didn't want you to look, what grantee would I have that you would? Usually when someone says no, you do it anyway unless there was something that you knew that what you wanted to do was too dangerous in the first place."

"Though depending on the danger, the person might not listen."

"That's true, and then the person that gave the answer might get mad or be glad that they made the right choice. Or be mad that the person acted with rage and revenge in mind."

"You mean Cody."

"What Cody did would be an example of what I just said, but I think there was another factor in it that I couldn't really see."

"He told me that he was going to get his revenge for what happened to him at the tournament. I didn't really put two and two together. Otherwise, I would've warned you about it."

"That's a kind thought but I don't think it would've really made a difference since he was ready to fight as well as the people he brought with him. His rage blinded him to you and all he saw is what he saw. That's why he was so broken afterward when he realized it."

"I know. I'm kinda familiar with something like that before." I flashed back to when Matt allowed the dark being inside out to try to control him and that didn't really work. _At least we know that he's trustworthy._ I smiled to myself at how I acted in these two events were similar.

"Yes, I see it in your eyes."

"Huh?" I looked at him.

"You were protecting someone you cared for deeply and you got hurt doing so. Somehow, that person felt responsible for what happened and broke down afterward." I could see him hiding his question on who this person was. _But why would he care?_

"That's right. It was something like that. How could you tell?"

"I know how to read others' expressions well."

"Part of being a Kendo Instructor?" I remembered Cody saying that his Grandfather could do the same.

"I've never lend it to that since it was only recently that I've decided to become a Kendo Instructor."

"What do you mean by 'recently'?"

"It has only been a few years since I've started this job. Before, I didn't even know what I was going to do with my life."

"Did you decide to become an instructor since you lost your brothers?" I know that I would be lost if anything happened to Matt. That's why I was hoping going to his house that night would help me in some way.

"I lost them as soon as I became an instructor."

"It must be hard. I know that if I lost my brother, I don't know what I would do. How do you make it through the day?"

"I didn't know they were my brothers until a few years into my life and theirs. When I discovered that they were, we were all happy but they were taken away from me and I couldn't do anything about it. I know in my heart that we'll find each other again one day, though I knew the road that I'm taken would be lonely for a long time."

"I'm sorry to hear that. I hope your find them."

"Thank you, I'm sure I will someday. May I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"I noticed that you and another stopped by my house one night before exams. You were worried that you were losing someone dear. Who was that and why did you feel like that?" _He was able to see us? From that distance?_ I was shocked but I wasn't going to ask how he was able to since he looked like he really was concerned about the answer.

"My brother, on that day, wasn't acting like himself. I was worried that I was losing him. He's the last family that I have and I can't lose him. Much like with my fiancée with her brother, my brother gives me strength and support when I need it the most."

"You don't seem to have that fear now."

"He's back to normal, or at least as normal that he'll be able to get. The elements that were drawing him away are now under control and he promises that he'll never go away."

"Sometimes, things happen that make promises hard to keep. When I discovered them gone, I promised myself that I would find them but I haven't really been doing much to do so."

"I'm sure they'll understand that you have other things to do. After all, being the top Kendo Instructor might make them proud." I said with a smile.

"That might be true."

"But why can't they come back to you?"

"I think they've moved on…"

"That's just wrong. You should never forget about family. They're really important since they love you more than anyone else in the world." I couldn't believe that brothers would abandon their elder brother. "Did you take care of them when you found out?"

"I took care of them when I didn't even know and I did take greater care of them when I did know."

"Then I say you shouldn't find them. They don't know how luckily they are to have a brother like that."

"There was a powerful force that led them away. Unfortunately, I am not really sure as to what that force was."

"You mean that their foster parents took them away?"

"If it were that, I would still be able to see them. No. It was a force that was not really physical."

"Wait, how could you discover they were your brothers? Did your parents have to give them up?"

"That would be logical if our brother bond was blood related."

"Then… you considered yourselves as brothers…"

"Yes. They're not really my blood brothers but I love them as if they were."

"Then that makes it more wrong that they would leave you by yourself."

"Like I said before, there was a powerful force that took them away from me. It was so powerful that it took my blood siblings away from me for a while."

"You're not ordinary, are you?" Stuff like that only happen to people with something else happening in their lives.

"Now that has to be found in my family name. You might understand if you're able to find certain information on an item that belongs to my family."

"Alright, I will look then. Of course, there will be someone else that will help me. Is that ok?"

"You seem to trust this person but you're worried that your relationship is cracking and you didn't know why or how to stop it."

"How can you tell?" That was really surprising.

"Call it a gift. If you need someone to talk to that has a fresh ear, I'll listen and help anyway I can. Of course, I don't want to take away your brother's role so come to me as a last option."

"Thanks and yea. Recently, I'm discovering that a few acts that he does get me mad but I've talked to him about it and he understands. I mean, we've been best friends for a long time and I don't want to lose that."

"Do you feel like you're losing someone else that's close to you?"

"Kinda."

"Your fiancée?"

"Yea, there's this guy in a few of our classes that's hitting on her and when I'm not around she doesn't put up a fight. Then whatever I do, she brushes it off. Like it's not really important and it's only show."

"Maybe she does not understand your worry?"

"Now thinking about it, if anything happens that breaks my bonds with them, I know that I'll lose them forever."

"That would be a tragedy if you lost them all at once. I know that you will find a way to get at least the most important ones back to you."

"What do you mean by 'important ones'? Are you saying that I wouldn't get all of them back?" I was really afraid that he might mean that I'm going to lose either Ken or Kari. How could I choose to gain one and not the other?

"If you lost all of them at the same time, your brother will always be there for you so I know that it will have to be something physical in order for you to lose him, but you consider the other two on the same field. Just follow your heart and you will only feel sad that the other did not have enough faith in you."

"Do you think that Hope and Faith is a better pair than Hope and Light?" I now understand why his students love him so much. He listens with open ears and is willing to help in anyway he could.

"That is really tough to say since Hope is good with all virtues… Just keep hoping that nothing will make you test your loyalty and love." He seemed to remember something that was really important to the subject at hand and I was wondering how.

I was just about to ask him when there was a car's horn being heard. We looked on the road and I saw Mackenzie-san in the driver seat.

"I must get going but my offer stands for when you just need someone to listen to you. I wish you the best of luck for your dreams." He got up and walked over. He got into the car and she drove off.

I just sat there, wondering how that was possible. Was she engaged to him, related to him, what? Then it hit me that she might've gotten married and that's why her last name was changed.

"Don't you need to call Ken?" I heard Patamon who's now on my head.

"Thanks." There was a lot that we needed to get done. I moved my wrong arm and this great pain ran through the veins like it own them.

"You're not alright." Patamon was really worried. He couldn't say anything while everyone was around.

"It just the bruising." I got my cell and called Ken. He sounded worried that I didn't call earlier and I was glad that he was.

"You know, for two people who just met you two had a lot to talk about." Patamon said as I sensed his smile.

"I now understand why his students respect him so much. I just hope that I don't lose anyone close to me."

"Fight to keep them safe and nothing can take them away."

"Thanks Patamon."

"That's why I'm here. By the way, wasn't that your math teacher?"

"It was. I'm wondering what relationship she has with him?"

"Maybe that's his sister… He seems to understand pain and lost so maybe that's what makes him wise."

"That's true but his students don't just understand about lost and pain. They also understand happiness and joy within themselves to make them rich from the inside. I guess his brothers gave him that feeling."

"Maybe his other siblings as well. You should really ask her."

"That's true." Then Ken arrived.

"Did you get anything useful? What happened to your arm?" He asked as I got in the car.

"Remember when Cody said that he wanted revenge for his lost? It was against one of his students but Cody fought Sensei instead since he wasn't there."

"Why would he agree to it and that still doesn't explain the arm?"

"Getting there. As they were fighting, Cody managed to hit him in the ankle, which was his weakness. I ran up to make Cody stop since he wasn't really in the position to defend himself…"

"Isn't it the point to strike when the opportunity comes?"

"That's only in the old days and something just told me to do so. So I got between him and Cody as Cody was striking from the air. He hit my shoulder then my arm to push me out of the way."

"Why didn't he stop? Even if he had his helmet on, he still would've been able to see you."

"He was blinded by his rage that he thought I was just a student of his."

"How were you hit? I mean, was it nearer to him or nearer to the end of the sword?"

"Nearer to end. Why?"

"That means that you got a damaging hit. Did anyone look at it?"

"A doctor there but he said that I should have someone else look at it."

"Then we better do that." He turned on the car and drove.

"What about your house?"

"Everything is cleaned so don't worry about that. I mean Matt will go nuts if he knew that you were hurt. Not to mention Kari. And it's your dominant arm too."

"Not to mention that I had to use my Crest's Power again… Oops." I wasn't planning on telling anyone that.

"What! You do know that means you'll be even slower? What if you collapsed in the dojo? They would've called Matt and he would've called me asking why you were there."

"You're starting to sound like Joe." I said with a smile.

"Maybe you don't get enough of it. Both you and Matt seem to like living on the edge of things."

"I guess it's in the genes. Hey Ken, do you think that Hope goes with all virtues?"

"Hope seems to be linked somehow with all the others but whether your Crest is linked to all the others, I would say most likely not."

"Why?"

"Because you're not the personification of Hope or the representation. You're you and that's all you need to be worried about. Thinking about our Crest will get us confuse as to what we really want to do in life. It's like they govern our lives."

"What we hold is our strongest points, our personal virtue."

"That's true but then how does Virtue itself become represented as a Crest? A person can't be everything at once. That would mean they lack anger and hate and everyone has that in some degree."

"Maybe that person locks them up and makes sure they never show."

"They will show though. It's in human nature to love and hate."

"Then maybe that person promises to themselves to never allow anyone to see that side of them. Or maybe they…"

"Why are you asking this anyway? This seems to be really deep considering that you just came out of an interview."

"Well… it wasn't really an interview. He has too much wisdom to really ask direct questions."

"Seems like you gain some respect for the guy."

"Well, he seems to know what I'm now experiencing."

"Meaning?"

"He was able to read my emotions really well. Understand my worry and concerns."

"I would think that would be scary, since you just met him."

"It was comforting that someone else was willing to listen and help when he could."

"Sounds like Matt's losing his job." Ken said as a joke but that just reminded what he said about him being the last resort. I didn't want Matt to feel like I didn't want him in my life. After all, we are family and I just said that it was wrong for a brother to leave another.

"He's not losing his job. I'm not going to him when I have a problem that I can't solve on my own."

"I guess that's good to hear."

"I guess I know why I didn't understand my hate but now I do."

"Huh?"

"I thought that you were taking Matt away, like you said, but I know that I've gained another brother." I said with a smile. He smiled to hear that.

"Thanks TK."

"I guess we've adopted you without you realizing it." Saying that reminded me of how he told me he gained his brothers.

"That includes you too. Well, we better get your arm looked at." We arrived at the hospital.

"The bruises are bad but not too much. The bones are a cracked but that's it. There's noting serious about the injuries," said the doctor when he placed up the X-rays of my arm and shoulder.

"That's good. I shouldn't really move, right?" _This is really cutting me out of PE. And I won't be able to do too much in my other classes._

"Correct." He wrote a note and handed it to me. It was my note for PE.

"Thanks. Oh, you never told us your name." _Just for Matt's story thing._

"My name is Rowen Hashiba. Why do you want to know?"

"I'm a writer and I needed a name for a doctor in my next story." I smiled like it was the truth.

"Oh, glad to be of some help. Have a nice day." He smiled and left.

"Why did you ask him? And don't give the same excuse to me." Ken said as we were walking towards his car.

"I was wondering who he was. As soon as we got there, he came and got me. That usually doesn't happen unless I call them and set up an appointment. Even then I have to wait."

"I do give you that but what does that have to do with the name?"

"Matt had to go to the hospital when the dark being came out. He never told me his name so I thought that I asked." I couldn't tell him that it was for Matt's personal story. So far, I've only read three so I understand how these probes work.

"Oh… Ok." He accepted that since there wasn't really any other reason that was out there. "This is going to be bad." He said as he got to his car. I still had that feeling that it wasn't his but I got in anyway, fighting it and not showing it.

"What is?" I was hoping that he wasn't talking about the car.

"How are you going to defend yourself against Karu? I mean he's taking Kari somehow." He pulled out of the lot and headed back to his house.

"I'll have to figure that out. I just don't see how he's able to without her knowing." That just brought some sad emotions up.

"Not to mention that he takes any time he can to cause you pain. Now he has a good area to hit."

"Good point. I need a bodyguard." I said with a joking pled.

"Too bad that I can't be that."

"What's wrong with me?" Patamon said.

"You can't show yourself directly, remember?"

"Oh yea." He sounded like he forgot.

"Could I just rest when we get back? I'm not really feeling up to doing anything."

"Sure and it's probably best that you rest anyway. After all, you did use your jewel and you haven't collapsed yet."

"Call Matt when we get there." I just closed my eyes. I couldn't fight my lack of energy, like before.

Hebe

We got to Hecate's place. I looked at Nereida and she looked a bit nervous.

"Not getting cold feet?" I said with a smile.

"Of course not." She smiled back. Hecate's home isn't exactly warm but it's friendly. Nereida looked around on the first floor, thinking that this is where Hecate would be.

"Up the stairs." I said, pointing to them.

She took a deep breath before heading up.

Nereida

I noticed that a door was opened so I looked inside. A lady that I couldn't tell if she was old or young was sitting there with candles lit all around. I stepped inside and took a seat in front of her. Her eyes were closed so I couldn't tell whether she was sleeping or focusing.

"Luckily, you do have a lot of spiritual powers. I sense that your brothers do too." Her voice was soft with age. It was also beautiful.

"Heka told you that I was coming, right?"

"That's right." She opened her eyes and they did look mystic. She definitely wasn't old by looks and she was beautiful. "Have you grown in your powers since you've been learning under your grandmother?"

"I think so…"

"What have you discovered?"

"About?"

"Anything."

"That everything has hidden potential, though they need something to unlock it." I was talking about what I felt with Kari during our Digital Trip. Her mental powers have been coming and I know that she won't be able to control them. She's not experience in such powers.

"Would you like to give guidance or merely know?"

"Please explain?"

"With just knowing, you can only sense but you can't see. If you want guidance, you'll be able to help people with their problems. Guidance has everything in it, not just one."

"Guidance." I wanted to help my friends as much as I could.

"All right." She started to chant something and closed her eyes. She lit incense and the smoke was moving in unnatural motions. She grabbed some herbs; all with her eyes closed, and smashed them together. Once she was done chanting, she opened her eyes, "Come closer."

I got up and got closer. She started to mark my forehead with the herbs and now the smoke was encircling me. When she was done, I felt something stirring to the surface. Even though it wasn't overwhelming, I knew that it could be.

"I've awaken your powers but you need to learn to control them."

"Thanks. Anything I should know?"

"Everyone will be different, minus the Deity Digimon."

"Why?"

"Because we were once gods."

"I was wondering, are all the deities of the other religions Digimon?"

"If they are then I haven't meet them all, or seen them."

"Thanks for your help." I bowed low before heading up.

Heka

It didn't take Nereida long and I smiled to see that her powers were greater than ever. "I'm guessing it went well?"

"Yea." She said with a smile.

"Good, I called Artemis and she said that they're not there right now. What some Greek dinner?"

"Sounds good."

We headed towards my house. When we got in, Artemis had four plates on the table and Apollo was there.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Artemis and you already know my brother."

"I'm Nereida. It's nice to meet you." She bowed.

"Sit down and have dinner with us." Apollo offered.

"Thank you." We went to the table. Artemis prepared the best dinner so far and Nereida was enjoying it. We were talking like mortals would at a gathering or something, which I guess was helping Artemis and Apollo since they were excepting a question and answer dinner.

She bowed again as soon as we were done and she was leaving. "I see why Lily Dawn likes him so much. Too bad she can't know the truth."

"He's actually waiting for the right time to tell her. She's the first one that has truly loved him."

"I thought everyone would like to be with a God."

"Do your myths say that everyone would like to be with the Gods?"

"The Gods aren't really like you guys."

"Then no, some mortals love their own kind more than us."

"Why is Karu trying to take Kari away from TK? And what are his brothers and him planning?"

I looked at the ground, "Karu seems to like Kari. I mean, he symbolizes light and heaven so I guess that's why. Their plan is still a mystery to us. Once we know, I'll find a way to let you know."

"You can't see me anymore?"

"I'm not sure." Then she wrote her number down.

"Call me when you have an answer."

"Right." I smiled as she got on the bus to get back home. She waved bye as it left. I then headed home.

Me

It was late in the day and we were still cleaning my house. I'm cleaning my office, room and attic. Panther and Ceres are cleaning everything else. Unfortunately I don't have time to really read what's going on but that's ok. I guess there should be a few things that I don't know. I did find in the attic things from my house. Some I knew where it came from but there are a few that are a mystery to me. Like there's a violin and a professional camera, not to mention girl things. I was almost considering letting Panther and Ceres have their way with it but then the question of where it came from would come and I don't have an answer to it. So I just placed them somewhere where I can ponder on them later.

"Matt, Ceres found something in the basement." Gabumon said from the stairs. The Digimon were just watching us clean.

"The basement?" I didn't have anything hiding down there.

I followed him all the way down. I looked to see there was a motorcycle that was awesome down here. _Where did that come from?_

"Matt, you never said that you had a bike." Panther said with amazement. Her period was over and she was in a much better mood.

"I didn't know that I had one." I walked up to it and I knew that I could ride it. _This must be how TK and Ken felt with the car. I wonder if these two are connected._

"Well, that's not the only mystery down here." Ceres said, pointing to my old computer that I can't remember why I don't use it.

"What's the mystery about a computer?" Panther asked.

"Come over and have a look." Ceres was typing to get something on the screen. I came to her left as Panther came to her right. She pulled up things that I've never seen on this computer before. There were sound bits of my rehearsals and concerts, photographs of things that no one could've taken pictures of and some we couldn't even pull up, it also contained email that I've never sent or received.

"It sounds like someone writing to their sibling or something like that." Panther said.

"And there's no way that someone could've been there to have taken those pictures." I added.

"What about the sound bits?" Ceres asked.

"I understand my concerts but not my rehearsals. I know that I've never recorded them."

"Then someone else had access to these and the computer."

"Ceres, is there a way to tell how these pictures were taken?"

"I'm pretty sure, why?"

"I'll explain as soon as you find out."

Then she went to work. She studied it hard before coming to a conclusion, "I think they were taken from a specially made camera. The film itself is modified from ordinary professional film that's inexpensive."

"I would think that only Izzy would be able to do something like that but I didn't know him until that faithful day at camp"

"This computer is yours, right Matt?" Panther asked.

"Yea."

"Did you find anything that could give an explanation to this?"

"Follow me." I led them back to the attic. There was still a section that I haven't gotten to yet but I had to get that later. I picked up the camera and handed it to Ceres.

"Wow. This is awesome craftsmanship." She turned the camera very which way to look at it. "Where did you get this?"

"Here." I moved my hand across the attic.

"So this is why you asked her that." Panther took the camera from Ceres and looked at it herself. "Looks like a regular camera to me."

"Shows how much you know." Ceres took it back, "This shows that the owner had knowledge about cameras and how to build and repair one. Anyone with that kind of knowledge has much knowledge on many things."

"What makes you say that?" Panther said with annoyance.

"Duh, otherwise they would've picked something else. Taking pictures correctly is to know where the chi of the area lies."

"What?"

"Chi is what Japanese called Ki."

"Spirit? An area doesn't have a spirit."

"That's what you think. The beauty of the place relies on that chi."

"So you're saying that Kari is knowledgeable in other things?"

"She is wise, right?"

"Ever since I've met her and Tai traded sibling stories." I said.

"Then why is she falling for some other guy?"

"I've told you, him and his brother aren't human."

"That's not a nice thing to say." Though I know the truth, I can't be the one to say so.

"But it's true. I mean TK is practically fighting to keep her. I know he has some spell on her but I just don't recognize it."

"I'm sure it's just your minds but I'll talk to TK and ask him. Maybe there something that you guys can come up with to help out."

"Maybe he could use his jewels…"

"No, I don't want him to use it. Not until he's done with his side effect." Both Ceres and Panther looked taken back. I know that Ceres was just curious as to what the jewels are able to do but TK collapsed using it and I don't want him to lose his ability to walk trying to fight someone when he could just use his fist. I smiled.

"What?" Panther asked.

"I was just thinking why I don't want him to use it. I guess I'm more violent than I thought." I said with a smile.

"I know that you care about him but he can't have one of us fighting his battle, even if we wanted to. He must know that he can fight for her." Ceres said. "Sorry to suggest something that sounded dangerous."

"That's ok. Well, I still have some cleaning to do up here."

"What do you want me to do with the bike and computer?"

"I'll figure that out later. For now, make sure everything is saved on the computer and that the bike is covered."

"Do you have any idea on how they got here?"

"I will know someday if not soon."

"Right. Let's go finish Ceres."

I heard them walking down and Gabumon went with them. I went back to cleaning and found a large album that was meant for pictures. I placed it with the other unknown items and finished the rest of the room. I noticed that everything was now neatly organized, for once. I went back to the album and saw the same pictures. I sat down and looked through it. Some of the pictures weren't on the computer and they all had this girl with silver hair wearing her hair in either two buns or one. She was with me and she had this warming smile that somehow brought me joy. Her outfits usually modeled mine except in a girlish way. I saw a picture when I was fourteen and TK was eleven. The girl was near me and there was another one near TK. She had shiny gray hair and it only came to her shoulder blades. But the weird thing is that TK has his arms around her like she was Kari and the other girl and I are close together like we liked each other.

I took the picture out and looked at the back. There was writing and it said "Our family, our future. Together forever. Always in the other's heart." I looked at the picture again and knew that it was the girls that were our dearest and loving friends. These were they're faces and how we felt about them. They weren't just friends; they were something more deepening than that. We loved them as they loved us. I kept looking through the album to see that there was a picture of my parents in here with two other people. All four of them seemed to be having a good time and then I saw some recognition with the other two with the two girls. I had a feeling that they were related but I couldn't figure out how.

Going through it more, I saw a picture of Sora and me when we were dating. I was wondering how she could stand to take these when she loved me and I showed it back, I'm assuming by the other picture. I noticed that I was sad about something but was trying to hide it. _If she liked me then why didn't she fight back? Why did I say yes to Sora? I probably shouldn't show this to TK until his own problems are taken care of._

"Matt, dinner's ready." I heard Gabumon say.

"Right." I looked at him with a smile.

"What are you looking at?" He came over.

"It's an album of the pictures that the camera took."

"Any clues?"

I showed him the picture of only us four. He looked puzzled. "I think these two are the girls that loved us and are in the Digital World now."

"Are you going to show TK?"

"No, I don't want him to have confused emotions right now. He needs to focus on getting Kari."

"Right." We headed downstairs. I placed the picture in my room before going to eat.

Well… that was sure interesting… I'm not going to read the others and I'm not going to type for too long since Panther is yelling at me to go to bed so I have to hurry… I just thought I should say something before going so, bei bei.


	14. Chap 13 Tanabata Festival, Signs from th...

Author Kon'nichi wa! Sorry but I made a goof in this chapter. You see, the Tanabata isn't in September but in July… So you know that it's July 7th in case someone wants to use it as well… Unfortunately, I can't change it to make it fit since I wrote this part after I found out. If I tried to change it, it wouldn't make any sense. Sorry about that.

Hello. It hasn't been too long since that Saturday but let me give you as to what has happened so far. TK isn't getting any faster and he's worry is cutting into his sleep. Also, the bruise on his arm isn't healing much so it looks a lot worse then what it really is. It looks like two giant holes are there. We figured that his recovery speed is also slow so that's making me a little worried. Some time soon, we're going to bring out that bike in the basement so it can get some sun and be clean. Though that's a later project. Well, onward to the story!

"Don't stay up too late." Hota warned.

"Don't worry, they have school."

"But their teenagers. See you tomorrow then." She hung up.

"What was that all about?" Panther asked as her and Plantmon were bringing out food.

"Hota wants me to come to the office tomorrow."

"_Cur_/Why" I looked at Ceres. That was the first time I understood what she had said. "_Quod_/What"

"You're… talking in Latin, right?"

"Yea? So?"

"Never mind," _I'll figure it out later._ "She wants to make sure I'm ready for something she's been working on as well as to look at the thing she's working on." The phone rang, "Moshimoshi?"

"Everyone's waiting at the park, bro."

"Right, we'll be there." I hung up, "Let's get going."

We finished packing the food that we were bringing and headed out. The park wasn't that far away so we just took a bus to get there. There was already a crowd there as well. I noticed them and we headed over.

"Hello, I don't think I've met you two before." Ceres said, looking at Heka and Apollo.

"I'm Heka, Nereida's friend." She said with a smile.

"I'm Apollo, Lily Dawn's boyfriend." He said while looking at her.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Ceres." They both widen their eyes a bit. "You've mostly known Panther and Matt. So it's understandable as to why they didn't introduce themselves."

"Well, we better get set up before it gets too dark." Ryan said.

We set up our little campsite and everyone brought something to munch on. Then others were following our lead and everyone was talking. A few people place small lanterns around just to see where you're walking. When the sun finally set, everyone was looking at the sky and watched the two stars able to go to each other. Though most people know what's really going on, it's still nice to imagine the mystical part of this.

"Panther?" I heard Lily Dawn asked with worry. I turned around to see that Panther was holding her head like she was in pain. Ceres was looking around as Lily Dawn crawled over to see what was wrong. "Panther, are you ok?"

She started to breath hard. "I'm fine."

"What happened?" Ceres asked. I noticed that Plantmon got closer.

"A giant headache. It's gone though." I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was recalling what she had just seen.

"Are you feeling well?" Apollo asked.

"Not really. I'll head home." She started to get up.

"I'll go with you." I started to get up.

"Matt, stay. I'm fine, really." I could tell that she didn't want to tell me what it was just yet.

"Ceres, go with her."

"Right." She got up and they walked away.

"She'll be all right. That happens to her sometimes." Lily Dawn said, covering the fact that she had a premonition to the other two. I could tell that they weren't buying it really but they acted like they did.

Ceres

Panther and Ceres were walking back to Matt's house. It was obvious that Panther wanted time to think.

"No way!" Ceres said out of the blue.

Panther looked at her, "What?"

"The stars!" She pointed towards the Vega and Altair stars. They were moving away from each other too soon.

"So?" Panther didn't get why Ceres was so worried about.

"That's a bad sign!"

"How?"

"All those wishes won't come true and it's always bad when they look worried to be together. Like all love is coming to an end. We have to be careful from now on." She looked at Panther and she was looking at the ground. "Something wrong?"

"My premonition is the problem."

"What to talk about it?" Panther looked at her, wondering if she should.

"All right, I saw TK getting hit by a beam of light and then he was glowing."

"Anything else?"

"No. Though I have a feeling that it's not going to be good."

Ceres looked at the sky, "That means that the omen is for us. We have to tell the others soon."

"I don't want Matt to…"

"Matt is already worried about him and he's not going to stop. TK knows that and I'm sure when the time comes, he'll be more than willing to take that place."

"But that's not how the legend goes!"

"Legend?"

"There was a legend that Matt was told about and only Virtue was supposed to be hurt."

"Who told him this?"

"Styxmon."

"I thought she was dead?"

"She visited him in his sleep but stop once she found that legend and another one."

"Speaking of mythology, what's with Apollo and Heka?"

"Huh?"

"You've never thought about it?"

"You mean if their deities? Apollo, yea but Heka?"

"I guess I'm just jumpy."

"About?"

"Being with people, duh. Those people aren't going to give up. And with this new sign," she looked at the sky, "I'm more worried."

"You're sounding like Matt. Don't worry about it." Panther smiled and they went back home.

Ken

We were walking back from the festival. TK's cell phone rang, "Moshimoshi, TK speaking………… Not yet, it's getting there though……………….. No, I can still type. It just takes me a while………….. I understand." He hung up.

"What was that about?"

"They're not going to give me my next deadline until my arm is healed."

"Isn't that a good thing? That means you have more time to…"

"They don't want me to write at all!" He looked really defeated.

"Don't worry, you still have school…"

"They don't want me to use my arm either… Only Mackenzie-san is allowing me to use it."

I'm not sure what to do. Matt also allows him to use it whenever it doesn't hurt him and that includes during training. He just doesn't partake in the training itself for his speed. "I got an idea." He looked at me, "Why don't I give you an assignment to work on for a bit?"

"You?" He laughed.

"What?"

"I do like mystical mysteries, ya know."

"I'll just give you a general topic to work to your liking."

"This sounds fun. Ok, I'll do it."

"Great, write a play."

"That's it?"

"Want to know what you think so far."

"I know I can come up with something. Just give me my guidelines."

"Everyone has to help in someway, whether in the play or not, and Nereida has the leading role."

"That's it?"

"I know that you need room to think. Those are the only things that are holding you."

"That's really easy. Thanks Ken."

"Great, now I don't have to think up one for the school."

TK's raised one of his eyebrows, "Repeat that?"

"Well, the school wanted me to give them some kind of play… I told them that I had one so they told me to start casting tomorrow."

"But you don't have one that hasn't already been preformed by yourself…" He narrowed his eyes.

"I was hoping that I can research one tonight… But since you're making it, you can help me cast."

"Didn't know you were that devious."

"I'm not devious. You were complaining about not being able to do anything. At least this way you got something to consume your time."

"Fine… At least I have something to work on." He said with a smile.

As we were walking towards school in the morning, TK was thinking about what he's play was going to be about. Though we got there earlier to make sure that we got all the fliers up before everyone else was there.

"Do you think Neon would mind if she just sings? I don't want to stress her too much."

"According to Ceres, we shouldn't worry too much about that."

"I know… I guess I'll just have to ask them all when we see them. But isn't unfair to give the lead to Nereida automatically? I mean we know that she's good but still."

"If we find another good actress then that person gets the next best role."

"Ok, but don't be surprised if she's thinks otherwise."

"That's ok."

"Hey, what are you guys doing here so early?" We turned around to see that Davis and someone that I've never seen before were there.

"Wallace? What are you doing here?" TK asked, smiling like he knew him.

"I came here for a visit. What's going on here anyway?" He held up one of the fliers that we posted.

"Ken's putting on a performance and I'm helping. Oh… I forgot you don't know him. This is Ichijouji Ken, he was once causing trouble in the Digital World but he's a valuable member of our Digidestined group."

"Nice you meet you, I'm Wallace. I live in America and these guys helped me with saving one of my two Digimon." A white, dog-looking/rabbit Digimon came from his back and rested on his shoulder. A chocolate looking one came to his other one.

"I was wondering where they were." TK said with a smile.

"By the way, what's up with your arm? Is it broken?"

"Huh? Oh, no. It might look worst then what I'm saying but it's nothing. My healing process is just slow nowadays. How long are you staying?"

"I guess just enough to see this play that you're putting. Is Kari going to be in it?"

"I don't know… I haven't talk to her yet."

"You haven't? Oh, ok. Well, see you around." He waved and they walked off.

"You got defensive all of a sudden." I looked at him and he was looking at the floor.

"I'm not sure what Davis as told him. He kissed both Yolie and Kari on the cheek."

"Yolie too?" He nodded. "Well, I don't think he's your main consider when it comes to Kari. After all, I don't think that Karu would stand for it either."

"I guess that means we have a common rival." He said with a half-hearted smile.

"Let's finish this before other people start to come."

"Right."

Damon

Nereida and I set down our things in the classroom. It wasn't long before Ken and TK were in the classroom too.

"You're here early." Nereida said.

"We were putting up those fliers that you saw." Ken said, holding up one.

"I was just telling Damon that I wanted to be in that."

"How would you like to be the lead female role?"

"Without an audition?"

"Let me guess, you want to earn it?"

"Yea."

"Ok then."

"Damon, you could help out too if you want." TK said with a smile.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm writing the script."

"With your arm?" _I didn't think that he was able to yet._

"Of course with my arm. I'm still able to type. I just can't move my upper arm."

"If you think so. Hm…… I guess I'll work as the cameraman."

"Great." He sat down and wrote something down on a piece of paper.

"What are you writing?" Nereida asked.

"I'm writing what everyone's going to do for this play. We need a lot of help since Ken is doing this out of thin air." TK smiled.

"Really? I thought that you would've thought something like this to the last detail." I asked.

"Normally I would but I wasn't planning on putting on a play so I wasn't prepared for it."

"I see."

The other early students started to come in. Some were talking about the fliers that were hanged up everywhere. Now knowing it was them, I think that they over did it but that's just me. Some of them were talking about auditioning for it and others were really excited to see it since the fliers said that it was a surprise play. Of course now it's just pathetic that Ken thought this up the last minute and is making poor TK work. When Neon and Don came in, she said that she would help with any singing done and he would help in any way he could. We offered that Tim and he could do something with special effects and they agreed on it. Of course TK was writing down these to make sure that he includes everyone. Unfortunately for Neon and Don, they didn't know that it was a last minute thought.

Kari said that she would like to help with directing since she's a photographer. Ceres was practically begging to go the act's make-up and costumes. Ryan and Panther are the set designers, since they're both pretty good with paint and things. Lily Dawn thought that her dancing abilities would be useful in some way so she'll be assistant director. Panther suggested that Matt be the technically person, correctly known as techie in the drama group, since he's good with things like that and he has nothing else better to do.

"Oh TK, Wallace is in town." She said with a smile.

"I think I speak for most when I ask, who's Wallace?" I asked.

"He's a friend of ours from America. Apparently, he had traveled across America a few times."

"So? That's nothing new." Ceres said.

"Around our age and he's also a Digidestined with two Digimon." Kari pointed out.

"When did you find out?" TK asked, he seemed to be hiding something.

"Davis called me last night when I got home."

"Why didn't you call Ken to let me know?"

"I thought you would've gone to bed right away."

"Will we see him?" Ceres asked.

"He's with Davis and that's including school hours."

"That's cool." Class started.

TK

I was sad that Kari didn't tell me that Wallace was here. I'm surprised that she's happy to see him since we don't know him as well as the others did. As I walked with Panther and Ceres to Mackenzie-san's class, I started to feel some pressure and insanity in my head.

"TK, are you ok?" Patamon whispered. Since they were a bit ahead of me I was hoping that they weren't listening in.

"Not really…"

"Why?" Panther looked at me.

"I just feel like everything is falling apart, but don't worry, I'm fine." Panther wasn't too happy with my reassurance and I was wondering why.

"I have something to tell you when we get into class." She looked head.

Though I wanted to know what she had to say and stay until lunch but I really felt like going to the infirmary.

"TK, what I'm going to tell you might scare you but it could mean something different." I nodded. "Ok, when I claimed that I had a headache yesterday, it was a premonition. What I saw was a beam of light hitting you and making you glow. Though that's only what I saw, I felt that it wasn't going to be a good thing that this happens."

"Then I'll remember what you told me. I mean there isn't much else I can do."

"Okay class, get in your seats." Mackenzie-san said. _She's early today._ "TK, are you feeling ok? You look a bit pale."

"I'm fine." I said with a smile that I felt was weak.

"Please go to the infirmary. Rest there for a bit then head to lunch."

"Thank you." I bowed. _At least I'm going to lunch._ I went to the infirmary and lay on a bed. The nurse wasn't around and it was peaceful. "Patamon, if I fall asleep, wake me when I need to go to lunch."

"Right."

I closed my eyes and let myself to fall asleep.

It didn't seem long before I left something poking me. I turned to see Patamon smiling, "It's almost time for lunch."

"Okay." I got up on my wrong arm and it hurt like hell.

"Are you okay?" Patamon lingered over my bad arm.

I didn't say anything right away until I got my breathing under control, "I'm… fine."

"Don't move it too much." He held worried in his eyes and I smiled.

I picked him up and headed towards the cafeteria. I got there before the others, which is how it is nowadays. The only difference is that Panther and Ceres aren't with me. Though it wasn't long until they were.

"Are you ok?" Panther asked.

"I'm fine. I just took a nap."

"Looks like you did something with your arm." Ceres said, pointing at it with her chopsticks they give with the school's meals.

"Really? Well, it's nothing." They both looked at each other and nodded. It was as if they could read each other's minds.

"Hey guys." Lily Dawn, Ryan, and Kari came to the table.

"Hi." Panther said. I noticed that their Digimon were taking some of their food. Luckily for Ceres, Ele stays at home with Matt and Gabumon.

"I hope you don't mind if there's two extra people for a while." Ken said with a half smile. Wallace and Davis were behind him. Ken took the spot next to Kari, forcing them to take one beside Ceres and me.

"What you think of our school so far?" Lily Dawn asked.

"It seems to function as an American school a bit."

"Wallace, they claim that you've traveled around America. Is that true?" Ceres asked in disbelief.

"Of course, I did meet Kari and TK in New York then the others in Colorado."

"But that's only one trip."

"I've done that plenty of times."

"I'm surprised that you're allowed to do so… Let me guess, you've only traveled the semi-honest way?"

"What's with the question and answer session?"

"I'm an expert at traveling. I've traveled around the world and stayed at many places. I haven't come across your name when I was in America at any time so you mustn't taken the special routes that only elite travelers know."

"Wait… Are you Ceres? The Japanese that's being hunted?"

"I'm glad that I'm famous."

"Wow! I thought you don't stay in one place too long?"

"I'm changing a bit." She said it like it was no big deal. Like staying was on her mind all along.

"That's cool. So Kari, how have you been?" He changed his eyes to flirting eyes and Kari wasn't catching it.

"Fine. It's nice you see you again."

"Davis, have you told him yet?" I asked, wanting him to back off.

"About what?"

"She doesn't have a ring on for nothing nowadays."

"Oh… Oops." He gave a forgiveness smile, "Wallace, I haven't told you that TK and Kari are engaged."

" Really? " He didn't seem affected by the words.

"Yep. They're a happy little couple." Ceres said with a lot more happiness in her voice.

" Congrat's . Hope it's the best." I noticed that Panther looked worried. I wanted to know but I didn't want Wallace to think that I thought there was a fault in our relationship. The rest of lunch was normal.

Ken

I could tell that Kari wasn't paying much attention and that's why Wallace wasn't worried.

"I thought you said that they were engaged? They sure don't seem like it." Wallace said as if it was a joke. I was walking behind them.

"They are but lately Kari's acting weird."

"And TK does seem that he can't handle it."

"I don't think he can. Not with his busted arm."

"Do you think he's worried?"

"He's stressed about it so don't do anything about it." I warned.

"What makes you think I would do something?"

"I noticed how you looked at her, don't do anything."

"I thought you were Davis's best friend."

"TK is also my friend."

"I'm telling ya, it all started when Panther showed her ugly…"

"Don't say anything more." I walked passed them and right into the room. They came in and sat down quietly. Though they were still talking, they weren't making their conservation loud enough for me to hear. _I understand how Matt feels when they take like that about Panther. Poor TK, they don't understand him at all… Both of them are complex in their own way. They both like hiding their pain even when they can't stand it anymore._

TK

Mackenzie-san sent me back to the infirmary for some more rest. I was beginning to wonder whether we even had a nurse. I just looked outside not really looking at something or thinking about anything. I took out my cell phone and called Matt.

"Moshimoshi, Ishida resistance Matt speaking."

"Do you think I should skip school for today?"

"Does your arm hurt that much?"

"It's not my arm."

"What's wrong?" He noticed my depression in my voice.

"You remember the kid that Izzy liked talking to?"

"You mean the American?"

"He's visiting."

"I thought he was your friend?"

"He is… Once he stops going after Kari…"

"Him too?"

"Yea, but she didn't seem to notice… that or care…"

"You did tell him?"

"I did but he acted like it was no big deal. Panther told me that he didn't seem affected by what was beginning said right then."

"I'll get you out if you really want me too but don't you have PE today?"

"It's not like I can do anything…"

"Giving up?"

"Just tired. I don't know what to do anymore."

"Tell you what, unless you really want to go now, stay in school and tell everyone that we're not having a study session. Then you and me will hang out for a while to come to some conclusion, ok?"

"Ok."

"I'll be waiting as soon as you come out. Good luck." I hanged up.

"Are you ok?" Patamon asked from my shoulder.

"I don't know." I went to the bed and lay there. I didn't even notice that I fell asleep until I felt a tapping on my cheek. I looked up to see Ceres smiling.

"Good morning." She said with a smile.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well, she ain't the only one." I looked beyond her to see Panther standing there.

"Didn't see you. What's up?"

"Are you going to World History?" Ceres asked.

"Yea, how was Math?"

"Mackenzie-san was worried but she didn't want to show how much. She didn't give us a lot of homework I think because of you. So get sick more often and we don't have to worry about Math too much." Ceres was smiling a joking one.

"What got you like this?" Panther asked.

"Wallace and Karu." I got up. Before I could make the same mistake again, Ceres pulled me up. We headed towards our next class. No one was in the halls yet.

"You still look stressed."

"I'll be fine. Oh, tell everyone that we're not having a study session today."

"Ok." I could tell that she wanted to ask more but she left it at that.

Once the bell rang, everyone was moving to get somewhere. Ceres and Panther were making sure that no one bumped into me. Once the classroom was drained, we entered. Ceres was teaching me what was taught in Math as we waited for Neon and Don. She also seemed to have some kind of an idea in her head that she wanted to say though she was waiting for something to happen. She finished her lesson as soon as Neon and Don came.

"Hey guys, how was lunch?" Don asked. Neon's stomach was getting bigger and bigger within a two weeks span.

"Terrible." I said.

"Why?" Neon asked.

"Wallace isn't being too kind to TK's situation." Panther said.

"Really?"

"Yea." I nodded as I said that. "Oh, there's not going to be a study session today."

"Really?" Don asked and I nodded.

"Ok." They didn't ask anymore.

"I almost forgot. What do you say to a dance?"

"Meaning?" Panther asked.

"Go to some night club, dance for a good amount of hours, go home." She sounded like she would be in New York. Though I wasn't there for too long, I heard enough to know how some were known to speak in.

"When?" Neon seemed interested.

"Tonight."

"That soon?"

"We're not having a study session and I do know some good places."

"Sounds like fun." Neon looked at Don.

"If you're fine with it. What do you think TK?" He looked at me.

"Sure. It might get my mind off things."

"Then all that's needed is to spread the word." Ceres said

"Should it just be our group?" Panther asked.

"Why not? It would more fun." Class started.

This class provided the relaxation that I needed to face the next. I was calm walking towards the locker room but lost some as soon as I saw Kari talking to Karu. Ken was pushing Kari a bit towards the other one until he saw me, "Hey TK." He seemed pleased that I was there.

"What's going on here?" I placed my good arm around Kari.

"Nothing much." Kari smiled at me.

"Well, we better get to the locker rooms before we're late." Ken said.

"See you later." I kissed Kari and we walked to our locker rooms.

"It's not like you guys to not wait for me." Davis said as they were getting changed.

"There was an emergence. Sorry though." Ken said.

"What kind of emergence?" Wallace asked.

"Karu was hitting on Kari."

"Hey Ken, I almost forgot. We're invited to a dance party and there isn't a study session tonight." Though I knew it wasn't a good idea to say that around Davis and Wallace, I was getting sick hearing about it.

"Why?"

"Because Matt and me are hanging out after school."

"Does that mean that you're not going to help me pick our performers?"

"Man, I forgot about that… I'll talk to Matt then."

"I don't mind if he's there. So, who invited us?"

"Can we come too?" Wallace asked.

"Don't know. Ceres invited us so you'll have to ask her."

"Where is she after school?"

"Run outside really fast as soon as the bell rings. That's your best chance then me giving you a number to find."

"Everyone, out to the gym!" A teacher said.

We were outside again but this time it was a bit colder than the other days. They were doing archery.

"You guys actually go outside in this kind of temperature?" I looked over at Wallace to see that he's holding himself to keep himself warm.

"It's not that bad. I heard that winter in America can be brutal so this shouldn't be too much for you."

"It really depends on where you live. Like California doesn't get too much snow."

"Don't worry; I think this might be the last time we're out until spring. Some of the other students are agreeing with you." Some of the girls were shivering.

"So, who's this Karu?"

"That foreigner with the bow in line of three." Nereida told us that she had a feeling that they were foreigners and she managed to prove it by testing two in their Japanese. Don tested Shikyo and they all failed badly.

"What's wrong being a foreigner studying aboard?"

"Nothing's wrong with that."

"Then why say 'that foreigner' with so much hate."

"I don't like him and you've already heard the reason why."

"If she's not loyal then why go on with it?"

"I know that he's doing something to her but I'm not sure what."

"What do you mean? How can he do anything that can't be prevented?"

"I guess your Digimon haven't taught you that anything is possible."

"They do have rules to follow. Just like in our world."

"Sometimes our world is blind to the ones that can will those rules and are able to change them."

"What are you talking about? Don't tell me that you believe in magic?"

"Hey Wallace, do you want to give it a try?" Ken held up his bow.

"Is it ok?"

"Yea." Wallace got up and tried his luck. Ken came over to me. "It looked like you needed a save."

"Thanks. Why isn't Kari going up? She's good at this."

"She said that she didn't feel well but unfortunately she's watching Karu. I'm surprised that they're good at this. They don't take too long for aiming and they always hit the center."

"TK's good at this too." Patamon said lowly.

"I know. Both of them are good."

"I guess they don't have archery where Wallace comes from." I could tell that this was his first time holding a bow and arrow.

"Good, that'll keep him busy. You must be really stressed about everything. Maybe you shouldn't go to school for a few days."

"I'd love to but unfortunately I can't. That'll just give Karu more room to do whatever he's doing."

"Well, you have to do something about your stress or it might get you sick. And by the way things are going; it'll seem worse than what it really is."

I laid my head on the back wall and closed my eyes, "That's why I'm going to talk with Matt. I need to do something but I'm not sure what."

"If you don't feel like staying, I understand."

"I promised to make this play for you. So I need to know who my performers are so I can work with them."

"Then just don't push yourself right now."

"I'll try. I'll take a nap right now." I let the weight of my stress to pull me to sleep. I don't know why but I started to feel like I was floating in water.

"_Do you wish not to be in this world?"_

I opened my eyes but didn't see anyone. I noticed that I was in water. Then this female appeared and she was smiling slyly.

_Who are you?_

"I'm Mirrormon." She said with a smile. "Sorry for acting serious but that seemed to be the only way to get your attention."

Mirrormon… You're apart of group that's not a big threat… 

"Threat? Oh, you're talking about that. Yes, I am."

_What do you mean not be in this world?_

"Well, I could take over your body which will allow you to sleep some more."

_Why would you?_

"Personally, I'm not like how Karu is playing his hand. Someone like him needs to know his place. Hm?………… It seems that our meeting will be cut short… Have fun waking up." She disappeared.

I closed my eyes then widely opened them. There was great pain in my bad arm. When I noticed that I wasn't in water but in the infirmary, I looked around to see that all my friends and Matt were there.

"Are you ok?" Matt asked.

"Yea, what happened?" I noticed that Ken's hand was on my bad arm.

"Sorry, I didn't know any other way to get you out of your unconscious." I narrowed my eyes. "I tried everything else. Even splashing water."

"Just because I was sleeping?"

"Well, you were being pulled into a realm." Ceres said with a smile. Her attitude somehow reminded me of Mirrormon's.

"Really?" I noticed that Kari was farthest way.

"So, where were you going?"

I didn't see Davis or Wallace here, "Where's Davis?"

"He's outside." Panther said, walking around the place. "No one else is in here."

I got up, "Mirrormon was talking to me. I think she wanted to borrow my body to get at Karu."

"Do you know why?" Ryan asked.

"Not really." _Now I know what she meant by 'have fun'._

"Well, we have to get ready for that party and they have an audition to run." Ceres said.

"What party? Lily Dawn asked.

"Oh, there's a dancing party at some nightclub that I know. I was thinking that we should go for some fun."

"That sounds cool but what about study session?" Nereida asked.

"There isn't one." Matt said.

"Oh, ok then."

"Could Apollo come?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Why not, he's harmless enough."

"Oh, Davis wanted to come." Kari said.

"Nope, too dangerous."

"Meaning?"

"This is a group dance out. He's not apart of our group."

"But he's a friend."

"That may be true in your case but not in mine."

"Come on, Wallace isn't going to be here for long."

"There are a lot more interesting nightclubs in America that he can sneak into. Kari, you know that it's dangerous to let Davis know about our group."

"He's too dense to put it together."

"Fine but no entertaining them. Let them get lost in the crowd."

"I'll go tell them." She stepped outside.

"Well, I better get out of this bed." I got off. Kari came back in, closing the door.

"Cody is interested in going." There was no fear in her voice. _What has Karu done to her?_

"Let me guess, you want him to come too?" She nodded. "Matt, may I yell at them." Ceres said with a frustrated smile.

"Kari, Cody can't go. He has a few classes with Nereida and Damon." Matt was trying to be calm. No one wanted to yell at her since they all knew it was somehow Karu's fault that she's acting like this.

"We'll make less obvious that we're going there as a group. Like get there at different times and act surprise to see each other there."

"I hate to do this but… Kari, will you step outside and talk to them for a bit." I could tell that Ceres was frustrated but Kari acted like it was no big deal. "Someone throw some words right now."

"Why did you allow Davis and Wallace to come?" Panther asked.

"I could tell that I would be arguing that with a wall. Sorry TK."

"It's ok." I was just keeping most of my sadness hidden. I gave a smile that I knew had no warmth to it.

"Well, if that's the case then I guess we have no choice but to let Cody come." Damon said.

"There has to be a different way though. Sure, we can mess with Davis's head but not Cody."

"What do you think we should do, TK?" Panther asked.

"I think this is the only time we should allow Kari to influence a decision until she's back to normal."

"Well, that answers that. I guess we do have to arrive at different times."

"That's ok. We need to get ready anyway." Neon said.

"So where is this nightclub?" Don asked.

"The building to the left of a place called Lightning Fight. Does everyone know where that is?" I was surprised that everyone knew.

"Great cause I'm not sure how to give directions there."

"Let's tell the three losers then." Panther said. Everyone walked out and I noticed that they weren't allowing him to see Nereida and Damon. They were also pushing them away from the infirmary.

"Well, we better get going ourselves." Ken said.

We headed towards the room where we're holding the auditions. There weren't a lot of people interested in this play. Only fourteen, including Nereida, showed up.

"Well, that was easy." Ken said.

"That wasn't really an audition."

"You think you can work with only fourteen?"

"Yea. I'll think of something. See ya at the nightclub."

"Right."

We headed out. We stopped at the river and it was peaceful right now.

"Matt…"

"Hm?"

"What do you think?"

"I think that if you were Kari, you would run to me to take care of it."

"Huh?" I looked at him, not understanding what he was talking about.

"Kari talked to Tai about Panther and he came to talk to me."

"Really? Wow… what was it on?"

"Her past."

"The past that you don't want to learn on your own?"

"Yep."

"How did she learn anything about it?"

"Yolie told her."

"I'm just coming to your for advise. I know I have to solve this on my own."

"I know. But she wasn't acting like herself."

"I know…"

"And Gatomon doesn't seem to notice either." Gabumon pointed out.

"I noticed that too. And when I'm able to ask her, she acts like it's nothing." Patamon said.

"Now we have a problem on our hands. Karu isn't the only factor." Matt said.

"I have more people to defeat? Great. I really wish that I didn't use my Crest Power."

"Don't feel bad about that. We had to get to Ken fast and you wanted to help Sensei."

"I know… But now I'm defenseless to protect Kari."

"You just have to keep trying." He placed his hand on my shoulder lightly, "I know you'll find a way. And I would even suggest that you follow her when she wants to be alone."

"Or you could just tell me what she's doing by your probe."

"Do you really want me to do that?"

"I might not be able to keep up or hide as easily."

"I guess you do have a point." His phone rang. "Moshimoshi………… Oh, hi Kaiba. Why are you calling?…………… Like what?…………………………… Shouldn't you be able to do that on your own? I mean, that is your technology that we're using……………………………………. Why me?…………………………… Ok, bye?"

"What was that about?"

"Seto wants me to get something for him from my company."

"Why can't he get it?"

"They're not allowing him to. I guess that means I can't go."

"You're not coming?"

"I want to see what's going on anyway. I mean it's not right to not allow him to look at what we're doing."

"I see… Ok."

"I'll walk you over there anyway."

We took buses to get us near there. I looked at the building called Lightning Fight and wonder what was there. I almost feel like I should know what goes on there but right now, my attention is at the building on the left of it.

"Have fun." Matt waves me off and I headed over.

Me

I got to Seto's building in a short time. Gabumon was back on my shoulder as I walked in the door. One of his bodyguards was at the main hallway.

"Kaiba-sama is waiting for you."

"Lead the way."

We went up to one of the top floors. I didn't know how high it was until I looked at the numbers on the dashboard. _I wonder if each floor has their own little projects._ When we stopped, it was still a ways to get to his office. When I thought that we were walking for hours, considering that everything was the same, he stopped in front of a door just like all the other doors.

"May I go in?" He nodded and opened the door.

I headed inside to see that Seto and the kid. I was wondering who he was now. Then his bodyguard closed the door and I felt like I was in a trap.

"Glad you could make it in a short time." Seto said. His office was spacious and plain. _I thought that he would be like the other top bosses, fancy room and all._

"Bet you couldn't find me here." Gabumon whispered in my ears.

"I feel that since you gave us the technology and, I think, some funding that you should be allowed to see what we're doing."

"Do you normally stay at home?"

"I do… Why is that important?"

"I want to make this look natural. Do you think that you could get inside without being suspicious?"

"I think so… So what's my mission?"

"We need you to get in there and find something similar to this device." The kid handed papers to look at and I noticed that it had some of the things, well most of the things, that I was working on. I realized that some of the more important equations weren't in this device.

"Is there a second one of these devices?"

"No, why?" Seto leaned forward more.

"I recognize that some of these things are what I worked on but some aren't on here so I was wondering if there's a second thing that you want me to look for."

"Not to my knowledge but give me what you have when you get back."

"I'll see what I can do… Anything else?"

"That's it for now. Make sure that no one knows what you're up to, got it?"

"Right, I'm on a mission to betray my company. See you later." I walked towards the door, "I'm allowed to leave, right?"

"You may leave."

I walked out of his office and his bodyguard was waiting. "I guess I need a guide." He didn't say anything, just allowing me to follow him. Once on the ground floor, he watched me walked out. Once I made sure that no one was around Gabumon went back to normal.

"You still don't like listening to other people." Gabumon said with a smile.

"What makes you think that?"

"You're light with Seto and his guard."

"Light? That's usually means something good."

"You're more serious with the others and with your boss."

"I guess it's because I don't have to listen to him… That must be it." I said with a smile. We got on a bus.

"This is going to be long." Gabumon said as we got a seat.

"Yep." I wished that I brought something for Gabumon to entertain himself with but I didn't.

TK

Surprisingly, I was the first of my friends that arrived. I wasn't much in a mood to dance without them so I started to write that play that Ken wanted me to do for him. I realized that it was really short when I got to half of act five so I knew that this last bit had to be a bit longer than most of the others. Since I needed this bit to be longer than the others, it couldn't be taken from someone else's work. Which is okay since I was supposed to make this my own work. _Now, if only I can think of something to write about._ I looked around to see that Ceres and Panther walking in like they will own the place. They were both wearing things that will show off their bodies but not slow them down.

"Hi TK." Ceres said when they were close.

"Are you the only one here?" Panther asked. I noticed that Plantmon was around her waist and Gelidardormon was on her head with Ele.

"As far as I know of."

"Weren't you with Matt?" Ceres asked.

"Seto wanted him to do a favor for him. So he went to check it out."

"If we would've known about that then we would've been here sooner." Panther said.

"That's ok. I got most of the play done so it wasn't wasted time."

"Well, now you have to party harder to balance that work." Ceres said with a sly smile.

Plantmon whispered something to Panther and she looked behind her. Kari was walking in with Davis, Wallace, and Cody. Cody spotted us and they came over. I quickly folded my work and placed it in my pocket.

"Hi guys." Kari said with a smile that was hers.

"This doesn't seem to be a safe place to party." Cody said, looking around.

"It's the safest place you'll fine around here. Unless their policy has changed since I've last been here." Ceres said.

"How long ago was that?" Wallas asked.

"About sixteen to seventeen years ago." She said with a smile like it was no big deal.

"Aren't you eighteen now?" Davis asked.

"Yea, and?"

"How could you remember that far back! Why were you even at a night club at that age?" His voiced seemed to rival the music.

"Well… if you must know…" she was acting like it sad thing, "My okasan brought me here since it was a big party with her friends." She had the happiest smile on her face. If I didn't know that she was able to play with minds, I would've believed her in the beginning. Of course, the others fell for her ploy.

"Enough talk; let's see what these boys have to show." Panther said in a daring way. I'd heard from Lily Dawn that she loves to dance and show off her body. I looked at Kari and she seemed out of place by the way she was dressed though she had time to change. The other guys were considered ready, and of course I matched Kari. _Why didn't she dress up?_

"I agree. Let's get onto the floor." I said with a smile to cover my worry. I looked at Kari and she just walked onto the dance floor. I followed like nothing was wrong.

Minutes later, the others came in and started dancing in different spots. I noticed that we formed a circle by that alone and no one was in the middle. So Ceres's plan to gather us together worked after all. Though Kari was distracted by something and I couldn't tell what was bothering her.

"Kari?"

"Huh?" There was no emotion in her voice or face.

"Are you ok? You don't seem like yourself these days." I placed my hand on the back of her cheekbone and she just stopped dancing.

"TK, stop worrying about me. I don't need it." She walked away. I didn't have to look back to know what was on the other's faces. I went after her, knowing that that wasn't her.

"Kari, wait." She was farther ahead than I thought. I managed to catch up to her though.

"What do you want?" Her voice was colder than when the dark being came out.

I moved in front of her to force her to stop and face me. "Kari, what's going on? What has Karu done to you?"

"Karu hasn't done anything. It's you! You and this stupid group that your brother managed to put together!" There was shock in her eyes but that quickly went away. Her eyes became glassy.

"Why are you mad at them?"

"You just considered it a big happy families but it's not. This isn't your family and most of your family is dead." Her glassy eyes were hiding her feelings. I could tell that she wanted to stop but she couldn't.

"I know that."

"… And what was with you? Too weak to heal from two bruises that Cody gave to you."

"You know that I used my jewel to get us to Ken and Davis in time to help them as well as protecting Sensei."

"If he was so great then why did he need you to help him? TK, you're too naive to understand anything." She was about to walk around me but I got in her way. "I'm trying to go home."

"I'll walk with you."

"I want to be alone."

"You are mostly alone. I bet you can't really talk to your parents anymore and Tai is living with Sora."

"Speaking of which, tell your brother to never come over to my brother's home without calling."

"May I ask why?" That seemed random.

"Apparently, Sora still likes him and wants to be with him. I don't want my brother to get hurt by his fiancée."

"You know will enough that my brother has his eyes on Styxmon and I don't think that'll change in a long while. Not as long as Digimon are coming to this world."

"Well, unfortunately Sora isn't getting the hint. I don't want her betraying my brother."

"That's understandable but you can express your feeling to him if you wanted to. I can't portray your anger on this topic too well."

"And why?"

"Well, I can but it'll seem like I'm talking about Karu and how he's taking you away from me and somehow you're not seeing it. It's like you've used your jewel and didn't even know it." I pulled her in close and held her there. "I wish you could tell me what he has done to you so I can somehow fix it. I don't want to lose you to anyone." I felt her tears but her voice was silent. I knew that she wanted to tell me so badly but she couldn't.

When she pulled away her eyes were still glassy but the tears didn't stop, "I'll talk to you later. Fine then, if you want me to talk to your brother face to face then I will. Tell him to be there during the day."

"You're skipping school?"

"Yea, so?"

"I'll let him know." I kissed her forehead, "Do you want me to walk you home?" She nodded her head and we started walking.

Panther

We were standing outside the door and just watched the whole thing.

"I don't recognize the spell that Karu used." Ceres said.

"I thought that was your specialty?"

"It is but this doesn't seem like magic that's used nowadays. It must be an ancient form that I haven't become familiar with yet."

"Which ancient magic have you come familiar with?"

"Mostly Japan and China's. I can sense the others but it takes me a while to figure out where it comes from."

"Well, we better head inside and keep Kari's guest entertained."

"Aw, and here I was hoping to kick them out."

"We can't appear to be mean all the time." I said with a sly smile and walked in.

"Oh, I understand. Let's party evil style."

Me

Since I was taking buses to get here, I had to dodge the guards to make sure that no one questioned why I was there. I managed to get inside and to the room where they were testing the devices. Gabumon was helping me search in the dark so people wouldn't come in and check.

"Matt, I think I found it." Gabumon whispered and I went over. I saw, amazingly, through the darkness and noticed that it was the device that Seto was looking for. I looked around but didn't find something similar to it that would explain why those other equations were needed.

"Well, it doesn't seem like there's anything else here of interest. Let's get out of here before we're caught."

As we got to the door, I heard voices and we stopped to listen.

"Hestiamon, please tell me why we're now common thieves at Astraeamon's request?"

"Proud Athenamon, this is to make sure we defeat those who think of threatening us."

"I think it's beneath us to steal this item when she could just as easily trick the mortals into believing any story she pulls from her hands."

"Well, if you hate it for that reason then just think of it that it's for Zeusmon." The footsteps walked away.

"I'm wishing that we were more like Artemis, Apollo and Hebe. They seem to be free." She walked away too.

I opened the door slowly and looked around to make sure that no one was coming.

"What was that about Matt?" Gabumon asked.

"Two Deity Digimon are stealing something that Astraeamon wants them to. Unfortunately, this Astraeamon is a smart person but why would she need something from here?" (I still remember that night when Aphrodite came to tell them about that attack. Very mean of them, of course)

"Oh yea, she was that one that was getting a plan in motion during the summer." Gabumon said.

"I don't think we should allow them to get whatever they're getting. Let's go before they're too far ahead." Then the alarm was sound. Unfortunately, a guard came running towards us but I was able to act cool enough to not make him think of anything.

"Matt." I turned around to see that Hota was running towards me. Gabumon was behind me and I was hoping that she wouldn't notice a big blue creature curling behind my legs.

"Hota, what's going on? What's with the alarms?"

"Unfortunately, someone has stolen one of the devices that was going to send you to space at a faster rate. We were so close to the final steps and this has to happen. I don't know what to do."

"Don't worry, we have good security. I'll see what I can do to help. They couldn't have gotten that far." I sprinted out without letting her say anything.

I concentrated when we reached outside and Gabumon went to Garurumon. I jumped on him and he jumped the fence/wall. I noticed a truck and he went after it. They went faster.

"There has to be something we can do to slow it down enough." I said, looking around for something to use.

"Howling Blaster!" Garurumon shot a fiery blue stream at the truck and it spun into a pole. I was hoping that the people were ok.

When he slowed down, I jumped off and walked towards them. They noticed that we were there and I noticed that they were all female. Most were wearing black like thieves but there was one that was wearing a tight outfit and another was business like.

"Who are you?" The one with the tight outfit yelled and pulled out a spear.

"I'm someone here to stop you from stealing an item that isn't yours. Hand it over."

"You mortals understand nothing. We control what happens and nothing is ever going to change that."

"Mortals?"

The business lady said something to her and she just narrowed her eyes.

"Nymphs, attack that mortal." They looked ready but then turned and ran away.

"I think I like that attack plan." I said with amusement.

"Quiet mortal!" She was about to launch her spear but the other one talked her into something else, "What's your name, guardian?"

"Guardian? I guess I am… My name is Matt Ishida. I can guess that you're Deity Digimon so I'll let you know that I'm the Bearer of Friendship."

"Friendship? Which means that you're connected to the group that came into the Digital World not too long ago. Are you a good warrior?"

"I might be but may I know who's asking?"

"I'm Athenamon and this is Hestiamon." Gesturing to the business lady.

"Athena, Goddess of Wisdom and Hestia, Goddess of the Western Hearth. It's an honor to meet you but why would self-respected Goddesses steal?"

"You know of us? This is a surprise." Hestia said in a grand voice.

"A fellow Goddess wanted us to make it look like it was a theft. Truthfully, I hated the idea but as long as Zeusmon says that I had to then I must." Athena said.

"Who is this Goddess and how would she know of anything at goes on in that building?"

"She's one of the top people there. That's how she knows so much about what goes on there."

"What are you going to now? I'm not about to let you leave with that device."

"But if we give it to you, it will just be taken anyway."

"Then I won't be giving it to people inside that building."

"Then who will you giving it to?" Hestia asked.

"I'm curious as to what Digital Goddesses want it for so I'll give it to someone to analyze it. Is that ok?"

"Does this someone work for the building?"

"No."

Athena came close and handed it to me. It was small enough that I was really surprised that they needed the truck. "This is the key component that's needed to activate this machine. I advise that you keep this part so whoever this mortal is doesn't know everything that Astraeamon is planning."

I took it. "Thanks, I will."

"The rest of it is in the wagon." They walked away.

"That was easy." Garurumon said.

"Almost surprisingly easy."

"Almost?"

"They're not really bad once they trust you. I don't know anything on this Astraea but I soon will. Garurumon, take this back to my house and I'll meet you there."

"Where are you going?"

"I need to give a story to my boss about this." I headed back.

"Matt, are you ok?" Hota was waiting at the gate.

"Yea, unfortunately they got away with it. I'm sorry though, I think the device got damage."

"So they have a damage device? Well, if it was damage it wouldn't do them much good. I'm just grateful that you're ok."

"Yea, I was really surprise by how I handle that. I surprised myself."

"Go home at get some rest."

"Right." I started to walk away.

"But before you go, why were you here?"

"I was coming to ask whether you could give me a few days of less work. One of my brother's friends is putting on a play and they wanted me to help with the equipment."

"Oh, when are they performing?"

"I'll let you know. I'm not sure myself."

"That's fine. We'll have to start from the beginning anyway."

"Thanks. Bye." I headed home.

After a long bus ride, I finally reached my home. I didn't find the bent truck but I figure that Gabumon did something to it. I was also hoping that Ceres and Panther weren't home yet.

I opened the door and Gabumon was waiting on the couch.

"Did you hide the truck?" I asked as I closed the door.

"Yes, it's in the back. How are we going to get the device to Seto? It's really big."

"I guess in my father's van."

"Oh yes, I forgot about that."

"Well, let's get it in there."

It took some effort but we got it in the back. I just have to make sure that Seto doesn't see how we got it there without removing the seats. I grabbed my notes before heading over.

"I thought Athena said not to let him know."

"I'm not, I didn't grab those notes. Plus, I'm positive that I wasn't the only one that was working on it."

"I guess you do have a good point."

I parked the van in front of the building and brought it out of the van before calling Seto. Gabumon made sure that no one was watching from inside. He and the kid came out and they were surprise by something that they saw.

"That's not the device that we asked you to get." The kid said as he came closer to look at it.

"No, but it's a gift from wanna-be thieves. They were told to steal this so it has to have something of importance. Anyway, this is the device that you were looking for." I pulled out the other from my pocket. Though it was bigger than a normal pocket size, Seto didn't ask (I think it was due to the other device).

"What do you want me to do with this?" He finally looked at me.

"Dissect it and see why anyone wanted it badly enough to send people to steal it. Unless that's too difficult."

"I'm sure we can handle it. Mokuba, get someone to help get this thing inside."

"Right." Then the kid went inside. _So his name is Mokuba… Interesting._

"Well, I better head back."

"So soon?"

"My two foster children are at a dance and I want to make sure that I'm home when they get back."

"Two?"

"Yea, I adopted another. Just to expand my family."

"I guess I should've figured since you paid fully for a girl name Ceres to go to the same school as Panther."

"How did you know about that?" That was scary.

"I just know. So why adopt another? I thought it would be hard to raise Panther."

"It's not hard if you know the right techniques. As for another adoption, she had no other place to stay and people are after her. It's one place where, I'm hoping; she feels safe enough to not run."

"I see." Then about ten men came out, picked up the device, and headed back inside. Mokuba was holding the door for them.

"Well, my mission has been completed. I'm going home."

"Wait." I stopped and looked at Mokuba, "You said that it's a gift from thieves, how can you be sure that it's safe?"

"It originally came from the building that I work for, and plus I overheard them talking about it before the alarm was sounded."

"When did that happen?"

"As I was about to leave from getting the other device. Oh, could you inform me on anything you find out about the other device?"

"Why?"

"Just want to know what its use for, that's all. Well, if that's all the interrogation, I'm heading off. Bye." I got into the van and drove off.

"How did Seto know about Ceres and Panther?" Gabumon asked when we were far away.

"He could've found out by the TV since they did put Panther's release under my roof on the news. I'm guessing he has something that gives him anything on me programmed into one of his computers. I'm not sure why he started that hobby but as long as he doesn't come over trying to do something then I'm ok with it. It might even prove useful whenever I need it."

"I see but then he might find out about us."

"Until he shows me a picture, I'll make sure that I sound like I don't know what he's talking about. Though I'm sure that he wouldn't go public with it."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because he just doesn't seem the type to do so."

"Oh."

Once home, I sat the other device (or key) in my work room and left it there.

"Aren't you going to work on it?" Gabumon asked, bringing out tea.

"Nah, not tonight. I first want to know what the other device to know what this key is used for."

"Oh, well, we might have a long wait on our hands."

"That's true. I'm not sure when that club closes."

We both smiled and took a sip of our tea.

Hebe

It was really fun dancing. Nereida and Lily Dawn were kind enough to show me the new moves of the mortals. It was also fun to watch Panther and Ceres play with the minds of the other Digidestined. Nereida told me that the others would've thought of it as payback for what happened in the past so that's why no one was really stopping them, or really that's why Ken wasn't stopping them. They also told us that TK and Kari were heading home so Ken knew that he would be there before him. I did notice that Lily Dawn was sad that Apollo couldn't come but he told her that he has something important to do. Though I knew that he was to go to the Digital World for something that Dionysus wanted him to do. Of course he was a bit worried since the mortals considered them rivals and he went along with it.

When I opened the door, I noticed that Athena and Hestia were talking with Artemis.

"Hebe, welcome home. How was that dance?"

"It was great. Hello Athena and Hestia, I didn't know that you two would be visiting."

"Astraeamon sent us to get something for her." Hestia said.

"Really? I thought that she could get anything she wants since she's dwelling among the mortals. By the way, are the three brothers here?"

"They all went out to cause some destruction. Though why Aither went, I don't know." Artemis said.

"Ok, just making sure."

"Good, I didn't want to tell you if they were around. We need your help in coming up with something that Zeusmon would believe." Athena said.

"What do you mean?" Artemis gave them more to drink. I noticed that it was tea instead of honey.

"Astraeamon wanted us to steal something from her work but we were stopped by the Digidestined Matt. We gave him the device but now we need something that they'll believe. Unfortunately, we don't know what he has told to make it believable on both sides." I looked at the clock and figured that Panther and Ceres wouldn't be home right now. They said that they were going to walk most of the way home. Though they did call Matt first to let him know that.

"Why don't you call him? I know his number."

"You do?" Athena was really surprised and most likely wondering how I would know.

"Yea, a friend of mine has study sessions at his house and she gave me the number incase I needed to call her for some reason."

"But how will we explain us having the number? Unless they all know that you're a Digimon." (Not everyone, just four know… Well… Maybe Ceres but I'm not sure whether she really knows or not. I've just noticed that I haven't commented in a long while… I need to start up again…)

"Just say that you got it from the Internet."

"What's that?"

"Where the Digital World exist and you now live."

"I see. Okay." I wrote down number and handed it to her. She looked at it like it was written in a different language. I looked at it and noticed that I wrote it in Japanese.

"Sorry, I'm used to writing like that." I rewrote it so she could read it and then she pushed the buttons that matched the Japanese writing.

Me (because I want you to hear what I'm saying)

Knowing that Athena was going to call, I got ready to answer the phone.

"Why are you near the phone?" Gabumon asked.

"Athena is going to call."

"Really… Could I read it?"

"Sure." He went into my office (letting you know that they did call but after they got lost. I asked whether they wanted me to pick them up but they found something familiar so they knew where they were. They really informed me about what they're doing, didn't they?)

The phone rang and I picked it up, "Moshimoshi. Ishida resistance, Matt speaking."

"This is Athenamon."

"Oh, hi Athena."

"I was wondering what you told the people at your building so I can give about the same story to Zeusmon."

"Oh… I just say that it was damaged but you still got it."

"Thank you." She hung up.

"That was kinda mean." I put down the phone and went back to my room to read what her reaction is to my action.

Hebe

It was a short conversation and it sounded like Matt didn't care how she got the number but that was good enough.

"What's the story?" Artemis asked.

"It's damaged but we still have it."

"Then I suggest that you could say it was too damage to really do anything with it." I said.

"But how would we know that it couldn't be fixed by her?"

"That's easy; just say that it exploded along the way. It couldn't be fixed after that."

"Ok, I had a feeling that we could come here for help. Thank you." They got up and headed out. Though Athena stopped at the door and looked back at us, "Is it really worth living with the mortals again?"

"Us three like it. As for the brothers, they're only here for their own gain."

"Then I'm glad we gave him the item. Since it ensures your happiness."

"Athena, you should come live with us. We have plenty of room." I suggested, I mean I know that she would be happy here.

"Thank you for the offer and maybe I might come for another visit but I have to report back to Zeusmon."

"Please, come back to tell us what's their next plan. The group that Zeus is afraid of wouldn't harm anyone unless they do something to them." Artemis said.

"You know them?" She seemed surprise.

"Not too personally but we know them enough to know that."

"Well, loyalty was value high with the Romans so I will. And that will be my visit."

"Can't wait." I said with a smile. She smiled back before heading out.

"Hebe, warn Nereida about it once we get their next moves. If they're still in danger after this then they need some way of knowing something. She could cover it with her fortune-telling skills."

"Right."

Panther

After getting lost, we finally got home. Matt was waiting for us at the table.

"Glad that you found your way."

"Ceres led us." I pointed out.

"And here I thought you should know your way around places." He said warmly.

"It's been about sixteen to seventeen years since I was there. You can't expect me to remember that well."

"Why were you there around one?"

"My mother took me there."

"Why?"

"How do you know about it?"

"It shouldn't matter but I know where the Lightning Fight is. Now go to bed, you guys have school and the play."

"Right, night." We went upstairs.

"Panther, what's a play?" Plantmon asked as I brushed my teeth.

"It where a group of people perform for people to entertain them. There are many different kinds and most of the plays are different from one another."

"You mean like what those actors do on TV?"

"That's right but this is live."

"So that's the difference?"

"Well, the way they perform is different too."

"Really?"

"Yep, it's all interesting if you're into that kind of thing."

"You don't seem to be interested in anything, why?"

"I didn't have the pleasure of having an interest in anything. Only in staying alive."

"Why don't you be interested in something now?"

"It's not that easy. It takes a bit of time." I said with a smile.

"Well, you're good at many things so something must make you happy."

I picked her up and placed her on my shoulder, "Of course I'm happy. I haven't been like this in years."

"Been like what?" I looked down the hall to see Ceres standing there with a weird smile.

"It's nothing important."

"Hey, come here for a moment." She looked down the stairs before backing into her room.

I walked over and looked down to see that Gabumon and Matt were talking about something before heading inside. "What?" I noticed that her bed was taken out and she was using a floor mat. "Why are you using that? There was a bed here."

"I like this better. I'm use to it."

"I thought you lived in America?"

"I did a few times."

"And don't they have the bed style unlike our traditional's?"

"True but I normally stay in the living room or something like that. It comes with running and traveling. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that there's another factor in Kari's behavior."

"What? Why didn't you tell TK?"

"I only discovered it as they were leaving. There was another aura around her. I thought it might've been the fact that she was fighting back and the magic was coming out but then I noticed how Davis was acting as we were dancing. I'm not sure what it is but it's not a magic aura to say the least."

"Then what could it be?"

"I'm not sure. I would've thought it was a spirit if I didn't know that even they have a form before entering people. Plus, that person will have a sudden shock that's noticeable."

"And that didn't happen. What if Kari was used to it? Would that be a factor?"

"Unless she placed the spirit inside herself, there still a shock no matter how much training you've done."

"I think I understand. But what can we do? TK is already having a tough time and a lot of stress. Today proved that."

"I know. I want to tell Matt but I'm not sure how he'll handle this. After all, it's he's little brother's future wife."

"And what are you talking about that involves Kari?" I turned around to see that Matt was leaning on the frame, smiling. Gabumon was next to him.

"Nothing really." Ceres tried to cover but Matt wasn't buying.

"Come on, I'm not that clueless."

"I'm not sure how you'll handle this. I don't want a scene or anything." Ceres sounded like it involved her in some way.

"Tell me and I'll tell you how I'll handle it, ok?"

There was silence in the room for a good while before Ceres talked, "Ok, I think there's another factor to Kari's behavior that's not magic related. I noticed today, as TK was walking with Kari somewhere after they finished dancing, that there was another aura around Kari that wasn't hers. At first, I thought that it was the spell being driven out but by the way Davis was acting was telling me otherwise. I know that they know more than they're going to tell us and Kari is their key."

"Not to rain on your idea but you just made Kari sound like a spy and betrayer."

"I'm just concern. After all, you guys don't want our secret in the open. If they know then wouldn't that put Nereida and Damon in danger?"

"That's true. I guess you should talk to Kari before telling the others. Since you know what you're looking for then you should ask her."

"I'm half wondering why I just now noticed it. Though, it could've happened recently."

"Ok, get some sleep. It's going to be a bigger day than originally thought." Matt walked away and Gabumon followed.

"Why don't you want to tell Matt a lot of things yet you're fine with me knowing?" I asked making sure that Matt was in his room.

"And this convinces me to change? You're just the same way with a lot of your emotions."

"What are you saying?" I looked at her and she had this superior look that I hate to see in others.

"You seem to hide more than me. I'm surprise that you're able to handle the stress that's inside."

"And what about you? It's not like you're a book." I was getting mad since she didn't stop and she now has that blank look of knowing everything.

"Of course. Unlike you, I understand that things that are hidden are for a reason and will be open when you need it the most. I tell you my findings since you understand these people better than I could. I feel like a foreigner in my own country for my traditional thinking and values."

"Of course your values would be different. You've traveled the world and ran away from your problems. Staying in one spot makes you stronger since you learn not to run for you have no where to go." My tone didn't lighten.

"Maybe but I think that wisdom is a more valuable strength than anything else."

"What's the point to having wisdom if all it gets you is a thicker ego?"

"Fighting to be the top does the same thing, Panther. You seem like you understand everything since you've lived on the streets a good amount of your youth and became feared by many. That's fine for the ones with the will power to surpass that point but some of them cripple under that weight. Do you stop to help them or is that a sign of weakness? Wisdom gives you insight to humanity that fighting never will. Think about that as you sleep tonight." She got into bed.

I walked out and closed her door.

"You two have the weirdest arguments." Plantmon said with a smile.

"True… But there's a reason as to why I don't tell him everything." I got into my room and close the door.

"Why?"

"He's allowing me not to tell him. When he first took me in, he said that some secrets must be kept and some must be silent until they're needed."

"Would you keep things from me?"

I looked at her as I sat in my bed and smile, "I'll try not to."

She smiled and we headed to bed.

Ken

TK was home earlier than I was. My parents weren't around and Patamon was asleep.

"What are you doing up?" I whispered. Wormmon was getting Patamon to the room.

"Working on the play, I needed to kill some time."

"So where did you two go?" Panther told us that they left together.

"I walked her home. I know that she's still there… I just need to know a way to bring her out."

"It must be really hard on her. Knowing what's going on but can't do too much about it. Though she's strong, why doesn't she fight it?"

"Lots of time, she doesn't consider herself strong enough to fight against anything. You've seen it before, I think. When you three were trapped in the Dark Ocean…" I do remember something about that. But why do I feel like that wasn't how it goes? Like that's not the whole truth to the story.

"Yea, I remember."

"I wonder if Matt can do anything about it." It sounded like he was talking to himself.

"What do you mean?"

"Kari is going to see him tomorrow."

"When and why?"

"It's about Matt and Sora… when, during the day."

"She's skipping? That's a surprise."

"I know… Speaking of which, I might want to call Matt to let him know." He pulled out his cell and called Matt's house. "… Ceres, where's Matt? I need to talk to him about something………… Really… Can you wake him? He shouldn't be too sound asleep…………………………… Matt, sorry to wake you but I need to tell you that Kari's coming over tomorrow during the day so you have to be there……… She wants to talk to you about Tai and Sora……………… Yea, but she's fighting it as much as she thinks she can…………… Thanks bro. Bye." He hung up.

"He was asleep?" I asked.

"Yea, though I knew that he was still getting to sleep."

"How much have you gotten on that play?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Since Kari isn't going to be there then you don't have to be there either. I can just say that you got sick and I'm sure that they'll believe it. I can hand them the script that you have down and we can start planning… Unless you already have parts to the people…"

He pulled a piece of paper out from the pile and handed it to me. I looked at it and it had the names of the people that are my performers and, I'm assuming, names of who they're going to be. "So you have thought it up."

"Yep, though that's only four acts and a half. I'm working on the last bit but you guys can already practice. Did you give a date to the school as to when you're going to perform this play?"

"Not yet. I told them that when we have a good amount of it done then I would tell them."

"Good, that gives you a lot of room to work in. Letting you know that you don't need me around for what I've written in there."

"So, are you saying that you're not going to be in school tomorrow?"

"Nah, as long as Kari isn't there, I can rest a bit."

"Then hand me the play that we should work on as you're resting."

"Right." He smiled as I walked to my room.

"Get to bed soon, ok?"

"Ok."

I went to bed.

Me

I waved Panther and Ceres off. Ele was still munching on her food as I was working on something while waiting for Kari to come. The phone rang and Gabumon grabbed it, "Hello?... Matt, it's TK."

I got up and went to the phone, "Hi TK, wondering if Kari has appeared?"

"I want you to call me when she's done."

"Won't you be in school?"

"I'm not going today. As long as Kari isn't there then I'm fine. Ken promised to call if she ever shows up."

"Ok then, after I have a talk with your wife-to-be, I'll call you."

"Thanks." He hanged up.

"Why did TK called?" Gabumon asked.

"He wanted me to call him when Kari leaves."

"Isn't he in school?"

"Not today. My brother has become a rebel. I wonder if I should be proud of that."

The doorbell rang and I went to answer it. Kari was standing there like she didn't want to be there. "May I come in?" She also sounded annoyed.

"Come on in." I opened the door wider to allow her to come in. I was half wondering what she told her folks as she left the door without her bag on her back. Gabumon got some tea ready and Ele climbed to my shoulder when I placed my hand on the table. "TK told me that you wanted to talk to me about your brother."

"I want you to call first before going over there."

"May I ask why? Did you eat anything?"

"I have… Because Sora still likes you and I don't want her to hurt my brother."

"Not to be mean or anything but hasn't she already hurt him? You know that when I broke up with her, it was peaceful and all that was left was friendship. But… I understand your concern since I did see it in her eyes once. I thought she had gone rid of her feelings for me and directed it towards Tai."

"She… hasn't forgotten about you. I can tell… all she thinks about is when you'll return to her. It's sickening to think that my brother can even live through something like that."

"I'm guessing that… Tai knows about it?"

"That's why you have to leave them alone."

"I have no intention in getting in their way of happiness. They're both my friends and I do want the best for them."

"It was so long ago… Who called it off?"

"I think it was a mutual agreement. I was getting distant and she couldn't take it anymore."

"Have any idea as to why she might want you again?"

"Not really but I promise to call them or let you pass the information on to them. May I ask you a question?"

"What?"

"If anything were to come up, but is not important anymore, and it put a question about your relationship, what would you do?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Nothing too much."

"Then why ask such a question?"

"I want you to keep in mind that what was past must stay as the past."

"Whatever, I'm going." She got up and walked out.

"Let me guess, you're talking about those girls?" Gabumon asked.

"Yea." I petted Ele's head. "I better call TK." I picked up the phone and called him.

"Hello?"

"We're done."

"Great, tell me all about when I get there."

"How will you get here?"

"Ken's mom is willing to give me a ride over. So I'll be there in no time."

"Right. See ya then." I placed down the phone.

"I'll get the next chapter that TK needs to read."

"I guess so." Gabumon went upstairs.

I picked up a slice of apple for Ele to munch on. Gabumon came down with a small pile of papers in his paws. "I hope I remember which one he needs to read."

I walked over and looked at what I wrote for the introduction, "Yea, this is the next one." The door opened.

"Hi Matt." TK said coming in the room.

"For someone who's sick, you sure do look lively."

"Ken's telling them that I had a fever but wasn't sure how high it was. That way if Kari comes back to school, I have a way of getting back myself. How was your talk?"

"I think it was useful. I mean, I got the warning."

"I guess you couldn't get through to her?"

"I think she's coming slowly." He smiled. "Oh, here's the next portion." I pointed to the pile of papers.

"Thanks. Do you have work to do?"

"Not really. I got off work for a while since I'm helping with the play."

"Did someone tell you about it?"

"Of course someone told me, how else would I know?" I smiled slyly to let him know who told me.

"Oh, ok. I guess that means I'm the one that told you." He walked over and sat down. I let Ele get on the table and went into the kitchen. I made something for him to munch on and brought it out.

"Enjoy."

"Thanks." Patamon flew onto the table and was munching on it too. "By the way, what happened with the favor?"

"Oh, that's right. I better look into that key."

"Key?"

"I'll show you when I get it." I went up to my room and grabbed the item that's the important part of the machine that Athena and Hestia wanted. "This is a key to a device that was stolen from the building that Seto now has." The phone rang.

"Accepting someone to call?"

"Not really." I picked up the phone, "Moshimoshi, Ishida resistance Matt speaking."

"Matt, this is a very important question. Do you still have all the notes that you did for the project?"

"Hota? Why are you asking?"

"I seemed to have lost it. I mean, the item that was stolen had everyone's work but the important part was yours. I was hoping that you still had it."

"I gave you everything I had."

"Don't you have it saved somewhere?"

"I normally don't. I'm sorry."

"If you could look around to make sure."

"Sure. I'm going to put you on hold for a bit." I hit the hold button and walked into my office.

"What's going on Matt?" I heard TK asked. I found the notes that I didn't give to Seto. I realized (with gladness) that I didn't give him anything on the key and that I had them here with me.

"I'll tell you in a bit." I picked up the phone and hit the button again, "Sorry Hota, I didn't save it."

"I know I told you that you could take a few days but this is important."

"But it was too much intertwined with my other work that without those I'm not sure how to recreate it."

"And you don't have those either?"

"I'm sorry."

"That's ok. Thanks anyway." She hanged up (I just now realized that she's a real understanding boss. Another would've threatened to fire me for not having them).

"What was that all about? I know that you save everything you do incase something happens."

"TK, there's a Deity Digimon in that building and I don't know who it is. I can't trust too many people there with the information that I have." I looked at the key, "That key might be the only thing preventing Zeus to unleash his attack on us."

"But if Seto now has it, does it really matter?"

"She wanted to build another one."

"I guess she doesn't realize what she's doing."

"Or she does… Anyway, as long as I have this key and it's my equations that created it. Then I better find out what its purpose."

"Right."

I went into my office and started to work on it right away. I was able to get into the hard drive of this device but it was rewritten in a language that I've never seen before. I could tell that it was old but that was about all. I was debating whether to let Ceres or Ken to look at it to see what they can tell about it.

"Matt, I'm done." TK said.

"If you want the next one then let Gabumon know."

"I was wondering if you found anything." He came in and Ele climbed onto my chair and on my head.

"Unless you know how to read this." I allowed him to look on the screen. I could tell that he couldn't figure it out.

"Who did this? What language is it in?"

"I'm not sure but I'm half betting that it so that the Deities could read it. After all, it was originally in Japanese and I know that they can't read Japanese."

"Really? How?"

"That's right; I wonder if I should allow you to read it?"

"You mean that's how you know? By who?"

"I can't be the one to tell you."

"Why?"

I looked in the direction of my room. _Nereida has to be the one to tell them… But, when she does tell, why would she need to? I guess it's best if someone understands her reason but what will he do about Aither? _"TK."

"Yea?"

"Promise me that whatever you find out about the people around you either keep it to yourself or ask me about it. Right now, things are getting too complex to let anything slip. When they're ready to tell us, they will. I'm only allowing you continue to read it since it will be helpful to them if people understood them and are on their side."

"I… think I understand…"

"Good, then you'll know who I got this information from."

"Ok, but don't you think that you shouldn't hide things from them?"

"I know that I shouldn't but some things need to be secrets."

"Is that how you're going to justify your actions?"

"It's the best one I got. Beside, you need some reason as to why you're reading them."

"That's easy, you're allowing me to."

"But, why aren't you telling the others? If you don't want to keep secrets then you would've told them."

"Then how are you going to justify letting me read them?"

"You happened to find them and I thought there wasn't any harm in allowing you to continue to read them." The phone rang. "Why are people calling me this early in the morning?"

"Well… it is around noon by now."

I got up and got the phone, "Moshimoshi, Ishida resistance Matt speaking."

"I think you might want to come over here."

"Did you find something on the two items that I brought you?"

"I think I might've but I need you to confirm it."

"Right, I'll be there." He hanged up. "People need to announce who they are when they call."

"Why's that?"

I looked at the door to see that TK was coming out, "Because otherwise I have to guess on who they are. Luckily I'm pretty good with voices. Anyway, get ready to go out."

"Why?"

"Because we're heading over to Seto's office."

"Oh… Why are you bringing me along?"

"Because I'm not going to let you stay here with all my stuff. I know how good you are with a computer when you really want to know something."

"Fine, I'll come along to entertain you."

"Thanks. Ele, you can come too." She made a little sound that told me that she was happy. Gabumon went small and got on my shoulder. We headed towards the bus station to go bus hopping to Seto's company building.

"That was pretty long." TK said as we got off the last bus.

"Well, at least it isn't a long walk."

"Do you think he would mind if I'm there?"

"If he does, just don't care."

"That's a great way to approach someone that you've never met before."

"Then let me do all the talking."

It didn't take long for us to get there and there wasn't a bodyguard around. Though Mokuba was waiting in the lobby for us (well… really me but since I dragged everyone else along…).

"Who's this?" He was looking right at TK.

"This is my little brother TK. And this is a pet of one of my foster kids, Ele."

"Why are they with you?"

"Well, I didn't see any signs that said pets weren't allow here and I didn't want to leave TK home by himself. He was able to get out of school today since he wasn't feeling too well this morning. I was baby-sitting him so I have to bring him with me wherever I go."

"Shouldn't he be in bed if he's not feeling well?"

"It comes and goes so I thought that it would be ok to bring him. If you're worried that he might 'discover' something, don't be. I usually tell him things that happen to me."

"Oh… Let me ask Seto then." He turned around and was mumbling something. He faced us again but not fully, "Ok, he can come but make sure the raccoon is contained."

He walked in some direction that, I guess, would lead us to Seto.

"He sounded like Ele needed to be in a cage or something." TK whispered.

"Don't worry, if they lay a hand on her Gabumon will do something to them to make them regret that decision."

"And I'm sure Ele will do the same." Gabumon said.

It was a long walk to get to wherever they placed the two items. I was wondering if this was necessary to walk a long way to get somewhere but it could've been the way the place was designed. I heard TK giggling softly at something.

"What?" I whispered so Mokuba wouldn't hear it too well; though I could tell that he was talking to someone with his hidden headphones.

"You look bored and annoyed to be here."

"I hate the long walks that this place gives to get to one room. If I wasn't supposed to be proper and polite, I would turn this into an 'are we there yet' annoyance game."

"Ok, here we are." Mokuba said as he opened a double door.

The room was pretty big for only having two items, which one of them was small, but it was impressive. Seto, along with some scientist, was standing around the bigger item that was near the middle.

"That's what the key is used for?" TK asked.

"Yep, though I don't know why. Seto, did you find something?" We walked closer to the group since I wanted to know more about it.

"So this is your little brother?" He asked, I think ignoring my question.

"My name is TK Takaishi. It's an honor to meet you since I've heard that you gave my brother's company the technology they needed for this project." He said with a little bow, trying to be traditional.

"So tell me, what other job are you holding?"

"Please explain more on that question."

"I know that you're working two jobs but I haven't found anything on the second one."

"I'm only a student and a novelist. There's nothing else."

"We'll soon find out. Matt, there is something interesting about this device."

"What?" _Finally. _

"The text for the programming is in Ancient Greek and Latin. Do you know anyone who would have knowledge in these two languages to know how to put commands into a computer?"

"Not off the top of my head but what about the other one? What language is it written in?"

"That's in Japanese though in basic commands. It has a lot more commands since it was design to function in many different ways but whoever was programming it doesn't know that much Japanese. Does any of that help narrow down the people?"

"So I have to look for a foreigner? Well, there might be one in the programming department since, I think, we get foreigners from all over the world to see what they can do to help."

"Do you know anyone in there that can check for you?"

"Not really. No one that's really close."

"Other than that, there seems to be a part of it that's missing. Do you know where it is?"

"It must've slipped out while I was getting it into the van. Or when I was getting it from the thieves. Or they have it. I don't really know. I'll look around and if I find it, I'll call you so you can come and get it."

"Ok."

"Are you able to translate what the commands are saying?"

"Not as of yet but we're working on it." Mokuba said with confidence.

"Could you call me when you do translate it?"

"Why is it taking so long for you to translate it anyway?" TK asked.

"Take a look for yourselves." Mokuba motioned with his hands to the monitor. We both went over to see that it was really written in the ancient language just like in the key. I knew that this was only for the Deity Digimon to read so it has to be really valuable for us to know what it says.

"So someone didn't just write it in the language, they actually gave it the look of it too. Can you really do something like this normally?" I can see that TK is getting ideas.

"If the programmer knows how to do it, sure." Mokuba explained.

"So the real question is who can read something like this? Obviously the thieves could of otherwise they wouldn't want to steal it." TK was mostly talking to himself.

"That's a good point. I need to get a list on who knows about this project." Seto said, moving towards the main computers.

"Seto, not too many people know about this. I don't think that anyone outside of the building last night even knows what happened there. You have to ask in a way to make it sound like you don't know anything about the robbery." I pointed out.

He dialed some number into the phone and everyone was silent.

"This is Kaiba Seto, I need to speak to Hota…………………… Hota, how is the project going?……………………… When did this happen?………………………………………. Do you have any idea on who would want to steal it?…………………………… Could you send me a list on who knew about this project?……………………………… I want to make sure I know who knew about this. That includes the people that put the equations and the people that okayed the project…………………………….. As soon as possible, send it to me by fax……………………."

"I guess you can across out my name when you get it."

"Hopefully this will give me some kind of lead to follow." The faxed came in. Mokuba grabbed it and brought it over to Seto. He looked down the list, which didn't look to be too long, and looked surprise about something.

"Something interesting?" I asked.

"You're name isn't on the list." He went back to the phone, "Hota, are you sure this is everyone on the list?……………………… Do you still have the notes that they all did?…………………………… Give me what you have." He hanged up the phone. "Why isn't your name on the list?"

"Because she lost my notes and I don't make copies."

"Then what do I have?"

"That's my story to her. Remember, I'm betraying my company."

"But that still wouldn't explain why she wouldn't put you on the list." Mokuba said.

"Unless she thought that Kaiba can get to him easier since Matt won that match. Or she could know that Matt's is working with Kaiba and not put the name in there to create distrust." TK said with a novelist mind. I understood that he was getting me out of that situation really fast and that was the best way he could think of at this time.

"And the first one makes sense since you're somehow stalking me without being too close to my house. Unless you have a spy in one of my neighbors'."

"I guess that could be it." Mokuba said, trying to convince his brother. I could tell that he wasn't buying it but there didn't seem to be any other option.

"If I find anything else, I'll call you."

"Thanks." We walked out. I was really surprised that he was allowing me to walk out without someone being with us.

"He most likely has cameras everywhere." TK whispered.

"True."

It didn't take us long to find our way out of there. Among us five we were able to remember our way.

"I still feel like we're being watched." TK said as we walked away.

"Don't worry about it. I'm betting that there are cameras outside as well."

"Were you serious about the stalking?"

"Yea. How else could he have known that you could have another income? I'm not sure how he knows but he knows."

"Then shouldn't you be more careful at what you do?" Patamon asked.

"Should be but I'm not. It doesn't really matter if he finds out about Digimon since he should only tell Mokuba."

"Why him and who he is?"

"He was the little kid that was wondering around everywhere. As for the reason, he's normally around whenever I'm there."

"I see… Well, it's about lunch right now. Should we get something to eat?"

"Sure, anywhere in mind?"

"Yea." The bus came and we got on.

Don

I brought food for both Neon and me, though it was mostly for her and our future kids. I know that Ken told us that Kari wouldn't be here and that's why TK isn't here but our table still is worried.

"Ok, even though TK and Kari aren't here, we're still going ahead with the play. TK gave me what he has finished so that's what we're going to start on. I was reading it during science and I think I understand how the play is going to work."

"And if you're wrong?" Nereida asked.

"Then just be prepared for that; though I could call him to see if he wants to come to help out but I what to see if I understand him. He also gave me a list on who plays who."

"I guess that means I have to wait."

"But wasn't Kari a director?" Lily Dawn asked.

"She is but since she's not here, you'll have to help direct."

"Ok but shouldn't you be directing this? I mean it is your play."

"Well, technically it's TK's play but I am directing in minor ways."

"Then we'll meet near the auditorium as soon as school is over." Panther said.

"Right. Panther and I will get the supplies for props and background." Ceres said.

"Ok." Ken reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper, "This has a list of things that I'm sure are needed for this play."

"Right." Panther took it and put it in her pocket.

"Ken, if there's anything else that's needed, let us know tomorrow and we'll get it." I said, motioning to Neon and me.

"Thanks. So the people that have a free period are going to buy the items?"

"I guess so. After all, we are helping." Neon said with a smile.

"Right."

Me

"That was good." TK said as we entered my house.

"Ele seems to have liked it as well." She jumped onto a shelf that's near the doorway. Once there, she started to clean her fur with the water bowl that Ceres put there (and a few other places around the house to allow her to clean her fur whenever she wanted to).

"Does she even eat?"

"Of course she does. Though I guess she does like human food a bit more than what raccoons normally eat."

"This sure does feel weird." TK said as he sat down in a chair.

"What? We normally hang out with each other whenever we could." I said as I headed to the kitchen.

"But not when there's school."

"I guess so."

"What does it mean when Ele is walking around the bowl?" Patamon asked.

"Oh, she's done cleaning." Gabumon said and walked over to get it. Patamon helped by getting him the bowl.

"Why do you have to take the water bowl?" TK asked.

"We have to put fresh water, Ceres's orders." Gabumon dumped the water into the sink and filled it back up. Patamon carried it back to its spot. I placed the teapot and cup on the table as soon as he was done. "Thanks Patamon." Ele got on Patamon's back.

"Not a problem." Patamon flew to the table and Ele got off. I poured Ele's tea into a bowl that Ceres has to let her drink. She touched it with one of her fingers before scooping with both her hands.

"I bet this is nothing new to you two." TK said as I handed him his.

"That true." Gabumon said with a smile.

"What are you going to do about that play?"

"Huh? Oh, Ken is going on with it. I gave him what I have so he can start working on it."

"So you're not going to go to school once it's done?"

"I wasn't planning on it. Hey, could you see what Kari is doing with the probe of yours?"

"I could if I wanted to but what's the reason?"

"Just to see where she is."

"Ok, let's take a look." I headed upstairs. I went to my computer and started to look for Kari's probe but couldn't find anything. "This is weird."

"What?" TK sounded worried, letting me know that he couldn't read what the program was telling me.

"I can't seem to find her probe."

"I thought only Ceres could see your probes."

"It's still functioning but I'm just not receiving the message or the location of it. Let me see if I could try something else." I went typing away. I brought up a big map of Tokyo and metropolitan area. The dots are where the probes are.

"That's the school and this is your house. So why are there two other dots?" TK asked.

"One is Heka and the other has to be Kari."

"Why is she in that area? I thought that she would've been home."

"Are you able to call Ken?"

"He would've called to tell me if Karu wasn't there."

"Call him to see who else isn't there."

"Why?"

"That seems to be a place for a private meeting."

"Ok." He took out his cell phone and called Ken's.

Ken

I was walking to Biology. Karu did ask where Kari was and I was able to say that I didn't know. Though I thought it was odd that Davis wasn't there but I figured that he was just skipping to show Wallace around. My phone rang. I looked around to make sure that there wasn't a teacher around.

"Hello? Who's calling me?"

"Ken, who isn't in school today?"

"TK? Why are you calling?"

"Because… I'm worried about Kari."

"She isn't here and Karu is. I told you that I would call if he wasn't here."

"Anyone else?"

"Well… Davis and Wallace weren't here as well… and I don't remember seeing Cody around."

"Ok, thanks. Oh, have fun with the play and see you when you get home." He hanged up.

I did as well and placed my phone back, "That was weird. Why was he worried about Kari? I guess it was just a feeling. Seems like everything is going to be okay." I headed to class.

Me

"Why did you go to Ken?" TK asked as soon as he was done.

"I wanted to get the full conversation. Well, it can't be a good thing if all three aren't there."

"That's true. Should we head over there?"

"Let's. I can't get a communication from it." I logged out and we headed for Highton View Terrace.

It didn't take too long to get there. I brought a portal locator for the probe.

"Have any idea on where to look?"

"This way." I was heading towards the bridge.

"Matt, slow down. I want to get there just as much as you." I heard TK yelling from behind me. I stopped and I realized that I was running.

"Sorry TK. I didn't notice that I was running." He was breathing hard and I wondered why I was even running. "Gabumon, Digievolve!"

"Gabumon Digievolves to…………………… Garurumon!" I picked up TK and placed him on Garurumon. Patamon took my shoulder since Ele was on my head. "Garurumon, head towards the bridge."

"Right." He jumped onto the rooftop and ran towards it.

"Why… the bridge?" TK asked weakly.

"That's where my locator is saying to go. Please tell me you didn't use your jewel."

"I didn't… But it took a lot of effort in trying to keep up." He said with a smile.

"Sorry."

"Matt, we're here." Garurumon stopped and we got off. We looked over the edge to see that Kari was waiting on the bridge. So far no one was with her.

"I'm calling Tai to see if he knows anything." TK said as he reached for his cell phone. "Do you have anything on them?" He hit his speed dial.

"No." I was wondering whom she was waiting for.

"Sora, this is TK. Is Tai there?... Tai, do you know where Kari is?... I know but I think there might be something wrong………………………………. Do you know where?... Oh… Ok, thanks Tai." He hanged up. "It appears that she's meeting Davis and Wallace here. I think she's been waiting for a while since she asked Tai for money for food and transportation."

"And since they're not here yet, we have to get there to hear what's going on."

"But how?"

"I haven't thought about that part. And with all the cars that go by, we can't hear anything under the bridge."

"I have an idea but we better hurry." TK ran towards the stairs and we followed. Garurumon shrunk, incase he was still needed.

I didn't know what his plan was until we were in a clothing store. "I didn't know you wanted to go shopping."

"It's apart of my plan. Ceres once told me that to get close to someone in a public is to dress differently so they don't think it's you." He grabbed a pair of sunglasses and a grayish sweater with one big pocket and a hood.

"Are you really going to wear that?"

"No, you are." He tossed the sweater at me then the glasses. He grabbed a baseball cap and jacket. "We're done."

"At least it's not a shopping spry." I went up to pay for them and we headed out. Patamon and TK were pulling off the tags as we were heading out. We went into an alley to allow Garurumon to de-Digievolve. We also put on the extra clothing and headed for the streets.

Ele was hidden under the hood and Patamon was in TK's jacket. Davis and Wallace still hadn't shown so we were still luckily. Though we were supposed to go to the bridge, TK continued walking.

"What's up? I thought we were spying on Kari?" I asked when we were under it.

"She was looking in our direction. I don't think she saw us."

"I don't think Davis and Wallace were behind us."

"Then why was she looking our way?" I remembered what Ceres told me last night. "What?"

"Ceres saw an aura that wasn't Kari's yesterday. That aura might've been how she saw us and Davis knows about it. This must be a meeting for them."

"Did Ceres know what it is?"

"No but she knows that it's not a spirit. We have to be careful. I'll go first and we'll text each other for a communication."

"Right." I headed up.

I walked up and Kari didn't seem to notice, though she did look more worried about something. I got to a spot that I know I could keep an eye on Kari before texting TK to come, though she looked straight at the path that TK was taking so I told him to stop. He texted how can she only sense him. I asked him what would be the difference between us. It should be something that one of us has.

"Matt, didn't you give Izzy your Digivice? TK still has his." Gabumon whispered.

"That's right." I texted him to leave his Digivice somewhere. She looked another way and TK came up like it was normal.

"What happened?"

"I gave my Digivice to Patamon. He's going to take it to the closest place he can find."

"How will he find you?"

"We stay here until he comes back."

"Ok… Looks like her partners are here… Yolie is here too?"

"I wonder why? You think all three are in on this?" Cody was there too and only Wallace was wondering the reason for the meeting.

"It's about time you came here." Kari's voice was just like the data that entered her when we learned about our history.

"We had to wait for Yolie to finish with her class. Plus you called on a short notice." Davis said.

"I'm sorry about that but Gennai wanted me to give you some important information before the others discovered anything."

"What?" Yolie asked.

"First, look around. I sense one of the other Digidestined."

"Which one?" Cody asked.

"I don't know. I didn't see anyone but I know that one is here." They went looked, including Wallace.

"I think you're right about that Digivice thing."

"So they're a way that Gennai is able to locate us. We'll need to tell Ken this as soon as we're able to."

"But why is the Data Being giving them information?"

"Because it is Gennai wants it to. I guess it thinks that Gennai is trusting and since Kari isn't in control of her actions, it must be easier to get her to agree."

"Kari, we didn't find anyone." Davis said.

"Please, I am not Kari. I only speak through her. They must know a way of hiding themselves."

"Why don't we go somewhere else instead of this open place?" Yolie asked.

"I can only come out where the connection to the Digital World is strong."

"But this place was closed by Black WarGreymon." Cody said.

"But there is still a connection here. It has reopened. So I must risk it."

"Then tell us." Wallace said.

"There seems to be a way for you to have another combination with the Digi Mental. Your Mental are able to be used on each other to bring forth other Armor Digimon."

"Really?" Davis was really excited.

"There is also a Mental for Kindness."

"Why can't this be known to the others?" Yolie asked.

"That's part of the information but there is more. It seems that there are others entering the Digital World and Gennai doesn't know who they are."

"Even Gennai doesn't know?"

"Unfortunately not and he's worried that they're with the Deity Digimon. He wants you to find them and stop them at all cost."

"We will. Does he have any clues to go on? Something that might help us?" Davis asked.

"He knows that they're Japanese and they have some tie to your friends. That's why this meeting has to be a secret for he doesn't know who is with them. Though he is knows that Matt is one of them."

"That traitor!"

"We'll get right on it." Yolie said and they left.

"I hope I'm doing the right thing. Kari has the knowledge and I don't know why I don't tell them."

"It's because Kari knows that if they ever knew, her friends would be in danger." TK took off the cap to reveal himself. I took off my hood.

"How long have you been there?" She looked worried.

"Before they even arrived." She looked at the ground, "At least you're not going to tell them but why are you even helping Gennai?"

"We're friends and he worries about the Digital World. These Deity Digimon are dangerous and your brother seems to be involved with them."

"That depends on what you mean by involve. I know a few of them but that's all. Unless understanding them counts as being involved."

"You under… stand them?"

"They were the most powerful beings on this Earth as long as people believed in them. Now that people have forgotten, they feel betrayed and want revenge on the people they loved and protected. So they changed themselves into Digimon so they could survive. Of course now they feel threaten so they're going to do everything they can to ensure their survival."

"They… feel threaten? How can that be? They want to destroy the Digital World!"

"That's what Gennai wants you to think. You don't have to worry about the Digital World since we're here to protect it. That's all we want to do." TK said. Patamon came flying in and Gabumon went back to normal.

"How did I not sense you?"

"We figured out that we don't need the Digivices anymore." I said.

"But… you do need them."

"Not anymore. This group that has surfaced is here to protect the Digital World from the Super Levels. Well, that and make sure Gennai pays for what he has done."

"Gennai has done nothing. It's Titanmon and his followers that have brought harm to our world. Gennai doesn't know how he was able to do so but the worlds are opening and it might not take them long to gain notice of their presence."

"Thanks for letting us know. We will protect our world from other evils."

"That's right. Now, could you please give back Kari? She's not herself lately."

"My job is done." She closed her eyes and I could feel that she was leaving. Of course, Kari's body was about to fall over but TK caught her.

"Patamon, where did you take the Digivice?" Gabumon asked.

"To TK's old house."

"You flew that far?" TK asked.

"Where's Gatomon anyway? I didn't notice her around." I said.

"Good point. Let's head back." TK picked her up and we headed towards an alley.

"Ready Gabumon?"

He nodded, "Gabumon Digievolves to……………………. Garurumon!" I got on and got Kari as well.

"Matt, I want to try this too."

"You think you're strong enough to handle it?"

"Let's find out." He concentrated.

"Patamon Digievolves to…………………… Angemon!" He picked up TK and I could tell that he was fighting to stay awake. They headed off.

It didn't take long before we reached Kari's house. Garurumon stayed on the ground and Angemon helped us get Kari to the house. TK knocked first and no one answered. The door was locked as well.

"Gatomon?" TK called. He knocked harder, "Gatomon?"

The door opened and Gatomon was there, "What happened to Kari?"

"Remember that Data Being that possessed her ten years ago, she came back and that's why Kari's so weak."

"But… Why didn't Kari want me to come?"

"She wanted to talk to others what Gennai wanted them to know. Could we bring her inside?"

She stepped inside and we brought her inside. We laid her on the couch and Gatomon brought a blanket for her.

"Gatomon, what do you think about Karu?" TK asked.

"He's not that bad. Why?"

"What about Kari?"

"She thinks of him as a friend, of course. Why ask?"

"Just wondering. See ya tomorrow." We walked out.

"Wondered if you were just paranoid?"

"I wanted to know what they thought."

"But they don't really know what they're doing themselves."

We both grabbed Angemon's hands and he brought us down. "True, but it gives me some hope."

I smiled at him then let go of Angemon and landed on Garurumon, "Where do you want to head now?"

"I think I might want to get my Digivice. I'm not going to carry it but I do want to make sure I know where it is."

"Fine. Angemon, are you going to take him?"

"Yes."

"Ok. TK, be careful and I'll see you home."

"Right." Angemon took off.

"Are you really going to let him go there by himself?" Garurumon asked.

"I wished that he was still a little kid that way I feel like I'm really doing my job. Besides, he's a strong kid. Well, let's see what home has waiting for us." We headed home.

Ken

I ran to the auditorium since my science teacher held me back a bit to ask me a few questions. Everyone else was already there.

"Sorry I'm late. My teacher wanted to ask me something." I said as I reached them.

"Don't worry about it. They're getting to know each other anyway." Damon said with a smile.

"Well, let's not keep them waiting." Ryan said and we headed inside.

There were only two girls, including Nereida, who wanted to be in this play. Everyone that auditioned was here and they all had a look telling me to tell them who was selected, minus Nereida since she already knew. There were four third year students and only three had acted in all the plays that I put for here. There were also four second year students and I only heard about one of them. There were six first year students and I only know Nereida.

"Well, I'm glad that the play has some people interested enough to be apart of it."

"Ken, you know that I'll never miss one that you're directing." Kareu said. He's a good actor.

"Yea, this sounds real interesting since you left it a complete mystery." Yukia said. She's a good actress but I can't compare her to Nereida since I'm not sure how good both are.

"Well, thanks for coming anyway. Unfortunately, you are the only ones that audition for the play. Though it's good since I don't have to choose who isn't going to be in it. Luckily the play only needs fourteen people."

"What play is it?" Ika asked, the other third year that I knew.

"It's one that unique since TK is the one that's writing it."

"TK? I thought his arm was injured?" Said the last third year student. I wasn't sure of his name since I didn't ask for it during the audition.

"It's injured but he's still able to use it. I know that he's not here today but he has given me what he has so far. Though I have an idea on how it should be said, when TK gets here just be prepare to have it changed. Well, with that said please state your names so I know who has what role." I even looked at Nereida to let her know that she has to do it too.

"Yukia Kawagi."

"Kareu Ichio."

"Ika Gomia."

"Sanku Takati." All these are third year students.

"Mata Geno." He winked.

"Aito Inusha." He said with a smile.

"Sakuro Iroa" He had a low voice for a student.

"Shogi Shogune." He bowed a bit. I know that he only acted in Kabuki and Noh plays so I was half wondering why he was here. These are second year students.

"Biyio Gomia and just don't compare me to my brother's talents."

"Gaguo Torino. I hope that this play is fun." I noticed that Biyio was watching him as if making sure that he didn't do anything.

"Tensho Sakorui." He said quietly.

"Kuwuri Heieu."

"Gomai Anoito and I must say that it's an honor to be apart of this play."

"Nereida Shuni."

"Ok, these are the roles so far. It's most of the play and TK is still working on the last bit." I handed them their parts. Luckily, I was able to make multiple copies and mark everyone's parts. "Here you guys go." I handed a few to my friends, "You guys might as well get started."

"Right." Panther said and they went off. Don kissed Neon before heading out the door.

"Well, if you need any help." Lily Dawn said.

"Thanks."

Ryan

Plantmon and Panther brought in the items that we were going to use.

"Everything fits in those boxes?" Breomon asked, going up to them.

"We had to borrow Ceres's device but yea, everything fits." Panther said as she sat her box down. "Do you know where Ceres went? The other box is for the costumes."

"She says that Gelidardormon is marking the place where she's setting up."

"I'm thinking it's best if we worked on these at Matt's house but oh well." She picked up Plantmon's box and walked in any direction.

"You're not going with her?" I looked at Plantmon.

"She wanted us to start on the props." She pulled out a base for something.

"Ok, what do we do first?"

"Make a forest." She got out the other bases.

Panther

"Ceres, where are you?" I looked around at all the doors here. I didn't even know that there were so many doors for something that looks so small.

"Panther?" I heard Gelidardormon and went over to her. She was standing on a couple of boxes.

"Is Ceres in there?"

"Yea. Is that her stuff?"

"Yep." I walked in. I looked around the surprisingly big room.

"I didn't know this school would spend so much time for dramas." Ceres said. There were stands for the actors to have their makeup done and closed off areas when they need to change.

"Either did I. Anyway, here are your things." I placed the box down and headed out.

I looked around to see what everyone was doing and most were helping to organize the place so everyone could see what was there. It seemed like everything was thrown into this place and left for someone else to clean it up. I went back to Ryan and we were creating the trees.

"This is a lot of trees." Ryan said, noticing that we made about six.

"Ken said that this stage is pretty big."

"I would like to see it for myself."

"Well, if you want to help with the clean up. Someone left this place a giant mess."

"I don't remember Ken using this theater before."

"Really?"

"Yea… Though I didn't know that we had a theater like this."

"Well, we better decide on what we want to do."

"I want to know how much backdrop we need so let's help clean."

"Ok." We went to the others and were helping in anyway we can.

Me

Panther and Ceres came back and even their Digimon were tired.

"Glad I made something before you guys got home. Are you guys hungry?"

"Yes." Their Digimon answered.

They walked over to the table and the human's rested their heads. I was a bit worried about TK since he hasn't come back yet and it was already nine. I placed down the food and their Digimon were eating.

"Are you two going to eat something?"

"Too tired to really eat something." Panther said, her voice hinting for her longing for a bed. Ceres was already sleeping.

"Tell me in the morning. Get some sleep." She forced herself to get up and went upstairs. Plantmon was about to go up there as well. "Plantmon, finish eating before heading to bed. Digimon need their strength." She nodded and kept on eating. I walked over to Ceres, "Ceres?"

"Five more minutes." She groaned.

"Would you like those five in a bed?"

"That would be nice."

"Are you able to get up?"

"I used too much physical and magical strength that I can barely move."

"What were you guys doing?"

"You'll see tomorrow. After a while, Ken and the actors were helping but it still wasn't enough."

"I guess I better have dinner on the table for the next few days."

"Or have breakfast ready."

"Ok." I picked up her up and carried her to her room. I already knew that she took the bed out since I told her to place it in the attic.

After that, their Digimon went up to go to sleep. "I better make sure that I'm able to make breakfast every morning." I said as I sat down on the couch.

"TK hasn't called back yet."

"I noticed. You think I should call him, Gabumon?"

"Or look at his probe."

"Good idea." We went up to my room and I looked at his probe. It said that he was either sleeping or knock out. I went to Ken's to see that he was sleeping in his spot and Patamon was there. "He looks like he's sleeping."

"Then we should head to bed as well." The phone rang. I ran quickly to get it since I wanted Panther and Ceres to have a peaceful sleep. "Hello, who's calling late into the night?" I tried to yell but I didn't know who it was.

"Did I call at a bad time?" It was Seto Kaiba.

"Sorry. My foster kids are sleeping and they were really tired. Found something?"

"We did manage to take off the background but then we discover another problem."

"What?"

"The commands don't seem to fully match."

"Suggesting?"

"That there are a few more codes added. Do you have any other notes?"

"All the notes I gave you are for the small device. I'll come by in the morning to have a look at them."

"Right. What time?"

"A bit after they go to school."

He hanged up. I placed the phone back and headed back upstairs.

Gabumon and I got up early to make sure that we made a big breakfast for them. I could hear their stomachs as they were getting ready.

"Breakfast is ready." I said when they got down. Ceres looked like she wasn't even chewing the food. Panther wasn't going as fast but it was a surprising speed. They're Digimon were eating normally and the same with Ele.

"That was delicious!" Ceres exclaimed when she was finished.

"It's amazing that you could taste anything. You even made Matt make more." Panther said once she finished her tea.

"I don't mind at all. Now, you guys better get to school and I'll come by at the end of the day.

"Right. We better get going. See ya later." They grabbed their things and headed out.

"Hope the others get to school on time. Ele, we're going to see Seto again." I said as they were running to make the bus at the bus station. Ele climbed up on my shoulder and we headed out as soon as they were on the bus.

Ken

"Man, it sounds like you need to clean before performing. Oh, I did get the other part done."

"Great. I'll make copies during the school day."

"Ok."

"How was Kari?"

"Oh, make sure that you lose your D-3 some time soon."

"Why?"

"We really don't need it."

"I'll have to take your word on it. Does Matt know about it?"

"He's the first one that discovered this."

"I see… But what about Digievolving?"

"Matt hasn't had it ever since I first used the jewel power. Gabumon still Digievolves."

"We better hurry. My mom woke us up a bit late." We started to run.

"Explain why she did and why we can't take your car?"

"You were asleep when I got up and I was dying for sleep when I got home. My mom said that she needed it today for something."

"Then you guys need less talking and more running." Patamon said. "TK, should I Digievolve?"

He looked around. "I don't see anyone around." He stopped, catching his breath. I forgot that he couldn't run as fast as he used to.

"Patamon Digievolves to………………………… Angemon!" Angemon picked up us and flew us over to the school.

Tim

"I can't believe you guys woke up late." I wasn't mad at them but they should've asked me to wake them or something. I thought they were getting their things together.

"Sorry bro but we thought we would wake up." Damon said. I had to drive them so they wouldn't be late.

"Great. There's traffic ahead." I looked in my rearview mirror to see that Nereida had her eyes closed.

"What did I tell you about that?"

"Just because you don't want to believe doesn't mean that I have to stop my training that Grandmother is giving me." She opened her eyes. Whenever she does something like this, her eyes are hard for a few moments before going back to normal.

"She hasn't been wrong so far. You might want to get ready." Damon said, looking at me.

"Right. I know that I'm not like this but hold on tight." I allowed us to melt into the ground and hit the accelerator. I made sure that I could see where we're going and we were moving faster since I didn't have to worry about hitting other cars.

"Tim, someone is making a line change. Get deeper." Nereida said in her fortune-telling voice. I made the car go lower.

"Nereida, lead us to the school. On or off-road."

"Turn left."

I did and stepped on the gas.

Neon

Unfortunately, me being pregnant wasn't helping my running.

"Too bad you can't use your powers." Don said, running at my pace.

"I could."

"But you know that you don't have that much control over it."

"Sorry that we can't help." Sakuramon said flying next to me. LDinomon was flying next to Don.

"Don't worry about it." I said with a smile.

Lily Dawn

"Stan! Why didn't you wake me up!" I was running everywhere to make sure that I had everything.

"I thought you left already. You normally leave earlier than you should."

"Whatever, see ya after school."

"You have dance class today."

"Tell me later!" I yelled as I ran out.

"I couldn't hear what he said, you?" Bellimon asked from my shoulder.

"Nope. I'll call him later to ask him about it."

I concentrated on getting to school on time.

Ryan

"Dad! I asked you to wake me up if I slept in." I was running around, trying to find my bag. It didn't seem to be anywhere.

"I didn't want to wake you. You were so tired when you got home."

"What's more important? School or sleep? I could've gotten sleep during my lunch or something like that. Where the hell is my bag?"

"You didn't have it on you when you got home."

"Ahh! I left it at school! Got to go and see you after school!"

"You're not going to…" I ran out of the door.

"I think you're father was trying to tell you something." Breomon said.

I grabbed Breomon, "No time to think." I pulled my molecules apart and was thankful that the winds were blowing towards the school.

Ceres

They got in and their only friend that was there was Kari. She looked at them and smiled like nothing was wrong.

"We manage to get here first." Ceres said in awe.

"I guess so." Panther said.

"Do you two know where the others are?" Kari asked.

"They should be getting here any time now." TK and Ken entered.

"Good, we're not late." Ken said.

"I hope everyone else won't be either."

"Then you two better get away from that door." Panther warned and they did but they did leave it open.

That's when Neon and Don entered the classroom and were breathing hard. Ken helped Neon to get to her seat and Panther did the same with Don. Nereida and Damon ran into the room and slid to their seats. Lily Dawn jumped into the classroom and Ryan just appeared in his seat just as the bell rang. They both sighed in relief.

"That was sure interesting. What happened yesterday?" Kari asked.

"Well…" TK started to say but the teacher spoke.

"Class, we're starting. Those of you that had to hurry to class were lucky today but try not to push your luck." She was looking right at them all.

"I'm sorry for the students that are late. They're helping me in my play and the theater that I'm using is a real mess. We spent a good amount of time cleaning the place." Ken walked up and handed her a list. "Please let the teachers of these students know why they were late this morning or if they're not here. They are my actors and they were helping out as well."

She took it and looked at it, "I'll let them know but don't make this an excuse for not coming to class."

"Don't worry. I'll let them know today."

"Thank you. Now take your seat so I may begin."

"Thank you." Ken took his seat.

"That was close." Don whispered.

"Is it really a mess?" Kari asked.

"Yea." Neon answered.

"We still have to clean it today." Lily Dawn rested her head in her hands.

"TK, why were you late? Shouldn't you have woken him up?" Ceres asked.

"I was drained when I got home." And he still did. He looked like he could fall asleep any time now.

"Oh, here's the homework for the classes that we have together." Panther handed him the papers.

"Thanks."

"My mercy only goes out so far." The teacher said.

They were quiet and pay as much attention as they could.

Me

"I'm impressed. I found this place without help." I said as I entered the room.

Seto looked at me with annoyance, "What took you so long?"

"I have to take many buses to get here then it wasn't that easy to find this room in this labyrinth. Anyway, let me look at those codes."

"But we couldn't translate them." Mokuba said.

"Why?"

"We did but they don't make sense. They're final steps for this thing to work but we need the key to understand it." Seto explained.

I walked up to the monitor and noticed that this part wasn't from mine notes that I kept, "You don't know who created this code?" I looked at Seto.

"I looked up everyone and no one made this coding."

I looked back at it again and wondered what command they wanted it to. "Could I see the other translated parts?"

"Mokuba."

"Right." He typed away at the computer he was at and I went over. I read what was program into this machine and it was program to follow voice commands.

"Wait."

"What?" Seto came over.

"Why wasn't that translated?" I pointed to the word after the name Zeus but they seemed to have skipped over his name and the word after it.

"We thought it was a glitch in their programming." Mokuba explained.

"Just tell me what the word after Zeus is if you don't want it in your translations."

"It says 'mon'. Why?" Seto said.

"Zeus's gate?" I asked with a joking smile. Seto seemed pleased about something but I didn't show that I was worried. Zeusmon had full control over this machine and I didn't read how he would be able to use it. It's like this are the instructions for him to read so he'll understand what he needs to do in order to destroy us. I noticed a few more names, like Osiris, Ra, Thor, but they were only allowed to use it with Zeus's permission. It stopped at the line before the shattered commands. I went back over to the other monitor and looked at them. I understood that this was how it works and how to unlock the power. This means that the key isn't the only way but it is does give the rest of the information. "Seto, I didn't know how serious this thing was until now."

"What are you saying? You understand something about this?"

"That machine is a tool to kill. Or maybe hurt but it does have some kind of power of destruction."

"Are you saying that the people who wanted this were planning to use it on the city?" Mokuba asked.

"No… At least I'm hoping not. If I'm right then this only affects a few, selected people but I'm not sure how."

"You're talking in riddles."

"Sorry. Seto, could I speak to you alone? I don't mind if Mokuba hears it but I do if your scientists do."

"We'll go to my office." They walked out and I followed. I know that Athena wanted me to keep this a secret but I had to know how this works. Maybe, Seto could even reprogram it so we could use it. I figured that since he's watching me that he should understand how I understand this without knowing the commands.

"Well?" Seto asked as we entered his office. Mokuba took a seat on one of the chairs and Seto took his seat. It was the same room that I visited when he wanted me to go on this mission.

"What do you know about my past?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"Just answer. You don't have to tell me how you came with the information but just let me know."

"I know a good amount."

"Do you know what happened at Highton View Terrace a few years ago? Say when I was eleven?"

"You mean when it was destroyed again mysteriously?"

"And that there was a report of a mammoth and a giant firebird near the site. It seemed that that was the signal for all those other monsters to appear in Tokyo and the last thing was that huge cloud that no one could get through. After that was gone, a giant land formation was in the sky and a group of kids with monsters were fighting this ugly thing in a box and won."

"You sound like you know this more than what the news reported."

"I happened to be one of those kids."

"What!" They were both surprised. I smiled to see the shock on their faces, especially Seto's.

"So… Why did they appear?" Mokuba managed to ask.

"They were looking for a last member of our group. They wanted to destroy her before she understood what her role would be."

"And you guys stopped them?"

"We cut it really close. If it weren't for the monsters, we would've never won."

"And the land in the sky?" Seto asked.

"That was their home."

"And what does this have anything to do with the machine?"

"That machine was created to destroy a similar group to us back then. But this monster wasn't always living in that world. The one that this machine was built for was a god. The King of the Gods in Greek mythology."

"You believe in that non-sense?" He seemed annoyed at something else now.

"I know that it's hard to believe but the Gods and Goddesses of our world have been living in that world for a long time. Only now do they feel like making themselves known because they want to rule this world and that one. But the other group is in their way and that machine is meant to do something to them." I knew that Seto could see the worry and seriousness on my face but only Mokuba was moved.

"Let me guess, including the Egyptian Gods?" He seemed to laugh at this.

I narrowed my eyes, "I have seen Anubis with my own eyes. And since the commands give Ra and Osiris some power then that only proves that they are in that world. I can't answer why there isn't a power struggle over the gods but they seemed to have come to an understanding that the Greeks are in control of everything."

"Then tell me, who stole that machine from your company?"

"Athena and Hestia."

"And why would they need to steal it themselves? If they're so powerful then why not sent someone else to do so?"

"Most likely they were picked for the job by the Goddess in my company who changed the commands to Greek and Latin so it could be read by Zeus. They don't know Japanese that well."

"Do you have any proof that these creatures are still around?"

"They did appear on the news a few times recently. But, I guess if you want to see one live… Gabumon."

Gabumon appeared next to me (he jumped off, landed, then grew). They were both shocked and too much in awe to say anything.

"My name is Gabumon. It's nice to finally see you."

Mokuba got up and walked closer. I noticed that Seto wanted to warn him not to but he hoped that it was safe.

"Gabumon wouldn't attack unless told so by me, I'm in danger, or he's under some kind of mind control." Seto seemed a bit eased.

Mokuba felt his fur, "It's… soft."

"Air dry." Gabumon said proudly.

"His home is known as the Digital World and his kind is known as Digimon. Everyone with a connection to the Digital World has a partner and is known as Digidestined. Currently, there are three groups. The one that you guys saw on that August day, another is the one that battled when the Earth was covered in darkness, then there's this new one that came to be. It's still being broken in but they have already proven to be the most powerful out of them."

"Let me guess, Panther and Ceres are involved?"

"Why guess that?"

"You speak of that group with pride."

"They are but I'm also apart of that group."

"Is your brother?" Mokuba asked.

"No but he does know everyone in it. He also knows what's going on since I tell him just about everything."

"With this information, what do you want me to do with it?" Seto asked.

"I was hoping that you might be able to reprogram it so we could use it some time against them."

"Using their own weapon against them. That sounds interesting but I need the last part which we don't have."

"Shouldn't they be able to find it?" Mokuba asked.

"They haven't yet." I looked at him.

"Don't they live in cyberspace?" I nodded. "Then shouldn't they be able to go looking through the net to find what they're looking for?"

"Only if they were in Greece or Italy, they can't do something like that in Japan."

"Plus, Digimon can't access the Internet unless given by someone from this world." Gabumon said.

"See, it's safe here as long as no Digimon working for them discovers it." I said with a smile at Mokuba.

"Could I have the names of everyone in this third group?" Seto asked.

"So you could have a background check on them as well? Sorry, I don't mind it on me since there seems to be some gaps in my memory anyway but that's their lives. As a friend, I wouldn't give up their names. You'll just have to guess at who they are." Seto smiled, accepting the challenge. "Though this is going against my better judgment and Athena's warning… here." I gave the key to Mokuba.

"This is the last piece."

"I thought you said that…" Seto was so angry that he stood up and was shouting.

"Athena told me not to give it to you. I have two hackers that could've figure this out but one of them is directing a play and the other one is off at college. I'm not too clever in it and since it helps complete the sentences in that machine then I should hand it to you. But do hurry with the translations. I need to go to other places before going home."

They hurried to their lab. Gabumon went on my shoulder again. They also didn't take long to translate this piece but the scientists were giving me weird looks.

"We got it." Mokuba said though Seto was looking through it.

"Wait. The last line isn't in an ancient language." Seto said.

I walked up and recognized it as the Digital Language. "Gabumon, can you read this?" I whispered to him.

"It looks like the one that's used in the books."

"Seto, is there a way to link up my cell to your computer?"

"Why?"

"I should have a way of decoding this but I don't have it. I'll have to call someone but I want to download the program to your system."

"Here." He tapped onto the outlet. I called Izzy first to see whether Ken gave it to him.

"Hello?"

"Izzy, did Ken give you the program?"

"For the books?"

"Yea."

"Not yet."

"Ok, thanks." I hung up and texted him. He said that he does have it but it's in his D-3. I told him to just send it through his cell and I'll tell them when I see them at the theater. He sent me the program. I jacked it in and download the program. Seto started to type away as soon as it was complete. I pulled out the pug and texted Ken thanks. He said no problem.

"That did it." Seto said.

I looked at the screen to see that the last orders were seen on the screen. They were a spell or chant that Zeus had to say to either use it for himself or give it to another that was mentioned. That means that the machine is only to hold its power and the real power has no limit. "He can do anything with this power." I said more to myself than to Seto. I looked at the machine, knowing that it's just a shell.

"Everyone, thanks for all your help. Take as much of a break as needed." Mokuba said. Everyone left but I slightly felt his or hers gaze.

Gabumon appeared as soon as they were gone.

"What do you understand?" Seto asked.

"That if Zeus ever gets his hands on this then it really is the end of us." I felt Gabumon move closer to me and Ele rubbing my cheek. Luckily they were on different sides so I can pet Ele and placed my hand on Gabumon. "What we see is only the shell and the real power is with that chant. If Zeus ever says that chant with this device fully in tack then he can do whatever he wanted with us or the Digital World or the other worlds." I was really struggling to keep it together. Though they weren't young but they weren't much older from TK. I'm responsible for their safety and they're my friends. They're brave so they wouldn't back down from this either.

"Other worlds?" I managed to hear Seto asked.

"There are other worlds that exist on different plains, I'm assuming. It was a plan of one Digimon to bring all the worlds together or at least have a way for them to visit each other."

"Seto, is there a way to rewrite the programming?" Gabumon asked.

"Mokuba, try it."

"But rewrite what?"

"Try Zeus's name." I said, looking at him.

He nodded and started typing. "I don't think I can."

Seto tried something but looked annoyed that it didn't work.

"Don't worry. I think I know someone that might know how do to this. Just store the data somewhere and hide this." I said as I walked over to the key and took it. "I'll keep this."

"We have an advance security system." Mokuba said with pride.

"Just to keep them separate. I'll call you when she's able to come over. She also seems to be a big fan of yours, Seto."

"Who is this person?"

"You'll see. The reason why she can't come now is because she's helping with a play that a friend is putting on and of course she has school. Well, see ya later." I waved and headed out.

I noticed that the school was still going on but they allowed me to go in. I called Izzy to get the others here to help and to tell Mimi to make something for the kids to eat.

TK

Kari was actually acting normal again even though she still talks to him. They're not long, most times a hi, and she only talks to him with me around, or Ken. He seemed to be mad about this so I'm guessing that the spell is losing ground. Wallace still goes after her but Ken keeps him away, not to mention the activities themselves.

"TK, someone is waiting for you in the theater." Said our teacher.

"Can I go there?" I wondered who it was.

"Sure. There isn't much you do here anyway."

"Thanks." I got up and waved bye to Ken and Kari before walking out.

"I wonder who it is." Patamon asked.

"I don't know."

It didn't take that long before we got there. It was still a mess so I had to get across everything. I noticed someone was standing, looking around on the stage. "Hello?" He looked over at me but he was still in the dark.

"Is your sight slightly bad as well?" It was Matt's voice.

"Sorry, I can't tell with the lack of light." He jumped down and walked over. Gabumon followed soon after so Patamon flew over to him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was over at Seto's and thought I should give you guys a hand. Oh, the others will be here but I'm not sure when."

"Thanks?"

"Oh, Seto knows about the Digimon."

"Why?"

"Let me explain." He motioned to the seats.

We sat down and he explained that he needed to understand about the power of the machine and he most likely knew about them. He also told me about the power of the machine and that Kaiba knows about the key, though he still has it. He also told me that Ceres, coding her as the one with the knowledge of magic, is going to change the code for the machine.

"So that was your day?" I asked with a smile.

"Other than bus rides, pretty much."

"Oh, Kari is acting like herself again."

"That's great. So, you want to start, or continue, with the cleaning?"

"Yea. Is everyone coming over?" We got up and walked over to the stage.

"I'm not sure about Cody, Davis, Wallace, or Yolie but the others are."

"But Kari doesn't want you near Sora."

"Don't worry about it. I'm not going to hang with Sora. I have to work on the lights." He said with a clever smile.

"As long as you promise."

"What needs to be done?"

"Lots of things." We got to work.

Don and Neon helped out when they came in. They also got some drinks and snacks for everyone. Matt did tell them that Mimi should be bringing something over but this is still great for us. They helped out with cleaning and we managed to get a good amount of the things clean. They thought that it was the co-work of us four but I know that Matt has cleaned for most of his life so he knows the know-how to things like this when we still lived with our parents.

"Wow. Great job." I heard Ken say as they walked in. The older ones weren't with them though so they'll most likely come later.

"I thought that we should get most of it clean that way you guys wouldn't be too tired tomorrow."

"Thanks."

Ken introduced Matt and me to everyone. Of course we knew who they were since we were there for the audition. The cleaning didn't take too long and everyone actually got to his or her jobs. I was helping Kari and Lily Dawn since they were helping with the directing. Ken was giving their lines, which they were great in my opinion, and they suggested where they should be since I gave no directions. I noticed that Damon was fixing the cameras around the walls. I guess they also called Tim since he was here a bit before the others came. Matt also introduced them to our friends and the actors.

Me

Everyone was helping someone else. Ceres and I were right now the only ones that didn't want any help. Which was ok since our Digimon didn't have to worry about if someone saw them doing something. All the Digital Protectors and Monsters were edgy around each other since they weren't sure. Unfortunately for the older ones, they didn't think of hiding from others like the younger ones, but the younger ones were the ones that thought about it.

"Matt." I looked up from what I was doing to see Apollo.

"Hi, didn't hear you come in."

"Lily Dawn is busy with directing so I only waved."

"Let me guess, you want to help with something."

"Anything in mind?"

"Well… Ceres doesn't want anyone helping her and someone has someone helping so I guess you could help me if you're able to."

"Sure." He came up and started to help me but wasn't too good with the wiring.

"Apollo, did you bring your motorcycle?" We turned around to see Lily Dawn really worried.

"Yes." He got down.

"Good, I forgot I had my dancing classes today and Ryan has his art."

"Then let's not waste time." They left to go to their classes.

I went back to work and luckily it wasn't that much that I had to do. Since the others that were near the controls were doing something else, I pulled the switch that lifted the lights. Once they were correctly position, I turned them on. I walked onto stage to get a feel of the lights and knew it was too bright. I heard something snap and looked up but couldn't see anything. Then everything came falling down.

"Matt!" I heard someone say once everything was on the ground and as the dust was clearing.

"I'm all right. Is everyone else ok?" The dust cleared and I saw that everything barely missed me. I looked behind me to see that lights' glass was scattered on the ground. I looked on my back to see only a few shards in my back that were small. I was really wondering why until I saw Gabumon cover with them. "Gabumon?" I whispered.

"I'm… all right…" He fell into my arms.

"Panther!" I yelled. Gabumon didn't seem hurt but I didn't want to take the chance. I heard her jumping over anything in her way.

"What is it… Is he ok?" She came closer.

"I'm not sure but get him to Ceres to see what she can do."

"Right." Plantmon wrapped Gabumon carefully and they went over to Ceres.

"Matt, are you sure you're ok?" Sora asked once I got out of the stuff. I managed to get the glasses off my back.

"Of course I'm ok. Ken, I'll clean this up later." I walked towards Ceres's studio.

"Don't worry about it."

I looked behind me to make sure that no one had followed that wasn't supposed to. When I stepped inside, Gabumon was lying on his stomach and it was bandaged.

"Is he ok?" I moved closer.

"Yea… I'm surprised that it wasn't in deeper. I guess his fur helped with the impact. What happened?" Ceres looked at me.

"I'm not sure. I heard a snap before everything came down." I petted Gabumon, glad to know that he's ok.

"Someone or something made that happened. We'll look at it more closely as soon as everyone leaves. We better get out there before someone comes in." Panther said.

I nodded and we walked out, "Make sure he knows that I'm all right and come get me when he wakes up."

"Right."

No one asked me anything about what happened. I looked at the glass to see that all were in small shards, nothing was big. _I would think there should be at least a few big ones._ I then felt someone trying to contact me. I know it wasn't Lily Dawn since she should be worrying about getting to class. I looked around to see that everyone was doing something else so I just acted like I was doing something.

"_Hello?"_

_Do you really need to ask?_

"_I didn't know it was you. What is it?"_

_Letting you know that you could've used my power to stop everything. Why didn't you?_

"_Everyone was around and I could tell that I was the one that everything was trying to hit."_

_But then Gabumon got hurt._

"_I forgot about the glass."_

_But this isn't the end. The person isn't a normal person._

"_Obviously. Otherwise I would've seen the person. Did you see anyone?"_

_No but someone was there. Too bad I thought it was someone you knew._

"_I'll warn everyone then."_ He went back into hiding and I did some repairs with the lights.

Ken didn't keep them long, for sleep and homework, but they did have Mimi's food before they left. Of course, it took a while to get the others out before it was just the new group that was left.

"Where's Gabumon?" TK asked, worry on his face.

"He just woke up." I turned around to see Ceres helping Gabumon walk.

"Gabumon!" I ran over to him and helped to get him down. "Are you ok?"

"I told you. I'm fine." I got him on my back.

"Right. Everyone, it might not be safe to be around here."

"Why?" Nereida asked.

"Someone cut those."

"I guess that was too much to hope for." Damon said.

"Do you know who?" Ken asked.

"I didn't see anyone but there was someone up there. None of the props were damaged?" I looked at Panther.

"That should be the least of your worries."

"Do you think everyone else is in danger?" Kari asked.

"I'm not sure but do we really want to take that chance?"

"Of course I don't want to chance their lives but how am I going to explain this to the school since no one was really hurt they might over look it. They assigned me this theater since everyone thinks it's too damaged to really be used."

"So if we don't use this then it'll prove that it's a waste of space. I guess that means we have to be on guard to make sure nothing happens to everyone here." Ceres said.

"And definitely make sure that the others don't catch wind of this." TK said.

"I won't tell Tai what happened." Kari said with confidence.

"Ok, we all better get home before your parents wondered what happened." I said and everyone nodded.

I laid Gabumon on my bed and pulled the covers over him before heading back down stairs.

"Is he alright?" Gelidardormon asked.

"I think so but I'm not sure. He was never hurt before. He was always careful."

"Don't worry. I know he won't let himself be beaten. He still has to protect you." Panther said, placing her hand on my shoulder.

I smiled, "Ceres, you'll get to see Seto some time in the future."

"Why? Is that a prize or something that I didn't know I won?"

"Ele knows why so ask her."

She looked at her and they seemed to be communicating.

"You really think she can talk to Ele? She might be good in magic but still." Panther questioned.

"So you have a key that the Gods want. I wonder if that's the reason for the attack today." Ceres suggested with a smile.

"They don't know I have it. They think that it was destroyed and now they can't seem to rebuild it." I said, walking into the kitchen.

"Can we see the codes?" She was standing at the door.

I got out the key and tossed it to her, "Go ahead. Use my computer in my office."

"Right."

Ceres

Ceres and Panther went to Matt's office with their Digimon. Ceres was typing away before the codes appeared.

"What language is that?" Panther asked.

"It's a combination of Greek and Latin. Wow. This is really dangerous. Oh, and here's some Digital Language."

"You can read that?"

"Yea, I do know how to translate these languages. Matt, do you know what the Digital part says?" She said it loud enough for him to hear.

"It's a chant that Zeus has to say to use it." He said as he was coming closer. "Do you think that you'll be able to rewrite this?"

"Yea. I know this language like it was in style." She said with a smile.

"I thought so. Panther, if you want to come along when we go see it."

"Sounds like fun."

"Good. Now do your homework before going to bed."

"Right."

They got up and went up to their rooms.

Ken

TK told me why Matt needed the program. I was surprised that he knew the famous Seto Kaiba. Both Izzy and I admired him for his genius.

"Why didn't Matt tell us that he knew Kaiba-sama?"

"Sama? Anyway, he only met him when we had that sleep over at Tim's house."

"But he still knows him."

"Did you even hear why Matt needed the code or were you in shock that Matt knows Kaiba?"

"I guess I really didn't hear that part."

"There's a machine that some Goddess made at Matt's office and it has the power to do anything that Zeus wants. The last part was in the Digital Language but in the ancient text."

"What was the last part?"

"The chant that Zeus has to say to use it."

"I see. Why don't they just destroy it so we don't have to worry about it or… Wait, I thought that Matt would keep that a secret from someone outside the group."

"He does but he thought that Kaiba should know since he's the one that translated it for him and so he understands the power of that machine. Plus, Kaiba stalks him."

"Really?"

"Yep. He knows a good amount of information on him. But Matt doesn't really care."

"To be stalked by one of the greatest computer genius has to be held as an honor."

"Glad you think so." (A stalker is still a stalker, no matter who it is… At least in my book)

Hebe

Aither was mad since he said his spell is weakening and he doesn't know why. Dionysus was here, mad about something but wouldn't say what. I couldn't see Nereida for a while since she's working on a play and I don't want the brothers to know that I know one of them. It was kinda late before Apollo came back.

"Dionysus, why did you do that to him? He wasn't the playwright." Apollo was angry at something.

"I told you to go near the person. It wasn't my fault that I made a mistake."

"They're not doing it for any god and even if they were, they would give it to one of theirs."

"Well, this should teach them to give it to us."

"Artemis, you haven't given him wine or beer?"

"He was drunk when he got here."

"Apollo, I'm fine. And in either case, if I attack one, the others will get hurt."

"Don't you dare attack any of them." Apollo showed that he was serious but Dionysus was too drunk to really care.

"By the way, who was that babe that you went with?"

"Why do you want to know?"

"Maybe I should get to know her better. She won't be yours for long."

"Don't you dare lay your drunken hands on her!" He grabbed Dionysus by the throat.

"Ok, ok, I get the message." He barely managed to say. Apollo let go and Dionysus try to regain his breath.

"Dionysusmon, who are you attacking?" Aither asked.

"The people working on that play at your school."

"You're not attacking one person." He narrowed his eyes.

"What is this? Next you'll tell me that I can't attack any."

"That would be good." Apollo said.

"The person you can't attack is Kari."

"I don't know who that is." He walked over and showed him her picture. "Wow! Another hot one."

"Apollo's threat goes with her but by me."

"Fine, those two will be unharmed."

I felt Apollo looking at me but I just looked away. I couldn't allow them to know that I knew one of them. It would be too dangerous.

"Good." Aither was pleased and walked away.

"Are you going to stay here?" Artemis asked.

"Why not? I need to stay here to make sure they pay."

"Then don't come here drunk."

"Why?"

"Three people have to go to school and I don't want to be thrown out because they smell like alcohol."

"Man, it sounds like I can't have any fun."

"Good."

TK

Matt managed to get everything fixed and we didn't have too much of other attacks. They were each different and not too serious. They were all at Matt for some reason and he told me that it's most likely not really aimed at him, but it was safer for the attacker to aim at him. I knew that he knew who was attacking and was planning to take his revenge for what happened to Gabumon. Gabumon couldn't be here since Matt was worried about his safety since he still wasn't well. Also, the actors and actresses, including Nereida, memorized their lines really well and really fast. The others, with the help most were getting, got everything ready. So our play, worrying about safety and the size of this theater, was only one day. Ken announced that a good amount of days before everything was even done. Matt told Hota but said that she couldn't come. Luckily, Damon was going to record this so she could buy one to watch it. We all were hoping that nothing would happen during the play.

Hebe

"Dionysus, don't do anything during the play." Apollo tried not to sound like he was begging.

"Don't worry. Astraeamon doesn't want me to do anything too big. But I am doing something."

"Why dose Astraea want to watch it?" I asked.

"Something about one of her employees is helping with the production and her not able to go."

"Good." Apollo seemed relaxed.

"Oh, none of you guys go though. It's going to be dangerous as soon as it's over and everyone is to going to be the target."

"I thought we had an agreement." Aither said.

"It won't be my fault that they're in my way."

No one liked the idea, but this is his wrath however weird it is.

TK

There was a big group today, and it was near around noon so Ceres could go over to Kaiba's office. It was real interesting to see Ken practically begged to go. Of course Matt didn't care and was surprised to hear that it was an honor to have his past looked up by Kaiba-sama. Lily Dawn and Panther were getting the tickets from everyone at the door and I noticed that people that have no connection to this school were here to see this play.

"TK, I thought you would be back stage." I looked up to see Sensei.

"Date-san, it's nice to see you again." I noticed that Mackenzie-san was with him and they sat down with me. "Hello Mackenzie-san."

"Hello TK."

"Are you two related to each other, if you don't mind me asking?"

"We're siblings." Date-san answered.

"Oh."

"How is your arm?"

"It's healing up but slowly. I'm not sure when it will be."

"Why is it healing slowly?"

"My healing cells are a bit slow at the moment."

"TK." I looked to my left to see Panther sitting in the seat next to me. "Ken was right about those suits. Hi Mackenzie-san and Date-san." She walked away to get to the back stage. Soon after that, the lights went off and everything was ready to begin.

Me

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen to our production. Tonight's play is a special treat to all. Many lives will be foretold and destinies made. Enjoy." Nereida said in a lower, forewarning voice in her fortune-telling role.

I pulled the curtains to show the stage and Don and Tim moved the light off Nereida and on the others. Ryan stayed with her to help her move from one spot to another without the others noticing. Once Nereida came on stage in her Tiger outfit (the Zodiac animals), Sakuro came in as the Emperor.

"There is disorder in the world. I must bring that order but how?"

"I have an idea, O Great One." Aito said as the Rat.

"You may speak, small one.

"Hold a banquet."

"A banquet? I will think about it. Thank you."

Aito bowed and walked away. Sakuro faced the audience, "How could I use this banquet to put order to this world? I got it! I will announce a date and time of this banquet. Whoever comes first through my doors shall be first for years to come!" Sakuro walked away and Aito came back.

"So, the Emperor is trying to bring order to the world. I guess this means that I have to be first."

"What is this being first?" Aito looked to his right to see Kareu in his Cat outfit.

"Oh Cat, it is just you."

"What were you just talking about? Do you know why the Emperor was here?"

"The Emperor is going to bring order to the land by a banquet."

"That is great news! How will this great task be done?"

"By the order of who comes to his banquet but do not worry, I will tell you when this banquet is going to be held."

"Thank you." Kareu leaves and Aito leaves a few moments after.

They turned off the lights so I can move a few trees to show that it was at a different place (oh, I looked like a thief since I had to make sure that my golden hair wasn't seen by the audience). I flashed a small light to let them know I'm done so they turned them back on.

"Everyone, I have an announcement to make. There shall be a grand banquet in two days. This banquet will help bring order to the world. Only twelve creatures may attend. The time is when the sun sets." Sakuro said to everyone, but the Cat, before leaving.

Everyone was talking to each other but Aito was closer to the audience and spoke louder to them, "I have to make sure that Cat doesn't come to ensure my spot." Everyone walked out. The lights went out so Kareu could get in a tree.

"Cat, I bring news of the banquet." Aito said once the lights were on.

Kareu jumped down, "What is the new?"

"It is in two days when the moon is the highest in the sky. But make sure you get there because there are only twelve creatures that he will allow in this grand hall."

"Thank you Rat. I will make sure that I am there."

"Anything to help." Aito walked away and I pulled the curtains close (when Nereida is the fortune-telling, she's in front of the curtains and no one can see her face).

"Unfortunately, the fates played a cruel hand for the Cat. The greed of the Rat caused the unhappiness of the Cat. Now, they fight each other with no clear victor. Here's a story of a hard headed king that has an ego as big as a mountain." I pulled back the curtains.

Tensho, Kareu, Mata and Yukia were dressed in monkey costumes (Monkey King) around a horse stable.

"My King, why are we here if we were invited to the palace?" Yukia asked.

"This is an important job, though now I am wondering that myself." Tensho said.

"I wish we could have something to eat."

"But unfortunately we must stay here." Kareu said.

"Unfortunate indeed."

Tensho stood up (all were sitting down).

"My King?" Mata asked.

"I'm going to get something from the banquet." He took off.

"Be careful my lord!" Yukia yelled after him. The lights turned off so I could change the scene.

"How easy it was to trick that ridiculous king!" Nereida said in an uppity voice.

"Unbelievably easy! We should invite them more often to watch our horses!" Shogi said in the same way. The others started to laugh.

"They won't get away with this." Tensho said and he left. I changed the scene to the Peach Garden. "I know a good way to get back at those liars." He walked in and stole them before returning to his friends.

"Lord, what do you bring in your arms?" Kareu asked.

"These are Heaven's Peaches."

"I thought we were not allowed to have them?" Yukia asked.

"Do not worry about that. They lied about our reason for being here though I won't stop here."

"What else will you do my lord?" Mata asked.

"I'm going to take the Power Rod."

"Then, my King, allow us to follow you." Kareu said.

"You may follow." They ate the fruits before going to a camber below the party.

"Be careful, my lord." Yukia said.

Tensho jumped to the pole and slid down to the ground. He tried to pull up the pole (letting you know that it's big). The other people gathered.

"What does that little monkey think he is doing?" Nereida asked.

"He is trying to gain the Power Rod!" Shogi said.

"We must stop him." I pulled the curtains close.

"The Monkey King obtains the Power Rod but is forced under a giant rock for punishment. Along comes a monk that places a magical band to keep him under control. They meet many people and have many adventures. Then came destruction for a powerful city." We put up a scene of an ancient camp from the west.

"Are you sure this will work?" Gomai said, being in armor from a Greek army.

"Of course this plan will work." Sanku said as Odysseus.

"I guess a wooden horse isn't a really bad idea.

"This has to work or we may never see the end of this war."

I had to change the scene to a beach.

"Should we bring this inside the castle?" Mata asked as a Trojan soldier.

"No, we must not." Kareu said with Ika and Biyio at his side. He's Poseidon's priest and they are his sons.

"Why not?"

"It is a trap by the Greeks!" Don and Tim brought up awesome looking serpents, done by our artists, and made them snatched his sons away. He ran after them as they ate them but was trapped by their coils. Kareu yelled a chant that's really is in Greek to Poseidon and the serpents go away (though Ceres told us that they went back to Athena) but they did kill Kareu.

"This is a sign by the Gods! Bring the horse in now!" Aito said as another priest.

The scene was now inside the walls of Troy during the night. The Greek warriors sneak out of the horse. "Open the gates. Quickly!" Sanku said.

The others that were playing the other Greeks opened the doors and they attacked.

"Where is my wife?" Gaguo asked as Aeseas. He was carrying a made old man that looked very real to be his father and Gomai was at his side to be his son.

Yukia appeared with glow that made her look like a ghost, "Do not worry, I am fine. You must fulfill your destiny that our faithful Gods have set for you." As Gaguo leaves with tears, I pull the curtains.

"Aeseas becomes the founder of Rome, the great Empire in the West, though Odysseus has an adventure himself that last for ten years. Now Jason's story begins."

In the castle, Mata as Pilas is crying, making it look real and fake at the same time. "So, little Jason is dead?"

"Yes. He was playing in the woods when loins came and snatched him away. We tried to save him but the loins were much too clever." Biyio said.

"Thank you… Please, let me be."

They leave but talk outside of Pilas's door.

"It's bad enough we lost Jason's father." Biyio said with anger.

"Good thing we hid Jason with that Centaur. Hopefully he'll never return." Kareu said.

A good amount of years later, shown by make-up, Pilas is looking at nothing in his throne. "I am getting old and might one day be killed for this throne. I must find any danger. Send someone to the oracle and bring me what she has to say!"

The scene at the oracle of Delphi was awesome that it was amazing how fast they did all of this and made sure it could be moved so easily.

"Why did I even come here? I hate crowded places." Gomai said being the messenger.

"Messenger of Pilas, the priestess will see you now!" Sanku said as a priest of the place. Gomai followed him inside.

"Beware of a man with one shoe." Nereida said as the oracle though it wasn't the robe outfit or the voice of the fortune-teller.

"There's your prophecy and your parting gift. Have a nice day." Sanku pushed him out.

"That is what she told you?" Mata asked in the castle.

"Yes, it is."

"Thank you. You may go." Gomai leaves. "I wonder why he has only one shoe? It must be that he only has one leg!"

Outside of the castle, a festival was being held after a few days since the Pilas got the message.

"This is going well." Mata said.

"I would agree. My King, look at that stranger over there." Shogi said as a priest.

"Does he have… one shoe?"

"I think so."

"Why did I loss my shoe at that river. Now my foot is cover with mud." Tensho said as Jason.

I pulled the curtains, not really noticing how tired I was getting.

"Out of fear, Pilas sent Jason on a quest for the Golden Fleece. Unlike the other journeys, Jason freely accepts his task. We will head to Egypt." They're in a temple for Ra.

"Ra, may I have an audience?" Yukia asked as Isis.

"What is it that you wish?" Mata asked as Ra.

"It sounds like you don't trust me?

"Your trickery is well-known.

"May you permit my son, Horus, to be pharaoh of the mortals?"

"You know the rules." Yukia leaned forward and whispered something in his ear. Though TK wanted her to say his name but Ceres wouldn't tell him. "You know my name!"

"Of course."

"Fine. Your son will be crowned Pharaoh."

"Thank you."

The curtains fell.

"Isis used her magic along with trickery for the answer. Travel to Scotland for a new adventure. But I predict that an intermission will come." They cut the lights and everyone started to move in the audience.

"I'm surprised that nothing has happened yet." Kari said quietly.

"That's a good thing. Matt, are you ok?" Panther asked.

"Of course I'm ok."

"Everyone, great job. Get something to drink and get ready for the last bit. Remember, Act Five second act is the longest one. After the play, we'll have dinner at Matt's house. We'll give the address to you before the play is over." Ken announced to the actors. All of them were relaxing since they could.

"Has anything happened?" Ken asked once we all gathered.

"Nothing so far." Don said.

"Too bad we can't ask anyone outside if they have seen anything." Lily Dawn said.

"Why?" Nereida asked.

"They were paying attention to the play to notice anything else." She said.

"But we can't keep our guard down. We're only half way done." Ceres said.

"We now have a problem." Tim said looking at the dashboard.

"What?" Ken went over.

"Everything is shutting down. To get anything done we'll have to it manually."

"Are you serious?" Don went over to look at everything.

"How are we going to pull off all the special effects?" Ken asked, looking like this was the end.

"Ken, don't worry about it. We'll all help out with the management of everything." I said to reassure him.

"And anything that needs to be really special, I'll use my magic to show it." Ceres said.

"But the cauldron scene was going to be enhanced by the lights." Ken said with worry.

"We'll get that going." Don got on gloves and something to protect his legs. Tim was doing the same thing.

"But it could be really dangerous." Neon said with worry.

"We'll be careful." Don smiled at her as they started to climb.

"Neon, I'll need your help with the customs then." Ceres said and they headed back.

"Ryan, stay open incase we need you for something. Lily Dawn and Panther, could you two help Matt with the props?" Ken asked.

"Of course." Lily Dawn said.

"Kari, I'll need you on the other side incase anything happens. Signal me by texting me." They both turned on their cells. Ken went to tell the actors what was happening.

"Panther, Lily Dawn, make sure that one of you is on the ceiling to make sure that the backdrops are able to be lowered. I'll help out with props but I'm still working with the curtains."

"Right." They both said and they both went to different places. I looked around and everyone was ready and waiting for everything to begin.

TK

I noticed that Damon was drinking some water. I did feel sorry that their Digimon weren't here to watch this but they chose not to come. Only Patamon is here incase we do need a Digimon around.

"Mina, glad you could make it." Mackenzie-san said, looking over me. I didn't even notice that a girl with golden, blondish hair with a red ribbon to tie back some of her hair was sitting next to me.

"I know. I almost missed it." She said with a smile.

"TK, this is our youngest sister Mina." Date-san explained.

"Oh, nice to meet you. I'm TK Takaishi. I know your brother and I'm in your sister's class."

"Hi, nice to meet you too. And who is this cutie?" She looked at Patamon, who was in my arms.

"I named him Patamon. My fiancée gave him to me."

"He's really cute. Is she in this play?"

"No, she's helping out though. I'm the one that wrote the play."

"Cool! So why aren't you helping?"

"He has an injury on his arm." Date-san said.

"Oh yea. I forgot."

"Oh, I better go check up on something." I got up and went over to Damon.

"I'm guessing that the attack has begun." He said as soon I got up there.

"It seems like it. This is going to be tough on them."

"Yea. I hope that they're going to be ok. Who are they anyway?" He pointed to Date-san and his siblings. I noticed that Mina moved to my seat.

"That's right. You don't have Mackenzie-san. The lady at the end is Mackenzie-san, the math teacher. The gentleman is Date-san, the man that saved Nereida and the one that I met. The other girl is their youngest sister Mina."

"So they all came here. That's interesting. Oh, the suits are really impressed by what they're seeing."

"It's going to be interesting still. Do they like the plot or are they impressed by the acting?"

"I think both. They were commenting on both while going out."

"Well, time is almost up so I better get back to my row. See ya later." I went back.

"Sorry for taking your seat." Mina said.

"That's ok. You can sit there if you want."

"Thanks."

The lights cut off.

Me

"Now we hear Macbeth's story." Nereida said and I pulled the curtains. Ceres had to use some of her magic to get the machines to work but otherwise the lights were creating most of the affect.

"If this fog doesn't lift soon, we may be trapped here during the night." Sanku said as the friend of Macbeth.

Yukia, Gaguo and Nereida started saying the lines of the witch sisters. Their voices were meant to be low for this part but unfortunately they didn't have the help of our tech' people.

"Who are thee?" Sanku asked.

"We are here to announce the King of Scotland." Yukia said.

"But Duncan is the king. There is no other king here." Ika said, playing Macbeth.

"You think we, powerful mages, would not know who the true king is?" Gaguo asked in a semi-feminine voice.

"True king? What betrayal are you casting?"

"We speak of no betrayal, our lord." Nereida asked. All were showing their faces.

"Macbeth, we best be going." Sanku said.

"Agreed." Ika agreed.

"You would go without hearing a reason for our words." Yukia said slyly.

"You need to know, Macbeth, that you're the true King of Scotland, not your cousin." Gaguo said.

"He has stolen your crown." Nereida said. Then, with Ryan's help, all three disappeared within a swirl of light.

"What do you think, Macbeth? Do ye think them true?"

"My dear friend, I am not sure what to make of this. Thus, I feel I must not over look this meeting." They left the stage and curtains.

"Macbeth, in the end, believed the old mages and warred against his cousin. The fates sided with Macbeth so we'll see about Hamlet."

"The air bites shrewdly; Are you sure that this ghost will appear?" Kareu said as Hamlet.

"My lord, it lacks of twelve… Wait, here it comes." Yukia said as Horatio, who is a male. TK wanted to make sure that even the females get some switching roles.

Nereida came out with armor.

"Look, my lord, it beckons you! Don't go, my lord." Yukia said.

"I must." Kareu ran after Nereida.

"Mark me. My time on the surface is almost up." Nereida said in a masculine kind of voice.

"Alas poor ghost."

"Pity me not, for I have something serious to tell."

"I will listen."

"Then you will hear about a story that needs to be avenged."

"What?" Kareu said with shock.

"I am thy father's spirit…" Nereida lifted the part of the helmet that could, revealing the make-up that hid her feminine looks, "I am damned to walk the night until the crime has been revenge; though I am forbid to tell my tale unless one is willing to take revenge my foul and most unnatural murder!"

"MURDER!"

"Yes, murder. I lay in my orchard when a serpent stung me. Unfortunately, that serpent now wears my crown."

"My uncle!"

"Yes, your uncle. He walked into my garden with a juice of cursed nebona in hand. He poured it in my ear, ending my life."

The curtains fall and Nereida had to hurry with tossing on her robe. "Hamlet has his revenge on his father's murders, who are his mother and new father. For now, the fates will govern lives even of those of love." Nereida had to get to change really fast into her Juliet costume since she has to be in the beginning scene. Normally, it would've been easy but since we're having technical difficultly.

She ran onto stage and I pulled up the curtains.

"Why are thee sitting beside a wall?" Kareu asked as Romeo.

She turned to look at him in the face, "Who 'tis thee?"

"Thy name Romeo, fair maiden."

"I lay here for I have no interest in dancing."

"Or, perhaps, you're looking for someone to dance with, my lady." He took her hand and they went out to dance.

"Ha, look at my daughter dancing!" Sakuro exclaimed as Juliet's father.

"But isn't that Romeo?" Biyio said as the father's friend.

"That doesn't matter, as long as she's dancing."

The curtains fall. "Fates are most unkind to this pair. They killed themselves to life together forever. Unfortunately, there is another poor soul in time. Let's see how fate plays his hand."

The actors and actresses were acting something on the stage when the chandelier fell. Kuwuri, as the 'hero' of this play, saved the main lady, played by Yukia, giving Nereida a break.

"Are you all right?" Kuwuri asked her.

"I think so but what happened?"

"Everyone, off the set!" The director, played by Ika, said.

They all did and the Phantom, played by Shogi, appeared, "I guess I need to drop a chandelier on him. Wahahahaha…"

Everyone was back on the stage. Out of the blue another chandelier fell but over Kuwuri. I noticed that there wasn't an invisible line to make it come slowly, but no one had time to stop it. Luckily, he moved away with no injury.

"Are you all right?" Yukia asked with worry.

"Yea but how did that happen?"

"It must be the Phantom." Ika said and everyone was talking with each other.

"Not him again." Yukia said once she was nearer Kuwuri.

"What are you talking about?" Kuwuri asked.

"The Phantom keeps following me. I swear he's like a stalker."

"You're saying that this Phantom is real?"

"It's fine if you don't believe me." She said as she walked away.

"That Phantom's so cool. Getting close to her like that. I wish I could be like that."

The Phantom showed his face behind him, "But you can't. Wahahahahaha…"

The curtains fall. "The hero and heroine were able to be together. The Phantom was chased for a long time before disappearing. Now it's time to let these ordinary lives unfold."

Everyone was going to be involved in this final act. This is TK's original story but I could never really see it since I was busy with everything else. Now I'm going to since my readers need to see it.

Toko, Sanku, and Kitty, Yukia, were walking together through a park when Teto, Kuwuri, came up to them.

"Hi Teto." Toko said.

"Hi Toko. Who is this?"

"My name is Kitty. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Same here. Well, I'll see you around." He walked away.

"You, my sister, and your brothers have nice friends."

"They're also your friends." Toko said with a smile.

"How can they be my friends when I don't live around here?"

Sino, Biyio, came into the scene, "Hi guys."

"Hi brother." Toko said.

"Nice to see you again." Kitty said with a smile.

"Same here. Toko, Sage wanted me to tell you to go pick up your car from Pit."

"Okay. Kitty, do you want to come?" He looked over at her.

"I have to get going anyway. Have fun." Kitty kissed him on the cheek before leaving.

"I can't believe you can stomach that." Sino said coldly.

"Stomach what?" He looked at him.

"Having a girlfriend and liking another without telling them."

"I have to get going to Pit's Shop." Toko said as he left.

"Too bad Kitty doesn't know. Otherwise I know she wouldn't put up with it. I wish I could help her… I love her." Sino walked off. That made me worried where he got that kind of idea since I know that there isn't anything like this in any of this in his novels.

The next scene is at Pit's Shop and Toko entered.

"Hey Toko, your car is already for you." Pit, Gomai, said.

"Thanks. Though I'm usually good with repairs."

"Don't feel so bad, I had to take a few days myself to fix it."

"Thanks anyway." He leaves in TK's car, though only a select few know that.

The next scene is at Toko's home and his brother was already in there.

"Hey, welcome back." Tsuno, Kareu, said.

"How was your day?"

"Okay. Diana told me that Kitty was visiting today."

"She was. She left when I went to grab my car."

"Oh, Yugi told me that some new cards are in, want to go?"

"Sure." They both leave.

As they're walking to the store, they run into Gatai, Tensho.

"Hi Toko." Gatai said. Tensho had to make his voice sound feminine.

"Hi Gatai, what are you doing?" Toko asked.

"Going home. I just got something for my brother."

"We're heading towards Yugi's store, want to come?" Tsuno offered.

"No thanks, I better get going." Gatai waved before leaving.

"You should really do something about your love life." Tsuno said.

"I know."

They entered Yugi's shop.

"Welcome… Oh, you came to look at the new cards I got. Well, here they are." Yugi, Aito, pulled out a box and they walked up to him.

"Wow, these are amazing! Your Grandfather must've had good connections." Tsuno was really excited about the cards.

"He sure does, like to buy any?"

"Tsuno, I'll see them later." Toko walks out.

"Something wrong?" Yugi asked.

"He's love life is getting complex." Tsuno explained.

"I see."

Toko is walking in the city.

"Toko!"

He looks behind him to see Diana, Shogi, come up to him. "Hi Diana. I thought you went back home?"

"We're just about to. Of course, Kitty has to find Rini."

"She's here too?"

"That's right, she likes you too. Man, three ladies after one guy."

"Yes, but Tsuno gets more girls."

"But he only has one special girl with him." She (though really he) said with a big smile.

"That's true. I guess that's why you don't get mad a lot when they're banging to get to him."

"That's right. Well, I better keep searching for them. See ya around." She waved bye before leaving.

Rini, Mata, came on the scene, "Toko!"

"Rini, weren't you guys heading back?"

"But I didn't get the chance to see you. How are you? You know, we don't talk too much anymore, how about we walk around in the park for a while?"

Kitty walked in, "Rini-sama, we were worried that you've gotten lost or worst. Oh, hi Toko-sama. It's nice to see you again with Rini-sama.

"Kitty, be useful and get me something to drink. Toko, do you want anything?"

"No thanks."

"Hurry up, it's hot today." Rini said coldly.

"Right, Rini-sama." She said with a bow before leaving.

"Now that we got the load off our shoulders, let's go do something fun."

"Aren't you going to wait for your drink?"

"That was just so she won't tag along. I hate when others butt in on other people's business."

"Sounds like you hate her around you. I thought you would love the attention."

"It gets boring after a while, though the real fun is when I'm doing experiments."

"Experiments?" He sounded shock though settled about it.

"Maybe I should show you…"

"Rini, I've been looking for you. You're supposed to be home right now." Diana said as she was coming up.

"I don't have to be home if I don't want to go."

"Rini-sama, I got the drink…" Kitty stepped in, "Oh, Diana, you found us."

"Good, now let's go home. Bye Toko.

"See ya around." Toko said as they leave. "Poor Kitty. She feels that she has to listen to Rini. I really wish she was more like her sister in the way she doesn't listen to them. Unfortunately, they grew up in two different worlds. At least now Diana can help Kitty break free from Rini's control."

"Hi Toko, what are you up to?" Kento, Sakuro, asked as he came into the scene.

"Huh? Oh, hi Kento. Nothing much. Why do you ask?"

"Well, normally I don't see you by yourself."

"Tsuno is buying cards, Sino is somewhere, Kitty and Diana went home and I don't know where Sage is."

"Well, he's either working or home."

"That's true. Well, see you later." He started to leave.

"See ya…… His family has a love life problem. The girls that they love the most are too far away for them to visit often. It must be tough on Toko since he also has someone he likes on this end too. Not to mention that Sino likes Kitty as well. They really need some help." The lights cut. I don't mean like they should so I looked up at them to see what was the problem. Tim showed that he didn't know and either did Don.

Luckily, it didn't take long to figure out what the problem and the next scene was at Sage's home and he was fighting against Trowa, Gaguo. Lily Dawn designed the fight since dancing can be done to show fighting. Though Don did point out some moves that would make the movements look more like they're some kind of form. Toko was watching them until Sage won.

"For someone who's crippled you sure move fast." Trowa said once he rested a bit.

"I don't think of it as a handicap. Right Toko?" He looked over at Toko.

"How long have you known I was here?

"Long enough. Do you want anything?"

"That's okay, I was wondering if you heard anything from your sister?"

"Kitty is still safe. Diana and her are making sure of that."

"Thanks Sage." He said with a smile.

"Did something happen to her on your walk?"

"I ran into Rini and she mentioned something about experimenting on Kitty."

"She hasn't mentioned anything happening recently.

"What? When did they happen?"

"When you left though she started as you were around."

"Why didn't she tell me?"

"She most likely didn't want you to know. She wanted to hide it so you didn't have to worry about it and get her in trouble."

"Remember, only Rini is allowed to get near you…" Trowa said.

"You're right. Even if she did came to me, there would've nothing I could've done."

"I wouldn't say that but, of course, you can't see what you would've done." Sage explained.

"Thanks brother." He left.

"Poor Toko." Trowa said.

"And that is only half of his problems.

"Meaning?"

"Unfortunately, there's more to his life's problems than what Kitty is going through at her house. I'll be right back." Sage left.

"Must be something that only Toko told Sage."

"Now I feel helpless." Toko said at the side of the road.

"Toko…" Sage said as he catches up with a cane in hand, "Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay, why wouldn't I be?"

"I understand that you have a lot on your mind and you feel like you can't handle it but just remember that you'll always have someone you can talk to when you need it."

"Thanks Sage. I guess I should always keep that in mind. It's just that I've been handling things on my own for so long that I almost forgot how to ask for help."

"I understand, and it's a grave misfortune that Tsuno wasn't there to help you when you were young."

"But he was whenever he could."

"Which is true."

"See ya around." Toko leaves.

"Stay safe, brother."

Toko was in the city. "This day has been interesting."

"Excuse me." A person said that Toko has never met before. TK put her in this so it could bring some closure to this play, but told me that he felts this really has no end. Nereida played this part.

"Yes?"

"I know it's not nice to ease-drop on other people's conversation but…"

"What are you talking about? I wasn't talking to anyone."

"Not right now… I mean during the day."

"Like what?"

"The conversation with your girlfriend and brother, then with your friend, while walking with your other brother, when you went into that game shop, then when that other girl with pink hair was talking to you, then when your girlfriend and her sister came and left and that's it."

"Wow! A bit more than ease-dropping."

"Sorry."

"That's okay, you wanted to tell me something?"

"Yea, you need to let your emotions go whenever you feel pressured. I'm not talking about letting it out on others physically but just let others know how you feel." She walked away.

"That sounds a lot like what Sage told me." The lights turned off and focused on fortune-teller.

"Unfortunately Toko's life will never be the same. Diana and Kitty are mysteriously killed in their own home. Rini moves away, though that's not a misfortune. When Sage left with his friends for a day trip, no one heard from them or seen them. His brothers were sad most of the time that it was affecting their attitudes towards each other and their friends. Though the fates are not always cruel for they allow time to show them where they're needed as well as using this pain to strengthen them. Thank you listeners and have a safe journey home. For who knows what fate has in store for you."

The lights turned off and turned on when all the actors and actresses were on the stage and bowed. They left and I noticed that Ken was telling them to go home, fearing what was going to happen next. He made his way to me.

""Matt, get everyone away from everything to make sure that they don't get hurt."

"Our friends or the actors?"

"Our friends can handle anything that comes our way."

"Right." I went to the back and I noticed that Kari, Lily Dawn, and Panther were following.

Ken

"Thank you all for coming here today. I'm the producer of this play but the real credit goes to my dear friend Takaishi TK. Why don't you come up TK?" Though I want to end this quickly, I did want the audience to know who wrote the play. I noticed that there were two people who I didn't know between him and Mackenzie-san.

He came up on stage and waved to everyone, "Why am I on stage?" He whispered to me.

"Because I wanted those suits to know who wrote this play."

"They're here for the actors."

"I have been able to attract other kind of suits. Everyone have a nice day and there'll be a posted day for the video."

Everyone clasped and started to leave. I noticed that those three were still sitting there.

"Well, at least nothing has happened during the play."

"Nothing major. Who are…" Then something crashed in the audience. I looked to see that it was just something to scare them and it worked on the majority.

"Ken, TK, the lights!" I heard Don say. I looked up and noticed that the lights were falling and we both jumped forward to avoid it.

"Are you two okay?" Mackenzie-san asked as she came up to the stage.

"What happened?" I looked back to see that Matt was here and the same with everyone on the ground.

"Could someone get us a ladder or something?" Don asked. Neon ran to get it.

"What happened?" Matt asked as we were getting up.

"The lights just fell, we were lucky enough to tell them and get off them." Tim said.

"I was trying to kill those two." Everyone looked to the front to see someone wearing a Western ancient robe with a purple lash around his arm.

"Who are you?" Matt asked. I started to feel something but I figured it was coming from the man with the ancient look.

"I am Dionysusmon and I want to have revenge."

"What revenge is that?"

"For not having this play to be in my honor or another god."

"You're going to pay for what you have done." Matt jumped over the lights and ran after him.

"Matt!" TK went after him.

"Ken, we have to stop Matt." Panther whispered and I nodded. As we got to the audience seats, the other girl was in our way.

"Ken, Panther, what is going on?" Mackenzie-san asked in a teacher's voice.

"Mackenzie-san, we have to make sure that they don't do something foolish." Panther said.

"My brother will make sure that don't do anything foolish. Now answer."

"Mackenzie-san, I'm sorry. I know that this place was a bit dangerous but it wasn't due to the lack of care of the place. Someone was attacking us and we now know that this man was the cause. I just didn't want to see a place like this go to waste because no one has used it." I explained.

"Then everyone stay in here."

"Why?" Panther asked, holding her anger.

"I don't want to get in the way and no one else needs to be there." Though I noticed that she was half regretting her words.

TK

I was barely keeping up with Matt. I thought that I should use my jewel but I don't remember if I brought it with me.

"TK, you should not be running." Date-san said as he was running beside me.

"I need to stop my brother."

"Hold this then." He handed me his cane.

"Why.y.y…!" He picked me up onto his back and started to run faster since we were further behind him. "What about your leg?"

"Don't worry. You need to stop your older brother from doing something stupid. May I ask a question if it is quick?"

"Sure… I guess…"

"Why were your brother's eyes as black as night when that man appeared and announced himself?"

I looked down knowing what was being asked. I wasn't sure if the being was taking over or he was allowing him to come out to help him get revenge for Gabumon. "I'm not sure…"

"Do not worry about it right now. I got to get moving or else we will not get to your brother." He went a lot faster before jumping up along the sides of two building.

We got to the top and Matt and Dionysus were facing each other. Date-san put me down but made sure that I didn't go near them. I could feel the evil rising within Matt.

"Date-san, I have to stop him before this fight begins." But he looked serious at the scene.

"TK, do you really think that you can stop them?"

"I only need to stop Matt."

"He looks serious about this fight."

"That's because of his first attention grabber." Matt launched towards Dionysus but he just summons effortlessly animals to attack Matt. I was glad that Matt was able to hold off against the loins, tigers, and wolves.

"We have to get Dionysusmon away from here." I said, remembering that we have a deadline to keep with Seto Kaiba.

"I am going to trust that you are not going to do something. I am going to go get some help." Date-san jumped off the building.

"Matt, you got to stop this. You have a meeting with Seto Kaiba, remember?" I was glad that Date-san was gone. It's easier on my part but I got this feeling that someone was still watching.

"TK? Get out of here!" Matt yelled, still fighting them.

"Oh, TK. The one that wrote the play." Matt jumped away from them and landed in front of me. The animals just stared and growled.

"How did you get here? Patamon didn't Digievolve."

"Date-san got me here. Let's go before you have to explain to Kaiba anything else." I was worried because his eyes were now swirling quietly as if the darkness was trying to lead you somewhere. "Matt, is the dark being out?"

"No."

"Then what's up with your eyes?"

"Explain that later. You have to get out of here." The animals started to come closer.

"I'm not going to let you stay here."

"What makes you think that I'm going to let you leave here alive?" Dionysus said with a smirk on his face. That's when the animals launched forward but then they stopped cold and still in midair.

I felt the evil growing and looked at my brother. He was giving it off and an aura of darkness was surrounding him. I looked at Dionysus and he was getting worried. "You think I'm going to allow you to hurt my brother? Only reason I allowed it to slide the other times was because no one got seriously hurt. Then again, that can change right now." His voice was that of the dark being.

"What are you? You can't be mortal."

"Though I'm not a god, I can live for eternity. As long as there is light there has always been darkness." _That tells me everything. Matt, you shouldn't have let him out right now._

"Are you some kind of demon that needs a host in order to live?"

"Not really a demon though I have always needed a creature that can handle the powers of light and darkness. Of course this time needed two creatures to give the power. Now, are you going to run?"

"You're that!" The animals disappeared and so did Dionysus.

"Matt, can you come back?"

"Of course I can come back." His voice was heard.

I just studied him for a few moments. His eyes were still black but the good thing was that they were getting bluer. "Hide your power and put on some sunglasses. Though do realize that everyone might know what happened to you."

"I'll have to explain that to them later then. Let's go." He put on some sunglasses that look familiar somehow though he doesn't normally wear them. We went down by the stairs.

"Matt, are you ok?" Panther asked as soon as we entered.

"Of course I'm ok. What happened to the teacher?"

"Date-san came back and they all left." Ceres said, "I thought that the being was locked up."

"Is everyone and everything all right?"

"Yea." Tim said.

"Good then we better not waste more time." He walked outside.

"TK, is the dark being really out?" Panther asked as we followed him. It was only us four since no one else was really interested in going.

"Matt is coming back."

"I guess it was too much to hope that it could be locked up." Ceres said.

We all got into the car but they were uneasy. They didn't know whether to trust Matt like this or not. I knew that I learned something today about this being. It's not a demon and it has even the Gods worried.

Hebe

Dionysus came back saying that the power of light and darkness is back. We have never found the creature that held their power but it has never been human before.

"I'm now wishing that I went there." Apollo said.

"So you could've seen what he's talking about? Apollo, don't worry about it." Artemis said.

"If I was there then I might've…"

"Shown to them that they're right about us."

"I know you're right Artemis."

"I wonder who has the power now anyway." I asked.

"That's a good question. You have to ask Nereida that question." Artemis said.

"You better get going." Apollo said.

"Right. Talk to you guys later." I got up and went out.

Me

_Ok, running away from Ceres's question might have not been the best way of handling the situation but at least everyone in this car knows something about it. The others only have an idea about so I didn't have to explain too much._

"Ceres, the being was never really locked up. If you couldn't sense it then it was hiding its power very well."

"Why hide it?"

"It's not really evil. I can't believe this part too well myself but I once mastered this being and used its power to help others."

"But at what price?"

"I haven't found a price on it yet."

"And it might be unfortunate that the one with light is gone." TK said.

"Meaning?" Panther asked.

"That Matt now has both light and darkness in him. The being said that this time had two creatures had wield the powers but we know that Matt has both."

"You should know who had light. Since you're both come from the same source it had to have been a friend you had since you were kid." Ceres said.

"I don't know. Anyway, we're here." I parked the car and we all headed inside. Luckily, I remembered the way going there because no one came to get us. _I guess that means that Seto trust me._

When we entered the room, only they were there. "Seto meet Ceres, Panther and Ken."

"Ken Ichijouji? The boy genius?" He didn't sound impress or surprise.

"It's an honor to meet you, Kaiba-sama." He said with a bow.

"Ok, Matt said you needed help with decoding something in an ancient text." Ceres said as I handed her the key.

"Right here." Mokuba got up from the computer and she walked over there.

"What took you so long to get here anyway?" Seto asked when we all came over.

"We had to get something before coming."

"Wow! Matt, you were right about this power." Ceres said.

"Are you able to rewrite it?"

"Yea but I'm going to need time."

"As long as you can get it done before the dinner begins."

"Oh, I don't need that much time." She started to type away. Seto was watching since, I guess, that no one else was able to do much with it so he wanted to see what she got.

She was creating the same thing until she got to the names. For Zeus she changed it to me and for the others were TK, Ken and Seto. She managed to delete that portion of the code and replaced it.

"Why give Kaiba access?" Panther asked quietly.

"Because we might need his help. It is done. Kaiba, you're able to have access to this machine if Matt allows it."

"What about the words to get this machine started?" Mokuba asked.

"You mean the chant? That's in a language that I don't know too much about. So I have to keep as is."

"So you can rewrite that part?" Seto asked.

"That's right. I know how to read and write in ancient Greek and Latin but not in the ancient language of the Digital World."

"I guess that's good enough for now. By the way, why does your name sound familiar?"

"Because it's the name of a Roman Goddess and if that isn't the case then I was competing in Duelist Kingdom and Battle City."

"Why didn't you make it to the top?"

"Think of me as a mercenary in those tournaments. Though whomever I helped never really made it to the top. They were all somehow cut short."

"Why would you be helping weaker duelist?"

"I didn't want to win, I just wanted the experience."

"Anyway, we have to get going. Come over some time and you two can chat, or duel, then. See you later." I said since I needed to go home to get the meal ready.

"Ok, bye." Ceres said with a big smile and wave.

The party was really nice. Yukia, though older than Nereida, said that she admired her skills. I found out that Kareu has been in all of Ken's plays. Mata definitely wasn't shy about his talent. Ika admired Ken's work and he dragged Biyio, his brother, to this play as well as tell him about Ken before he even got to this school. I noticed that Gaguo was watching Biyio, reminding me of Seto. Aito loves to play tricks on people but he was holding back some since he's in my house. Tensho was quiet around the others and was really only talking to TK. Sakuro couldn't have too many roles since he has a low voice but he does seem to be following me around. Shogi loves Noh and Kabuki plays. Kuwuri is about the same as Mata but a bit more settle. Sanku sits in the style of someone who mediates a lot. Gomai just like hanging with Ken but Sakuro told me that he's most likely apart of Ken's fan club, which, of course, made me worry.

Once they left, I explained what I know about the dark being and why he's not sealed. I figured that since Nereida was the one mostly asking the questions that Heka wanted to know what was going on. Once everyone was satisfied with the answers, everyone headed home.

"I'm getting the feeling that Date-san is avoiding me." I said as I was putting the dishes away.

"What makes you think that?" Panther asked from the couch.

"He brought TK to me but then he left. As a matter of fact, I never had a chance to meet your new math teacher either."

"Do you really want to meet them?" Ceres asked.

"Date-san knew my father and is protective of my little brother. Of course I want to know who he is."

"I think you're a bit jealous as well." Ceres said with a smile.

"And why's that?" I looked at her from the doorway, since I was done with the dishes.

"For the reasons you said. Anyway, today was long and I'm heading to bed." She got up and went upstairs.

"Matt, I wouldn't worry about it too much. It could be dumb lucky that you haven't met them." Panther said before heading upstairs too.

"You're really worried about something." Gabumon said as I sat down next to him.

"Gabumon… I'm going to heading into space soon."

"That's great news!... Right?"

"Not with everything that has been happening. I'll be too worried about them to concentrate."

"Then that's why I'm coming with you. When did they tell you?"

"Yesterday."

"Oh… Well, you have to tell them some time."

"I know… and I will. Let's head to bed."

He nodded and we headed up.

Well, that was really interesting… I just hope that nothing else happens. Dionysus went back to the Digital World, most likely to tell the others what he found. Of course Apollo, Artemis and Hebe have more information than he does. Hebe said that it sounds like both light and darkness are within me, though I already knew that. I have a feeling it has something to do with that girl that's now a spirit in the Digital World. Well, Gabumon is telling me to stop typing and head to bed so that's what I'm going to do. Bye.


	15. Chap 14 Voyage to Space

Hi everyone, I hope that everyone liked the play that my little brother wrote. Letting you know that many people came up to TK to have him write for them. Though TK wanted to since they didn't know about his arm injury, Ken reminded him that he's loyal to his publisher and that he's still in high school; meaning that he still has his schoolwork to worry about so he can't have too many publishers just yet. Of course all the actors and actresses were being scouted and each one got at least one person ready to hire them once they're ready. Tim was happy about that but still wanted Nereida to go to a college to become a professional. Of course I discovered that there is a Ken Fan Club at his school and there is a good amount of guys in there… Anyway, I don't want to think about it so I'm going to start the story now… Yea…

TK was on the couch as Don used his healing powers to at least heal up the two bruises on his arm. It has been over a month and it still wasn't healing. Karu wasn't lightening his torment and there wasn't much that TK could do with an unusable arm so he thought up an idea that can at least let him use his arm. Plus, he's tried of sitting in class doing nothing. Everyone else was doing his or hers work.

"There, it's healed." Don said as he let out his drained breath.

"Thanks a lot Don." TK moved it and it didn't seem to hurt him.

"That jewel of yours really did a number on your healing cells. It took a lot more than what I thought to get it back to normal."

"That's why I'm going to see something about Mimi's jewel."

"You mean the one that's able to heal but can't heal oneself?" Lily Dawn asked from the table.

"That's right. I'm going to see whether her jewel can heal the side effect of the jewels."

"Then let us know if that works." Ryan said.

"Of course I'll let you know." They went over and started on their homework.

I was watching them all helping each other and wondered what would become of these sessions once I'm in space. It hadn't crossed my mind until now since going to space wasn't on my mind when I was looking for them. Though this is my job and I can't really say no to going. I mean, that's what I'm getting paid for and that's how I can support so many things without worry. Not to mention that I saved a good amount before my parent's passing. So far, only Gabumon knows that I'm going to space and I'm going to tell TK once this is over since I'm driving him over to the campus. Izzy believes he found something interesting in the prophecy book so I had to go over anyway.

Once they all were done with the work, they got to the training. They had all improved what they had and even Kari started to develop some powers. Though it was all small compare to the others but they were there. She was able to do some telekinesis, telepathy and clairvoyance. Nereida expressed her considers with Lightningmon and Hebe that Kari might not be safe with these powers. Hebe said that she knows a few good Digimon that she could ask to look into it for her but so far they haven't found anything. Of course, with me having the powers of Darkness and Kari gaining some psychic abilities, they started to think that Ken might have some hidden potential waiting to be unlocked (they sometimes think too into things). Of course he only told TK that they might going over their heads (it's funny, they don't keep too many things to themselves but they don't tell everyone what's on their minds. That includes me… We might want to start working on that…).

"See ya when you get home." Ken said as they left to head home.

"Well, I'm going to bed." Panther said as she headed upstairs.

"See you in the morning." Ceres waved before following.

"We better head over there before it starts to get really late." I said, looking at TK.

He nodded and we headed out. When we got there, he went up to Mimi's room and I went to Izzy's.

"Glad that you made it." Izzy said as he opened the door to let me in.

"You said you found something." I followed him to his mini kitchen. I noticed that Tentomon was wearing an apron so Gabumon went over to see what he was doing.

"Yea, it's about the prophecies. I don't think that most are prophecies."

"Meaning?"

"What I'm trying to say is that a good amount of them are more like stories. Ken gave me the program but it still takes me a while before I can decode a word. I managed to get this one story decoded though."

"Let's hear it then."

"Ok…

The air rips around the realm,

Letting everyone know that trouble has fallen.

The Digimon in the castle start to worry

As the outsiders welcome this sign.

Everyone knows that tranquility has broken

But none of power is willing to stand.

New creatures enter the world of chaos,

Sent to bring peace to the world.

They are known as humans and they

Carry small devices with them

To show that they are the ones

That the one of power said he sent,

Truth is they came with help of Generals.

Those Generals guide these humans through their trails,

Save them from harm.

Many Digimon objected their presence and

Try to destroy them

The Generals are informed of this and run to the

Outside lands to save them.

The humans now understand that all the problems

Are coming from within the castle.

No Digimon many enter the castle without being

Captured or willing to fight to its death.

They vow that they'll learn about the powers of this world

To fight against the Counselors.

They discovered the hidden powers of this world

And used it to help the Generals to unlock

Their hidden potential as well as their own.

They win over the Counselors in the final

Battle and restore peace by taking the walls

Of the castle down so all can enjoy

The life of being together at last.

That's it."

"Let me guess, the reason you looked at this one is because of the word 'human'." I wanted to know whether he could see it in the Digital Language or was he just drawn to that one.

"Well, it wasn't easy to see but I could tell that there was something weird about it." He pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to me. I looked at it and noticed that one of the words had an 'H' in front of it.

"What did it originally translate to?"

"I'm not really sure. I was hoping that I could do some more research."

"Of course you can do more research, Izzy. You just proved that there's a place where we still need to see."

"That's true and this story sounds a lot like what Leomon told us when we first talked to him."

"Huh?"

"Remember, he said that there was a prophecy which seven humans with strange devices having the ability to let Digimon to Digievolve."

"But that's not what the story said. Sure, it fits in some areas but not all."

"I know but can we really rule out that Gennai retold it to fit the situation like he did with the other prophecy."

"You do have a point. Ok, so we're the humans… Then the 'Generals' has to be our Digimon but it doesn't say how many come into the world."

"I don't think that really matters. I mean it can mean all the groups."

"No… I at least have a feeling that it's not the last group."

"Well… Then it has to be the first two."

"And there are two major groups of Digimon in the time that that was written in. Outsiders and the ones that dwell in the castle, and a group of Digimon that are known as Counselors that govern the ones that dwell in the castle as well as Digimon that are powerful enough to be thought of as Gods… By what it sounds like."

"Maybe I should look up ones that have the 'one of power' in them. That might help clarify what the author is trying to address."

"Right. Oh, I'm going into space so if something important comes out of that book then let TK know. Let me have copy of this story so he can read it later."

"Right." Izzy went into his computer room and was printing it off. I looked over at Tentomon and Gabumon to see that Gabumon was showing him how to cook something but it seemed that Tentomon was having some trouble with it. "Here you go Matt."

"Thanks Izzy. Did you look through my Digivice?"

"Not yet but I'm planning to."

"Letting you know that those are how we're able to be tracked down but we don't need them to allow our Digimon to Digievolve."

"I know, Tai told me about it. Did anything happen afterwards?"

"It does take a lot more concentration. Champion needs a little concentration once you done it a few times then Mega takes a bit more. I haven't needed a reason for Gabumon to go to Were Garurumon yet so I can't say anything on that."

"I see. Ok… I wonder if the jewels have been the 'hidden powers' that the story mentions."

"I guess we can't really rule that out." _After all, TK is the only one that really knows the answer._ "Well, we better head out. If TK comes in then tell him that I'm waiting at the car."

"Right."

"Are you done Gabumon?"

"Yea." He said bye to Tentomon and we left.

It wasn't a long wait before TK came down.

"How was it?" I asked as I started the car.

"Her jewel is able to heal the side effects." He had a smile on his face.

"I'm glad but we shouldn't go to her all the time. That's like cutting corners."

"I guess you do have a point. Did you find anything about the book?"

"Yea, that book doesn't really have prophecies but stories." I remembered what Gabumon said a long time ago. He thought that the cat didn't know what she was writing when she did.

"But the stories are still focus on us?"

"I think so… We'll soon find out. Even with the program, it's taking Izzy a good amount of time."

"And what about the Super Levels?"

"He does have school to worry about… TK, are you still going to stay at Ken's house?"

"I will for a few days… Why?"

"I'm going into space soon."

"That's… Oh, I see. What's going to happen with your story?"

"I'm going to give you the password to access the computer. I'm entrusting you not to go looking at anything else."

"At least I've read about eight of them. How many do I still need to read?"

"About six…" (He can read this one when I leave)

"I can get that done at my house then."

"Ok… If you think so. Why are you staying at Ken's house for a few more days?"

"I just think I should. I mean… I was all right when I was weak but now that I'm strong, I want to make sure that I won't get mad and we can still talk to each other."

"I see and since I'm going to be gone for a long while, I guess that means that you only have him to talk to."

"How do you want me to handle you anyway? I mean you don't have a probe."

"That's true… Just don't worry about me. I'll get that in later. Oh… If you don't want the story to start with you then put one of their names first. If you want to start with you then just put your name."

"Why don't I just leave it blank like you do?"

"Because these are still my stories."

"Oh, I see. Fine, I'll put my name in. Can I make comments like you?"

"I guess so."

"And you want me to do the intro and closing?"

"That's right."

"Ok… That's easy enough."

"You'll see how hard. Oh, and you can't let the others know about it either."

"But aren't Panther and Ceres going to stay at your house?"

"They have to go over one of the other's house. The court has already told me."

"When?"

"They sent a letter. Though I'm not going to say they have to pack all of their things since they can still go there for study sessions and to get their clothes."

"What makes you think that they wouldn't stay there?"

"Because I know they won't. Just go to my house at the end of the day."

"And here I thought I could move it to my house."

"Then Panther and Ceres will know something is up."

"Oh… I see." We got to Ken's house.

"Well, see you later. Oh, read this when you get the chance." I handed him the copy of what Izzy read to me.

"Right." He got out and walked up to the house. I drove back to my house.

"Why do you have to go now?" Panther asked with a bit of mixed emotions. Ceres wasn't too happy about me going to space either.

"That's what I do. I just can't say no."

"That's why they sent this." Panther held up the court letter, "When were you planning on telling us? When you leave?"

"I first wanted to know when I'm supposed to come back."

"And when's that?" Ceres asked.

"Right before you guys start your winter break."

"What are we going to do about money? The letter said that if they see her or any other person accessing your account will be sent to jail."

"TK is the exception to that rule since he has for a long time and the bank knows him. Though I'll tell them to make sure."

"Then whom do you want us to live with?" Panther asked.

"Anyone you want. They didn't say who but they at least want someone to look after you."

"Too bad I have to go since I won't feel safe staying here by myself. Do you have a security system?" Ceres asked.

"Not really. Want me to warn my neighbors?"

"No… I'll put one up. I'll make sure that anyone you know on a personal level is able to enter."

"How about ones with a key to the place?"

"They can pick locks."

"But that means that they have to mess around with it first."

"I know what I can do so just leave it to me."

"Great, just make sure that you give it to TK and yourselves."

"Right."

"Well, you two better head to school."

They grabbed their stuff and walked out.

"Matt, we better get going as well." Gabumon said.

"I know." I saw them get on the bus and we got into the car.

Panther

"This is bad."

"But he's right. That's his job." Ceres said calmly.

"You're not planning on leaving, are you?"

"Of course not. That just allows them to get me better."

"I see."

"What about your elite?"

"They attack whenever they want so I'm always worrying about them."

"Then who should we pick?"

"Lily Dawn. Her brother already knows me."

"Done something like this before?"

"Not really but whenever I wanted to get away from anything I would go to her."

"Oh, I see. Ok."

I smiled and rested my eyes. _I haven't seen Stan in a long time. I wonder if he'll recognize me._

"Sure, I know that Stan won't mind." Lily Dawn said as soon as I asked her. Now the others know that Matt's leaving.

"Thanks."

"What are we going to do about the study sessions and training?" Damon asked.

"We can still hold it but maybe we can have it somewhere else." Ceres tossed in.

"Like where?"

"At someone else's house or at a café or something like that. As for training?…………… How about we do that on weekends?"

"That sounds like a plan but where are we going to train?" Ryan asked.

"Don's father, Shuni's house, Matt's house and anywhere else that someone knows."

"Well, class is about to start." Nereida said. So we all took our seats.

Me

"I'm glad that you're not late." Hota said.

"This is what I do for a living."

"That is true. Well, let's get started."

I went through all the testing that you have to do every time you have to go into space. They first give you a physical to make sure you're healthy; then take two tubes of blood to run a ton of test to make sure that everything is sound within your body; then they give you an x-ray to make sure that all the bones aren't broken or damage; a cat's scan to make sure that my brain is ok or something like that; make sure that my muscles aren't weak and the same with my bones (they test bone with teeth).

"So far, there isn't a problem but we'll see what the blood test shows." The doctor said well looking through the notes. The testing took a day (I started when they started school and finished when should be going home. I did call to tell them that I wouldn't be home. This is the first time that I had to worry about time so it never hit me that it would take this long).

"Doctor, here are those test you wanted," said a nurse, handing him a folder.

"Oh, these are the blood test results." He looked through them. "He's healthier than the last time he went into space. I guess you took my advice."

"Right, of course," I was lying.

"Good, good. I told you that foreign food are healthy and this proved it. Come here around four for the other testing. Oh, I normally don't say this but you might want to start thinking up a will."

"A will? I'm not doing to die."

"You never know on missions like these. I know that it wasn't a big in the news but what you're doing is going to be similar to what happened to another crew about fifteen years ago. There was a huge explosion and all but one made it back. That one had a daughter that lived with him and I heard that no one was willing to take her in. Luckily, her father's friend took care of her. I know that you're taking care of someone and so that's why."

"Right. Well, see you later." I got up and walked out. Though I was too young to really care about anything, my father told me the same story when I told him I wanted to be an astronaut. He didn't want to lose his son in space. Though I had the feeling that he didn't tell me the full story but now I'll never know.

"I didn't know that space could be so dangerous." Gabumon said once we were in the car.

"Everything can be dangerous."

"Really? I guess it's a good thing that I'm coming with you."

"Right."

"You're leaving that early?" Panther asked when I got home. It was really late and I thought that they would be in bed.

"Testing takes a long while."

"We're staying with Lily Dawn."

"Good. Well, I have to wake up early so let's get to bed." They went up.

"I don't have to go through the same things that you do?" Gabumon asked.

"I can't really get your blood and have it tested, now can I?"

"I guess you have a point. Do you spend a lot of time out in space or has it always been a few months?" We were walking upstairs since he has to wake up as well.

"It's normally a few weeks. That's how I can get so many times in space. I know that they're working a special project that has to do with a longer time in space but they haven't tested the things for it."

"Have you heard about that explosion when you were studying?"

"I remembered my father mentioning something about it since that's the reason why he didn't want me to become an astronaut. Well, let's talk about this tomorrow since I'll have more time for it." I said as we headed to my room.

Panther

I know that he has to do this but I didn't like the feeling about it. It was like I knew that I should worry about it but my head is telling me that I shouldn't since he has done this a thousand times before. I looked at the picture and hoped that the glowing lady might be able to do something about it.

"Panther?" I heard Ceres say softly as she entered my room. Plantmon wasn't asleep and I don't know whether I could.

"Yea?" She closed the door and walked over to my bed since I was already sitting under the covers.

"Are you worried?" She asked as she sat down.

"I guess I am… I mean… There is so many things that Matt has driven away and now he's not going to be here…"

"I know… I guess we both just have to be strong until he gets back… Did you hear what he and Gabumon were talking about as they went to bed?"

"I heard their voices…"

"They were talking about an explosion that made his father worry about him being an astronaut. I guess it was somehow mentioned to him when they were testing him."

"I don't remember hearing about an explosion."

"I'm not sure whether I've heard about it but since Matt didn't say that he remembered it then it had to have occurred when he was too young to remember it or when he wasn't even born."

"Then I guess we have to do some research about that."

"I have an idea; let's skip school so we can watch him take off. It might ease some of our worry."

"We should ask him that when he gets home."

"At least we don't have to bring everything to Lily Dawn's house… Though we might want to bring a lot of things to make sure that if something happens when we're not there then nothing happens to our stuff."

"What about Matt's things?"

"We'll have to make sure that they're safe… You know… Like if one of our enemies come and looks around to find us."

"I see… And since we have the devices so it shouldn't be a problem."

"Right. Well, see you in the morning. Do you want to cook or should I?"

"I want to see what you got in your talent-pool."

"Okay then." She got up and walked outside. I got up and looked out of my window.

That's when I noticed that it was nearing the full moon and it still looked beautiful.

"What are you looking at?" Plantmon asked once she was on my shoulder.

"At the moon. I sometimes look at it when I get worry about something when it's out."

"Are you going to get some sleep?"

"I'll try." I headed back but sleeping wasn't happening with my worried and excited body. I looked at Plantmon to see her fast asleep so I decided not to do anything.

Lily Dawn

I was making sure that my brother did want he was supposed to do. I didn't notice when I got home since we all waited until we couldn't for Matt to come home. So now I'm making sure that everything was okay for them to come over. They said that they didn't mind sharing a room since Panther knew that we don't have too many extras like Matt does.

"Thanks Stan." I said as I got down from looking.

"Not a problem. I just hope that you weren't out late because you were on a date and when will I meet him?"

"You will when the time is right and I wasn't. Matt didn't come home yesterday and we wanted to make sure he did before heading home. I thought that you wouldn't mind so much."

"Just because I'm not like Dad doesn't mean that I don't worry about you. If that happens again then call me to let me know, okay?"

"Right. Well, I have to get to school so I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." I picked up my bag and headed out with food for Bellimon. I got on a bus and headed to school.

Me

"I heard that you passed your physical with flying colors. Now, hopefully you can do the same with the endurance testing." Hota said as she was leading me to the first room that had the spinning chair to test how much speed could I endure.

"I'm sure that I'll do fine on these too. Do we have to get all the testing done in one day? I thought that these have to be a day at a time."

"That's why we wanted you here early so you can have a few hours of rest."

I got into the chair and I made sure that Gabumon was with me. I was worried that his size might do something to him so we used that special dust that Styxmon gave us when Panther first came to the Digital World and it was working so far. He grabbed onto the back of the seat and was holding on tightly. I hoped for the best as the people got out of the ring and into their spots.

"Gabumon, if you let go, don't worry since I'll be coming back."

"But that means that I'll be hitting you."

"You just let me know if you're hurt, ok?"

"Right."

"Are you ready to go Matt?" Hota asked through the speakers in the seat.

I gave the thumbs up and then there was a beeping noise to let me know that they were starting the count down. With the long beep, the seat took off. It was slow but steadily gaining speed as we lapped around the ring. I wasn't sure how long or how high they were putting it but it wasn't really bad. Then it felt like they were increasing since I could hear it in the sound of the wind and it was different from when I normally do it. I was also surprised that I was able to handle it and glad that Gabumon hadn't fallen off yet.

It started to slow down and I was glad that it was over. Once it was at a safe speed I rested my head against the back of the seat.

"Are you ok?" I heard Gabumon asked.

"As long as you're ok."

"Great job Matt." Hota said over the speakers.

Once the chair stopped, they got me out and were looking over me more than usual. I brushed it off and went to the lock room to rest a bit before the next test. Gabumon looked like he was sleeping on the floor. I looked at the clock to see that was near six and I got here around five, though I brushed that off too.

I don't know when I was being poked at but I opened my eyes with a hint, I'm hoping, of anger for getting me up, "Who is it?"

"Matt, did you tell the media about this?" I heard Hota ask.

"Of course not… You wanted it to be a secret." I said as I rolled over. I was wishing that Gabumon would attack her so we can get more sleep.

"Well, they're outside and they want to talk to you."

"Tell them that I don't want to."

"Do you have any idea on how they got this information?"

"Someone else told them. Though don't go asking them since they won't tell you."

"Thanks." I heard her leaving.

"Gabumon?"

"Hm?" He sounded like he wanted sleep as well.

"Were you awake during that?"

"When she walked into the room."

"Then go back to sleep."

"Right."

TK

"TK, may I speak with you outside?" Mackenzie-san asked.

"Sure." I followed her outside and she closed the door so the others wouldn't listen.

"I was watching the news this morning. They said that your brother is going up into space soon."

"That's true. He told me about two days ago. Why are you asking?"

"Has he made arrangements for Panther and Ceres?"

"Yes… They're staying with a friend that we know."

"Do you know how soon his departure is?"

"It might not take long… Why are you curious, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Just warn him to be careful." She opened the door and walked back in the classroom.

I followed her in, not knowing why she even wanted to know some of the questions she asked. I was then wondering how she knew that Matt was my brother since I've never told her and we have two different last names.

"So what did she call you out for?" Ceres asked as we were walking to lunch with everyone else.

"She wanted to know about Matt and his departure."

"Why?" Panther asked.

"She didn't give me an answer to that when I asked her. She just said to warn him to be careful." There was horror on Panther's face but I didn't have time to ask her about it since she walked ahead of us. "What was that about?" I looked at Ceres for the answer.

"I don't know… She's been acting weird this morning as well. I mean, I'm worried about Matt too but Panther is panicking about something."

During lunch, Panther wasn't talking much even when Davis came. She also didn't eat, though you couldn't tell since Plantmon still had to have something. She wasn't answering anyone, including Lily Dawn and Ryan.

"Panther, are you feeling ok?" Mackenzie-san asked once we were back in class. She was resting on her desk and I didn't know whether she even heard her question. "Panther?" She asked, closer to her desk and tapping her.

That seemed to get a response from her and she didn't look well at all. "Yes?" She even sounded weak.

"Are you ok?" She asked as she felt her forehead.

"I'm fine. Just didn't get enough sleep last night." She sat upright.

I knew that we could tell that that wasn't all of her problems and I think that Mackenzie-san could see it too. "Go ahead and get that sleep in the infirmary. I'll send someone to get you before your next class begins." She got up, leaving her stuff where it was and went along without another word. I was thinking that we shouldn't put on a party unless our little group did when he returned. After all, Styxmon came to him when that happened and seeing Panther this way is making me think that Matt might be going through something similar but smaller.

Me

The next thing was that I had to go into spinning sphere to make sure that I don't lose conscious or my food if I somehow lose control of the ship. Though I'm not the only one going but I am the last one to get tested since I had a few other things to get done before I went for the training. As I was spinning wildly, with Gabumon holding onto my legs, I was noticing that they wanted to make sure that I was ready but already knew that I was; explaining the rush to get all of my testing done.

After a while, they made it go faster and Gabumon was holding on a bit tighter. I just hope that wasn't showing on the computer because I wasn't sure how to explain that.

"Great job Matt." Hota said. "Though you won't get a break."

"Why not?"

"Because I allowed you too much time already and we need to get these done as quickly as possible." I looked at Gabumon and he nodded, saying that he was ok.

"Fine. As long as this means that I get to go home earlier than yesterday."

"We'll see so let's go."

Hota led me to the room where they tested for zero gravity. I like this one the most since it's the fun one. Gabumon was on my seat as I buckled for this ride and then they cut the gravity. I used the controls on the chair to move and I was moving wherever I wanted.

"This is fun." Gabumon said.

"It always is, in my opinion." I noticed that there was something wrong with this but found it before something happened. After a while, they cut it slowly since I was at the top of the little tube.

"That was great. You found the problem we programmed into it before it even occurred." Hota said as she led me to the next station. This time, it was to make sure that I could fix anything that came up and land the craft when I come back to Earth.

I was making sure that I explained everything to Gabumon so he understood what was everything incase something happened and it was only him and me, though today I didn't have a partner so I had to reach over to get the other ones that were on the other side. Again, I discovered the problems right before they were turned on. I also landed the craft with perfection into the water. Of course, I was never really this good before so everyone thought that it came with experience.

Hota briefed me on what the spaceship that I would be in would have. Of course, everyone else was there and I discovered that there would be five of us going on this trip. They were all new at this so I was there to make sure that they do everything ok and smoothly. Hota explained that everything is new so that even I might have some questions about it. Then the surprise came when she said that we're being sent to the moon and back. I remembered hearing that we were supposed to be heading to the space station to get some supplies. The newbies were worried that they might mess up but I was wondering why.

She said that it was all due to the technology that Kaiba gave them and some of his scientist that helped developed it. I wondered why Seto didn't have one of them come and steal the device he wanted but she answered that since the robbery, they had to ask for his help since they were already behind schedule. She showed us the same shape of device as what Seto asked and explained that it was used to increase the speed of the craft… "This kind of thing has been done before but we will be the first to succeed where they have failed." She said with pride.

"Hota, is this similar to the accident about fifteen years ago?" I asked.

"What they tried to do and what we're doing are similar but we have tested the equipment and we know that it's right."

"Not to put doubt in the mind but since the item was stolen and you had to rebuild it in a hurry then wouldn't that cast shadows on the creditability of this device?"

"Kaiba tested the device for us and assured us that it's in working order." Of course everyone was buying that. I just wasn't somehow.

"Ok, so can we go home and when are we going to into space?" I had a feeling that all they had were their families and/or girlfriends if they had any.

"The day after tomorrow at five AM so you guys better get some sleep before the big day and have everyone important say their wishes. Meeting over." We all got up. That's when I noticed that I was still wearing the jumpsuit for testing so I went into the locker room and looked at my cell to see if I got any calls. I noticed that I had a pay phone and it was at the school. I called the school to see why I was called.

"Moshimoshi, how may I help you?" Asked a female voice.

"This is Ishida, Matt. I was wondering if there was something wrong or if it's during the time that class changes?"

"Well, class just changed… and we just got word that Panther is in the nurse office. Her History Teacher was wondering where is she and her Math Teacher had just emailed us that she sent her to the nurse. Would you like to come and see her?"

"Yes. I'll be there shortly." I hanged up and ran out as fast as I could.

If anyone was telling me something, I couldn't hear anything they were telling me. I even ran passed the reporters, though I'm not sure how I did. I only made sure that Gabumon was inside the car before taking off to the school. I parked the car and ran into the school.

"I'm Ishida Matt." I told a lady in the front office.

"Oh yes. Panther is still in the infirmary."

"Thanks." I went to where it was. I found her sleeping with her head down and Plantmon looking over her. "Is she ok?"

"She hasn't been talking or looking well for a long time."

I got on the other side from where Plantmon was. "Panther, are you awake?" I stoke her head.

She turned her head towards me and her face told me that she wasn't feeling ok but she wasn't crying. "Matt?"

"Yea, why are you in here?" I noticed that Plantmon moved to where Gabumon was and was sitting on his head.

I could tell that she was looking at the blankets, "Because… I'm worried about you going to space."

"I promise that I'll come back. I've been going to space ever since my second year in college."

"Really?"

"Yea. You know that I quit my cooking after a year of college and that's one reason why."

"Even Mackenzie-san sensed that something is wrong with this… Is it too late to talk you out of it?"

"It is… I'm done with the testing and re-training so after tomorrow, I'm heading up."

"Ceres and I want to see you off."

"What if I got all you guys out so you can all wish Gabumon and me luck?"

"Gabumon?"

"Yea, he's coming with me on this. I'm not going to be alone up there. And you're not alone down here. You have Plantmon, Ceres, TK, Lily Dawn and Ryan. I know that I'm not going to be here for a long time but I'm hoping that you can take care of things while I'm gone. You understand my actions for this group."

"I'm not a leader."

"I'm not either but everyone listens to me anyway. I'm the one that started this so I have to make sure that everything is okay. Do you think that you can do something about that? Keep the peace while I'm out in the universe?" I said with a smile, which brought a smile on her. "Do you want to head to class?"

"Did I drag you out of a meeting or something?"

"I think TK called me but I didn't get it since my cell wasn't with me."

"Are you done?"

"Yea." _I can talk to Seto later._

"I'll stay here. TK and Ceres are probably worried about me as it is."

"Why don't you sleep some more? You look like you didn't get any sleep."

"Right." She closed her eyes and it didn't take her long before she was asleep.

"Plantmon." I whispered and she came over quietly, "How much sleep could Panther get?"

"A good amount. Do you have to go somewhere?"

"Not really. I'll head to the theater when she wakes up. Let me know when it's about ten minutes before."

"Right." Plantmon wrapped herself softly around Panther and left asleep too.

I wouldn't have figured that Panther would have a soft breakdown about this. I guess that since she was in the gang that she couldn't show this and that's why she wasn't crying. Even crying about Killer was a soft cry. I hope that I can see a different side of her when I get back. Though I would love to see the change myself but I know that I can't. This is how I can let them have a free and fun time living under my care. Though I was always a big brother, I never thought those skills would help me be a semi-parent to two girls that look for me for protection. I have a feeling for some strength as well but they get most of that from their own lives.

"Matt." I looked over at Plantmon, "It's time."

"Right. Panther, you have about ten minutes to meet up with TK, Ceres, Neon and Don before they head out."

She moaned a bit before getting up. "I'm sorry about that."

"I'm sorry that I couldn't get here sooner. Let's go."

"You're coming?" She asked as she was putting on her school shoes.

"I want to know who called me."

It wasn't a long walk to their History Class and I was trying to look like a student but that just made Panther laugh.

"What?"

"You're too much an adult to be a kid again."

"We'll see if I can get by." The bell rang and the moment of truth came. Luckily, no one thought that I wasn't a student but they did give me weird looks.

"Panther, are you ok?" I heard Ceres say as she hugged her.

"I'm fine." She pulled her off. "Who called wanna-be student here?" She said, looking at me.

"What are you doing here?" TK asked.

"I just want to know who called."

"I did. Why didn't you pick up your cell?"

"It was in the lock room."

"You mean the lock room that has a neon green couch that doesn't even go with a room that even a guy with some kind of sense would know?"

"That's the one. The couch is comfortable if you were very wondering."

"Thanks for the information. Oh, Mackenzie-san said to warn you to be careful. I don't even know why she really cared but she did."

"Do you know if she has a last class?"

"I think she doesn't but in either case you guys have to get your next class." Neon said.

"That's right. Let's get there before we're late." And they took off.

"I guess I'll ask the office. See ya two later."

"Bye." They walked off and I went to the office.

They told me that she hasn't left yet so I told them to let her know that I want to talk to her in the theater where Ken put on his performance. It wasn't a long wait and I noticed that someone fixed the lights that fell.

"Are you Ishida-san?" I turned to see a lady standing at the entrance.

"I am."

"I'm Layla Mackenzie." She said as she was coming down. She looked very familiar but I couldn't place where and the same with her first name. "I teach your brother and your foster children. It's nice to meet you." She did a little bow.

"Same here." I did the same, "I was wondering why you told my brother to warn me about going into space? It seemed that your warning hit a sensitive nerve in Panther that made her act like she did during your class."

"I hope that she's all right."

"She's fine but that still doesn't explain why you gave a warning when this is my job."

"I understand, Ishida-san, that this is your job but that doesn't make it any less dangerous. I heard on the news this morning that you're going to space soon and this is around the time that the accident happened fifteen years ago. I don't want some of my brightest students to be sad." I could tell that she wanted to say more but held back.

"Thank you for your concern and I am planning on doing my homework on that accident before heading to space so that doesn't happen again with this crew. Do you know a lot about that, by the way?"

"I know a good amount."

"The father that was killed, was he the only experienced person in the crew team?"

"I think he was. He allowed the others to get into an exit pod before the explosion happened."

"Do you know what happened to his daughter?"

"His daughter went to live with friends until her mother was able to take her back. After that, she wasn't able to have too much contact with her best friend until it was too late. I've heard from friends of the mother that she vanished."

"And the best friend doesn't know where she went?"

"No, he doesn't. The mother also said that she took her little sister and cat."

"Do you know why this wasn't on the news?"

"The family's friends were in the media at the time and they didn't want to bring up the sad memories for the daughters or their own sons."

"Thank you for your time."

"I'm sorry if I scared your brother and Panther." She bowed before leaving. I knew that she wanted to tell me more but there was something holding her back. Then my phone started to ring.

"Moshimoshi?"

"Matt, this is Don. Don't come through the front. There's a swarm of reporters here."

"Really?"

"Yea, when we came out, they were asking whether we knew you."

"That's because I didn't talk to them when they were at my office. Go to my house to see if the same thing is there."

"Right." He hanged up and I did the same.

I went through the entrance for the theater and found no one around. I looked at the front of the school, since my car was in the parking lot, and noticed that Mackenzie-san was getting hounded by some. I guess a few knew that she was teaching Panther or TK or something like that. I put on my sunglasses and walked nearer to hear what was being said since she was talking.

"Yes, I'm teacher here. Please, I have to go somewhere." She was trying to get through but they weren't allowing it.

"What do you teach?"

"Do you know Panther or TK Takaishi?"

"I'm a math teacher and I really need to be somewhere."

"Do you know Panther or TK Takaishi?"

"If I knew them then I would answer now please, let me through." That satisfied them and they allowed her to go. I walked away slowly and headed towards my car. I noticed that she wasn't walking to a car in the parking lot but to one across the street. I know that she doesn't have a first period but students aren't allowed to have a car in the parking lot so there should be a lot of space. Then my cell rang.

"Moshimoshi?"

"This is Neon, you're house is the same story and also with TK's. What are we going to do?"

"We'll meet at Nereida's house. Text Lily Dawn and have her tell everyone. I'll call Tim and let him know the situation."

"Right." She hung up.

"Moshimoshi, Shuni resistance." It was their Grandmother.

"Hi, this is Matt. I was wondering if Tim was home."

"Hold on." She sat down the phone and in a short time Tim was on. "Hello?"

"Tim, this is Matt. My house and TK's are swarming with reporters. Is it ok if we meet at your house?"

"Yea. Of course it's ok."

"Thanks. Neon, Don and I should be there shortly."

"Right." We hanged up. I got into my car and drove quietly out.

TK

Lily Dawn told everyone at once that they're meeting at Tim's house but she didn't know the reason why. We were waiting for Lily Dawn and Nereida to come from Nereida's locker since they walk together.

"I wonder why we're meeting at my house." Damon pondered as other students passed us.

"Maybe for a change of scenery?" Ceres suggested.

"Here they come." Kari said as they were walking with the last of the coward.

"Let's get going." Lily Dawn said and we walked towards the door.

I noticed that Mina and someone else were standing at the entrance with sunglasses on. Though I knew that it was strange but we had to catch the bus that goes to their house.

"Ok, sorry but you can't go this way." Mina said as the two of them were walking towards us.

"Mina?" I wanted to make sure that it was her.

"Yes, and I'm sorry to say that you can't come this way." They started to herd our group to the theater.

"Why?" Panther sounded annoyed.

"Because there are reporters outside and I don't think that you want to deal with them." The other one said.

That's when everyone listened and they seemed to make sure that we weren't being spotted by any of the reporters that were around. Once we were a good distance away, that's when they stopped.

"Everything should be ok from here if you don't go to Matt's house or TK's." Mina said.

"Thanks." Panther said.

"What's your name?" I asked the darkish brown hair girl.

"I'm Lita. Let's go."

Mina nodded and they walked off.

"Why do you want to know her name?" Kari asked.

"I was just wondering who she was. The other one is the younger sister of Mackenzie-san."

"What's her name?" Ceres asked.

"Mina. I'm not sure if it's still Date or she changed her last name."

"She's related to Date-san?" Ken asked.

"Yea. She was at the play but her friend wasn't so that's why I wanted to know her name."

"Well, we better get a move on so we're not late to get on the bus." Damon said and we ran to the stop.

When we got to their house, I noticed that Matt's car was there.

"How did you make it out of there?" Neon asked.

"We had to lie saying that we didn't know you." Don explained.

"Mackenzie-san's sister and a friend of hers helped us get out of there. Why are there reporters?" I asked.

"They somehow got word of me leaving into space but I've only told you guys about that so I don't know how they would've known. Any ideas?"

Before anyone could answer a cell was ringing. Lily Dawn picked hers up, "Moshimoshi?……… I don't know. Were you able to get in?……………………… What were they asking you?……………………………… Don't worry about it. Oh, and she's not in trouble. See ya later." She hung up. "That was my brother. He said that there are reporters at his house too."

"Why would they be there?" Tim asked.

"Ceres and I were talking about it on our way to school." Panther said.

"That's right. And you mentioned Lily Dawn." Ceres agreed.

"So the driver was the one that told the press. I guess I have to talk to them and answer their questions sometime." Matt said, debating his options.

"Have an idea on when? We still need to go home."

"Then I'll talk to them today. I'll be in some area and someone call them to let them know. That way you guys can get inside and not worry about them."

"Then what? We call you to let you know that they're gone and you run away?" Panther asked.

"That would be the case if they were only at my house but since they're at Lily Dawn's, I have to answer their questions. Oh, do you guys want to get out of school to watch the take-off?"

"Sure." Ryan said and everyone else was agreeing with him.

"Great. Then make sure you guys get notes to allow you to miss the day after tomorrow."

"I hope you are staying for dinner." Their Grandmother said.

"If you don't mind." Kari said.

"Not at all." She went into the kitchen.

Lightningmon said something to Nereida and she nodded. "There's a room that we can use to hold our study session." They led us to the room and it was just right for all of us. Matt and Tim were helping with bringing in the food that their Grandmother was making.

Me

"What does my Grandmother want you for?" Tim asked once all the food was in and they were helping each other.

"I'm not sure. I think it's to continue the conversation that we started the last time I was here." I now remembered that she was the first to tell me about him and I think she can sense something. That or wants to give me more information. Either way, I'm not going to deny the chance for me to learn more. "Well, make sure they're okay with everything and I'll be back."

"Right." I went to the room that we met before.

She was sitting there the same way when I first talked to her so I took my spot and waited for her to talk since she was mediating.

"I sense that you have gained control over the darkness." She hadn't opened her eyes.

"I have and I know that Virtue is given to me to balance the Darkness. And the darkness that I have is not evil even if it can easily be. My darkness has locks to make sure that it doesn't use its evil side."

"Locks?" She opened her eyes, surprised to hear that.

"Yes, locks. One is Virtue and the other might be Hope or my brother."

"I wouldn't have guessed that there would be locks."

"There's more. That someone that was every close to me gave me the Darkness but she's not around anymore so I've also gained the Light. I don't remember who she is but I'm trying to remember her. This power has been in with a cheetah clan before it ever came to me. I'm not sure what that means but maybe you could shed some light on that."

"A cheetah clan?…… I have heard of something like that but I didn't believe that they were true."

"May I know what that is? I want to know everything I can so I can remember what I have lost."

"There was a small clan of cheetahs that are able to carry Light and Darkness within them in harmony. Though it wasn't everyone in the clan since it could only be passed to the first female child and the mother dies once a second female child is born. They bear emotions similar to humans and the fathers and brothers are the only ones that live long enough to know this. The last cheetah to carry the Light and Darkness was taken away and no ones know what happened to her."

"So you're thinking that this cheetah somehow gave me Darkness and someone else Light?"

"I don't think that the cheetah separated the two but your friend did. She gave you Darkness for a reason and most likely it had to be at birth since the Darkness would've been bond to her within two days."

"And since she's gone the Light went to me even if she had a girl, right?"

"That's right since you're still alive… But that would mean that you have the blood of your friend and of that cheetah clan."

"How can I have the blood of her when we have two different families?"

"It could've been something that happened when she gave you the Darkness."

"Do you know what might help bring out the evil side more?"

"Please explain."

"I did something that brought out the evil side of my Darkness and tea calmed it down. I want to make sure that I don't do that again."

"Have tea every day and don't drink alcohol during the time that you don't."

"Thanks. It was nice talking to you again." I bowed and got up.

"Matt, how are you going to handle space?" She asked when I'm at the door.

"I'll tell something believable to the doctor at my office to allow me special tea that I can have. Don't worry; I don't want the evil to come up again."

She smiled and I walked out. After an hour we were ready for operation Herding.

I was at a park so that way no one else that I might know would come or someone telling the reporters where I was before my friends do. TK, Ken and Kari were stationed at TK's house to make sure that they leave; Lily Dawn, Ryan and Don were at Lily Dawn's; and Panther, Ceres and Neon was at mine. The Shuni were going to stay at their house to make sure that it works. I looked at my watch to notice that it was time for them to call.

Kari

"It's time." Ken said.

"Right." I got out my cell and called one of the stations that were here.

"Moshimoshi?"

"I know where Ishida is. He's at Aomi-futo Park."

"Thank you." He hanged up. Right then, everyone moved to his or hers vehicle and ahead out.

"That worked as plan." TK said.

"Now we have to hope that everyone else was able to get them away. Kari, are you coming to my house?" Ken asked.

"Nah, I'll head home. See you guys later."

"Right." We went our separate ways.

Don

"Okay Don." Ryan said, looking at his watch.

"Moshimoshi?" One of the reporters said when I called.

"I know where Ishida is. He's at Aomi-futo Park."

"He is! Thanks." He hanged up and they all went running.

"Our job is done. See ya tomorrow." Ryan said and we all headed in different directions.

Neon

"Now." Ceres said and I called one of the people.

"Moshimoshi?"

"I just happened to see Matt Ishida a few minutes ago."

"You did! Where?"

"At Aomi-futo Park."

"Thank you very much." She hanged up and they sprinted away.

"See ya tomorrow." I said as I headed home since once we were done, we were to watch to see what they ask.

Me

I heard my cell ringing and I picked it up, "Yes?"

"This is Damon, it worked."

"Thanks. See ya later." I hanged up and placed my phone back.

I made sure that there was a way for me to get away in any situation but I was nervous that it wouldn't work since Gabumon was with Panther and Ceres. I heard them coming and before long, I was surrounded. They were all talking at once that I couldn't hear what their questions were. "One at a time, please. I'm more than happy to answer your questions but ask individually."

"Ishida-san, why were you avoiding the public all day?"

"In the morning I was still in training and then I had something else that was very important to take care of, but you can just say that I wanted to make sure that everyone heard this."

"Why wasn't the press informed about this take-off?" (Just remember that these are different people very time)

"The head official for this project didn't want the public to know."

"Have you been briefed about what's going to happen on this flight?"

"Yes, we're planning on reaching the moon. Fortunately, we have Kaiba Corp to back us up on this project." _I wonder if he's going to hate me for that._

"How did you ever manage to get Kaiba Corp to support this project?"

"I was the one that dueled him for his technology. I didn't actually beat him but he was impressed by the skills to allow it." _I don't think I should embarrass him in front of everyone. _

"How are you going to handle Panther since you won't be here for a long time?"

"Panther is staying at a friend's house while I'm in space."

"How long are they estimating this to take?"

"I should be back by the time school is giving their winter break."

"When are you leaving?"

"We're leaving in about two days from today."

"Are you familiar with the accident that happened about fifteen years ago?"

"Yes."

"They said that they were trying to get to the moon but failed. Are you positive that the same thing wouldn't happen again?"

"I wouldn't be going up if they weren't sure. I was assured that Kaiba Corp helped with the testing of the equipment so everything should be safe and sound."

"If something were to happen to you in space, what will happen to Panther and the other girl that you took in?"

"I don't want to think of that so I'm not even going to answer that."

"Are you sure you're able to go up? It wasn't that long ago since you were in the hospital." _How the hell do they know about that?_

"I was checked by the doctors and they gave me the green."

"Are you worried that Panther might go back to her gang once you're in space?"

"I have enough trust in her to know that she'll do the right thing."

"And what of the other girl?"

"I have same trust in her as I do in Panther."

"Who are the others on the crew?"

"There are about four others with me and are pretty new."

"So you're the only experience one there?"

"They want to test them out in space, but I'm sure that I have some kind of involved role in their development."

"Are you sure that you can live with them for so long?"

"I believe that we can manage it."

"Well, thank you for your time." I noticed that the cameras were being turned off.

As I was about to leave, "Ishida-san, I was a fan of yours when you were in the Teenage Wolves." I turned around to see one of the reporters with an autograph book.

"Glad that my fans still remember me. I guess you want me to sign this?"

"It would be a great honor if you would." He handed it to me and I signed it. "By the way," I handed it back to him, "Why did you stop?"

I remember my members asking me the same thing at that party when I meet Styxmon, "I didn't get bore with it but I guess something just wasn't the same."

"I guess so since you seemed to have lost some inspiration for about a year and then after that, you quit."

"Well, just remember the times that we were great and we'll never really fade away."

He smiled and walked off. I went to my car and headed home.

"Well, everyone else now knows that you were in the hospital." Ceres said when I got home.

"I don't think they really bought what you told them. Just explain to them what happened and I'm sure they'll forgive you."

"Oh, Kaiba called. He wants you to meet with him tomorrow about something." Panther said.

"That's fine. I wanted to talk to him anyway. Anything else that I should know?"

"Nah, let's head to bed." Panther looked at Ceres. She nodded and they headed upstairs.

I wrote their passes to skip school for the take-off and went to bed myself.

Hebe

"Why do I have to be taken?" I was wearing something that mortals now wear and Aither was taking aim with the camera.

"Because we were told to and no one else is here."

"Then why don't I take one of you?"

"Because I can't have my life taken away."

"What?"

"Don't you know? I heard that if you have your picture taken that it takes away ten years."

"That's a superstition that mortals started around here when the camera was brought here."

"How do you know? Maybe there's some truth to it." He took the picture and the camera gave us the image. I grabbed it before Aither could mess with it.

"Because there wasn't a report anywhere on this planet that the cause of death was taking someone's picture." The picture was coming out.

"I still don't want to risk it."

"Aither, you're a god. You can't really die."

"But we're Digimon now so we can."

"I don't think she wants to go in front of a camera."

"Ha! I told you that they take your soul!"

I tossed the picture and he noticed. "That's why. Now give that to her before you start to annoy me."

"Right. She might need this right away." He took off. It wasn't a long wait until Apollo and Artemis came back from Hecate. "Apollo, you might not want to have your picture taken with Lily Dawn until you tell her."

"Why?"

"I had mine taken for our mastermind and it shows what we wear in our Digital form and not what we show to everyone else."

"I understand. Thanks."

"Not a problem."

Me

I went to the doctor after Ceres and Panther went to school. I told him that I needed a way to have tea while I'm up there but he didn't know of a way.

"Matt. Thank you for talking to the press yesterday." Hota said.

"Not a problem. I'm used to it already."

"See you tomorrow then."

"Right."

I called Izzy to ask whether he was done with that special suit for Gabumon and he was just finishing.

"When are you going to pick that up?" Gabumon asked.

"Once I'm done talking to Seto."

"I see."

I got there but they took me out to lunch for some reason. I wouldn't mind if Ceres was with me since she loves to eat.

"Panther told me that you wanted to talk to me."

"Why did you tell them that I won? Most people would've loved to bask in the glory."

"As you well know, I'm not most people. I just didn't think that the public really needed to know that I defeated you since I've never really learned how to play."

"Then letting you know that the device I had you get for me was the same that she rebuilt."

"I noticed that when she showed us yesterday. I was wondering if you guys really did test it."

"That's what we wanted you tell you. We didn't test it." Mokuba said.

"Then that means that she lied."

"I'm sure that she didn't even test the first one but there was something odd about it that I did manage to discover and had my scientist change." Seto said.

"What was that?"

"It seemed that the first one was able to open a portal of some kind."

"Do you know where that portal leads?"

"Not yet but we were hoping that you can test that for us." Mokuba said.

"I can't back out now. But ask my brother to help you if you need it. Panther and Ceres will most likely be willing to help as well."

"But it could be dangerous."

"I understand that but I'm not going to let those newbies go into space and have a panic attack. Besides, Gabumon will be with me."

"How can he go into space with you?" Seto asked.

"Because I found a way for him to without the others knowing."

"Have you tested this?"

"And it works."

"Then I guess be careful is the last thing that needs to be said."

"Thanks Seto and I will. I have a life on Earth that I need to live before I die as well as a past that I need to remember."

"What are you talking about?" Mokuba asked.

"There seems to be a bit of my past that I don't remember and now that past is haunting me in little ways."

"Maybe in that forgotten past is where you learned your dueling skills and met Yugi."

"Maybe but I wouldn't be able to answer that for sure." Then something hit me. That was the name that TK used in his play. "I have a question. Did Yugi own a card store?"

"His Grandfather owned it before his passing." Seto asked, now getting interested.

I started to feel something happening but I couldn't tell what, like something wanted to burst but was too far down to. "Thanks." I got up.

"Why did you ask?" Seto wasn't satisfied with the way I left him hanging.

"It seems that my brother might not realize that he remembers our past. He used the name 'Yugi' in a play that he wrote and he owned a game shop that got a new shipment of cards."

"You think that they're the same?"

"I've learned not to give things up to circumstance. See you when I get back." I left and went over to Izzy's room. He gave me the suit and told me that he was still working on another story but it wasn't done. Of course when he finishes with it, he's going to work on the Super Levels. It was a perfect fit so now we were just waiting for the others to get out from school.

Ceres

"Just because your 'guardian' is going to leave doesn't give you the right to leave." Ceres turned around to see that one of the school's 'miss popular' was talking to her.

"We're just going to see him off. Jealous?"

"Why would I be jealous of a loser like you?"

"Because you can't."

"Can't what?"

"Get out of school to see this historic event."

"Well, since your 'guardian' is gone, you guys are all on your own. I heard that you two have to live tight since you're not allowed to access any of his money."

"And that means what to you?" Ceres was now mad since she was giving a look at her that said she was better.

"Ceres, don't worry about her." Panther said.

"What, trying to be proper now Panther?" She mocked.

"You're right. _Canis non supinam vim habebat._"

"What did you say?" She was getting mad for the way that Ceres said that.

"_Cur, canis? Nonne audi quod duxi?_"

"What?"

"_Quod? Quod?_" Ceres said that in a high voice, clearly mocking her.

"All right, everyone into their spots." A teacher said and everyone moved.

All throughout class, the girl was trying to show Ceres for a fool but it wasn't really working and her friends were just being amused. The teachers were just telling Ceres to cool it rather than both girls.

"Alright, we're going to be going into rock climbing soon so we need all your parents to sign these." He started to pass them out. "Panther, you have to get your signed by the court after today. So if I pass out anything else, I want to see a judge's name on it."

"Okay."

"Sensei, what about Ceres? She's living with her too." Said 'miss popular'.

"You don't need to know that. Ceres," he said quietly, "Just follow TK Takaishi on permission forms."

"Right." Ceres noted how he retreated her kinder than Panther. They went into the locker room. "Why didn't he announce mine like he did yours?" She looked at Panther as they were changing. Neon and Lily Dawn started to change near Panther's locker too once Ceres came into their group.

"Because her bad girl reputation got her in that mess." Lily Dawn said with a smile.

"But that's ok. I really don't care about it anymore."

"Don't be so light about it. You're now an easier prey." Said the annoying one.

"Why don't you get out of their faces?" Neon said in a threatening way.

"And what are you doing to do? You can't fight in your condition." She laughed at this.

"I'll be glad to finish anything you start."

"Lily Dawn, why did you ever hang out with these losers? I thought you were smarter than that."

"Come on, she's not worth the trouble." Lily Dawn said and they all got out.

"What's up her ass anyway? She didn't say anything like that when I first came." Ceres asked as they walked to meet up with Don and Ryan.

"She likes taking advantage of things. She hates it when someone else is able to take the spot light." Lily Dawn explained.

"But we take it in a semi-bad way." Panther said.

"Fame is fame in her eyes."

"I hope that she wasn't causing too much trouble." Don said as he wrapped his arms around Neon.

"Nah, Lily Dawn kept my head cool."

"Well, I have to get going to dance class so I'll see you in the front." Lily Dawn said before taking off.

"Yea, we have physics." Ryan said.

"See you when we get out." Don kissed Neon before they took off.

"Have fun." Neon said to them before taking off herself.

"Where should we head today?" Ceres asked in a happy tune as they walked out of the school.

"I really don't know… Have anywhere in mind?"

"Not really… Should we just head home?"

"I guess so. There isn't anything for us to do." So they went home.

Me

I checked my mail to see that I got a notice to head into court today but I don't have to be there until six so I still have some time to kill before anyone come in and before I have to go over. So I was making the tea into other things that I know that I can take on the mission so I don't have to worry about killing the rest of the crew by myself.

"Matt?" I heard Panther yelling into the house.

"I'm in the kitchen."

"I was wondering; if we need money for something, how are we going to get it?" Ceres asked.

"Well, I'll wait until I hear what the court says."

"Why?" Panther sounded annoyed.

"Because if they mention something on it then I'll bend it so you guys don't have to worry about it."

"What does TK do when you're out in space for permission slips?" Ceres asked.

"He has Ken's parents sign everything. Why?"

"Our PE-sensei told me that I have to follow TK with those. Why doesn't he have Kari's parents sign the things?"

"I never really thought of asking them… I first asked Ken when it came up."

"And I thought the more logical choice would've been Kari since they're engaged. Oh well. Thanks for letting me know." She sat down on the couch.

"Let me guess, the sensei was being a jerk to you." I looked at Panther.

"The only two that haven't been is Mackenzie-san and my Art-sensei."

"I have a feeling that she'll let things slid with you."

"Why?"

"I meet her yesterday and she seems familiar somehow. Oh, during the study session tell TK that I want to talk to him when he has a chance."

"Why?"

"I think his play might contain some of our lost memories."

"Really?" Ceres asked suddenly behind Panther with excitement.

"Why do you do that?" I could tell that Panther nearly jumped out of her skin.

"_Quod_/what?" She asked in an innocent voice.

"What does that mean anyway?"

"_Quod _means 'what' in Latin. Want me to teach it to you?"

"I was just wondering but I'll think about it."

"Could you two get things ready? I want to make sure that I have everything before tomorrow."

"Right." They went into the kitchen and I headed upstairs to make sure that I had everything that I needed (I know that I'm making this seem like a road trip but oh well).

Hebe

"Oh yea, well you should've seen what happened in PE today." Hypnos said as they came in from school.

"Something interesting happened with you?" Artemis asked in a way that made one believe that she didn't believe in what you're saying.

"Yea. A girl name Ceres was yelling at this one chick in Latin."

"Do you remember what she said?" Thanatos asked.

"Yea. What she first was said was 'The bitch has no back bone'. Then it was 'Why, bitch? Don't hear what I said'; then it was 'What? What' in a high voice. I think the chick was about to slap her if the teacher didn't come in."

"I guess that means that we have at least one person to talk to in one of our original language." Thanatos said.

"Did she say all of that in Latin or just parts?" Aither asked.

"No, she said the whole thing in Latin like she lived in the past."

"We might want to be careful around her but you check out if it's ok."

"Right." Hypnos went on explaining what happened in his PE class.

TK

"You wanted to talk to me?" I asked when I found my brother looking over his room for something.

"Huh? Oh yea. The last part of the play that was your original; where did you get the idea for that?"

"You know that a lot of times that things like that pop out of my head."

"But you used the name Yugi. Unless you got it from the fifth story I want to know where you thought up that name."

"Matt, what's eating you?"

"Answer me then I'll let you know."

"I don't know… I really don't know. It just came to me as I was thinking up the characters for the last part." That didn't really satisfy him but he took it anyway.

"TK, listen to me. I want you to do something very important while I'm away."

"What?"

"First of all, if Seto Kaiba asked you to do something do it to the best that you can. Second, check up on Izzy very now and then to see if he discovered something important. Then find anything you can about the accident that happened fifteen years ago as well anything you can on a Yugi that's connected to Seto and anything on Date-san."

"Is something wrong? You're a little high strung today."

"Can you do those for me?"

"Of course but I don't understand why."

"I want to know what I'm forgetting. While I was talking to Tim's Grandmother, I found out that my ghost girl gave me my powers as well as hers when she died. Then this accident fifteen years ago keeps popping up and around fifteen is when I stopped with my band. I just want to know what's going on. Mackenzie-san seemed to understand more about that than she was willing to tell me and I want to know what happen."

"Matt, of course I'll look for you. I want to know about the past too. I mean my ghost girl is still living in another body and she's sad that I don't remember her. So, you think that my play is connected to our past?"

"That's right. Toko, Tokomon. Tsuno, Tsunomon. I don't know… It sounded like some of the names were just cover names."

"I guess you do have a point… Maybe I can I use that as a clue. Ok, I understand now so don't worry about it."

"Thanks TK."

"Not a problem." I headed downstairs so the others don't ask too many things.

Me

I left to go to the courthouse by myself since they were still training. The judge said that I couldn't allow Panther access to my accounts nor could she enter the house with anyone other than Ceres or TK. Any permission slips from school has to be approved by the court and she's not allowed to be alone at any time while I'm away. She also isn't allowed to go out of country for any reason and if she does then they'll put her in jail for a week. If they catch her doing something suspicious or illegal then she'll be in jail until I come back or two weeks, depending on when it happens. I wrote it all down and thought…

"Why don't they just handcuff me now and get it over with!" Panther said in frustration. It was a good thing that everyone else left already.

"My thoughts on the matter but that's what he told me so you got to listen until I get back."

"Did you have to give a name as to who is going to watch her?" Ceres asked.

"I did give yours, TK's, Kari, Lily Dawn and her brother. I hope those are ok?"

"Yea… But you know that they're going to say that walking to school is suspicious." Panther said.

"Luckily it was the same judge when I got you so I told him that and he said that they have to give a report first to him before they can even arrest you. And that's even for illegal activities."

"That's good. At least then I wouldn't have them on my case all the time."

"So why aren't I under the same restrictions?" Ceres asked.

"Because they don't know that you're a runaway." Panther said.

"I guess so… And luckily my mother never told anyone that I ran or gave me a birth certificate. I guess this means that I'm glued to your hip." She looked at Panther with a smile.

"In either case, you guys don't have to worry about money since Ceres is able to access them and I haven't changed it since TK needs to borrow some very now and then."

"Does he have his own account or do you two share?"

"We have separate but TK likes to spend his a bit too quickly."

"Then wouldn't he do the same with yours?" Panther asked.

"Not really. He's a lot better with mine and besides, it's not like the money isn't being put to something good. It's just that he buys expensive things and the little things aren't getting the same attention."

"Does he help pay for your old homes?"

"That and his own, cell phone, Internet, sending mail to far away fans, and a few other things. I'm just being a big brother and help out. But don't worry about it. I get enough for him and you guys. Well, let's head to bed since we have to get up early tomorrow." I went upstairs and they followed.

Panther

"Panther, I'm worried that we're going to leave him bankrupt." Ceres said, lying across the foot of my bed as I changed. Gelidardormon was jumping up and down on the bed as Ele was curled on her stomach.

"Matt said not to worry about it but I guess you do have a point. I don't want to leave him in a financial mess."

"Maybe we should talk to TK about that. I mean if he has done it a good amount of times then he must know a limit and how his account receives money."

"I guess we have to." I looked at the painting and wondered if I could bring it with me or something. That or give it to Matt. I'm surprised that the sun hasn't ruined it by now and the light of a full moon brings it out beautifully.

"Wow… When did you get this?" Ceres got up and walked over to it.

"I did that near the beginning of the year."

"What's it called?"

"I've never thought up a name for it."

"Well, it's better than your other pictures. Do you like drawing this person or something?" She pointed to the lady that was glowing.

"I guess it's just my theme. That's what TK said when I showed him this. I have a feeling that it's both the future and past of someone."

She looked at it more carefully, "What makes you think that?"

"I think I used my powers to see that image."

"I see. Has everyone given their two cents?"

"Not everyone has given their opinion if that's what you're talking about."

"Yea. Why not?"

"I drew that a bit before we got Don and Neon."

"I see… I have a feeling that this looks familiar."

"What do you mean?" She looked so serious, more serious than I have seen her yet.

"I mean the mother's face… Looks a lot like the face I remember from when my foster mother found me. I can hear her whispering softly that she loved me before sending me off."

"You think that you came from the future?"

"Is this Matt?" She pointed to the guy.

"Yea."

"You got his aura right. You do know that your Goddess is a ghost, right?"

"What makes you think that?"

"She's a bit transparent."

"But she's radiating light."

"And the same with the mother. Look, I know that's it's hard to believe but that's what I remember. My foster mother told me that she saw the sky open with a soft cry as two beams came, one landed somewhere off in the distance and the other one closer. She ran as fast as she could and she found me there. She called me a gift from the heavens since I once had golden hair like yours."

"Then why give yourself the name of a Roman Goddess of Harvest?"

"I just liked Rome and I wanted to remind me that I have some growing to do before I'm ready to be used." I looked at the painting and started to feel something about it more than what I have before.

"I always looked at the picture to give me some kind of courage."

"Then we better take this when we're staying at Lily Dawn's house." Ceres said with a smile.

"Right."

"Well, night."

"Right." She picked up Ele and Gelidardormon and went to her room.

TK

It was the day of his take-off and we were hanging outside to watch it. We got our homework done the day before so we're not worried about that. I could tell that Panther was still nervous about it and since Matt did mention that an accident that happened fifteen years ago, I guess we all should be worried.

"What's taking so long?" Panther asked in annoyance.

"They want to make sure that everything is ok." I explained.

She lay on the grass, "Then why ask him to come at five in the morning?"

"He does need to suit up."

"How is he planning on getting Gabumon on board?" Neon asked.

"He told me that he's using the dust that Styxmon gave him when we brought Panther into the Digital World for the first time."

"Wouldn't he run out?" Ceres asked.

"He assured me that he has another plan if that happens."

"But he didn't tell you what it was?"

"Nope."

Everyone started to get comfortable since these things can take hours. Of course, I made sure to pick a spot where no one would look for us, aka reporters, but we were able to see everything perfectly.

It wasn't until around noon, by looking at the sun, that they started the countdown. Everyone got up.

"Wait until around two minutes." I told them.

"Why?" Damon asked.

"Because they usually stop to make sure that everything is ok." Then they stopped the count.

"Way to be dramatic." Ceres said.

They started it again but stopped when they got four minutes and twelve seconds. Then they started again and went to two minutes and fifty seconds.

"So now we should be awake?" Don said in a humorous way.

"Yea, they'll stop very now and then but it shouldn't be too long."

The countdown went again but they stopped at two minutes and one second.

"Why do they stop it if they have to check it before they even get on?" Panther asked with annoyance that covered her worry.

"They notice something so they're making sure that it couldn't cause problems when they go into space."

They started it again and this time, we saw it take off. I could just feel everyone hoping for the best and that he comes back. I looked at my watch to see that it was nearly one.

"Does someone have a watch?" Nereida asked.

"It's near one." I answered.

"What should we do?"

"Unless someone brought food, I suggested that we eat something." Ceres said with a smile.

"I agree." Neon said.

So we got up and walked into town to get something to eat. Suddenly, Neon ran off and entered a store. Don goes after her and we follow to discover that it's a candy shop. Neon was running all around the store and it was obvious that Don was trying to stop her.

"What's going on?" Ceres asked as Neon went up to the cashier.

"Neon likes candy." Don said with a hand on the back of his head.

"Do you have enough?" Nereida asked, noticing that there were a few bags there.

"I hope so. My dad gives me more money incase she does something like this. But they've usually been small stores." The total came up and Don looked shocked.

"Don't have enough?"

"I won't be able to come close to that." But he was getting out what he had anyway.

"Neon, why don't you put some of that back?" Kari asked.

Neon looked at her like she was nuts.

"Here you go Don." Nereida gave what she had to him but it still wasn't enough.

Everyone gave up what they could and that was enough to pay for it. Neon was eating some as they were walking out and looked like a kid with its favorite treat.

"Sorry about that. I guess you can call that Neon's weakness." Don said.

"Can she eat all of that?" Ceres asked.

"Not right away but at least this will stop her from going into another candy crave for a while."

"How is that her weakness?" Nereida asked.

"I would demonstrate but she'll attack anyone that tries to take one."

"All you need is a piece of candy, right?" Ceres asked.

"Yea."

Ceres did fast moves with her hands and a small chocolate bunny appeared in her hands.

"Wow."

"Now what?"

"Let her see it." He got ready to catch something.

Ceres jumped in front of her and let her look at the chocolate bunny. Neon dropped the bag, luckily Don caught it, and stared at with hungry. Of course we all stopped.

"Ok and?"

"Ask her to do something that's not too embarrassing."

"Can I assume that she's not listening to you?"

"With candy, that all she sees, hears and smells."

"Then wouldn't that mean that she's not going to listen to me?"

"Try it."

"Neon, take one step forward, raise one arm and have the other arm out towards me." Neon did all that when she told her to so Ceres placed the bunny in the arm that was towards her and she ate it with joy. "Did this only recently happen?"

"No but before she could fight it enough to know what was going on." As soon as she was done, he handed her back the bag.

"Does anyone have enough money to buy something to eat?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Oh, I guess we have to cook then." I said since Ceres likes to eat. So we headed over to Matt's house and Panther and Ceres cooked something for everyone. They were using up things that can't be sitting for too long since no one will be in here for a long while. Once that was done, everyone went to a place that they needed to be. Lily Dawn and Ryan went to their classes; Kari, Ken and the Shuni went home; and Don and Neon went over to Don's house for training. I was making sure that I could get into Matt's room and also hid the computers incase Panther or Ceres came in.

"TK, could we talk to you for a bit?" Panther asked at Matt's door. Luckily I hid everything and was just looking around.

"Sure." We went downstairs and Ceres was already sitting at the table. "What do you need to talk about?"

"We know that you take money from Matt's account to help pay for a few things. We want to know what the limit to that is so he doesn't go bankrupt." Ceres said.

"Oh… That's right… I would've forgotten about that… I'm so used to being the only one that has access to it."

"We're not asking you to give us the number but we do want to know the limits."

"Let me get something to make sure that I have this right." I went into his office to get the binder that held his nowadays-financial records and went back. I looked through it to see what he has to pay for and how much does he has in the bank (Hi, this is TK… I know this is my first time making a comment and I know why Matt sometimes only makes a few… Ok, Matt doesn't like to use the computers to look up how much he has in the bank and things like that so he always makes a note of it and puts it in the binder. He has a binder for when he was in the band and part times jobs once the band was over).

Normally, I don't check since I have a job that I can use to get by most of the time but since they have to depend on Matt, I'm not sure what the limits should be. I mean, I don't know if money goes into his account while he's in space or something. "To tell you the truth… I really don't know. I'm not sure if he gets paid as he's in space or not."

"Let's figure this out then." Ceres and Panther came closer and we were discussing this. We figured that Matt most likely gets paid, by looking at his records, while in space and it's a good amount. Though that amount goes to paying the bit we have to pay to go to school (I really didn't know that Matt is paying for me to go there), his house, my old house, his old house (fully for his and half for mine), bills, memberships, car payments for both of us, anything that our parents were in debt for, insurance for us (all four of us), shipping those materials for the gifts, and payments to the court.

It was a surprise that he was even able to have money left over to spend on himself. It hit me that he does more than I gave him credit for and he just takes it. I now know why he always wanted me to make notes whenever I took money from the account and why he got a bit mad when I didn't. If he weren't in space, I would thank him for allowing me not to worry about this so much. If there's anything left from all of that, it goes to deposit account for our use and he usually takes about a five thousand yen for anything that needs money quick. And even out of that he always put a hundred yen or two into my own account to help. I noticed that even some of that amount goes to my account as well.

"And he's not tight on money? I know people who would love to have this kind of credit." Ceres said.

"He wasn't kiddin' when he said he gets enough." Panther said as she looked at a paper.

"I didn't know that he did this. Now I fell low for only helping out a bit."

"Well… since we're staying at Lily Dawn's, we only need money for lunch and anything that the school wants us to pay for." Ceres summarized.

"And all this doesn't go to his head?" Panther asked more to herself.

"Oh, make sure that you guys keep a note of when you take the money and how much."

"Right." I put everything back and got out his band binder.

"Why are you bringing out that one?" Ceres asked.

"Panther wanted to know why this doesn't go into his head." I opened it to see a contract and everyone in his band signed it. There were a few others where the parents signed and the last contract was for "agent" of the band and I seriously thought I would see Matt but the name was Diana. I looked around to see that both Panther and Ceres weren't here. "Where did they go?" I looked at Patamon.

"They went upstairs. They were talking about packing since Lily Dawn is coming to pick them up once she's done with her dancing."

"Thanks." I went looking through it carefully. Everything was logged carefully and accurately. Down to how many tickets they sold, how many CD's were being produce, how many were people buying, how much they were getting paid for the CDs, cost for repairs, and how much money each band member put into this. I would've thought that Matt was responsible very since he was making money if these weren't written in a female penmanship. Only near the end did Matt's handwriting appear but that's when the band wasn't doing too well, money wise anyway. They were in debt and he wrote that in big letters.

I closed the book and took out the other one to see what was happening during this time in his life. I discovered that he was paying off that debt with all his part time jobs during his first two years in high school. When he did pay it off, he started his own cooking show to get some money. I only then noticed that all the jobs that he worked for had to deal with that talent. At one point, he was working three jobs as well as taking care of dad and his own schoolwork. The only reason why he had to switch jobs been because they closed down because of their own money problems (he wrote that down in the binder). At one time, his job was to cross-dress and serve men. That's when he started to become more distant and wouldn't tell anyone why. Of course he left on his own account (he wrote for himself that it was the men that made him leave and not the idea of cross-dressing since it was dark there anyway… I feel sorry for my brother now that he needs pity). He stopped his cooking show since he wanted to focus more on taking care of his career and me. Of course, Mimi now has that slot so she got a lot of support. Of course, only now does he have enough money to live comfortably.

I put the binder back, "I'm leaving now."

"See you at school." Panther said at the top of the stairs.

I couldn't believe that Matt worried about that so much. I remember asking if I could borrow money and he just handed it to me with a bit extra during his high school years. He only managed to pay off everything in his second year and I wasn't being kind to his situation. The same goes for everyone else, including Sora. She asked if they could eat somewhere and he took her to commonplace or bought drinks and snack and ate it at the park. _Well, at least Matt was right about something, that my play might reveal our past. Diana helped him out during his band years until he was fifteen… Maybe that's his ghost girl's name! Then mine has to be Kitty. Well, I know that I can't be light on anything dealing with money. Matt has worked so hard to make sure that everything is ok and I've never thanked him for it. Well, that's going to change._

When I got home, I moved out of Ken's since I wanted to make sure that I got everything back safely, I wrote down everything that I've learned today and everything that happened in the past so I know what I had to look up for him while he's away.

Lily Dawn

Class was finally over and I was walking with a few of my friends as we were walking back to the lockers.

"Lily Dawn, look!" One of them said. I looked to where she was staring at to see my idol talking to my instructor! Her real name is Anzu Mazaki but she changed it to Tea Gardener when she went to America. Though I've always wanted to dance, and she's not that much older than Matt, she became my idol when I discovered that she was an expert in all kinds of dancing styles.

"Hi, I'm Tea Gardener." She said with a smile at me!

"…… I… I'm…… My name is Lily Dawn and it's an honor to meet you." I said in one breath and bowed.

"Girls, we're going to put on a special performance so everyone get ready." The instructor said and we all get ready. I didn't make the line in time so I was last.

Everyone was dancing individually for her and she was smiling as she watched each performance. I wanted to be the best so calmed myself by holding onto my amulet. Bellimon was with my stuff and she gave me a smile before I started. I listened to the music and let my body flow with the melody as well as the words. I was even using some of the fighting moves that Matt taught me. When I was done, she clapped and talked to everyone else. She gave each one tips on how to perform better and they were only half listening or caring depending on who the person was.

"You did a great job. I was wondering if I could spend the evening at your house." Gardener-san was asking me! Everyone had already headed home and I was about to head over to Matt's house.

"It would be an honor." I didn't know what to think of this.

"Great. Let me take you." She walked over to her car and I don't believe that my dreams were coming true!

"Thank you. Could you head down that way?" I pointed in the direction to Matt's house.

"Sure." She pulled out and drove where I directed her. Panther was waiting outside, looking annoyed but I knew that she was just worried.

"Sorry for taking so long. Do you have everything ready?" I asked as I got out of her car.

"Yea. Ceres, she's here." She yelled into the house.

"Right."

"Who is she anyway?" Panther whispered.

"This is Tea Gardener."

"The dancer that you idolize?"

"Yea! She came to the class and watched us perform. She wants to come over to my house!"

"I guess having the Crest of Calmness helps you a bit."

"Here's your canvas." Ceres said as she was carrying something covered with a cloth.

"Let's go." We headed over to Gardener-san's car.

"My name is Panther and this is Ceres. We're friends of Lily Dawn's."

"Tea Gardener, it's a pleasure to meet you." She turned on the car and drove towards my house now. "Are you two spending the night over at Lily Dawn's?"

"We're living there for a few months." Ceres answered.

"Why? It looks like you have your own house."

"Our guardian is away for a while on work." Panther said.

"What's your guardian's name?"

"Ishida Matt."

"Ishida…" She said that like she was remembering something wonderful.

"So, are you a dancer?" Ceres asked.

"Yea."

"What got you interested?"

"It's been so long that I've forgotten. It was just a dream that I had since I was little."

"Gardener-san, here's my house." She pulled over and parked.

My brother was surprised to see my idol here and Panther and Ceres made dinner. Ceres told me that Gardener-san might not be here for the company but it most likely a harmless arrangement. I didn't really care if she was here because of something else; she was in my house, eating at my table! It was more than I had ever dreamed.

"You like to think small." Ceres said when she left.

"I always wanted to meet her."

"That's right. Tea Gardener is Lily Dawn's idol."

"Ohhh. I see. Ok, that would explain the high praising that you were giving her. Sorry, I didn't know."

"That's ok. You brought along the picture?"

"Yep. We're not going to hang it or anything."

"I wouldn't mind. Well, let me show you to your room." I showed them where the room was and Panther showed Ceres were everything was in the house.

"Are you sure that Panther won't crack?" Stan asked me.

"Come on, don't you trust her?"

"Ever since she stopped coming here to hang with you is when I half stopped trusting her."

"She's better than that. She likes the way her life has picked up and she's not going back."

"How can you be sure of that?"

"Because I know Panther. We've been best friends since we were kids. You were friends with her oldest brother."

"That's why I want to make sure that she doesn't go back. It can change very quickly with the events."

"Don't worry, nothing is going to happen."

"Stan, hope you haven't change your habits since the last time I was here." Panther said as they were coming down the stairs.

"That's the least of your worries."

"Something that I should worry about?" I knew that she liked to act tough and most likely to hide her own worries.

"You haven't changed that much. Or were you just acting kind in front of a guest?"

"Ouch. I have changed and for the better. Well, we still have school." They went upstairs.

"Stan, she has changed. Night." I went upstairs and went to bed.

Wow… This will be my first closing… I feel special… Oh, I just finished the thirteenth story and getting onto the long one. I now know what Matt meant when he said that I have to keep everything to myself while reading these. I'll try my best to do a good job like Matt but I'm not sure how well I'll be. Oh, I'm also going to name these since Matt hasn't. Well… See you later.


	16. Chap 15 Trust

Hello. I hope you still remember that this is TK doing the comments and closing for a while since Matt's in space. Oh, this is the fifteenth chapter of the story. The first one is the prolong to the whole thing, for obvious reasons. It's the next day from the last chapter. I know that Matt sometimes skips over a few days to get to the exciting parts of our lives, and I am going to do that, but this is pretty important so that's why. There's a reason as to why it's on this chapter and not the other one. Matt really doesn't know that much about grouping things together… Or he does and doesn't really realize that he did it… Anyway, I think I better stop typing…

Lily Dawn

"What!" I heard Panther say loudly. We were going back to the locker room since PE was over but sensei wanted to talk to Panther, and Ceres, alone. I looked back to see that Panther was getting mad at something that he said but she was trying to suppress it. They walked around him and Panther didn't say a word as she walked by me. "What's wrong?" I asked Ceres.

"The teacher told Panther that she has to stay with TK during her free period."

"Why?"

"That way the school knows that she's not doing anything. We better get in."

"Right." And we walked inside. I couldn't believe that the school would turn so fast once Matt was done. It's like the only reason why they believed her was because Matt had her back. She didn't say a word while she changed but she gave the look that told you to not bother her right now so none of us did.

"Is something wrong Panther?" Ryan asked when we all got out.

"I have to hang with TK in his writing class."

"What about you?" Don looked at Ceres.

"I can still do whatever I want but I think I'll hang there too. After all, it's no fun without someone else." She said with a smile. We always forget that they think that Ceres is harmless but we all know better. She might even be more dangerous than Panther with her magic. This is the first time that I ever thought that since they're almost always together that you thought that they were joined at the hip.

"Then you two might want to get over there or you're going to be late." Neon said, kissed Don and we all went our separate ways.

I knew, and I knew that Ryan knew, that we have to do something before Panther loses her cool around a student or teacher. She wasn't too big on people telling her what to do, even before the gang grabbed her, so listening to them now is something that she's not used to. Especially since Matt allowed her so much freedom.

Ceres

They were walking along to get to TK's class. Panther figured that TK didn't know that she was coming either. They also didn't tell the others that she has to learn what they're teaching. The only reason why she's allowing this to happen is because she wants to show everyone that she can have self-control. She also wanted to make Matt proud that he had all that faith in her to do it.

"I hope that we can at least have some fun in this class." Ceres said.

"I'm hoping that I can last the day."

"Come on, all you have to do is think about what's more important. Jail or school? And if that doesn't help then this is the safest place to be from your elite."

"Nowhere is safe from them."

"That's not true. Otherwise they would've done more to get you than just use Killer. Now, let's show this class that you have a brain in there. Why is TK in a writing class if he's a novelist already?"

"It's something that he wanted. Here it is." Panther said, looking at a door that kids were still walking in to.

"Well, we're not going to get to class by standing at the doorway." Ceres said as she walked in and Panther followed. The class wasn't that big and TK was surprised to see them.

"I thought you would've gone somewhere." TK said as they took a seat near him.

"They wanted Panther to go with you since you're her best friend." Ceres said with a smile.

"They want us so close that I have to study with you."

"But Matt is only gone for a few months. Not enough for you guys really to need to do this."

"I'm the baggage." Ceres clarified.

"Panther, I assumed?" They looked up at the teacher. "This seat has already been taken by normal student. Sit in the back." She said with a disgusted look.

Panther stood up and their faces were really close before Panther grabbed her stuff and went. Ceres did the same.

"You don't have to follow her around." The teacher said when Ceres did.

"Shouldn't the seat that I sat in have been taken by a 'normal student'?" She said those words in her voice. She smiled and continued her way.

"I'm so over this school now." Panther said in a low voice. TK was sad that they were back there. He got up but the teacher told him to get back in his seat.

"And I thought they would be nicer to orphans."

"I'm an orphan?"

"You don't have a family anymore so that makes you an orphan."

"I guess you have a point. I can't wait until this class is over."

"I guess you have to work harder in your anger management classes."

"Then I'll allow you to test my control." Panther said with a smile and the class started.

The teacher was directing a lot of her questions to Panther. Luckily for her, she was able to answer them and they were correct. She was fortunate enough that TK sometimes needed help in this class and that he was helping everyone else with English using this.

"Good job Panther." TK said once class was over.

"I hate when teachers think I don't know anything. They fail to understand that I was still in school while in the gang." She had a bit more pride than anger.

"I'm sure that they'll think twice before giving you a pop quiz." Ceres said while doing movements like a boxer.

"Panther." Everyone came up to them. "What are you still doing in school?" Kari asked.

"The school wouldn't allow me to leave."

"Then we should go ahead and get something to eat." Damon said.

"I second the motion!" Ceres said and they headed out.

Damon

I know that it wasn't right of the school to keep Panther in school; we know that Ceres just follows, but she does have a bad reputation. The news was even broadcasting it. We just don't know how to help Panther right now. I mean, we're the only ones that believe in her on Earth. Then someone asked them how they were going to manage since Panther can't enter the house without someone being with her. They explained that they got all their clothes together in Ceres's bag and if they ever need something, they'll borrow from Lily Dawn.

"Just like old times." Ryan said with a smile.

"But I'm not going to borrow anything from you this time." Panther smiled back.

"That's ok. My style has changed."

"I know."

"We better get to work." Ken said and we went onto studying. We rented out a table for us to use for a while in a café since we still want the study sessions; though the training was going to be stopped until Matt gets back.

I was surprised that since we were in an open place that we were still having a lot of fun as we were studying. It was like we were still at Matt's house but our Digimon couldn't talk too loud. If there was anyone looking at us, we didn't even notice them.

"Do you really think she has changed?" Tim asked once we got home and in his room.

"You know her just as well as we do. Why don't you think that she can handle this?" Nereida asked.

"Because Matt allowed her too much freedom. Now that the rope is tightening, she might have second thoughts."

"They told us that she only had one tie there and now that tie is gone. Everyone knows she's not going back." I explained.

"Something could happen…"

"Then it would be that something to protect us. She doesn't want to go back." Nereida said.

"You have proof?"

"I know in my heart that she wouldn't go back to the life that most likely brought her pain."

"Answer me this, if it brought her so much pain then why did she stay?"

"She was willing to get stronger to fight the pain. Now that she has time to reflect, she buries the pain under her skin."

Tim shook his head, "All right then. But if something happens, I'm pulling both of you out."

"Why can't we make our own decisions?"

"Because you don't know that much about the world."

"And like you do, Mr. Careful?"

"Being careful is what kept you two out of harm."

"And what about Grandmother? Or doesn't she matter?"

"Grandmother has to take care of this house. She didn't have enough time to really make sure that you're okay."

Nereida got up and walked out. Lightningmon did the same once she was in the hallway.

"She's gaining a mind of her own." I said.

"I know she thinks I'm cruel but it's for the best. She'll understand one day."

"Nereida's right though."

"About what?" He looked at me.

I got up, "We know that you're protecting us. Hell, we see Matt doing the same for TK but Matt doesn't govern his life. He supports him as much as he's able. TK doesn't run to him with problems but ask for his advice. Maybe you should start idolizing him that way." I walked out to let him think about it. I found Nereida looking at the garden that Grandmother planted a good while ago.

"Hey." I said as I took a seat next to her.

"Hi Damon."

"You do understand that Tim is trying his best to be there for us. His decisions are what probably didn't turn us into a pack of low-lives."

"Are you calling Panther and Ceres low-lives?"

"No, but what Panther hanged around were. I know that she doesn't want to go back but Tim wants to make sure that we're not hurt."

"Everything has a sting." She sounded like she was talking about something else.

"Something else on your mind?"

She sighed, "Heka hasn't called in a long time and I'm wondering if everything is ok where she is."

"Why wouldn't they be?"

"Just worried about her. It's probably nothing."

"Give her a call."

"They don't have a phone in their house."

"Then how does she call you?"

"She goes to a pay phone."

"I'm sure everything is ok."

"Thanks Damon."

"That's what big siblings are here for." I got up and went to my room.

Tim

I didn't want to believe that I was losing my siblings to others. What Damon said hit a sensitive nerve that I didn't know that I had. I saw in the Digital World that TK didn't need Matt for help and it's scaring me that that might happen with us. They won't need me anymore. I was protecting them throughout their lives and now they started to drift way? This can't be how it's supposed to be, right?

"**Are you worried?**" Shendramon asked quietly in my mind.

I placed my hand on him since he was on my shoulder, "I think I'm losing them."

"**How can you be losing them?**"

"Nereida hates me and Damon agrees with her that I govern their lives."

"**In order to rule, the subjects must be willing to listen and obey.**"

"Thank Shendramon but I don't think that changes the facts."

"**Confront your fears and worries. Convince yourself that there's nothing to fear.**"

"I wished I had you here when our parents died."

"**I'm honored but why?**"

"I could've used someone to discuss my worries with. Nereida and Damon were too young and I hated my Grandmother for not shedding a tear."

"**Maybe she was strong for you and cried when she was alone.**"

"I think I'm seeing that. Well, I better get back to my studies. Since Matt's not here, I have to understand this a lot better." I turned around and went back to work.

Ken

"Why are Panther and Ceres going to Lily Dawn's dancing class?" Kari asked as we were walking somewhere to meet the other 'younger' Digidestined.

"They didn't want to hang with us and they're living with her. Besides, Panther wants to scare the others until she's asked to leave." TK explained with a smile.

"Wouldn't Lily Dawn say no to that?"

"She didn't, in fact I saw her talking to them about it during lunch."

"Panther needs something to smile at anyway." I said. Everyone knows that Panther is worried about Matt and is just hiding it, though she might be hiding it too well.

"Yea, don't worry too much about it." TK said with a smile and that seemed to calm Kari's fears.

It didn't take us long to get there and only Yolie was there.

"Hey Yolie, where's everyone else?" I asked.

"How can you guys get your homework done so fast nowadays?" Yolie asked like she was questioning us. I hated how this is bringing out the worse in all of them but Yolie doesn't even act like herself anymore.

"Matt created a study group." TK answered.

"But he's not here."

"That doesn't mean we stop with the studies."

I'm not sure if anyone else noticed this but when TK isn't around Matt, he tends to be like him at least in the choice of words and tone. But he still holds that smile of his like nothing affects him that he can't smile about. Though I know that a lot of things affect him and he smiles to hide his feelings about it, especially when he's angry when he shouldn't be. I always wanted to know where he got that from but I was never told where.

"Whom do you study with?"

"Panther is in, if that's what you're wondering."

"I bet it was a small group today."

"Nope, same as always."

"Glad to see that you guys got away from Panther." Davis said as he and Cody were coming up.

"You should stay away from her. She's giving you guys a bad name." Cody said.

"Let's talk about why we were called here." TK said but not sounding his anger.

"We were told some time ago that there was a Mental of Kindness and we're able to combine the Mental together." Yolie said.

"How?" This was getting me excited. There was really a Kindness Mental all along.

"We're not sure how to combine them but I'm sure we'll figure it out."

"How did you find this information? Unless Izzy told you." TK said, though only I caught his hate in his words since he had the expression of curiosity.

"Gennai told us." Davis said.

"Then why didn't Gennai tell us? And why only wait until now to tell us? If there is a way and there is a Mental of Kindness then we should've looked for it as soon as we're able to."

"You're right. We should've told you but we thought that we should wait. After all, your arm was broken." Yolie said, showing that she didn't trust TK but TK showed that he didn't see it. Cody looked sad about something and Davis couldn't be happier. Kari, Gatomon, Wormmon and I were the only ones confused.

"Then when do you want to march into the Digital World? After school like old times? Or during the weekend?"

"After school, if that's okay with you."

"Don't you have a different schedule then us?"

"Fine, over the weekend."

"Ok. Kari, let Tai know what we're doing incase we're stuck there."

"What makes you think we're not coming back?" Davis asked.

"Remember what happened to the older ones when they went to fight some group of Digimon? They didn't come back for a long while. Someone needs to tell the school why we're not here."

"You might as well not, Kari. They can blame it on Panther." Yolie said.

"Do you really hate her so much that you want her to be blamed for us not telling anyone where we are?"

"Why are you protecting her? Just because you brother picks up women don't mean that you have to care for them."

TK's smile right now reminded me of how Ceres looked when we were trying to convince Kari to not let Davis, Wallace and Cody to come along, "Weekend it is." He walked away, he didn't even kiss Kari goodbye so I knew that he was really angry and didn't want Kari to know.

"Yolie, that wasn't a nice thing to say." Kari said.

"It's the truth though."

"Yolie, whatever changed you needs to go away." I ran after him, knowing that he needs someone to talk to. I didn't find him anywhere since he couldn't have gone that far. I hoped that he didn't use his jewel to get away.

"Ken." I looked back to see that Kari was running up. "Did you find him?"

"No. I guess he's home."

"We should probably do the same. I'll call him to see if he's ok."

"Are you going to tell Tai?"

"Yea." She wanted to say something else but didn't. I watched her walk back to her house but I had this feeling that TK wasn't there. There was only one place that TK can always run to for comfort and that's Matt's house.

TK (though I should really put 'me')

I opened the door to Matt's house and went inside. I knew that I wasn't hiding the fact that I didn't trust her but I couldn't help it. I was wondering how Matt was able to do it. I remembered that there was a picture that he had of our loyal friends and I thought that I should look for it.

"What are you looking for?" Patamon asked as I looked through his room.

"That picture that he found in the attic."

"Oh. I'll help." He went searching for it too. There was a note under his pillow, saying that he knew I would go looking for the picture so he took it with him. I couldn't help but smile as I looked on the victory sign that he drew on it.

"Did you find it?" Patamon asked.

"Nah, he took it with him." I fell onto his bed, wishing that he didn't have to go into space. "What do you think he's doing?"

Patamon landed on the bed, "Maybe wondering what you're doing?"

I looked at him and smiled, "You think we should go?"

"I know that you were waiting to go back since you've already learned that information. Besides, this will give you the perfect chance to give them their jewels."

"Should they even have it?" I took out Cody's since Matt gave them to me to hold on to. "This group was the one that found it and they hate them."

"And you told me that Gennai already knows of their existence so it's dangerous to let them know that."

We heard the door open, "TK?" It was Ken.

We got up and went downstairs to see that he wasn't coming anymore then living room. "What are you doing here?" He looked up to notice me.

"I thought I would find you here."

"That still doesn't answer my question."

"Kari and I were worried."

"Then why isn't she here?" Patamon asked.

"She's going to try TK's house." Wormmon answered.

"What made you think I wasn't there?"

"Come on, I know you that you would've gone to your brother to talk about it. This is the next best thing. I know that Kari and I weren't the best supporters during that argument but we want to believe that…"

"That they're not with Gennai fully."

"I guess so."

"What are you going to do about this?"

"Kari is going to tell Tai and we might as well tell the others. They can get to know the Digital World and see for themselves whether or not we should still keep our trust in them."

I don't know why I was thinking about my ghost girl right now. I wanted to know how she would handle this and I guess that I kinda wanted to talk to her again. I mean I think I have an idea on what her name is and I want to see if I'm right. Would she give up on her faith for her friends if they were going against her own ideas and new friends?

"Ken, don't worry about that part." He looked surprised. "Cody's my friend and DNA partner. If we lose trust in them then they can't get stronger. All they have is a Champion and two Co-Champions to go to."

"Wormmon only has a Champion to go to."

"That's another reason. Wormmon would feel like he would let you down if he couldn't go to his highest to protect you."

"Then why are you taking your brother's place?"

"Don't I have a right to defend my brother when he's not here?"

"Of course you do but it's not like you to start the hate glares. They normally have to say something before you start."

I walked over to the couch and sat down. They were looking to see whether we were with Matt and I knew it. "I wanted them to know something… Even if that means that they don't trust me."

He walked over and sat down as well, "TK, is there something more than just finding out what the limits are?"

"Ken… I don't want you to lose what you have for Yolie."

"I shouldn't be here if I thought of that. If my acts make them think that I can't be trusted then they're going to have mix feelings about everything. Then I'll be like you and Matt more." He said with a smile.

"You're willing to forget Yolie for us?"

"I'm willing to do it for the team and you two. We've looked out for each other for a long time."

I don't know why I was happy about him saying that but I was. I was wondering if Kari would be able to the same when the time called for it. "You think that Lily Dawn has to tell her brother now?"

"Tell him what?"

"About the Digimon? I mean, they might get stuck too."

"You think they'll go?"

"They still need to discover it and they can watch our backs."

"A yen says that she doesn't tell him." Ken said, holding one up.

"Ok."

"You better head home before Kari gets worried."

"Right." We walked out and I locked his door. Matt's house is always peaceful and a good place to think.

"Good, I was hoping that there were third years here." I looked to see that it was Hareko, the one in Panther's PE class.

"Hi." Lily Dawn said as she reached our little group the next day.

"Hi, would the third years like to come to a party this Saturday?"

"Who's hosting?" Kari asked.

"One of my friends."

"Are only third years invited?" Ryan asked.

"Minus Panther and Ceres."

"Then I'm not going." I said.

"Neither am I." Kari said.

"It sounds like fun but I have something else that I could spend my time with." Ken said.

"I need to finish one of my art pieces." Ryan said.

"And I have this big dance audition that I should really be practicing for." Lily Dawn said.

She was so shock that she was speechless. After the shock passed, she just walked out without another word.

"Looks like her head was spinning." Ceres said with a smile.

"Don't worry about it." Lily Dawn said then class started.

"Panther, may I speak with you for a moment?" Mackenzie-san asked once she was done with roll.

Panther got up with a bit of an attitude. Our Japanese-sensei wasn't kind to her last class so she's a bit tick.

Panther

"Yes?" I figured that she would try to tell me something that if I didn't do would affect my grade in here.

"I'm not your enemy."

"That would be the first."

"I've heard of what they did with your free period."

"So? I can't do anything about it."

"Is there something wrong, Mackenzie-san?" I looked to the other side of me to see one of the other teachers that I didn't know.

"I can handle this." _You were saying about not being my enemy?_

"Are you sure? This one is trouble and dangerous."

"If I wanted your help with a student of mine then I would've asked for it." She said firmly but not harsh.

"If you want my opinion, you should fail her." He walked away.

Mackenzie-san breathed deeply before talking again, "As I was saying, if you want to get away for a while to think and calm yourself during my class, just raise your hand and I'll send you to the infirmary with either Ceres or TK. But look at the note to know what you have so you can tell the nurse. If you don't want to go to TK's class when you have your free period then let me know through Lily Dawn, Don or Neon and I'll call you to help me with something. We'll keep this up until Matt comes back or they threaten me to stop."

"Why are you doing this?" I didn't think any teacher would be willing to risk their job to help me.

"I don't think it is right to treat you differently when your guardian isn't here. I bet that if he knew they were thinking this up that he would've taken you and Ceres up with him."

"You mean this? I can come to you during school?"

"Yes and I'll help you in anyway I can."

"… Thanks…"

She smiled and opened the door. I walked back in and class began.

"What was the meeting about?" TK asked as we were walking to lunch.

"I want to say during lunch."

"Hey Panther, Mackenzie-san better not give us more homework because of you." Someone from our class said before continuing his way.

Once everyone was there and we made sure that no one was going to listen to what we were going to say.

"Mackenzie-san is willing to help me." I said.

"She is?" Kari asked.

"Yea. She said that I could come to her if I wanted to get out of TK's writing class and if I wanted to calm down before going to another one."

"Wow. I didn't know that she would do that." Lily Dawn said.

"Either did I but she assured me that she wasn't my enemy."

"That's good." TK said with a smile and then we went to talk about anything.

It was a good thing that Mackenzie-san allowed the class to relax me since World History was brutal. I would've exploded if I knew I couldn't.

"It's just going to get harder and harder until Matt comes back. Until then, they feel like they can do whatever they want." Ceres said like she read my thoughts.

"Do you think that this will go away over night?"

"It came over night. They knew that Matt couldn't miss out on going so they started to loosen. Now they're unleashing their wrath for your past."

"I like to know why they can't leave it alone."

"Something about the past draws people to it to understand. Many people have escaped their past by going away and changing their names. It's not hard thing to do."

"And some go away to find their past."

She smiled, "And some what to know the past of their culture, civilization or the world. _Scire praeteritum est posterum._"

"What?"

"To know the past is to know the future."

"Whatever, let's get to class before we're yelled at by the students." We ran to class.

TK

Of course this time during PE I got my payback on Karu. I knew that he put the spell and that he is a Deity Digimon but I have to fight against telling him. I mean, he most likely doesn't know that I'm a Digidestined since our Digimon know how to hide. Davis was glaring at me whenever he was able to. I was really glad that Ken would be on my side if they were fully with Gennai. Unfortunately, Kari doesn't remember what happened on that day but I know that she'll make the right choice.

"By the way Davis, when did Wallace go back?" I asked since I did want to say, at least, goodbye to him.

"He went after your play. Why?"

"It just hit me that I didn't say goodbye. Did he like the play?"

"Yea, it was really interesting. Where did you get the idea for the last part?"

"It was something that popped into my head." I said with a smile.

"I think it was one of the better ones in there. Oh, remember about our trip this weekend." He said as he walked out.

We walked out and Kari was waiting like she normally does. I smiled to see that his spell has weakened and Kari isn't allowing him to get near her without Ken or me being there (I can't read the probes like Matt can but I can tell that he told his brothers since they give me weird looks).

"Let's get going." Kari said and we headed out.

Hebe

"Guess who we bumped into." Thanatos said as they came in. Astraea came walking in behind them.

"Astraea, what are you doing here?" Artemis asked. Apollo was out since later on he was going on a date with Lily Dawn.

"Matt's out in space and I can't be interviewed so I thought I come here to relax a bit before heading back into the Digital World." She sat in one of the dinner table's chair.

"I'll make something for you then." Artemis started to make something.

"Athena and Hestia said that you wanted them to steal something, what was it?" I asked, since they would've known that they came here before heading back.

"It was a device that would've allowed Zeusmon complete control over everything he can think up. But that's ok, since the crew up in space is going to be going into the Digital World."

"What do you mean?"

"There was a device that I put in there that makes the spacecraft go faster. As they're returning to Earth, it's going to make it go faster so they could enter the Digital World. Once there, Zeusmon is going to convince them to join him and his cause. When they come back, they'll spread the spell and every mortal on this planet will listen to him."

"How will that help us?"

"Because their Digimon will listen to them and they will attack Gennai and anyone that gets in his way. And I am including the mortals."

"… Wow, that sounds like a great plan. Only you could think up something that clever."

"Thank you Hebemon." Artemis served her food.

"Hebe, don't you have somewhere to be? I remember Apollo asking you to do something for him around this time."

"Oh right. I better go and do it. Thanks Artemis." I ran out and over to a payphone to call Lightningmon. I needed to talk to Nereida and fast.

Lightningmon told me to go over to this café so I did and I found all of them laughing and enjoying themselves. I decided to wait since I didn't want to pull her away from her studies since her elder brother reminded her to not stay out so long while hanging with me. It wasn't a long wait and I noticed that Lily Dawn hurrying over to her date with Apollo. Panther and Ceres were following Ryan somewhere and TK was going with them, though I noticed that Ceres was looking over towards me. Ken and Kari were walking in different directions from the group and each other. Nereida was paying for something so Damon was waiting for her to be done. That just reminded me that I haven't eaten anything but my hunger would just have to wait. Once the others were a good distance away, I came out.

"Heka? What are you doing here?" Damon asked as I walked up.

"Me? What about you? What are you two during here when you should be studying over at Matt's house?"

"Matt's out in space so we have to study here for a while."

"I see. Does Nereida pay for the food that you guys eat or something?"

"No, she's getting something for our brother and guest."

"I see. Well, I really need to talk to her about something important so could you take that to them?"

"I guess so. You two should really hang out more. She really misses having someone to talk to."

"Sorry about that."

"Heka! What are you doing here?" Nereida was really excited and happy to see me.

"Could you give that to Damon? I have something very important to tell you and I can't hold it in any longer."

She gave the food over to her brother and we walked away. Once we were a good distance and made sure that no one was following, "Matt's in trouble."

"What?"

"Astraea is planning on sending him and the crew into the Digital World."

"When did you learn this?"

"Just now. She came over since she doesn't have anywhere else to be."

"But why?"

"It's apart of her plan to use them to spread a spell over the Earth to use them to fight against anyone that is fighting Zeus."

"But how can we stop it? He's millions of miles up in space. Did she know that Matt was a Digidestined?"

"No, I don't think so. But your group has to do everything in your power to warn him. Otherwise he's going to give you to Zeus along with our heads."

"Right, we'll do everything we can. Thanks for letting me know. Are we only going to talk when there's something dangerous?"

"I'm sorry but I can't risk Aither and his brothers to get curious about what I'm doing. Even Apollo isn't going on dates with Lily Dawn because he fears that she'll talk around them and they'll put two and two together."

"I see." She looked sad.

"But since we're here, want to talk about something?"

She started to tell me her problems at home between her and Tim. I told her that most siblings like to separate themselves from each other so her trying that isn't a news flash. She wondered if she would ever be able to like Tim again but I knew that she would. He was the only father figure in her life so she would always go to him.

"I'm an only child so I can't really give you a reason to go back to him but you will."

"Thanks. Is it ok if I go to Hecate and we talk there?"

"I never thought about it. I'll call you with an answer tomorrow."

"Ok, I better get everyone together to make sure that we come up with something."

"I'm only letting you know so you guys can think up something. You don't have to tell them tonight."

"Then I'll let TK, Panther and Ceres know first so that way they can start thinking. See ya later."

"Right." She ran off. I never would've thought that she would miss talking to me that much but I guess that since she's changing and getting stronger that she doesn't want to be contained anymore. I headed home.

When I got home, I heard a phone ringing.

"Hebemon, could you get that for me? Make something up as to why you answer it." Astraea said.

I picked it up, "Moshimoshi?"

"Who's this?" It was a guy on the other side.

"This is Hebe."

"Why do you have Hota's cell phone?"

"I'm her roommate."

"Then tell her that I need to talk to her about the device that we helped built."

"And this is?"

"Seto Kaiba."

"I'll tell her right away. Would you like her to call you back?"

"Tell her to come to my office tomorrow before noon."

"Right." He hanged up.

"Who was that?" She asked.

"Your name is Hota?" I placed the phone down.

"My mortal name doesn't matter, who is it?"

"Do you even know how to spell that?"

"I got someone to show me, who was it?"

"He wants you to go to his office tomorrow before noon to talk about a device that he helped built."

"It was Seto Kaiba! Why didn't you give the phone to me!" She was out of her chair.

"I didn't know it was important."

"I guess I can't really blame you. Well, I'm going to bed." She went upstairs with her phone. I looked around to see that the brothers weren't around.

"They'll know." I told Artemis.

"And I'll tell Apollo."

I helped Artemis with the cooking (letting you know that for Hebemon's probe that it automatically pops up and writes what is happening. I guess that means that Matt doesn't have to worry about looking up hers since if something interesting happens then it automatically tells it. Anyway, I can't believe that we were so easily fooled. Matt's in space and it's his boss that got him up there).

Lily Dawn

Panther hanged up the phone and she looked stressed. I knew that the call was from Nereida but what could she give her that could bring horror to her eyes. She got out of the shock and looked at me.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"You'll learn tomorrow…" She looked at the ground before heading up.

"Never saw her like that before." I looked over at my brother who was washing the dishes.

"Nereida must've seen something awful and it was about Matt."

"What makes you think it's about Matt?"

"She was like that before when my Math-sensei told TK a warning."

"She's a bit emotional lately. You think that it has something to do with Killer being gone?"

"That might've started it but she cares for Matt and doesn't want to see him get hurt. I think we all feel that way in our own way."

"C'mon, how can he bring so many different people together?"

"We all have something in common." I looked down at Bellimon.

"What? He did make those toys for you or something?" He asked with a hint of laughter.

"Stan, you haven't met him to know that he and his brother bring encouragement that we all need every now and then."

"Don't tell me that he's the one that you're dating?"

"Of course not!" I looked at him and he smiled one that told me he was joking.

"Then why haven't I met this special someone?"

"You will…" _But I'm not sure why I don't want you to… Everyone else is okay with him, minus the fact that they think he's a Digimon… Maybe that's why I don't want Stan to meet him…_

"Then let me know when. Anyway, you might want to check Panther to see if she's will enough to go to school. The court needs to know so they can look themselves."

"I'm sure she's fine." But I went upstairs anyway. I listened to hear that they weren't talking. I knocked and Ceres answered.

"Hi Lily Dawn. Need something done?"

"Is Panther ok?"

She looked down before widening the door. Panther was over at the corner and she wasn't focusing on anything. I walked in and sat in front of her. I remember her like this when her family died and the same when she saw that darker world.

"She hasn't spoken since she got up here." Plantmon said with worry.

"Do you know what Nereida talked to her about?" Ceres asked.

I shook my head, "She told me that I'll learn tomorrow. Panther? It's Lily Dawn. Are you okay?"

She looked at me and it always scared me to see her eyes only a sheet of green. Her skin is a lot paler and her golden eyebrows tried to fight off the darkness that's surrounding her. In this state, she's in the other world to which we now know is a parallel world to our own and the Digital World. Ryan drew her when she was like this to remind us that she's able to go there with the slightest depression or suppressed anger. As she looked at me, I could tell that she only heard my voice and couldn't see me. She whispered quietly my real name, trying to find me.

"Panther, I'm here with you. You know that you have to come out. It'll be all right very soon."

"Are you sure?" Her voice was a bit stronger.

"I'm sure. We have the power to change destinies and we'll always have that power."

Her eyes started to back to normal and her eyebrows were free to shine. She smiled, remembering that that's how we always got her out of there. We pretended a ton of times that our powers made a difference in the world. Like we were super heroes and any time we'll be called on a special mission that will save Earth. Of course that fantasy isn't the reality that we were hoping for but then again, we are protecting another world from destruction so I guess that's close enough.

"I would've been lost without you helping me." And that's when we knew that everything would be ok; that we're a team again and we'll face everything together.

"Want to tell us what happened?" I asked with a smile.

"Nereida said that Matt won't be coming back to Earth but she feels there's a way to save him. She's going to look into it more and she's let us know tomorrow morning before school starts. She already called TK with this information."

"I'm sure we'll think up something. Get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning, yuri no neko."

"Right, reimai no hana."

I got up and went to my bed and went to sleep.

Ryan

Nereida told us before class started that Matt was in trouble and we had to find a way to save him… "According to what I saw, he's going into another dimension while descending to Earth. If we can get a way to contact his ship then we'll be able to warn him of the upcoming danger."

"That might be harder to do than I want to believe." TK said.

"Why?" Panther asked, holding onto her worry.

"They don't open communications until a few weeks before they have to come back."

"But they're going to the moon. Wouldn't they have something for that and emergencies?"

"There's a special line but that's from the ship to the ground control. As for the history breaker, they'll record it and bring the footage back with them."

"Who's going to produce it?" Ceres asked.

"And why with that much secrecy?" Neon asked.

"I'm not really sure but that's what I got from it. One of the people on the project was a friend of Matt's so he sent me some things about it."

"What about Seto Kaiba?" Kari asked.

"He might be able to do it but I don't want to bother him unless we really need to."

"Letting you know that I can't reach that far to him." Lily Dawn said.

"Maybe Tim could make something that could reach him." Damon suggested.

"But how? He would need to connect with a frequency of a radio there." I asked.

"And we can't send it through his Digivice since he doesn't carry it around anymore." TK said then pulled out one of his jewels. "Maybe these could reach him?"

We all pulled out ours and we were thinking how.

"All right, students. Into your seats." The teacher said and we all went.

Some time into the class, there was a knock at the door. The teacher looked a bit annoyed since Panther was already giving her a hard time, though I think it was due to the new problem. There was surprise and shock on her face as she looked into the classroom. She stepped aside and two mean looking bodyguards came in and looked over the classroom. I think we were all scared that they were here for Panther or Ceres.

"TK Takaishi and Ken Ichijouji, Kaiba-san has requested you to come with us."

I could feel that our group was shocked since we were just talking about him. They got up and left with them with their things. I looked at everyone else to see that they were wondering why he wanted them and not Ceres and Panther.

Ken

I couldn't believe that Seto Kaiba would get us out of school to meet with him but TK didn't seem too thrilled so I was keeping my cool. He looked a bit worried about something and seemed to understand why we were coming here. They led us to the elevator and pass many doors before stopping. They opened the door and we went inside to see that Seto Kaiba was sitting in his chair, with Mokuba at his side, and Hota in one of the other seats. I heard the door close behind us and I was now wondering why we would be brought here. More importantly, why did Kaiba-sama bring me here?

"Have a seat." He ordered and we did. Hota looked worried about something and I thought it was best if TK did most of the talking.

"Hi Kaiba-san, Hota. Why are we here?" Though I knew that he already knew, TK was acting like he didn't.

"I wanted you to be here for this. Hota, tell me again what the device, that you said was damaged during a test run, was going to do on reentry?"

Hota looked like she couldn't answer straight, saying that whatever she told before was a lie but she couldn't bring herself to do it now, "Kaiba-san, the device is going to bring a safe reentry for our crew. I wouldn't send them up there without knowing how my own device works."

"Some people can't deal with the fact that their equipment that they have built to have any faults until they experience it themselves. Unfortunate for you, you only made one copy of it since the other was damaged. Can you look into TK's eyes and tell him that his brother will come home as safely as you promise me?"

She looked over at him before looking down then back at Kaiba, "I can't say with a hundred percent but I know that there's a good chance that he'll be coming back home."

"What's the percent?" TK asked before Kaiba could.

She looked at him, "About ninety-eight percent. I know that my device is special so they might have a problem with it but I have confidence in them that they'll find a way to solve it."

I knew by her the look in her eyes that none of us really believed her, at least not completely. I knew that she was hiding something but I couldn't tell what. Kaiba and TK seem to know that answer but weren't letting Hota know this.

"Sir, turn on the TV!" One of the bodyguards said with a slam.

Kaiba did so and on it was a picture of me as the Digimon Emperor! He tried to change the channel but it was on all of them.

"I am known as the Digimon Emperor." He even had my voice, "I am currently taking over the Internet but soon I will control the whole world. You will either follow me or die." He turned it off.

"What's going on?" Kaiba asked the guard.

"We don't know sir, but it's playing on everything we got."

"What!" He turned on his computer and the same message was playing. I was giving it my all to not break down right now. "We'll continue this meeting at another time." He said as we left.

"Ken?" I heard TK's voice as we were on the bus.

"I've tried everything to put that behind me… I even make small jokes about it now… Why can't I just be left in peace!" I didn't say too loudly but I was still fighting.

"It is your past and nothing will bring you back. You're stronger than that now. You have the Crest of Faith."

I looked down at my amulet. I held it in my hand and I could feel some comfort with it. "We better see how everything at school is."

"Right."

When we got there, they told us that everyone went home since the message was playing on everything.

"Where could they be? Kari would've told them that we have to have meeting." TK said more to himself than to me. I didn't really want to face the others now.

"Ken, TK." We turned around to see Mackenzie-san walking towards us. "Lily Dawn told me to tell you that they're meeting at the normal spot."

"Thanks Mackenzie-san. How is the message messing up everything?"

"TK, let's not keep them waiting." I said, wanting to get away. I was already walking without waiting for his answer.

"Ken, there's nothing to get all work up for. Someone is trying to get us to go to the Digital World…"

"TK, that is still my past!" I finally yelled.

"I know it is but you can't keep suppressing it, wanting it to all disappear!"

"What do you know! There's nothing that you have to hide from yourself!"

"There are a ton of things that I bury but I know that when I need to confront them I will!"

"You just don't understand! This isn't something that can be taken lightly!"

"Ken, TK!" We turned to see that Davis and Cody were running up to us. I finally noticed that we were a good distance from the school. "Do you know what's going on?" Davis asked like he was accusing me to have some hand in this.

"Of course we don't know." TK answered but he was still mad from our conversation.

"Then explain why it's the Digimon Emperor's face on the screen?" Cody asked with a harsh tone in his voice.

"Someone is trying to get us in the Digital World and they think that this is the best way of doing so."

"Or it's you guys trying to let your posse know that it's time to take over the world." Davis said.

"What posse?"

"The one that your brother started."

"Would you guys stop it! This isn't helping!" I said.

"Ken, I thought you were different from him but I guess that I was wrong." Davis looked at me.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I know that you two plan this and are just waiting for the perfect time to strike."

"Why would I plan something like this? How could I plan something like this?"

"You are known as the 'Boy Genius', aren't you?"

"That was a long time ago."

"But you still carry that with you."

I automatically felt the back of my neck. I knew the dark spore was still there but could that mean that the Digimon Emperor was within me as well. Could I have planned this in my subconscious sleep?

"Stop it Davis! You know that Ken wouldn't do this!" TK yelled.

"Would you stop defending people! No one needs your protection!"

"If you want to find the real creature that's doing this then we should head to the Digital World."

"And what? Have your brother's posse come and kill us?"

"They're good friends and they're not killers."

"And like Styxmon didn't try to kill us. Give me a break TK."

"And they didn't kill us."

"That's because Gennai got us out before anything happened."

"And where is he now? Wouldn't he have warned you if there was something going on in the Digital World that needed your protection?"

"Are you saying that you wouldn't protect the Digital World?" Cody asked.

"I'm saying that he wouldn't contact me first. He would let his 'posse' know first." He said, looking at Davis.

"What are you implying?" There was hate in his eyes.

"I'm implying that you're his bitc-"

"Just quit it! This isn't going to help the situation!" I yelled.

"You're not one to talk, Digimon Emperor." Cody said.

I couldn't take it anymore. It was a well before I noticed that I had taken off. I didn't know where I was running to but I knew that it was better than the place where I was.

TK

"Ken wait…" I was about to run after him seeing the hurt on his face but Davis stopped me.

"We're not done here."

I punched him in the face, which made him flew before hitting the ground. He looked at me with shock as he held his injured face, "How can you be cruel to your DNA partner? I don't care how you treat me but I do care how you talk about Ken and Matt. You were one of the first that was willing to give him a second chance and now you decide to turn your back on him? You shouldn't hold the Mental of Friendship if that's how little you value it."

"What do you know?" I noticed that my punch hurt him too much right now.

"I know a lot more than you, that I can promise you." I looked at Cody, who was still in shock at what happened, "Cody, I don't care if you don't trust me after this but think about it. I'm still all three of your friend but it's up to you whether to trust me. I'm not going to change how I feel." I walked away. I knew I should've gone over to Ken's house but I know that he's not in the mood to talk right now.

I got to the café and they were waiting at the table. I walked in and everyone had the same question on his or her face, "Ken didn't feel well so he went home." I said with a small smile.

"What did Kaiba want you for?" Panther asked.

"I'll explain that later. What has been discussed?"

"I wanted to have Ken tell it but…" Kari said.

"I'll say it then." I had a feeling that I at least should tell his past.

"It sounds like Ken had a rough time with this Digimon Emperor guy." Don said.

"That's half of the story. Ken was the Digimon Emperor when he started to become more involve with appearances in the media. When the report that said that Ken ran away from home, he was actually in the Digital World to bring it to its destruction. As the Digimon Emperor, he did horrible things to the Digimon as well as killed many innocent Digimon before coming to his senses. What brought that around was when Wormmon sacrificed himself in order to save him. Ken had beaten himself in the past for what he did and has never really let go of his actions."

"I bet that he feels like someone wants to torment him." Ceres said and I could tell that they all understood that Ken probably went home because of this.

"We all know that he has suffered enough for his crime." Kari said.

"We should give him some space for a while." Panther said.

"That might be the best." I said.

"What are we going to do about this threat though?" Nereida asked.

"The second group was already planning on entering the Digital World to find the Mental of Kindness so I'm sure that we'll face whoever is doing this." Kari said.

"Then we'll come along as well." Lily Dawn.

"We knew that you would and we wouldn't have it any other way." I said with a smile.

"Let us know when and we'll be there." Ryan said. We all got up and went in separate directions.

Kari

I was about to head up the stairs to my apartment when I saw Yolie leaning against the pole. She looked like she was searching for something or thinking about something really hard. I was glad to see her but I knew that this wasn't going to be good.

"Hi Yolie." I said with a smile.

"You don't remember what happen, do you?" She wasn't looking at me and that was just out of the blue.

"What are you talking about?"

"I mean you were the one that told us about this." She was now looking at me.

"About what? When?"

"I thought that you would remember. It was a voice that was speaking through you and she told us about all of this and that Matt's a traitor to the whole Digital World!"

I remember Tai saying that I was possessed by a being in the Digital World and that being allowed them to know our past. _Could that same being control my body still? I don't remember anything after my talk with Matt and maybe that's why I don't. But if she could enter my mind then why didn't she tell them about everyone? _"That being doesn't allow me to remember what happens when she's controls me."

"I didn't know. Well, it seems like Matt has betrayed the Digital World by loving _that_ Digimon."

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean. He didn't attack those Digimon when summer started; he defends a murderer and now he's breaking up the team. I bet that he helped TK plan this and they somehow convince Ken that it was the right thing."

"Is… that how you see this? You think that Ken is behind this?" I couldn't believe I heard that from her.

"I don't want to think that he did it on purpose but I know that somehow Matt and TK are in on it. They're trying to take over the Digital World."

"I know them better than that. They love the Digital World and their own Digimon!"

"Open your eyes, they're fooling everyone. We even know that they have gathered a group to fight against us."

"I can see why you would think that Matt would but why TK?"

"He said it himself. He knew what we were looking for when we all met the other day. He told us himself that he's with his brother all the way and he's not going to change."

"And you're telling me this so I don't go with him?"

"That's right. Kari, you're a good person and I don't want to see my best friend hurt because of his decision."

"Love is a blinding emotion."

"That's why I'm telling you now before your love jumps in the way. And I want you to bring Ken out of this too. I love him too much to have to hate him."

"You're willing to give up on him because of this?" I was shocked.

"If he's with them then he's a traitor too. I can't help that and I'll do everything in my power to stop him."

"What happens if I don't escape? That my love blinds me to all that he could do?"

"The same will go towards you."

"It's nice to know but I won't give up; if TK really is a traitor then I'll become one too."

"Kari……"

"I love him and I wouldn't let go because you think that he's a traitor. I know better than that and I'll follow that decision. If you truly love Ken then believe that he's not."

It took her a few minutes before getting out of the shock. "All right then. I warned you but I guess you've already made your choose. Is it because you have faith in Panther that you didn't stop being her friend even after all I told you?"

"I know she'll do her very best."

"Then you're a traitor too. We'll go to the Digital World as plan. That's how long you have to think this over once more."

"I don't need three days to think it over."

"I think you do. It's already too late for TK but I'll give you and Ken a second chance to think it over." She walked away. This is what has become of our great friendship. Of course now that friendship seems so long ago. I went up to my room and wept silently.

TK

I went over to Matt's house to see whether his computer was affected and luckily it wasn't. Everything in Matt's house, including the TV, was still working. The news from outside the country said that they didn't understand what was going on but this message is only affecting Japan. I remember reading that Matt didn't want to leave this country so opened after what happened on our world tour. I turned off the TV and went back outside.

I checked to see whether anything of mine was affected and it was the same as in Matt's house. Everything was ok.

"TK, how come your things aren't affected by this?" Patamon asked.

"I'm not sure, Patamon. Maybe since we messed around with a few of the things in our homes."

_TK?_

"Huh?" I looked around then remembered that it was Lily Dawn. _Hi Lily Dawn._

_Kari told me to tell you that you're going to the Digital World at the schedule time… I don't want to disturb Ken…_

_Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it._

_Thanks TK. See you later then._

_Right._ She left my mind.

"Was it Lily Dawn?" Patamon asked.

"We're still going to the Digital World on Saturday."

"Right."

We just relaxed, since there wasn't much less to do.

Panther

There was a knock at the door and Lily Dawn went to go answer it. Her brother wasn't home and Ceres was cooking something for us to eat.

"Panther." I turned around to see that two policemen were behind Lily Dawn.

"Hello, is there something I can help with?" I hated the look that they were giving me.

"We would like to ask a few questions."

"Where?"

"Outside."

I got up and followed them. Lily Dawn looked very worried that it almost reminded me of Matt when I was in jail.

"What questions do you have?"

"Are you the one that's causing this?"

"No."

"Do you know who is?"

"No."

"Damn it, we know that you're doing this or at least know who is!" Said the other one that hadn't talked yet.

"You've been watching me. I haven't even talked to them so what makes you think that I know what's going on?"

He started to get angry but the other one calmed him by not allowing him to get close. "Are you sure that you know nothing?"

"I'm sure."

"If you did know, would you tell us?"

"Depends on the person."

"From your old group of friends?"

I didn't know what to say to that. I don't think I would even if it was one of the elite. "I guess I'm still loyal to them in that department."

"So you wouldn't tell us even if you knew and it could get you off the suspension list."

"I'm always on so why would that make a difference."

"Have a nice day." They walked away without another word.

I went back in and they were waiting. "Don't worry, they were just wondering if I knew anything about this."

"I guess going to the Digital World in the open isn't a good idea." Lily Dawn said with a smile.

"We'll pick a spot later. Let's eat." Ceres said with a big smile and we did.

Nereida

I was waiting at the entrance of Hecate's place so I could talk to Heka. Hecate told me that she was going to call her over so I was just going to wait. The sun was nearly noon before she came running up.

"Nereida, Hecate told me you wanted to talk?" She said once she caught her breath.

"What took you so long?"

"She couldn't call me so clearly."

"Do you know what's going on with the Digital World?"

"We were told that the Digimon Emperor is back but he's not doing the same thing as the last time."

"What do you mean?"

"He's still using his Dark Rings and Spirals but instead of control they start to destroy things. Why haven't you guys gone in a stop this?"

"The second group is going to do it."

"But… it's too big for them."

"Not only that but painful for Ken. He was once the Digimon Emperor."

"Ken? Well, I know that he's not behind it."

"I know that too. We all know that but it's just opening up old wounds."

"The longer you wait the worst everything will become."

"Who's behind this anyway?"

"I don't know but this clone isn't the real threat."

"It isn't?"

"I think I remember something similar happening before but I don't remember what."

"Why aren't you guys going to do anything? If Super Levels have so much power then why don't they fight?"

"The Dark Spirals have enough power to control some Super Levels. We don't know if it works on all but they'll deal with it when he gets to their area. There are even some reports that this is the work on Megamon's group since some of his troops are with him."

"So this is just a way to get them into the Digital World?"

"It might be."

"I'm glad that we're going."

"If you're wondering why TK and Ken were pulled out of school, I could tell you."

"How do you know about that?"

"Astraea was there."

"Why was she there?"

"Seto Kaiba called her yesterday to tell her to come to his office today. She went early and he started to ask questions about the device that she made. He could somehow see through her lies so he wanted her to say the same lie to Matt's brother and friend. She couldn't since she respects him too much to lie convincingly to them."

"I understand TK but why Ken?"

"She couldn't figure that herself but she was glad that this caused a distraction because she was almost going to tell him everything."

"Wow!" And then we both laughed.

"Well, you better head home. They might come by or something."

"Right. See you later." I took off.

TK

We all met at the Shuni's house on Friday to discuss a weak battle plan. I tried to get Ken to come but his mother told me that he didn't want to be disturbed. Everyone else was already there when I got there.

"Where's Ken?" Ryan asked.

"He's still not feeling well."

"We can't talk about this without him being here." Tim said.

"Could we try? We know the Digimon Emperor too."

"I guess there's really no other option. Ok, what are you guys going to do tomorrow?" Tim looked at both Kari and me.

"We're going to go to Yolie's place to enter the Digital World. As we're looking for the Mental of Kindness, we'll be fighting against anything that comes our way. Hopefully we'll be able to discover how to use the other Mental with our own Digimon." Kari said.

"That sounds kinda simple." Don said.

"But it won't be since they don't know what Digimon are under control." Nereida said.

"And while they're doing that, we'll be watching their backs as well as finding the cause of this." Panther said.

"Letting you know that if they see you guys in the Digital World, they're going to try everything they can to stop you." Everyone looked at Kari. "Yolie, Davis and Cody think that Matt and TK are traitors to the Digital World. They know that he gathered a group to help him so they would think that you're with him and will try to stop you."

"Thanks for warning us." Neon said, placing her hand on her stomach.

She smiled, "Anything to help."

"TK, maybe I should talk to Ken. I might be able to get him out of this." Ceres said.

"And maybe I should as well." Panther said.

I remembered what my ghost girl said to me in the Digital World. That we agreed, at some point, to be brothers. "That's ok. I think I know a way. Kari, I'll fill him in on the details and I'll see everyone else in the Digital World." I got up and went out.

It didn't take me long to get to Ken's house but I had to hide since Davis was walking away from it, looking pissed. Once he was out of sight, I went up to his door and his mother answered.

"Hi, I was hoping to see Ken if that's all right."

"You can try but he's not really up to talking just yet." She allowed me to come in.

"Thank you." I went to his room to see that it was locked. I looked around to see that his mother wasn't around. "Ken, how do you feel?"

"Go away TK!"

I grabbed a thin wire that I always carry incase I need to get in somewhere that's lock. It was a trait that I got from my parents so it wasn't long before I unlocked it and walked in.

"I thought I said to go away." Ken was in his bed and I didn't see Wormmon anywhere.

"Where's Wormmon?"

"He's outside."

I opened the door a little to let Patamon search for him. "What did Davis want?"

"He wanted to tell me something. Just leave, please." He was now begging.

I noticed that his computer was turned off but the power was still on. I walked over to it, "Do you think that the message is on your computer as well?"

"What are you doing?" I heard him lift his head up.

"Have you turned on the monitor to see what's on the screen?"

"I know what's there."

"I don't think so."

"Get away from the computer TK." I could tell that he didn't want to know what was on it.

"Aren't you curious?"

"Not in the least."

"Then I'll do so to end mine."

"TK!" He got out of bed but I already turned on the monitor. It was just like it should. The message wasn't there.

"See. Just as I thought." I said with a smile.

"Get out!" I could tell that Ken was really frustrated, reminding me of Matt.

"I was told that we're brothers." I sat down in the seat for the computer, "And it wouldn't be brotherly of me to leave you like this."

"Since when are we brothers?"

"For a long time, ever since we were twelve." He just stared at me, like he didn't believe me. "It's hard to imagine and you're probably wondering where I came up with that. It's has to do with our memory lapse. I have a feeling that my play had more truth to it than I wanted to believe and since you're connected to us, it must be that you're our brother; though that wasn't the first time that I was told this. The first person that told me was the girl that came to me in the Digital World. She said that we were brothers."

"You've got to be kidding. We're not even related."

"Date-san brothers weren't related to him but he loved them as if they were."

He collapsed onto his bed, "I was once a murderer."

"The same with Panther."

"But that was towards people. Mine was towards Digimon."

"Are you saying that this is your doing?"

"Of course not… but no one believes I'm telling the truth."

"So that's what Davis was talking to you about. I wouldn't worry about it."

"Of course you don't worry about it. You've already made up your mind about everything."

"Weren't you the one that told me that they'll have mix emotions about your actions?"

"You think I'm strong enough?"

"As long as you have the Crest of Faith, you have nothing to worry about."

"You're making it sound like it was handed to me."

"I just don't believe that you three are originally supposed to have those."

"What do you mean?"

"You might think of this as being jealous but I think, at least, that yours and Matt's were handed to you. That someone gave them to you since they're no longer here."

"You mean that someone gave this to me? Have any idea on whom?"

I had a feeling that it was our ghost girls but I didn't know why she didn't give it to me. Why did she give it to Ken if she loved me? "Not yet but I'm working on it. Do you know that we're going to the Digital World tomorrow, right?"

"Yea. Anything else?"

"They're coming and they have our backs but we have to make sure that they're not discovered by Yolie and them since they're ready to attack any new person in the Digital World."

"I see… Thanks TK."

I smiled, "That's what a brother does." He smiled at me as he got up. "I'll wait outside."

I got up and walked out. I walked over to the kitchen to see that his mother and father had this worry look on them. His mother looked my way once she sensed me, "Well?"

"He's fine." I said with a smile.

"Thank you so very much." Tears started to come down, though I didn't know why I had this feeling that she was crying with the knowledge that I would help him.

After a while, he came out of his room. "Mom, is it ok if I spent the night over that TK's house?"

"Of course it is." She managed to get all of her tears dry.

"Thank you." We headed out. "You trust her that much?"

"Who?"

"The girl that you met."

"I have no reason to doubt her." Then I stopped.

"Something wrong?" He stopped and looked at me.

"… I… It's nothing. Why do you want to spend the night at my house anyway?" I said as I continued to walk.

"That way I won't be late for the meeting spot. And it is something."

"It's nothing. I thought I heard something."

"You would've said that. What is it?"

"Then we'll continue when we get to my house."

"Fine."

Ken

It didn't take us that long to reach his house and he was cooking dinner with Patamon's help. I knew that he was talking to Patamon quietly about the problem he was now having and he was going to tell me once we're in the meal (Ken's a good detective).

"It's about the ghost girl." He said as we were cleaning the dishes.

"What about her?"

"I didn't say anything before since I was worried about Kari but… She loved me when she was alive. For some reason, I knew that I liked her the same way… Even when I fell for Kari… And you liked her too somehow." He was now looking at me.

"What makes you think that?"

"I just know in my heart that I did… Though watching my play told me that I loved her as well as Kari, though Kari didn't know about it. The play also told me that you liked her as well."

"How could the play tell you all that?"

"Matt figured that the play had to deal with our past and he was right. I've already found evidence that those names weren't just names out of thin air."

"And what is that evidence?"

He wiped his hands dry and was walking over to the table. I followed him since this seemed random and this only really started to become big after his talk with Date-san.

"I was looking through Matt's records that he keeps of his money. When his band started, they were doing very well with their money. Everything was what it should be."

"Wouldn't that be expected? Maybe Matt had thought about that before starting it or something."

"But they had an agent."

"They all have one."

"The name was Diana."

"And that makes a difference?"

"She was the one that was keeping the records of everything that happened."

"Maybe Matt requested to have those or something."

"During the last year of his band, before they fell, they were losing money and Matt's handwriting was the one that was recording it."

"Maybe she quit."

"After they were doing so well? I don't think so. The papers even said that bigger producers were looking too take them to their next level. Who wouldn't want to advance their careers?"

"Maybe she was asked to be the agent to someone else and took it."

"In my play, Diana wasn't worry about Tsuno when other girls were after him since he was in a band."

"You didn't write that."

"But I knew that's what was behind it."

"Look, they're two different realities. They have nothing in common."

"The name Yugi was the thing that made Matt realized that it was."

"And how's that?"

"When Seto Kaiba asked him if he knew a guy named Yugi when he dueled him for his technology, only recently did it hit him that I put his character to go visit him at his game shop to buy cards."

"And what does that prove?"

"It proves that I have some knowledge of what has happened. The bystander was the only one that has no real connection to the past."

"How can you be sure? You're claiming that everything else in that play is."

"Toko is short for Tokomon; Tsuno is short for Tsunomon. Those are our Digimon In-training forms."

"Then explain everyone else."

"When I thought up Gatai, I was first thinking about putting Gato. I only changed it since I thought that it was a bit too weird of a name. As for Teto, I was originally thinking Tento but I didn't want the 'n' in there. Sino is what I thought I could change for Sting since it's a bit hard to change that. All the other names were kept as they were."

"Just because you wanted to use the names of our Digimon doesn't mean anything."

"I know that you're not right but I'll let it go anyway. I have a few more things to worry about than that."

"There's nothing to worry about. I know that you thought that up when you got back from the dance so there's nothing to worry about." Though his eyes showed me that he remembered something but he smiled it off.

"I guess your right. Maybe Matt's worry has gotten to me too."

"I guess he would be, considering that he has to worry about so many other things then just what goes on in his own life."

"That must be it. Well, we better get some sleep for tomorrow."

"Right." We went to bed. It just hit me that their homes are similar in the fact that they have more rooms than what they need. I could also see on the walls, since I've never been up here, that there was something that was supposed to be there but TK took them down for some reason. Since I didn't know what that was, I decided not to ask about it.

TK

The next day, I called Panther to let her know that we were heading over; though I should've known that they wouldn't meet here on time. Everyone in the new group was there and hiding. Their excuse to everyone is that they're meeting at Tim's house for school related things.

"Why isn't Yolie here at least?" Kari asked.

"I don't know." I said.

"Hopefully they didn't change the meeting day." Ken said.

"Or the location." We heard someone coming. I looked to see that it was Cody. "Have you guys changed the meeting time or something?" I didn't sound mad but I didn't sound like my usual self either.

"Yolie was just making sure of something over at my house. She'll be over with Davis."

"Hope they hurry. That message hasn't stopped playing since it came on." Kari said.

"I'm sure they'll hurry…" He seemed sad about something but I couldn't tell what.

After a good amount of minutes past, they showed up.

"I hope you're ready." Yolie said in a cold tone.

"We've been ready." I said as Ken got out a laptop.

"Who wants to do the honor?" He asked once the gate was showing on his screen.

"I will. Digi Port, Open!" Davis said and showed his D-3 to the screen. A bright light came and sucked all of us in.

The Digital World didn't look to be in any danger but that's how it always looks. I noticed that we were near the Primary Village and I was hoping that it was okay.

"Well, we're not going to find that Mental if we stand here all day." I said and started to move so they couldn't say anything to stay. I didn't want them to know that we have been here before since I don't remember if Lily Dawn told Yokomon about them.

Lily Dawn

We got to the Digital World to see that TK was leading them away from the area.

"Isn't this the area for the Primary Village?" Tim asked.

"It is!" Ceres said in her happy tone.

"We better make sure that it is okay." I said and we headed over. I couldn't wait to see Yokomon again since she was just as nice as Bellimon.

We got there and everything was okay. All the little Digimon greeted us warmly, especially Neon, but we didn't see Yokomon or Artmon.

"Where are Yokomon and Artmon?" Panther asked once they stopped.

"Yokomon? Oh, that Yokomon. She and Artmon went to make sure that the danger wasn't near us." A Tsunomon said. We learned all of their names, thanks to the older ones.

"Lily Dawn!" I heard a sweet voice called but I didn't recognize it. I looked to see a Biyomon fly in with a hug landing on me. "I'm so happy to see you again."

"Yokomon? You Digievolved?"

She smiled and I smiled back.

"Everything is fine with the Primary Village but the others aren't doing so well." I looked to see Artmon coming.

"Do you know who's doing this?" Damon asked.

"Kenmon."

"Kenmon?" We all asked together.

"Yes, it looks like the Digimon Emperor but his Digital Name is Kenmon and his Digimon is known as G Stingmon."

"Are Digimon able to own other Digimon?" Ceres asked.

"Normally, no. There was a rumor going around the Super Levels that Gennai was thinking about using some ancient form of the Crest to help create these Digimon. They all have their Digimon in their Champion level but all are Supers."

"So that means that Gennai created clones of them. Why?" Tim asked.

"He was originally going to control them but then they gained their own minds." Said a new voice. She jumped down and smiled, "My name is Mirrormon. It's nice to meet you all. I am one of the original creators for the rest of the Super Levels that inhabit the Digital World. You might not believe this but some Digimon have already sipped into your world and others. The ones that you haven't met there mean that they're there to start over or they're planning to do something to you later."

"What's the ancient power that Artmon was talking about?" Don asked.

"The Power of the Crest. The ones that you guys were looking for within the jewels."

"Gennai knows about them?" Panther asked.

"It seems so and he somehow knows how to put it into Digimon. Though he has no experience in creating a Super Level. It's not as easy as we make it." She said the last two parts with her eyes close.

"Are they all working together?" Ryan asked.

"Who?" She opened her eyes to look at him.

"The Digimon that he put the Crest Power's in?"

"Oh… Yea."

"We better get to them fast then." Nereida said.

"I'll let you know where they are." Biyomon said.

"Then lead the way." Neon said.

She took to the sky and was leading us the way. "Be careful Biyomon!" Artmon said and all the others were doing the same.

Ken

It just hit me. Why didn't we find anything about this Mental when we entered the Digital World with the new group? I mean, I'm not sure how these things work but I should've found something, right? I heard my D-3 beeping so I brought it out of my pocket. I know that TK said not to bring them but I didn't know where I could leave it where my mother couldn't find it. It was showing a map that wasn't too far from here. A red light was blinking inside some kind of structure.

"That has to mean that your Mental is somewhere nearby." Yolie said. I looked up at everyone to see that TK looked at bit sad to see that I had this with me.

"I'll go look for it." I took off without letting anyone get a word in.

Kari

Davis took off after Ken. I figured that it had to do with the trust that they're starting to lack.

"So Kari, you never gave me an answer." Yolie said.

"Yolie, not here." Cody begged.

"I gave her and Ken until today to give me an answer. Well?" She looked at me.

"…"

"You'll have to ask Ken the question since he wasn't willing to talk to anyone until yesterday." TK said in a firm voice.

"I didn't ask you, did I?"

"No but I wanted you to know that Kari hasn't had the chance to talk to him about it."

"Kari?"

"My answer is still the same as before. I told you that I didn't need the three days to think about it."

"And I thought I could get you out of this." There was a big movement shaking the earth under us. I blanked out for a second to see a herd of Mammothmon coming our way.

"Kari?" I heard TK and Gatomon asked. I looked up but it was too late to warn them or have the Digimon attack.

"Bad Smell!" A Digimon yelled and an aroma that was mixed of everything that any noise hates came. The Mammothmon took in one percent of it and ran away. That's when I noticed that they all had Dark Spirals around their legs. The Digimon that scared them off was a purple Digimon with weird looking legs; she had four petals on her head that were magenta and four leaves hanging down underneath them. I managed to take a picture of her before she left.

_Are you guys ok?_ I heard Lily Dawn's voice in my mind.

"Is everyone ok?" I asked as I got up.

"Yea, who was that Digimon? We didn't get a chance to thank it." Yolie said.

"Who knows but we better find out who's doing this. They all had Dark Spirals on their legs." TK said.

That was something that Yolie couldn't argue with so we continued our way.

_Where's Ken?_

_He's with Davis looking for his Mental. Why?_

_We found out that it's a Digimon that looks like Ken that's doing the most damage. He has the power of his Crest as well._

_Both?_

_I don't think so. It's most likely just Kindness. Gennai was the one that created them._

_Them?_

_He gave the power of the Crest to Digimon that he created but they turned on him. They also have their own Digimon, like us._

_Why did he do that? _I felt someone grabbing my hand. I was about to pull out of the conversation to see who but Lily Dawn pulled me back.

_What happened? You lost focus for a second._

_Someone has my hand._

_I'm sure it's TK. And we don't know why but he did. They're all in their Champion forms but are Super Levels._

_How did you find all of this out?_

_Artmon and Mirrormon told us about them. Oh, and let TK know that the Primary Village is safe._

_Thanks and I will. Some should go see if Ken's all right._

_Right, we'll do that. _She got out of my mind and I focused on what was going on outside of my mind. TK held my hand but he was on left side, seeming to shield me from Yolie and Cody. "Is there something wrong?" I whispered since we weren't that far from them, though I made it look like we were talking about something different.

"Your eyes act the same way as Lily Dawn's." He was keeping up the act.

"Thank you."

He just kissed me. I could tell that he missed the feeling behind it since I was under that spell. Though I know that I'm still under it, I'm able to fight it a lot better. "The next time that you're going to talk to someone by mind, grab my hand. You were walking slowly."

"Okay, I was just able to ask about that." I closed my eyes to concentrate on getting into TK's mind. Though I normally test my growing abilities on him, I could sense that I can't get really deep into his mind or past. _Lily Dawn told me that it's a Digimon that looks like Ken that's being the Digimon Emperor._

_Really? That's interesting._

_Shouldn't your eyes be doing the same thing?_

_Only the ones that have this power, I've looked._

_Gennai created him, and others, using our Crest Powers but she thinks that the new Crests weren't use. They also have Digimon like us but they're in their Champion forms but they're Super Levels. The Primary Village is safe, so you know._

_That's great to hear. Is someone going to look after Ken?_

_Someone is._

_Okay. _I left his mind and walked with them like we weren't even talking.

Panther

Ceres, Neon and I were trying to find Ken and Davis but that wasn't easy. Ceres was leading us since she said that she was sensing him over in some direction. Who were we to argue since we didn't know and any direction was better than standing around. Lily Dawn, Damon and Nereida were following Biyomon to the location that she thinks is where the local Control Spire was, whatever that is. Ryan, Don and Tim were following Kari and them to make sure that they were okay.

"There he is." Ceres said. We looked to see him walking with Davis and he was looking at his D-3.

"I hope that he finds it today." Neon said.

"Aren't they also supposed to find a new way of using the other Mental?"

"I think so." I said.

"When are they going to do that?" Ceres looked at us.

"How should I know?" I shrugged my shoulders.

"I don't think they'll be able to until they forgive each other." Neon said. Ken took off and Davis followed, yelling at him to slow down.

"We better not lose him." Ceres said as we quicken our pace.

Ken

I could not only see that I was getting closer but I could feel it. I was wondering if this is what the others felt as they were getting closer and closer to their own Mental. I wasn't trying to remember what happened until I discovered what has happened here. I don't want to be the Digimon Emperor again.

I stopped at the base of a small temple. I was sad, thinking that Mental of Kindness wasn't important at all.

"This is the place." Davis said, looking at his D-3.

"Then we better head in." I started to walk up the stairs but he stopped me by placing a hand on my shoulder. "What?"

"Why do you want to go in there so badly?"

"Because that means that I really do belong to this group and I'm not just placed with it because I was found with you."

"It bothers you that much?"

"I guess it wouldn't bother you since you were once fighting against me." I got him off my shoulder and started to head in.

When I got to the top, there wasn't anything here. I looked at my D-3 again and it said that I was right on top of it.

"This thing must be broken. There's nothing here." Davis said, looking around as well.

"Maybe one of these things is a lever." V-mon said as he placed his hands on one.

"I wouldn't…" Wormmon tried to warn but the floor opened underneath us. I managed to catch Davis and Wormmon, V-mon.

"Davis, are you ok?"

"Yea. I don't even see a bottom to this thing."

"Falling isn't an option… Can you grab onto the edge?"

"I think so."

"Try then." I felt him extending himself over to the edge a few times before grabbing onto it. "V-mon, try to do the same." I could hear that he did that on the first try. That's when I lost my grip on the ledge that I held.

"Ken!" I heard Davis yell. I suddenly stopped but I didn't find a reason as to why.

"Are you all right, Ken?" I looked to my right to see Sakuramon.

"I'm fine. Who else is here?"

"Panther and Ceres."

"Tell them thanks." I grabbed onto a ledge near me. "Davis, I'm fine."

"You don't sound too far down. Can you see if there's a bottom?"

"I'll do that." Sakuramon flew down and came back quickly. "There's a bottom. You're not too far from it." She went back up.

"I can see it. It's just too dark from where we were to see it before. It's not that far." I let go and was surprised to hit ground so fast. I heard them falling and Davis was carrying both. There was a tunnel but there wasn't any light to see by.

"Should we go in?" Davis asked as Wormmon jumped to my shoulder.

"Yea." We started to walk down. Once we were in it, I heard them jumping down as well but they were real quiet about it.

"Ken, don't very do something like that again. I knew that you knew you were going to fall." Wormmon whispered very quietly so Davis and V-mon didn't hear.

"I didn't think that I would lose my grip. I seriously thought the ledge was about to break."

"So you were planning on Davis catching you, hearing the break?"

"I wanted to know if he thought of me as a traitor or not." There was light. At the end, there was this big underground lake that looks so pure. I looked around but didn't find anything that would bring out the shine to the lake.

"Man, this place is awesome." Davis said as they both took in the site.

"The Mental has to be around here somewhere." I said before jumping down. The ground was soft, most likely from all the moisture in the air. The evaporated water was turning into dew due to the fact that it has nowhere else to go.

I looked around to see a cave behind us. I walked up to it, since I knew that's where my Mental was but there wasn't any light on it. Once I stepped into it, a small light landed on the Mental of Kindness. It was pink flower that looked like a lily or an un-bloomed rose; my purplish crest was on the outskirts petals. I went to pick it up but then the place started to shake. I looked behind me to see a Digimon that looked a lot like Stingmon come from the water with a guy that has similar attire to my Digimon Emperor outfit but on his chest plate was the Crest of Kindness.

"Who are you?" Davis asked in his usual demanding voice.

"I am the new Digimon Emperor. I came here since I need a source of power for my ship." He sounded a lot like me during that time.

I looked at the Mental, thinking that he wanted this to power up his ship.

"And what power is that?" V-mon asked.

"Ken has it." I was shocked to hear that. I looked at him, wondering what I have that he needed. He just laughed at my surprise. "You honestly don't know? That's shocking coming from the old Digimon Emperor."

"I'm no longer the Digimon Emperor!"

"Of course you are. You can feel the Dark Spore pulsing." And right then I did. Though I didn't allow anyone, including Wormmon, to know that sometimes the spot pulses when I'm talking about my old digital life or when I play a sport. "You want to become me again."

"Ken?" I looked at Davis to see sadness in his eyes.

"I'm not the Digimon Emperor anymore! I'm no longer apart of the Dark Ocean!"

"Naïve Ken."

I looked at the Mental again and lifted it from its spot. A blinding light shot everywhere. I looked back at the spot to see two jewels. I didn't really recognize the symbols but I knew that they were jewels that the girl that TK saw didn't tell him about. I grabbed them and a map of the Digital World appeared. A blinking circle was on an area that I wasn't familiar with but I could tell that we were far from that area.

It shut off and everything was back to normal. I placed the two jewels in my pocket before turning back to him as he started to laugh at something. That's when I noticed that Wormmon didn't Armor Digievolve.

"Why didn't Wormmon Armor Digievolve?" Davis asked in shock. I held the Mental in my hands, which meant that I was supposed to have it.

"He can't unlock its powers. Not until Kindness is back in his heart." He laughed some more.

"Golden Dust!" A spiral of golden dust was aimed at them. Though they were able to dodge it, what it hit turned into gold.

"You think that a Champion's attack has any affect on me?" His Stingmon look alike did something similar to a Striking Finish at the entrance.

I was able to send Wormmon to help them but Davis and V-mon pulled us away from it.

"Gelidardormon Digievolves to…………………… IceThormon! Freezing Strike!" A small bird Digimon flew out of the cave while taking the humanoid looking Stingmon with her. It was too dim to see her fully but I could at least tell that her wings shined even in here.

"Sun Laser!" Plantmon's head thing shot a hot ray of sunlight at him but he managed to dodge it. Though the rock behind him was cut and everything started to come down.

"G Stingmon, let's get out of here. We'll get him another time." Said the other Digimon Emperor.

"Right." G Stingmon answered. He flew over to him, picked him up, and went back the way they came.

"We better do the same." Davis said and I nodded. I looked around to see that IceThormon and them were gone so I didn't have to worry too much about their safety.

When we got to the hole, the ground had already given way but Plantmon's arms were tangling there like they were real vines.

"I don't remember those being there." Davis said as we got closer.

"Do we really have time to think about it? Jump!" We both jumped and grabbed onto a vine. She started to pull us up. Once we were at the top, we had to jump to get off the temple. That's when it was nothing but rumble.

"Remind me to never do that again." Davis said as he lay on the ground.

"Maybe that's the person who sent that message in the Real World."

"I wonder who those other Digimon are. I mean that's the second time that we were saved by unknown Digimon."

"That's right. The first was when we were fighting those two Super Levels." V-mon said.

_That's right. They did help them out before. Maybe they wouldn't if we were around…_ "Anyway, we have to find the others now."

"Right." They got up and we walked back the way we came. I could tell that they were watching us and I smiled to know that they're helping even if they hate them.

Nereida

We got to this place that the ground had the Crest of Kindness on it. I could tell that we all thought it was odd.

"That's what is being used as the Control Spire." Biyomon said.

Our Digimon got into a defensive position really quickly. We looked around but didn't see anything. I sensed something, "Lightningmon, to your left!"

"Thunder Claw!" She slashed that way but it only cut the trees down. This blue metal Digimon landed on the lodges. He had thin blades on his arms and a thicker one on his upper back. His horn had two points to the blade.

"What are you doing here?" Asked a voice behind the Digimon. He came out and he looked a lot like Davis but his sleeves didn't have the flames and there was the Crest of Courage on his forehead and the Crest of Friendship in his goggles.

"Who are you?" Damon asked.

"My name is Davismon and this is SteelVeemon." He pointed with his head to the blue metal Digimon.

"What do you think we're doing?" Lily Dawn asked, though we were all worried since none of our Digimon could go to their Super Level forms.

"I think you want to take out that Control Spire that we worked so hard to think up."

"And what are you going to do about it if we are?"

"Then I'll have SteelVeemon say a few words on that." SteelVeemon launched toward us.

Luckily, Lightningmon was able to stop him. She pushed him away and they began to fight. When it looked like Lightningmon was actually winning, spikes with an armor coating came raining from the sky. Huskimon got her out of the way as we got ourselves out of the range.

"Are you two ok?" I asked once they stopped.

"Yea." Lightningmon looked up at the sky. That's when an Ankylomon looking Digimon landed but his back had a few spikes and you could tell that his shell was armor.

"Codimon, I can handle this." Davismon said to the one that looked a lot like Cody on the Digimon's back. The difference was that his jacket looked a bit different and it had the Crest of Faithfulness as well as the Crest of Knowledge on his forehead.

"Kenmon wanted to let you know that it doesn't matter anymore."

"I thought that we were doing this to get some power that he wanted from his original?"

"He'll get it another time."

"Fine." They left on their Digimon.

"Should we still destroy the Control Spire?" Damon asked.

We all looked at it to see that it was destroyed on its own.

"That answers that." Biyomon said.

"We better get back to the others." Lily Dawn said and we headed back.

Kari

There was a big explosion in front of us before we saw two Digimon running towards us. One was a white Digimon with wings on its head and back; the other was a black cat with scars on its eye and fore leg with a golden choker. They ran behind me as a Digimon that looked lot like Were Garurumon but with robot hands came out of the woods.

"Did you catch them?" Asked a voice that sounded a lot like Matt's. Then someone that looked a lot like him came out but he was wearing something similar to his old Junior High School and had the Crest of Friendship on his forehead (letting you know that they look similar to what we looked like when we went back to the Digital World).

"They're behind Kari."

"I didn't think I would see you guys here." The Matt clone smiled evilly that I knew reminded TK of when the Dark Being was in control.

"Matt?" Yolie asked in disbelief.

"The name's Mattmon. This is Ulta Garurumon and we're here to take those two." He pointed to the two new Digimon.

"Do you think we would allow it?" TK asked.

"What can you do to stop us? You can't go to your Super Level forms." That put more confidence in his smile.

"Mattmon, have you captured them yet?" Asked a new voice. A skeleton appeared that had three fingers and four round horns on its head.

"Not yet Skullmon."

"TK… I didn't think we would run into you." Skullmon said with an evil intent.

"How do you know me?"

"I've only heard about you through SkullDevimon."

"Skull… Devimon…" I heard the fear in his voice.

"Did someone say my name?" A pure evil voice asked as another skeleton came out with two long horns and decaying wings. TK moved back a few steps before stopping. There was pure terror in his eyes. "The littlest one isn't the small one anymore. How amusing."

Patamon got in front of TK and was ready to fight, the same with the others.

"Now, now, we don't want to fight you just yet. We just want those two little Digimon behind Kari." Mattmon said.

"Why would we give you what you want?" Cody asked.

"Armadillomon Digievolves to……………………… Ankylomon!"

"Hawkmon Digievolves to………………………… Aquillamon!"

"Gatomon Digievolves to………………………… Angewomon!"

"Patamon Digievolves to……………. Huh?" Patamon looked back at TK, who was still scared.

That made SkullDevimon laugh, "I'm glad to have made an impact."

"Ulta Garurumon, attack them now!" Mattmon ordered and he obeyed. It didn't take him long to knock down their Digimon, leaving Angewomon alone to fight.

"TK, you have to send Patamon to fight." Cody said.

That's when tears started to come down. I didn't know why he was crying but he was.

"TK's too scared that Patamon will die if he allowed him to fight." Mattmon said.

We didn't even notice that Skullmon moved right behind us until Shendramon's Rock Crusher attack landed there. That's when he appeared in the sky above us.

"You think that an Ultimate has a chance against us?" Skullmon asked.

"Black Wolf!" Breomon called his attack from where Yolie and Cody were. A black viper came from his body and aimed at Skullmon but it just went right through him.

"Fire Balls!" LDinomon yelled as little fireballs came from his mouth towards Skullmon.

He moved away from that but tossed one of his bones at him. LDinomon dodged it easily enough but it acted like a boomerang. Luckily, Shendramon hit it with his Stone Tail attack.

"Striking Finish!" Skullmon was hit on one of his backbones.

"X Laser!" XV-mon's laser hit Ulta Garurumon but all it did was sent him back.

"I see that Kenmon didn't do what he said he would." SkullDevimon said.

"Shocking Ice!" Thunder that's mixed with ice was aimed at SkullDevimon. All it did was made him recall his hand.

Ulta Garurumon jumped up and tossed something at us but Sakuramon's Golden Dust attack stopped it.

"Davis, let's DNA Digievolve!"

"Right."

"XV-mon………… "Stingmon……… "DNA Digievolves to………………… Paildramon!"

"Paildramon Digievolves to…………………… Imperialdramon! Positron Laser!" He shot from his mouth at Mattmon but Ulta Garurumon got in the way. He wasn't badly hurt but the laser did affect him.

"Ulta Garurumon?" Mattmon asked with worry.

"I'm fine. Metallic Wolf Claw!" Both of his hands lit up and he launched slashes at Imperialdramon.

"Aquillamon………… "Gatomon…………… "DNA Digievolves to……………… Silphymon! Dual Sonic!" He brought his hands together and shot his attack at the attack but all it did was turned our attack into metal.

Mattmon and Ulta Garurumon walked away from the battle, the same with Skullmon.

"We will fight another day. There's no fun if we destroy you all here and now." SkullDevimon said as he left.

As our Digimon turned back to their lower forms, I noticed that the others already left and the two Digimon were still with us.

"You're safe now." I said to them with a smile.

"Thank you." Said the white one in a happy tone.

"TK, are you ok?" I heard Ken asked. I looked to see that he still held that terror in his eyes.

"We better get him back to the Real World." Cody said.

"But we need a TV to do that." Davis pointed out.

"Don't worry! I'll do it!" Said the white one. That's when I noticed that there was a blue, curved tear with a whole near the end on his forehead. It started to glow and a portal appeared next to TK.

"Thanks. Why were those Digimon after you?" Davis asked.

"Don't you think it's odd how a Digimon is able to open the gate to the Real World?" The black cat said in a cold tone. I noticed that her coat was shiny and she had a blue swirl on her forehead.

"Then you should come with us." Yolie said.

"Maybe another time. Hurry up and get through."

Ken was trying to move TK but it wasn't working. "Kari, pick up his legs." I did and we carried him through the portal. We found that it led to Nereida's house. When the others came through, the portal closed.

"Why wouldn't they want to come with us?" Yolie asked more to herself.

"Where are we anyway?" Cody asked.

"TK, we're out of the Digital World." I whispered in his ear but that still didn't get him out of it.

"Let's go ask the people living in that house." Davis said, already running towards it.

Yolie was following him but Cody stayed behind. "Patamon, maybe you could get him out of this." He suggested.

"TK? It's Patamon. I'm fine." He snapped out of it. He looked at Patamon for a second before hugging him.

"Hey, they said that there's a path we could follow that will take us to a bus stop." Davis said as they came back.

Ken helped TK up but he wasn't letting go of Patamon. I wasn't sure if Ken understood his pain but it hurt that I didn't know. Cody seemed to understand it as well so I was feeling useless.

"It doesn't seem like even Imperialdramon could take them down." Davis said once we were on the bus.

"Oh, I think I should give these to you guys before I forget." Ken said as he handed them their jewels. I knew that TK was carrying them so how did Ken get them?

"Where did you get these?" Yolie asked, eyeing her own.

"I found them when I got my Mental."

"By the way, why didn't Wormmon go to his Co-Champion form? For TK and Kari, as soon as they lifted theirs, their Digimon went to their Armor forms." Cody asked.

Ken looked at the floor of the bus, not wanting to say the reason. It remained like that until we reached the spot to get off.

"We'll see you guys later." Ken said as he took TK with him.

"By the way, it wasn't Ken that was being the Digimon Emperor. It was someone else." Davis said.

"Then maybe Gennai got it wrong when he said that Matt was a traitor. Maybe he thought that Mattmon was Matt." I suggested.

"I guess that's possible… Forget what I said earlier. Sorry Kari."

"That's ok." I said with a smile and she smiled back.

"We better head home to see whether that message is down."

"Good idea." We all went home.

"You think things will go back to normal between you three?" Gatomon asked.

"I really hope so. I don't want to be in a situation like that again."

Ken

I got TK home but he still wasn't saying anything. I was really beginning to worry since I've never seen him like this before.

"I lost Patamon to him." TK said as I was leading him to his couch.

"To who?"

"Devimon."

I remembered that name. I wanted his arms to complete Chimeramon. He also told me that I didn't understand the powers that I wanted. I felt the Dark Spore pulsing, reminding me of what I once was.

"But you're stronger than before." I said as I sat him down. He just shook his head. "Are you telling me that you can face death but you can't face him?"

He looked up at me with tears in his eyes, "I wanted my brother back."

"And now you want to protect Patamon."

"That's why I didn't want him to fight… Not until we get them their Super Level forms."

"Speaking of that, I think the girl didn't tell you everything."

"Huh? Why think that?" I brought out the two jewels that I found with my Mental. "Where did you get these?"

"I got them with my Mental." I handed them to him. "I don't really recognize them but I'm guessing that you do."

"One is the Jewel of Miracles and the other is the Jewel of Destiny. You're right though, she didn't give me any information on them but I trust her just the same."

"Why did I think I could change it?"

"Why didn't Wormmon get his Co-Champion form?"

"I was told that I have lost the Kindness that I need to open it."

"I'm sorry." He sounded like it was his fault.

"It's not your fault."

"It is… I'm making you fight against our friends."

"You're not making me. Twice you've called me brother so it's only right that I go with you."

"But brothers are able to make their own choices aside from what his brother thinks."

"And aren't I making my own choices and opinions on everything? Right now, you need me so I'm here."

That put a smile on his face, "Thanks Ken."

"Any time."

We heard a click and looked to his TV. Wormmon turned it on and it announced that the message has stopped its broadcast. Of course no one knew who that was or why he suddenly stopped it but he did.

"At least it wasn't something serious." I said.

"What if he did do something? Oh, Gennai made clones of our Crest."

"Meaning?"

"That they have the power of our Crest. Lily Dawn found out at the Primary Village."

"Then why were they attacking Davis and them?"

"I guess that they didn't like them. Why do you still have your D-3?"

"It contains a lot of useful items that we could use." I remembered about the area that was lit up on that map. "I think there's an area that we have to find."

"Why say that?"

"A map of the Digital World appeared as well and it lit up an area. It was too far from where I was located but I think I know where it is."

He smiled about something, "That's good but take your time on it. I'll explain why tomorrow."

"Right. I better head home now. See you later." I got up and walked out.

"You're not going to tell him what that other Digimon Emperor said to you, are you?" Wormmon asked.

"Of course not. Don't say anything about it and I'll tell Panther and them to do the same."

"All right."

I called Panther to let her know before she had the chance to talk to TK or anyone else.

"I promise that I won't but Ken…"

"What?"

"I'm sorry to say that you're still there."

"What?"

"I was there not too long ago and I saw you there. I saw everyone there, minus TK of course."

"Thanks for letting me know. Tell Ceres and Neon to do the same, ok?"

"Right." I hanged up. I didn't say or act differently around my parents. I told Wormmon what Panther told me but I knew that there was a way to escape it.

In the morning, TK told them that I saw a map of the Digital World while getting my Mental. He said that there was an area lit up and he thinks that might be where an ancient civilization of the Digital World be located but he didn't want to go until Izzy translated a good amount of the book since that might not contain prophecies but stories; that or until Matt comes back since Matt really wants to go there. Also, he wanted to see if we could go into the Digital World for at least one night because I found two jewels that he has no information on. No one objected the idea but they knew that it would have to wait since we have to worry about school and not get Panther in trouble.

I now know why Matt didn't want to read what happened to the others when we were doing things on that one Saturday… I noticed that Ken was acting weird so I was wondering what happened to him. Of course now I have to act like I don't know, which is hard since he can read me. Well, I better get going since it's late. Bye!


	17. Chap 16 Honest Dog

Hi! Okay, this time it has been a few days since the last chapter. I'm getting the feeling that a lot of these are going to be tight but that's ok… It would be really funny if a lot of events happen when Matt's not around, don't you think? Well… I guess onward is the right thing to say…

Don

"Ohayo gozaimasu. I want you to know that I'm not going to be here on the twenty-second. I'm going out of town for the day." Mackenzie-san said before beginning her class. Everyone was wondering what she could be doing that she wanted to get out of school for but no one was really interested enough to really ask her.

"Lily Dawn, Don, Neon, may I speak to you for a moment?" She called as soon as class was over.

We went over, knowing that it was okay to talk to her about anything since she's willing to help Panther out.

"Yes?" Neon asked.

"I would like you to give these permissions forms to all your friends. I would like all of you to join my family and I on this vacation."

"But if it's a family thing then shouldn't we not go?" Lily Dawn asked.

"We really don't mind at all."

"Why us?" I thought it a little weird that it was only our little group. I know it sounded like I didn't trust her but I just wanted to know.

"It's an option, not mandatory."

I took it and we walked out.

"You don't trust her?" Lily Dawn took three papers out of the pile.

"I just wanted to know why it was only us. I thought at least she would ask TK, Panther and Ceres."

"Maybe she wanted their friends to come to make them feel safe. I mean, it is a bit odd." Neon agreed.

"Okay, I'll let Ken and Ryan know about this but I don't think it's too much of a big deal." Lily Dawn said.

"We'll talk about it during lunch so don't worry about it now."

"Okay." Lily Dawn walked into her class.

"Do you think it's safe to go?" Neon asked as I was walking her to her music class.

"That's what we're going to be talking about." I kissed her before letting her go into her class.

At lunch, I handed everyone his or hers papers that Mackenzie-san handed us.

"Everyone is allowed to go to this?" Ken asked, noticing the oddity in it as well.

"That's what she told us." Neon said.

"But… why?" Damon asked.

"They don't really know us." Nereida pointed it out.

"No one has to go if they don't want to." I said.

"I say that we go. It's an excuse to get out of school and it's perfectly legal since a teacher is allowing it." Ceres said.

"Why didn't she tell us yesterday?" Panther asked.

"You could ask her today after school." TK said.

"Good point."

"Then let us know about it when we meet up again." Ryan said.

Panther

At the end of the day, Ceres and I were going to help Mackenzie-san with things in her classroom.

"What should we ask first?" Ceres was talking more to herself.

"How many questions are there?"

"I don't know but more questions always come up." She said with a smile.

"Then definitely where is she going. I need to know if it's in the country."

"That's right. You can't leave the country until Matt gets back."

We entered her classroom. She looked like she was grading papers or something like that.

"Hello, thank you for helping me." She said with a smile.

"Thanks for getting us out of TK's class." Ceres said as we made our way over to her.

"About the permission slips, are you going to be in the country?"

"Yes, we're heading over to Kyoto for a small festival."

"Really? What festival?" Ceres asked with joy.

"Jidai Matsuri."

"Oh, the festival where people representing figures in history march around Heian Jingu Shrine in Kyoto-shi?"

"That's it."

"Then why are you allowing us to go with you?" I asked.

"I thought that you would enjoy meeting people that my brother knows."

"Not to be rude but why?"

"TK seems to be having a lot on his mind and I have a feeling that some of it has to do with what has evolved from a small source. Now, he can't seem to find how to get back there."

She only got the amount of things on his mind but I'm sure it had nothing to do with a small source and he wanted to get back to it. "Well, TK is interested in finding out things about your brother so I guess that's a reason to go."

"I'm guessing that it was a too-good-to-be-true offer?" She said with a smile as she as getting up.

"Think about it. If someone handed you a permission form for just you and all your friends and didn't really explain why…" Ceres said.

"I guess that it was odd. I'm sorry, I should've explained my actions better to your friends." She was handing us our test scores back, both were perfect.

"Why are you allowing our friends to come along?" Ceres asked as she handed the test back.

"My brother wants to know the people that were near his property, that's all." I could tell that there was another reason as to why she wanted them there but I couldn't see through it. I placed the paper down on her desk as she was looking outside.

"Didn't he see them at the play?"

"He didn't meet them. He really doesn't mind visitors."

"No offense but it seems like he's waiting around for the perfect guest to drop by."

She smiled and giggled lightly, "I guess he would call it 'the perfect guest'."

"Whom is he waiting for?" Ceres asked.

"The only person that brought him the greatest feeling."

"Maybe it's an old girlfriend?" I whispered.

"I have a feeling that it has something to do with Matt. Remember when he said that Date-san was avoiding him?"

"But if he's waiting for him to come by then why not ask him over?"

"Because that's an invitation and not a visit." Mackenzie-san said, though she wasn't looking at us.

"So does it have something to do with Matt?" Ceres asked.

"It could be someone that I don't know of, though it would be funny to have that happen."

"Why?" I asked.

"I'm the oldest so I should know who my siblings friends are. If I don't know who this special person is then it has to be someone when I was away and he hasn't told me about yet."

"If you want to know everything about your siblings then why leave?" Ceres asked.

"Even when I was with them, some information passed over me. Leaving wasn't my idea the second time but it just happened. One event led to another."

"You're making it sound like you had no control when everyone has control over their own lives."

"Some events just happen that you can't control and an event like that happen, separating many people."

"An earthquake?" I asked.

"It might be similar to what happened with Matt and them." Ceres whispered.

"Yes," we looked at her, "It was an earthquake."

It was quiet for a long time. I could tell that Ceres thought that it had killed a lot of people so that's what she meant by 'separating'. I watched Mackenzie-san to see that she was hiding her emotions, that or all tears were gone. This was the first time that I noticed that it was hard to read her. Teachers are one of the easiest people on the planet to read but she didn't allow you to know what was on her mind unless she wanted you to know.

The bell rang.

"We'll give you the papers tomorrow." Ceres said before we left. "I know that it was a metaphor."

"Huh? What was?"

"The earthquake that she mentioned. She was able to hear us talk so she knows what we said. I think it does have something to do with their memory lapse."

"So her event was the same thing that made their memory disappear… But then why didn't it also affect her?"

"Maybe it affect her a different way. Anyway, we should let them know that it's harmless."

"Right. There's really no harm in knowing."

"Unless you want to know the wrong thing." Ceres said with a smile.

We met everyone out in the front and walked over to the café.

"Well?" Ryan asked once we got the table and everything set.

"It's really harmless. He just wants to know who was near his house." I said.

"That can't be all." Don said.

"That's one part. The other is that we'll meet some of his friends." Ceres said, feeding Ele.

"Anyway, why don't we think of it as a way to get out of school and have some fun. You know that Mackenzie-san would allow it." That's what I wanted to think of it as, anyway.

"Maybe Tim could get out as well." Nereida said.

"Why not? He needs a break too." Ceres said.

"Ok, I guess that means it's a date." TK said with a smile.

"Right. Everyone is going, right?"

Everyone nodded his or her heads. We got to work as well as discussing the trip. TK and Ceres handed theirs over to Ken to have his parents sign and we were going to ask if Tim and Inazuma could come along.

"It's surprising that someone like you could have perfect scores in school." The judge said as he was signing the form.

"I had never quit school since I joined."

"I noticed but how could you answer the exams without studying?" He handed the paper back.

"I have a brain."

"Well, it's good to know that you can stop that life for something better." Then he left.

"He didn't even look at it." Ceres said as we were walking out.

"I guess looking at my school scores let him know that it was important."

"Or maybe he has faith in you like Matt."

"That or he wants me to do something for him."

"Oh well, don't worry about it. You got it sign and that all that matters." There was a weird noise and it was coming from Ceres's bag. She opened it up then had this horror look on her face as she brought out Ele. She didn't look so good.

"What's wrong?" IceThormon asked from her bag.

"When did this start?"

"Just now." She flew onto her shoulder.

"She looks sick. Do you know a vet around here?" She looked at me.

"Yea." We ran to the nearest vet that I knew. I've been here a few times so I know what's where, not to mention that it's also within our boundary. "Excuse me!" I said as I opened the door, the place was normally busy so I was surprised to see that it wasn't.

"Yes?" A new vet doctor came up.

"Her name is Ele and she's sick. I'm not sure what made her this way either." Ceres said as she handed Ele over to him. IceThormon was with me, acting lifeless.

"Stay here and I'll look after her." He went into the back.

While Ceres was worrying about Ele, I looked around. The place had changed, most likely meaning that my gang scared the last people out. It seems like the guy just moved here as well. I called Lily Dawn to let her know about Ele.

"She just ate too much. Her stomach is a bit different than others." He said as he came back with Ele on his shoulder. She was happy and looking well.

"Thank you so much." She extended her hand and Ele jumped onto it.

"Was there someone else here before you?" I asked.

"There was but they moved out."

"Do you know why?"

He was eyeing me funny before answering, "They said that a local gang scared them out."

"You're not worried that they'll do the same to you?"

"I can handle myself."

"What's your name?"

"Sai Mouri, why?"

"Just wondering. Good luck to your office and if that gang gives you any trouble," I wrote down my cell, "Just don't call during school."

"Why?"

"You'll know if you need help. See ya." We walked out.

"_Cur?_"

"I was the one that kept them from scaring the locals too badly."

"Why did you scare them?"

"So we didn't have to worry about money. They always scared them intensely before I gained power."

"I see. You don't want the people to lose business."

"I guess. I think the crackers and pocky were the cause."

"I think so. Not so many next time." Ceres said, holding up Ele.

"Yea, we were worried." IceThormon said.

Damon

"I don't think it's a good idea but since everyone else is going and I might as well tag along." Tim said as he was doing an experiment or something in his lab in the basement.

"Yea, you could use the fresh air." Nereida said.

"What does Grandmother has to say about it?"

"She signed off already." I said.

"Then I'll let my professors know. It's only a day, right?"

"Yep."

"Okay." He concentrated heavily on what he was doing so we left him alone.

"He really needs some time out of that."

"It's like before but with the Digimon." Nereida said.

"What's like before?" Huskimon asked.

"With Tim. He used to spend hours of his time down there or in his room. We hardly saw him."

The Digimon just looked at each other, both saying that they were thinking up a plan or something.

Lily Dawn

"I'm glad that she's okay. What happened?" I asked as they got in.

"She just ate too much."

"Panther, you might want to know that your gang is now striking businesses." Stan said coldly.

"I just found out about it today."

"How?"

"The vet was in my territory. There was a new owner."

"What are you going to do about it?"

"It's not my problem." She walked up to their room.

"She probably doesn't want people to think that she's still with them." Ceres said.

"Stan, what do you want her to do? Fight them or something? They were once her friends and I don't think that she wants to fight them without a good reason."

"Besides, they might be doing this to get her out in the open."

"Why would they want to do that?" Stan asked.

"Because they want her back and she doesn't want to go back."

"How do you know? Just because you live with her doesn't mean you know her."

"I went through her trail with them so I know and understand."

"Whatever."

Ceres went up as well.

"You're attitude has changed ever since you found out that I knew where Panther was living."

"I know that you don't need to be hanging with her. You were picked on for it."

I looked up the stairs, "I don't care." I went up as well (with Matt not here, things are getting weird with everyone else… It seems like things are coming back up… I wonder why…).

TK

"Good, everyone's here." Ryan said as we walked into the classroom.

"What?" Kari asked.

"I just found out about this really awesome art contest that I could enter."

"What so special about it?" Lily Dawn asked.

"The grant prize winner's artwork will be displayed all over Japan!"

"Really, I hope you win."

"Same here." Panther said.

"I'm going to make sure that it's the best one out there so I know that I'll win." There was a lot of determination in his eyes.

"What's this contest called?" I asked, knowing many since I enter them a lot myself.

"It's the third biggest art contest in Japan."

"Have you entered in others before?" Neon asked.

"Not really. I was never good enough and in either case, I only want ones that are high level."

"Oh, so you want the money?" I asked.

"Of course not. I want to find my sister."

"What happened to her?" Nereida asked.

"His mother and sister moved away a good while ago." Panther explained.

"Why?" Don asked.

"Never really found out but my sister loved art. She drew so many pictures that I still have in my room."

"I remember her so well. She was always sweet and kind to everyone." Lily Dawn said.

"Though that made her an easy target for bullies." Panther added.

"That's true. You normally defend them off." Ryan said with a smile.

"If she's an artist then why don't you know where she is?" I asked, I hated the similarity his life was to mine and I was glad that our parents always allowed us to see each other.

"I'm not sure where they moved to."

"Are you sure that they still live in Japan?"

"That, I can feel it."

"Then good luck." Kari said.

"Thanks. Now I have to think of the perfect image to draw." Panther whispered something in his ear and he nodded.

"Class will begin." Sensei said as everyone took his or hers seats.

"Here are the papers, Mackenzie-san." I handed her all the forms.

"Thank you. I'll tell your other teachers."

"Is it ok if two other people come along?" Ceres asked.

"Of course it is."

"Thanks." We took our seats.

Ryan

Throughout the whole day, I was thinking about what to draw. I knew that it has to be something with the Digimon since she likes all the fantasy stuff and Digimon are creatures from imagination. I wanted it to be placed in the Digital World but I didn't know where. The places where I have been weren't magical enough to capture the feeling that I wanted. I barely concentrated on school because I was thinking about it so much. Only Lily Dawn and Panther knew her so they know how brotherly I am about her. I guess the ones that are younger siblings understand something about what I'm going through.

During my first art class, I was trying to think up how to set up the picture but I was forced to do my work in the class.

"Kawako Ryan, right?" I turned around to see Mackenzie-san standing behind me.

"How do you know my name?"

She held up the form, "Let them know that they need to gather at the shinkansen before four forty AM."

"I will."

She continued on her way. I was wondering why she didn't go to Panther or TK but I guess anyone is good since she knows the names. I made my way to my favorite art class.

"Why do we have to wake up so early?" Ceres cried when I told her.

"Maybe to get a good spot in the parade line." Panther said.

She whimpered a bit before doing something. I was sketching ideas down but nothing was working. I needed the place before I could even think up the positions for everyone.

"We need to go to the Digital World." I said once we were settled with the study session. Panther agreed to do my homework for me so I could think about the picture.

"Why?" Ken asked.

"I need a place to use in the picture."

"How about the day after the festival? Since it's on a Saturday." TK suggested.

"That's right, you still need the information on the two jewels."

"True but I could wait on it. So, what do you think?"

"Everyone?" I looked at all of them.

"Let's ask when Tim is with us." Nereida suggested.

"You guys don't want to go, do you?"

"Of course we do but we want to make sure that everyone is ok with it." Damon said.

I sat down, wanting to go right now.

TK

"Ryan looked sad that we didn't agree with him right a way." Kari said as we were walking to her house.

"I'm sure we're going to go anyway so there's nothing to worry about."

"Other than what lays in the Digital World."

"You guys know the danger there and we'll be there to protect you." Patamon said.

"That's right. Don't forget that we're here to make sure that nothing happens to you." Gatomon said.

"We'll never forget about you guys." Kari said, petting Gatomon's head.

I looked up at the sky since I had this feeling that something happened in that empty past.

"Are you missing Matt more than usual?" I looked at Kari and smiled.

"I guess I am. Many things have happened and he was here for it. Now he has to wonder what has become of the group that he had gathered."

"I'm sure he's having a good time since he's showing Gabumon the world he now lives in."

"Thanks Kari."

"I understand, you know that."

"I know and I'm glad." _I've been having so many mix emotions and feelings that I didn't know what was what anymore. Would knowing the past really help the present?_ I had to think quietly around Kari since she knows how to mind-read. I've learned to have an emotionless face so she can't read it and quiet my body so she wouldn't know. _Does Matt have to do the same thing? Most likely…_

"See you tomorrow TK." Kari said as she headed up to her apartment.

"Want me to pick you up before heading over?"

"That's okay." She smiled.

"Right."

She was too high for us to talk normally. Once it stopped, I went on my way.

"You weren't looking up because of Matt, were you?" Patamon asked once we were a good distance away.

"Not really. Something is coming through, like drops before the rain. Pieces are scattered and they're not making any sense."

"I'm guessing you're looking forward to seeing Date-san again?"

"Maybe I can get some answers, some more pieces or clues to our past. Matt wanted me to do this so his world isn't a guessing game either."

"Ken seems to know where his world is."

"That's because he might not really want to admit it."

"So even though you agreed with him that one night, you really didn't."

"That's right. I know that I'm right. I just can't prove it."

"I'm sure that you'll find what you're looking for."

"I truly hope so."

In the morning, we were all there before Mackenzie-san was. Her, her sister, and their friend came at four thirty.

"Glad to see you all here. My name is Mackenzie Layla." She mostly introduced herself to Tim.

"My name is Mina."

"I'm Lita."

"My name is Tim and this is Inazuma. May I assume that you know everyone else?"

"You may. Here are the tickets." Mackenzie-san handed them out to everyone and we entered the train station. We were all glad to get out of school and, of course, Ryan was trying to convince Tim to go to the Digital World.

Once there, Mackenzie-san led us to the spot where we needed to be and there wasn't a crowd yet. We got to a good spot to see the whole parade.

"I'm surprise to know that people will allow us to sit here." Ceres said since we were on the roof.

"We know the person that owns it so it's okay." Mina said.

"If you say so."

"It's starting." Lita said with more excitement than what should be placed.

The whole thing was amazing. Kari was taking pictures as Ryan was drawing the idea down. I spotted Date-san and he was walking without his cane. As a matter of fact, I didn't see it anywhere but he was walking normally. I was wondering how he was under the armor since he wasn't making an image that he wasn't on it. I noticed that Rowen Hashiba was here as well. There were two other people that I didn't know around them with the same style of armor but with two different colors. For some reason, I had a feeling that they were missing one. Once they were done with the parade, we got down. That's when I noticed that it was a restaurant.

"Hi Kento!" Mina said as we entered the place. A bulk Chinese guy with short hair was smiling and waving us to a table. I just stood there, hearing the name 'Kento'.

"It has nothing to do with the play." Ken whispered as he pushed me forward.

"It's good to see you guys again. Came to see your brother?" He asked as we took a seat. I noticed that there were seven empty seats and the whole place was empty. "Who are they?"

"Some are students of mine." Mackenzie-san said.

"Don't worry about introductions right now. Wait until the others get here." Lita said.

"TK, doesn't Kento kinda look like the Kento in your play?" Ceres whispered.

"These two Kento's have nothing in common." Ken said with a firm voice.

Ceres narrowed her eyes and Ken did the same behind my back (I could feel it and I did look on Ken's). Panther pulled Ceres out of it and Ken did on his own. The door opened and Date-san, Hashiba-san, and the other two came walking in, all wearing civilian clothing.

"That was sure fun. We should've done that more often." Said the one that was wearing the red armor.

"Glad you could make it." Date-san said as they came over to the table.

"Why don't you have your cane?" Ceres asked.

"Because I have it." Lita said with a smile as she got up and hand it to him. I noticed that there was love in his eyes as well as hers.

They sat close and next to each other; Mina and Mackenzie-san was to their right and I'll go in that direction: Panther, Ceres, me, Ken, Kari, Lily Dawn, Ryan, Don, Neon, Nereida, Lightningmon, Damon, Tim, empty seat, empty seat, Hashiba-san, the guy wearing the light blue armor, the guy wearing the red armor, and Kento.

Two more people came in and I noticed that one was the lady at that university.

"Sorry we're late." Said the teen but I couldn't place at what age.

"You're not late." Said the one with the red armor.

"Now is the perfect time for introductions." Mackenzie-san said, looking at us. The guy took the seat next to Tim and the lady, next to Hashiba-san.

"My name is Panther."

"Ceres and this is Ele." She pointed to her head since that's where she was.

"TK Takaishi."

"Ken Ichijoji."

"Kari Yagami."

"Lily Dawn."

"Ryan Kawako."

"Don Tomi."

"Neon Tomi but my family name is Rio."

"Nereida Shuni."

"I'm Inazuma."

"Damon Shuni."

"Tim Shuni."

"Yulie Yamado." We're going in order around the table.

"Mia Nasuti."

"Rowen Hashiba."

"Sai Mouri."

"Ryo Sanada."

"Kento Rei Fuan."

"And for those who don't know, call me Date-san."

"Still not giving your first name?" I asked with a smile.

"Not yet."

"I hope that Ele won't eat too much here." Mouri-san said.

"She won't." Ceres petted her.

"What's your dog's name?" Yulie asked.

"Husky." Damon answered.

"Kento, I guess now would be a good time to get all the food out." Date-san said.

"I guess so." He got up and went to the back of the restaurant. It didn't take him too long to get back with the many different kinds of dishes. I looked over at Ceres to see a calm expression on her face (everyone was looking over at her to see what she would do but only Panther caught Date-san lightly giggling. We were all looking with our eyes and not with our heads).

"I was wondering, do you want us to call you by your last names?" Tim asked, obviously talking to the ones that gave their names.

"You could just call me Kento."

"And I'm sure their first names are just fine." Date-san said, looking at his friends.

"Sure is, so who is a student of Layla?" Mia asked.

"Ceres, TK, Lily Dawn, Don, Neon, Ken, Kari and me." Panther said. I noticed that everyone had already started to eat and everyone was sneaking something to his or hers Digimon. Ceres looked like she was eating slow and normal but I'm sure that she was eating some of them fast.

"By the way, how's your arm TK?" Rowen asked.

"It's fine. And, of course, Matt's fine as well. It seems that the force behind the hit was what made it unable to heal for a while but it's healed now." I said though I could sense that Date-san and his siblings weren't biting.

"That's good to hear." And then everyone was talking about anything that came up. Though I was enjoying it very much, I was studying everything I could, without too much suspicion, about Date-san.

He definitely wasn't an easy person to read but you could tell that he cares about the people around him. I was getting sidetracked about his brothers, half wondering what he'll do if they were around and would I know them. I think Ken was noticing a bit at what I was doing since he was talking to me a bit low to make it look like it was something else.

"By the way, did you guys make those armors yourselves for the festival?" Ceres asked.

"They belong to our families." Date-san answered.

"Really? That's real interesting."

"I'm half surprise that you don't recognize them." Ryo said.

"Should we?" Panther asked, though she was hiding something in her voice.

"Well, we did save Tokyo twice." Rowen sounded like he didn't want to brag but did.

"Congratulations!" Ceres said.

"Did it happen about seven years ago?" Ken asked. I was a bit taken back that he would ask but then remembered about the car and it's owner.

"Seven years ago was when we battled our greatest enemy." Rowen said.

"Though there was a break between the first time and the second." Sai added.

"After the first time, some of us went around the city to make sure that everything was running." Date-san said, seeming to know something behind Ken's question.

"Did any one of you go to a car dealer to have a car saved?" Ken asked.

"None of us had any time to do so. Besides, we were still living with Mia." Ryo explained.

That didn't really satisfy Ken's thirst of knowing but he left it as is. I could see in Date-san's eyes that he was holding back, I wondered if Ken caught that as well.

There were sounds of people screaming. We all got up to see that they were all running from a spirit looking thing.

"What is that thing?" Yulie asked.

"My name is Jinnmon and I think I found myself a new body to process." His voice wasn't that odd sounding but I didn't like the choice of words. He went right after Date-san but he moved away fast enough to avoid it. It crashed into the wall.

"I don't think we should stay here." Mia said as she herded us away, as well as Yulie. I managed to look back to see that Date-san, Kento, Rowen, Ryo, and Sai were the one only ones that were staying there.

"We can't leave them there." Panther whispered to me.

"I know but we can't show them our Digimon."

"Mia, this should be an okay spot to stop." Mackenzie-san said and we all stopped.

"What was that thing?" Yulie asked.

"A monster. I'm sorry about all this." She looked at us.

"You didn't know that this would happen."

"Save us!" We heard a familiar voice behind us. I looked back to see Eternalmon and Endmon running into Kari's legs to hide.

"What are those?" Mia asked with shock but I noticed that it was only with Mia and Yulie.

"I'm going to make sure that they're alright." Lita said and Mina followed her.

"Wait, don't go just yet." Mackenzie-san said as she went after them.

"We better not leave them alone." Yulie said as he and Mia went after them. I noticed that only the ones closest to Date-san had a plan in mind.

"What are you two doing here?" Neon asked and I looked back to see that Kari now had them in her arms.

"A Digimon name Jinnmon is after us." Eternalmon said.

"Why?" Ryan asked.

"Most likely to gain our power." Endmon said.

"Shendramon, look to see if they're okay." Tim said as he went up into the sky.

"**Somehow he's not leaving the area. Date-san is the only one that doesn't have an armor on.**" I didn't know why that struck me as being familiar but it did.

"What about the ones that went after them?" Nereida asked.

"**They're near there but out of the way. Should we enter?**"

"I think we should wait until we can get him alone." Ken said, opening his laptop.

"Don't tell me you're thinking about using that old trick?" It would be pointless to use since I'm hoping that neither Kari nor Ken had their D-3's with them since I did tell both not to care it around anymore.

"Why not? It has worked before." Kari said, taking hers out.

"I thought I explained why we don't need those anymore."

"They're still useful even if we don't really need them for our Digimon… Okay, the gate is opened."

"How did he get out in the first place?" Lily Dawn asked.

"We opened a portal to get away from him. He must've used that portal as well." Eternalmon explained.

"**He has escaped and is coming this way.**" Shendramon came down a few moments after that.

"And there isn't anyone else around so we better make sure that this works." Ken said, taking a quick look around.

"Finally, I found you." Jinnmon said but then all of our Digimon attacked in a unifying attack. That stunned him enough for them to try the trick again but it wasn't getting him in fast enough. He grabbed Kari by the arm that held the D-3 and tried to pull her in as well but Breomon bit him hard in his arm. He let got of Kari and went in but the light was saying that he wasn't fully in. Ceres went up and put a talisman on her before chanting something. A little cloud thing that symbolized a spirit came out and went in. That's went Ken closed the laptop and I went to Kari.

"Are you okay?" I looked at her.

"A bit of him went in me but I'm fine. Thanks Ceres."

"Not a problem."

"Do you two want to stay with us?" Neon asked, though they were still with Kari.

"Who are you guys anyway?" Endmon asked.

"Our Digital World title is the Legendary Digidestined." Panther said.

"Legendary Digidestined? Are you strong?"

"We need to be." Ceres said with a smile.

"Endmon, can we stay here? Can we? Can we? Can we?" Eternalmon plead.

"Are you guys alright?" I heard Ryo asked.

"We're fine." Don said.

"Stay still for a while." Kari said, handing Endmon to Neon since she was closer.

"Why?" Eternalmon asked.

"We'll explain later." Lily Dawn said.

"You didn't see the monster go by here?" Kento asked.

"No." Damon said.

"As long as you are all right, I guess there is not anything to worry about." Date-san said.

"I guess the festival is cancel for the rest of the day." Ceres said, holding her index finger to her lips and made her voice sound innocent.

"My restaurant isn't damage so we can stay there for a while." Kento offered.

"When are we heading back, Mackenzie-san?" Kari asked.

"When we need to head back?"

Tim looked at his watch, "How about seven?"

"Okay."

"Great. That gives us plenty of time to have dinner." Kento said as we all headed back to the restaurant.

Ceres and Panther were helping in the back and we were setting the dinning area so all Kento has to do is get rid of the big table that we're using.

"TK, are you feeling all right?" I looked behind me to see Date-san with concern eyes.

"Of course I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Maybe I am just misreading your expressions. Sorry to worry you." He went over to Lita. I couldn't guess why he thought I was ill so I went around, asking everyone else if they thought that I was.

"Remember TK, Date-san is a bit weird." Ken said, thinking logically as usual.

"He said that he was misreading my expressions… I thought I might've been doing something like Matt where I don't notice that I'm doing something but I actually am."

"I thought you both need some vacation time. You worry too much and you're not using your head as much." He said with a smile.

"Do you think I should ask him about it? I'm sure that he'll be coming back with us to Tokyo."

"They all, minus Kento, will most likely come back with us."

"What are you two talking about way over here?" Mina asked with a smile on her face. I noticed that everyone else was done and heading back over to the table.

"Mina, what would your brother mean if he said that he misread an expression of someone?" I asked.

"Well, normally he can read someone pretty well to know what's on their mind. It's something that he learned as a child. If he misread then that means that he thought he saw something but it must've been something else. Why?"

"He asked me if I was feeling ok… I didn't look sick or stress or something like that, right?"

"Let me go ask him about it. I wasn't really paying attention." She went over to him and they talked for a few moments before coming back, "He thought that he saw you stress. I guess it's very little since I think I see some of it too."

"So you all have that ability?" Ken asked.

"But Sa… brother has it more." I could tell that she was about to give us his first name.

"Thanks."

"Not a problem." We went back to the table and they brought out the food.

" Dinner is served! " Ceres said as she laid the last dish on the table.

"Kento, did they help you?" Date-san asked.

"We know how to cook." Panther said and he just smiled but I couldn't tell why.

"Have you two gotten the recipe for those food drinks?" I whispered once they sat down.

"Not yet but hopefully when he gets back. All we know is that you have to move fast while making the food." Ceres explained.

"Okay, thanks." We all ate.

Once we were done, some were helping with the dishes and some were helping with the moving of the big table. Once done, we said goodbye to Kento and headed home.

"Thank you Mackenzie-san for inviting us." Tim said as we were on the train.

"It was enjoyable to have you here." She said with a smile.

"At least we got out of school." Panther said, taking a seat on the shinkansen.

"Is that the only reason you came?" Ryo asked.

"Why shouldn't we have come? It's not like there's a festival like this in Tokyo that's today."

"You didn't sound too thrilled."

"Or are you talking grateful?" Panther was starting to get a little edgy with Ryo.

"Ryo, I was the one that invited them to come. They didn't have to take my offer." Date-san said, sounding like he didn't want Ryo to get hurt.

"Sa… Sensei, why did you invite someone that has trouble with the law?" Ryo seemed a bit annoyed that he couldn't call him by his real name.

"Because he likes me." Panther answered.

"He loves us all so… much!" Ceres said in a baby voice and a big smile as well as moving her arms wide during 'so…'

"Sensei?" He seemed to get annoyed at something.

I could tell that Date-san couldn't really answer since Ceres was giving him her famous doggie eyes, as she calls it. "I guess I do."

" Yay! " Ceres jumped out of her seat with her hands in the air and with the biggest smile on her face (also in her baby voice).

Rowen whispered something to Date-san and he told him something before focusing back on us. I had a feeling that it had something to do with how Ceres was acting (we were all use to it by now to know when she's joking and when she's serious. Of course, that can change within a matter of seconds).

"Thank you for inviting us, again." Neon said with a little bow as we were out of the station.

"And if you can find another time for us to skip school, don't hastate to get us out." Panther said, looking at Date-san but I know that she wanted to make sure Ryo heard it.

"Hopefully I can find one that Matt will be able to attend."

"Don't wait that long. Panther can't handle to school pressure too much." Ceres said with a smile as she placed her arm around Panther's neck.

"I will see if I can find one. Have a save trip home."

"See ya." I said as we walked out. They were all nice but I had a feeling that it wasn't always like this (I mean by the way he talks to his friends and how they treat everyone else… Though I'm not sure why I thought that… Ken's right… I might need a vacation…).

"Okay, we're heading to the Digital World tomorrow. Do you two want to follow or do you want to stay in this world?" Tim asked, looking at Endmon and Eternalmon. _I had almost forgot that they were with us._

"We'll head back with you guys." Endmon answered.

"If you guys get chased all the time then why go back?" Neon asked.

"Because that way they don't find a way into the Real World."

"But haven't some already know how to enter our world? Some have already." Nereida asked.

"I guess so but unless you want the strongest ones to come into this world I suggest that we go back to keep them entertain."

"Well, find us here or there and we'll protect you guys as much as we can." Kari said with a smile.

"Thanks." Eternalmon said.

"Meet at our house at seven in the morning and we'll look for that spot that Ryan can use for his art thing." Tim said and we all spread out. Endmon and Eternalmon went with Neon since her mother already knows about Digimon.

"TK, don't let what happen today get to you." Ken said as we watched Kari go up.

"Why say that?"

"Because I know that you will and you don't need to. Kento here and Kento in your play are two different people."

"That's his name!"

"Who's?"

"Oops… I forgot. You said to not let it go to my head." I said with a smile.

"That's right… But who's name did you just figure out?"

"Why should it matter? If it means nothing then why should it matter?" He gave me this look that told me that he wanted to know and wasn't going to give up so easily. That made me laugh.

"What are you laughing at?"

"If it means nothing then why do you want to know so badly?"

His eyes widened before he started to laugh too, "Really? I guess I just want to know."

"I think that no matter what you tell me, you think it's important since you're also connected to us and this."

"I guess I was just trying to run away… Was that a trick to make me realize this?" He looked at me with playful, narrow eyes.

"Now you caught on. I have this feeling that Date-san is somehow involved but I can't place where. Have any thoughts?"

"Maybe he's like a guide or something to lead us on our way. To point us in the right direction to find ourselves."

"Now you're sounding like TK." Patamon said on my head.

"Nah, he got that from a video game." Wormmon clarified.

"You play video games? Why haven't you shown me those skills?" I asked with a playful hurt.

"I just got one recently. It's an adventure game so there isn't much to it."

"What's the plot?"

"I think my mom wants me to be ready for the detective world. It's based off this English gentleman known as Sherlock Homes."

"Sherlock Homes? Sounds like a forest." I said with a smile.

"Well, he's a fictional character who was a great detective of Scotland Yard. I have some of the books at my house."

"English or Japanese?"

"Both. I think that's what made up my mind about being a detective."

"That's cool. At least you have something to look forward to."

"And being a famous writer isn't something?"

"It's something but it's not really exciting. I have to create the place and everything like I want to escape reality."

"But it is a serious work. I don't think you'll have to be in a fantasy world all the time. You could always use the Digital World."

"I guess I do have that, don't I?"

"What happened to your other car and why is that one out?" Ken walked a bit faster to the convertible that was in my driveway.

"I sold the other one since I don't need two cars."

"But this doesn't belong to you."

"And once we find the owner, I'll ask him about it."

"What if something happens and this gets damage?"

"There is a number that I can call if something happens to it." I opened the glove compartment and brought out folded papers and handed them to Ken.

"Why didn't you tell me you found something else?"

"Had other things on my mind."

"I better take a look at these at my house." He started to walk away.

"Why don't you just bring your stuff over here? I don't want you to forget them and since we're going to the Digital World tomorrow, it would be easier since they could blame me if we're late."

"Alright, I'll be back within a few hours." He took off.

"Patamon, start making something."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to check up on the story."

"Right."

I ran all the way to Matt's house. It didn't take me long to get the day things written since I already knew what to look for. I got back with time before Ken came. The numbers were all to a voice mailbox but he wouldn't allow me to know who had the number that was only on a piece of paper.

"Why can't I know?" I said as I was looking at him with my head on the table.

"Because you don't need to know."

"I could just call the number on my own time you know."

"It's not important to the investigation."

"It was in the car and I didn't put it in there, of course it's important to the investigation."

"It's not important. Anyway, it's late and we have a long day." He packed up the things and went upstairs to a room. I didn't see the piece of paper on the table so I knew that he had it with him.

"I need that paper." I said as I was in my room.

"Why? He said that it's not important." Patamon said as he was ready to go to sleep.

"He doesn't want me to know the name."

"Then you shouldn't worry about it."

"He doesn't want me to worry about it since… Since it has a connection to the play!"

"Are you going to sneak into his room to get that paper?" Patamon was already reading my mind, knowing that Ken has too.

"No. He knows that I know what's important about that paper. I need a way to get it without him knowing and not letting him know that I'm the one that planned it."

"You could always call Panther for her Crest Power." Patamon half didn't realize what he just said. "I didn't mean for you to call her for real." He said as I was calling her on my cell.

"But it's a great plan."

"I thought that this was going to be a secret." I hanged up before she reached it.

"That's right. Man!"

"Couldn't you ask Kaiba to do it for you? After all, he did it for Matt."

"I could…" I called him and he said that it calls were to the car dealer, car insurance and someone named Trowa Barton. I thanked him before hanging up.

"Wasn't 'Trowa' in your play?"

"And that's why Ken didn't want me to know."

"You're not too good at hiding things from him."

"I know… But I can tell him how I found out so I don't think he would mind too much."

"Let's hope so."

"You asked Kaiba-sama to help you!" He seemed like he was in a dream. I understand it to be that Kaiba was the one that looked up his phone records.

"That's the only way I could think of to get the information that I wanted." I couldn't tell him that I was thinking about using Panther since he doesn't know that this is supposed to be a secret. "What did his voice mail say?"

"You've reached an old number for Trowa Barton. If you want to talk to him about something that doesn't have to do with the Winner Projects, call him at… I didn't want to know the number."

"Winner Projects?"

"Maybe a friend?"

"That can't be a common name."

"But we don't know if it's a last name or a first… Like I said yesterday, it's not important."

"Come on Ken, this is the best clue I had to do on for a long time. I want to know so Matt can know."

He sighed, "It's time for us to get there. We'll talk about this later." He got up and we went out. I didn't like the feeling of being the little brother with him since we're the same age. It was also making me miss Matt as well.

Ryan

I was that their house at six since I wanted to look fast. Their Grandmother made us something since I didn't want to eat something at home. The others arrived some time between my time and seven. I opened the portal and we all went in.

"Bye, see you guys later!" Neon yelled as they left.

"Don't get killed." Endmon yelled back and then they were done.

"It's sad that they don't want to be with us." Nereida said.

"They have their own lives. Though we might need them at the end. That's how these things go." Ceres said.

"What things?" Tim asked.

"These life changing adventures with a world to save. Everyone has a role and they're involved with it as well."

"Enough of that. Let's go find that place." I said and headed off in any direction. I asked Artmon if there was a place where I can get an amazing sun glowing background as the others played with the Digimon.

"There's only one spot but it's in the Super Level area."

"Do many Digimon go there?"

"It depends on their mood. Since we're able to leave, they might not want to go back to that area."

"I see. Thanks. We'll be careful."

"Why do you want to know?"

"I want the best place to draw something for an art contest."

"Good luck… I guess."

"Thanks. Where is it anyway?"

"It's on the edge of it, head that way and you'll find it." She pointed a little up from her left.

"Thanks. Everyone lets get going!"

We said bye to the little ones and we headed off. Of course I forgot to ask how long of a walk it was but that was ok. I was just hoping that we were still on the right path.

"Does anyone know what the edge of the border looks like?" Neon asked.

"It's really easy to spot, trust me." IceThormon said from Ceres's shoulder.

"That's right, you should know what Artmon was talking about." I said, remembering that she spent time with Torchmon.

"That's right but I didn't hear what you were asking her." She said with a smile.

"An area with an amazing sun glowing background."

"Are you going to capture the pure radiance of the time when it does?" Ceres asked.

"That's what I'm hoping."

"But you have school to go to." Tim reminded.

"I know but it shouldn't take too long. That why I brought everything I got." I pointed to my carrier bag.

"I guess I was right on bringing my camera equipment with me." Kari said as she held up her camera.

_Don't worry Ryan. You'll get the perfect spot._ **_Lily Dawn said to me_**.

_Thanks._

_That's what friends are for._

"Here it is." IceThormon said, flying towards the clearing were there was a big meadow and awesome, majestic mountains in the far distance. It wasn't near sunset but I knew that it would be perfect for it.

I got them to get into many different positions so I could should one to use. Since Lightningmon was more human looking, I had her be the most that had the center of the pieces. Sakuramon was the next since she was a fairy. Shendramon was normally near the mountains since he was big. I was also changing the location a bit every time as well. Good thing that Kari was taking pictures of everything so I can image something for the extras that I'll have since I could only use one.

"They look good as always." Panther said as the Digimon were taking a break.

"Thanks. I hope one will get me the grant prize."

"I'm sure the one that you choose you'll win with it." Lily Dawn said.

"Plus with our Digimon, how can you lose?" Neon said with a smile.

"Thanks."

"It's almost time for the sun to set." Gatomon said.

"I guess I better get a picture." I got most of them out, the ones that I drew the best. As I got the one that I wanted to use, some of the Digimon were on the edge.

"What's wrong?" Ceres asked as she looked at IceThormon.

"Someone's coming." IceThormon, Lightningmon, Huskimon, Shendramon, and Gatomon were the ones that were on the edge before but now everyone was. It was clear that they couldn't tell where it was coming from so that's why everyone was getting ready for all directions.

Suddenly, a tree was coming towards us from behind. It was coming so fast towards me that I didn't have the time to move but luckily Breomon was able to get me out of its path. I looked back to see that it destroyed my art pieces.

"Yami Rings!" Breomon yelled, entrapping the tree but something started to come out of it. It was the Digimon from the festival.

"This never happened before!" Kari said, implying that when they tried this trick before that they never ran into the enemy again.

"That's because they were most likely Control Spire Digimon." TK said.

"I'm sure we sent real Digimon to the Digital World." Ken said.

"They were lost so we didn't have to worry about them attacking us when we got back. The ones that we did have to worry about, we killed them."

"I don't think arguing about it now would do you much good." Jinnmon said as he sank into the earth.

"I think we have a problem." Ceres said, as everyone was getting ready.

"Why?" Neon sounded more scared than she should be but we knew it was her hormones.

"Jinn means spirit. I just put that together once he went into the earth. If it means that he can go into anything and possessed it then we're in trouble since we can't see him."

"Can't you?" Panther asked.

"I could…"

"Kari, get out of the way!" Nereida said and Kari didn't argue. Jinnmon came up right where she was staying.

"Lightning Claw!" Gatomon yelled, hitting him in the face but went through him.

"You think that your attacks can affect me?" He went after her.

"Spark!" Lightningmon yelled as she releases a sphere of electricity at him and it did hurt him.

"Black Wolf!" Breomon said as a black shadow comes from his back and forms into a wolf-like shape. That attacked Jinnmon, which hurt him more than Lightningmon's attack.

As a result, though, Jinnmon exploded himself. I did notice that none landed on any of us but I thought that was pointless. Of course, I was wrong since his pieces controlled the things that it landed on and now the scene was fighting our Digimon. Though I wasn't really watching the fighting but at how the scene had change and that got me mad since it wasn't the same as before.

I knew that I had to get my art things before something happened to them so I made a run for them. Unfortunately, he saw or felt or whatever he did to know that someone wasn't protecting me so the earth wrapped around my feet a meter away from my art supply. I looked back to see if I could free myself to discover that a root from a tree was the thing that wrapped my feet. Breomon came over and was trying to bit the root off but I knew that it was pointless.

"Look out Breomon!" That was the only thing I could say since a boulder was about to land on him. He looked up and started to glow.

"Breomon Digievolves to………………… Flarmon!" His Champion from appeared, "Laval!" It looked like a volcano was exploding at the beginning. It was so red that it looked like he was releasing thick blood into the air. It melted the rock before it even hit and none of the laval hit me.

The root removed itself from my legs and Ceres helped me to stand, "What were you trying to do?"

"Get my art things."

She walked over and was about to pick them up but the earth grabbed her hand and pulled it a bit deep into the earth. I went over and we tried to pull it out but it was acting like quicksand that the harder we tried the more it pulled in.

I felt the earth underneath us feeling soft, knowing that it was pulled us in.

"Ryan, get out of here. You're not in as deep as I am. I can get myself out." Ceres didn't want me to go with her if something happened that she couldn't get out.

"I'm not going to leave you here." My hands were now in the earth so it was pointless to pull. I looked over at my art supply to see that they were no longer there.

"IceThormon Digievolves to……………………… Yi-Yamon!" I looked back to see that IceThormon turned into a cat with most white and black on her front legs, back right leg, whole back to a thin line to that reaches her stomach, and tail; her eyes were a swirl of cloudy bluish gray. "Eye of Judgement!" Her eyes widened a bit and shot something at us. The earth brought us back up but not my art things. The piece that was apart of him came out and was hanging in the air, waiting for something.

"Gatomon, use your Cat's Eye to get some of them out." Yi-Yamon said as she moved towards the other possessed objects.

Gatomon listened to her and did her Cat's Eye, which worked in a similar fashion.

"Are you two okay?" Flarmon asked as they were doing that.

"We're fine." Ceres said with thumbs up.

We felt the earth moving, knowing that there was still a piece of him that they haven't gone. We looked around, preparing for anything until we heard TK's voice. Everyone looked over to see that the earth had trapped most of his body and rose into the sky. Once the tremor ended, Jinnmon appeared from the earth but it seemed that a part of him was still there.

"Let go of TK!" Kari yelled with Patamon and Gatomon ready to fight.

"I suggested that you don't do that. You see, I can still tight this piece of earth." After his first sentence, TK looked like he was getting crushed. They were shocked but just glared at him for what he's doing. Everyone was trying to think up a fast way to get him out of there. He looked over at Tim, "My Data is still within the Earth and I made it impossible for something to go through it unless I wanted it to." He started to laugh. "And trying to loosen the earth around your friend won't help as well."

I heard a noise and looked to where Ceres was to see that her feet and hands were bond by earth.

"What do you want?" Ceres asked angrily.

"I want those two Digimon that ran to you. Where are they?"

"We don't know. They're lost in the Real World." Kari said.

"The Real World? You're a really bad liar you do know that, ne? You should really work on that." The earth around TK tightened more.

"You want to know." I said, not wanting to get TK hurt because of a lie, "There in the Digital World but you won't find them. They went back into hiding and we don't know where they are." I could tell that everyone was wondering why I would give it away.

Suddenly, he appeared in front of me, "Why would you now tell me the truth?"

"I could always hope that you would let my friends go."

"Oh, so you want me to let these two go?" TK's hold was getting tighter, "What if I don't? What would you do then? Would you be willing to find them for me since they seem to know you so well."

"No one look for them!" TK yelled, hiding his pain as he tightened the grip.

"Think of it as one of those snakes that squeezes the breath of its prey. Are you willing to look?"

I knew that I shouldn't but I didn't want TK to get hurt. If we only knew how to delete a Super Level Digimon then we would be set but we didn't. We could all get out of here if we wanted to but TK couldn't. I couldn't turn away like I normally did and let Panther handle it, I couldn't trust him to not harm the others if I looked and I didn't know where to look. TK wanted their happiness ensured so I was willing to give them the same chance. We were going to find a way to get out of this in one piece and I knew that we were going to find it. "No."

My amulet started to glow and jiggled wildly, releasing a blinding light. "Flarmon Digievolves to………………… Vapmon! Waterfall!" A large beam of water shot at him and got him away from me. I looked back to see a light sea blue dog looking Digimon with a finned tail, webbed ears, head thing, and around the neck which was a sky blue color. His eyes were a deep ocean water dark blue.

"Vapmon, get TK out!" I remembered that with enough pressure that water could back anything. I just had to hope that he had an attack that could produce that pressure.

"Waterstorm!" A bigger, twisting beam of water generated from his mane and struck the earth around TK, taking it off very quickly.

Jinnmon tried to attack me but LDinomon shot his Fire Balls at him and that kept him at bay long enough for TK to be freed. Vapmon blasted a smaller water beam at Jinnmon that sent him into the air. He seemed to be solid right now. "Everyone, aim at him!" All the Digimon sent an attack that would do something to hurt him if he was solid and all of them did damage; nothing that would kill him but enough to maim him.

"We should get out of here." Damon said as he opens a portal. Vapmon got Ceres out and we all ran to the portal. I looked back before going in to make sure that he was down and wouldn't follow.

We ended up being at an apartment building that I've never seen before.

"What luck that we ended up at my apartment complex." Kari said as she was near TK.

"Are you ok, TK?" Panther asked.

"I'm fine now. Why don't you introduce yourself, In-training form of Breomon." TK said with a smile.

I looked beside me, expecting to see Vapmon there but instead it was a black dog with a red gem, fur coming off its face and a two-ended tail. He was also smaller than the other forms.

"I'm Espomon!" He had a small voice.

"KAWAII!" Ceres hugged him then hugged Yi-Yamon. "You must represent the Yin-Yang, right?"

"Yep." She smiled at her partner.

I picked up Espomon but then remembered that I had nothing to present to the art contest.

_What's wrong? **Lily Dawn asked.**_

_**I sighed, **I have nothing to show for the art contest._

_Were all of them destroyed? **Kari asked. I had forgot that she could read minds too.**_

_I think so and it's too dangerous to go back and look._

"Oh, Ryan. I managed to grab that one drawing." Yi-Yamon said, pointing with her head behind Ceres.

I looked to see one of my canvases lying there. I placed Espomon on my head and picked it up to see that it was one with Lightningmon in the middle and everyone was in some position around the scene.

"Thanks so much Yi-Yamon."

"I remembered that you were going after you art things and I saw that that was the only drawing that wasn't destroyed."

"Well, I should have more art supplies at home so I'll talk to everyone later." I ran off, hearing their distant goodbyes and good lucks.

I discovered that I had brought all of them with me and my dad wasn't willing to give me the money to at least get the ones that I need.

"Those art supplies are way too expensive." He said at dinner.

"Please? I would need them for Art class anyway."

"You carry two sets. Ones at home and one's at school."

"What about my Art lessons after school?"

"I know that you have a separate set for that too. You're not getting anymore until you can raise the money yourself. I just don't have the money to get it right now." I got up and walked out. "Where are you going?" I heard him asked as I was putting on my shoes.

"I'm going to see if I can get anything from my Art lessons or school."

"Not at this time." I looked to see that it was nearing eleven PM.

"It's not like I have a choice." I opened the door and walked out.

"Get back in this house right now!"

"I need to get this done as soon as possible." I didn't stop walking.

"Don't start to act like that criminal friend of yours."

I stopped and looked at him, "Panther is no longer a criminal."

"I know differently. Get back in this house right now."

"There's a reason why I want to get this done. I have to submit it tomorrow before five PM." I hit the elevator button and gate opened. I got in and hit the first floor. I couldn't tell him that I wanted my sister to find me through this picture.

"Are you mad at your father for not giving the money?" Espomon asked.

"Of course not. I understand so that's why I'm going to try the other places."

"It sounded like you were mad. Maybe he thought you were."

"I guess I did… I'll tell him later that I wasn't. First, I have to get to my Art lesson class." I started to run over there. They were closed and the same with the school. I was heading over to Lily Dawn's house to see if I could borrow Panther or Ceres's art things when I saw TK and he seemed to be waiting for me.

"Any luck?" He asked when I got to him.

"Nah, I'm going to ask Panther if I could borrow hers."

"Follow me." He had a plan but I couldn't figure out what it was. I could tell that he was leading me to his house, since I wasn't anywhere near her house. His house was as big as Matt's, maybe a bit smaller but still large. He brought me into a room on the second floor and it was filled with art supplies. It hit me that TK was also taking an Art class at school.

"Go ahead and use them." He said with a smile and I headed in without a second thought. The drawing wasn't the best but I did the best I could. Though I wanted to use the sunset by seeing it but I was creating it from memory. I made sure that everything was perfect so it would win. I needed it to win. All I could think about while adding color and bringing it life was that my sister needed to see this. Once I was done, it turned out a lot better than what the drawing was.

"It's beautiful. It would be ashamed if it lost." TK said as he brought me some snack and something to drink. I didn't notice how hungry I was until then, which made me think about how hungry Espomon must be. "Espomon is sleeping with Patamon." He sounded like he read my mind.

"Did he eat something?"

"Yea. Why don't you call your dad to tell him where you are? You could spend the night here and get an early start."

"Thanks." I got up and went to his phone. I told my dad that I wasn't mad at him and that I was going to stay at TK's house.

TK led me to the room that I'll be using and fell asleep without a second thought. The next day, I got the drawing in early and they would announce the winner tomorrow at 5 PM.

"Thanks TK for letting me use your art supplies but why do you have a high level in there."

"I'm in an art class too." I knew that it had to be a lie but I left it as is.

"Did they have dust on them?" Ken asked as if it was a joke.

"Get into your seats class." The teacher said and everyone did.

I started to think about what Ken said and they didn't have dust on them. They were used by the ones I used so I could guess that the other supplies were used as well. I wasn't paying close attention to the other items or the detail of the room. I looked at his artwork to see ingenious hidden within each piece but it wasn't too noticeable so he had to have some kind of talent for art. But I figured that he had his reasons for not telling us so I left it as is (he's smart. What he did was he asked to look at all of our drawings, saying that he wanted an idea for his art class with Panther and Ceres).

I went to the place where they were going to hold the announcement. I told them that I didn't want them to come in case I didn't win.

"I thought you wanted no one here?" Espomon said. I looked where he was staring to see Panther can Lily Dawn were standing near the entrance liked they owned the place.

"I should've known that you two would he here. Where's Ceres?"

"She understands that this is a friendship thing." Lily Dawn said.

"So she's staying home to entertain Stan." Panther said.

"Shouldn't we be heading inside? It's almost time for it to start." Bellimon said and we headed in.

They first announced the top ten pictures that they choose. Commenting on each one carefully and giving the artist the proper respect for their time and effort they put into it. I hated the way they were procrastinating the dramatic tension that already clung to the air.

"Do you want me to read their minds?" Lily Dawn asked.

"That's okay."

"Honest as always." Panther said.

"That's why I have this." I held up my amulet.

Once they were done with those ten, they started the comments first before announcing who the artist was. Anyone who they didn't call wasn't listening to their words carefully enough to know whether it was their piece or not… "And the Grand Prize Winner is… Kawako Ryan!"

I jumped out of my seat with a 'yay'. I didn't even realize that I had moved until I was at the stairs with my friends.

"Stay calm, you were half floating when you jumped." Lily Dawn said.

I took a deep breath to clam my nerves. I couldn't dematerialize in front of a large crowd. I walked up and they handed me a check.

"What inspired you to create such a love piece?"

"My sister loves art so this is for her."

"It's that sweet. In any case, you're automatically entered into the final competition round with this piece. You'll get something in the mail for the next round of competition. Good night everyone."

And that was the end of it, "Wait, isn't this going to be broadcast?"

"Not until it's close to the final competition."

They were taking my art piece and I just stood there. I wasn't crying but extremely disappointed since I couldn't wait that long.

"Ryan." I looked behind me to see Lily Dawn and Panther. Lily Dawn hugged me, knowing my disappointment.

"Don't worry, we'll think up something." Panther said.

"Right." We walked off the stage.

"I can get someone in my dad's TV station that will do the interview. If they can then we'll skip the study session today. I'm sure we can interrupt some program for a bit to announce it." TK said as if he had planned this.

"Thanks TK."

"Not a problem."

During the day, I was wondering if he called them. He said he didn't before lunch so it was nerve cracking until I saw Panther and Ceres again. But they told me that he didn't have time to do it before but he will during that passing period. I had a feeling that he was doing this on purpose.

"They said that they will be able to do it today."

"Thanks so much TK."

"No problem." He smiled.

We walked over to the place where the contest was held. They allowed us to go into the building to have me standby my picture.

The next evening, they interrupted a news broadcast for my interview. I was glad that it was showing and to help her confirm that it was me, I did our special sibling sign.

I have to be more careful… They're figuring out what's going on… I wonder how Matt does it… He's able to hide his thoughts and opinions about what he's thinking… Though he has all day to think and control his actions… I really need to practice this so they don't think too much.


	18. Chap 17 Homo Sapien Strikes Three Fold

Hello everyone, I hope that everyone is having an interesting time reading these. Letting you know that we, as in the second group, have gone back to the Digital World to make sure that Kenmon and his gang didn't do something else since it just hit Yolie that he might have left something that we didn't see. Anyone that could make it from the third group came along as well to make sure we were okay and to get to know the Digital World better. Well, better get on with the story…

"See ya later." I said as we were heading out of the school.

"Where are you going?" Kari asked.

"Izzy wanted to see me about the book that Matt left him."

"Then you better get going." Ceres said.

I headed over to Izzy's campus, wondering what mysteries has he uncovered from the Book of the Digital World.

"You seem excited about something." Patamon said.

"I'm wondering what he found within the pages."

"I know I'm excited to find out what's in the Digital World's past."

"Then I better hurry." I ran the rest of the way.

"Glad you could make it on short notice." Izzy said as he allowed me to come in.

"Not a problem. So what did you find?"

"I couldn't translate the whole book but I did manage to get one that has a tale of my Crest."

"Do tell."

He grabbed a pile of papers and brought it over to me, "

The Champion of Knowledge awaits his opponent's

Entrance to the arena.

A meek, brain Digimon comes forth from the

Cave of enslaved Outside Digimon.

The Champion of Knowledge watches this Digimon walk slowly forward,

Knowing the fate that lies ahead.

With the sound of the grand gong,

The Champion of Knowledge strikes at this

Outside Digimon.

The Digimon moved away and managed to

Steal all of the Champion's strength.

He Down-graded to his baby form.

The crowd was awe struck to see just a

Brilliant Champion fall to an Outsider.

As the Outsider Digimon laughed as he

Approached the Champion of Knowledge,

The Champion summoned the Power of

Knowledge that was now at his aid.

The Champion managed to go to his Ultimate Stage, having

The Power of Knowledge power up this stage.

With a signal attack,

He managed to kill this weak Digimon, with the

Sound of the crowd crying for more.

That's it."

"I don't remember something like that happening to Tentomon or Mega Kabuterimon."

"You weren't with us all the time. That did happen when you were all spilt up." Tentomon said.

"Really?" I looked at Izzy.

He nodded, "I lost my curiosity during that battle but that's a side story. This story was accurate in its telling. Not to mention that there's a dark side to the Digital World that I didn't want to know was there."

Izzy seemed really shaken by this and I'm not really sure why. "Hey Izzy," he looked at me, "I'm sure it wasn't all bad."

"Did you read what Matt gave you the last time you were here?"

"I did." I didn't like the fact that he was really disturbed by this.

"TK, they killed innocent Digimon and we don't even know why. Our own Digimon killed for the enjoyment!"

I now understood why he was nervous. I looked at Tentomon and he was sad about the whole thing as well, "Izzy, it wasn't them. That's in the past, the ancient past of the Digital World. They are no longer those Digimon. What if you looked at it from the beginning? Then you'll know why they started to do something like this and why the author ended like he did."

"I guess you're right TK but it's hard to believe that there's a dark side to the world that seems so pure."

"Izzy, if it was pure then we wouldn't be there."

"Evil could've seep into it." That just reminded me that Mirrormon told them that there are Digimon already in this world, living out a human life or waiting to kill us.

"No world is a utopia. I thought you would know that."

"In either case, you know that prophecy that Gennia told us about when we were fighting Myotismon?"

"I was there when Centarumon told us."

"It seems to come near the end of the book. I'm betting that the whole book is filled with stories of our adventure."

"So it's similar to a prophecy book? It tells of the future since it gives us the background of the battles we fought… But we didn't kill all of our opponents. Maybe it was only that one; you did delete that Digimon, right?"

"He was deleted."

"Maybe they only killed the ones we did."

"It's not the killing that troubles me, it's the crowd. They wanted more deaths of their own kind."

"Maybe it was similar to the Romans. They wanted to see death and blood in their arena."

"Maybe…"

"Cheer up, it doesn't happen now so don't worry about it."

"I guess so, thanks TK."

I smiled, "Any time."

"Ken emailed me about giving him a map of the Digital World; do you know why he wanted it?"

"Yea, when he got his Mental of Kindness there was a light blinking over an area of the Digital World that we've never been before. He wants to find it since I think that's where the ancient secrets lie."

"You're sounding a bit too mystical there." Izzy said with a smile.

"I've been working on that. I wanted one of my characters to very wise and mysterious."

"That sounds like the new Matt, unless you're modeling that character off of someone else."

"I really don't know. Well, I'll let you know when we're heading to the Digital World. Ken is going to give us the word on that."

"Thanks. But there's one more thing before you go."

I got up from the seat, "What is it?"

"Matt's Digivice," He picked it up from the table, "I managed to go through it like he asked."

"And?"

"I discovered that this records the image and the name of the Super Levels but that's it."

"Maybe yours isn't powerfully enough to hold any more than that."

"I've been able to download that information but there's one thing that has me worried."

"What?"

"I couldn't get anything on Styxmon and her family."

"You couldn't?"

"Nope and I've even tried mine."

"What about a Digimon known as Mirrormon?"

"Mirrormon?" He looked through his computer and pulled up a picture of her. "Why?"

"She told us that her and her siblings created the Super Levels."

"Really?... Then why would she show herself to Matt? Unless she attacked him."

"No, she's not really evil. She was the one that told Matt that they have a Super Level form."

"Really? And Matt trusts this source?"

"He does." That phrase reminded me of Ken.

"Well, since this is Matt's battle, I guess I have to go with his judgment. Just keep me posted."

"I will. Thanks a lot for helping out."

"Not a problem. Oh, is there a reason that Ken can't open his Mental?" He asked as I was about to open his door.

"He hasn't told me about it. I just figured that it's due to all the stress that he's under since that clone's appearance."

"I see… Well, it would help greatly if he could open it. Gennai sent me some data to figure out that could help with the combination style of the Mental."

"I thought you understood why we don't listen to Gennai?"

"I do but I can't dismiss everything he sends me. Yolie told me that she thought Matt was a traitor. I have to keep up some loyalty to him so they don't think I'm with him."

"Right, we don't want you to get in trouble with them. After all, you're their life support." I said with a smile that he accepted. "I have to get going home. I'll keep you posted."

"See ya later." I walked out.

It wasn't until I was closed to my house that I punched a pole. It took me a while to notice that I bent the thing.

"Are you okay, TK?" Patamon asked.

"My hand is fine." I looked at it, wondering how I was able to do that.

"TK, what happened to that pole?" I turned around to see Ken walking towards me.

"Uh… Nothing." I smiled as I put back behind me the hand that I punched it with, "What brings you down here?"

"I want to check something in peace. My home isn't a good place for it."

"Sure, you can stay for a while." We went to my home.

I made us something as he was looking through his laptop. I seriously thought it was something for the detective agency that he wanted to get into but when I looked, it was coordinates in the Digital World.

"Have you only started looking for it?"

"No, I had Izzy emailed me the map only recently since I wanted to confirm my own calculations. There seems to be something missing though."

"Why?" I sat down next to him; he was studying the screen hard.

"There's nothing there. My computer can't seem to pick up anything in that area. I have a feeling that I made a mistake."

"We can look to see if you're right."

"What if I'm wrong?"

"Then you'll just have to try again. Anyway, we're going to have some trouble if we allow Izzy to keep the book."

"Why? Izzy is trustworthy."

"I know he is but he's supporting Yolie and them. He told me that he has to keep up some loyalty so they don't think he's with us."

"I'm sorry to hear that but we don't have anyone else that we can trust with the book and what we know."

"I know, but if they pressure him and he cracks… He knows about this group a bit more than Tai does. Why can't you do it?"

"Because I'm not that strong it the field anymore. My old laptop was lost, remember?"

"But I don't feel safe with all that information in Izzy's hands."

"All you have to do is find someone that we can trust that has a lot of free time on their hands. We need that book translated and somewhere to store all the data that Izzy has gathered."

"I know but I'm not coming up with anyone."

"You're a good judge of character, I'm sure you'll find someone. Bring it up tomorrow."

"Thanks Ken."

"Not a problem. Well, I better be off. I'll let everyone know that we'll be heading to the Digital World soon. We do have a day off before the weekend, right?"

"Yea. You forgot?"

"I've been busy with other things. The day before is when we're going. You need to find your ghost girl and ask her about those new jewels."

I smiled, "We'll at least get some answers, right?"

"Right." Ken left.

Nereida

Tim called for a meeting in his room so we were there. Our Digimon were outside the door since he called it a sibling meeting. We were wondering why he called this since it has been ages since he had called one of those, and unfortunate to us, we don't have the power to do so.

"Nereida, Damon. The time has come to test our powers scientifically. You need to gather Neon, Don, Lily Dawn and Ryan for this weekend."

"Why only them?" Damon asked. We loved it when Tim starts to speak like this since he sounds like a high priest or something.

"They're the only ones that can be tested. I must have all the data I can on these unnatural powers."

"But Neon is pregnant, surely that will play a factor in her performance." I pointed out.

"I will test her again when Ceres says I can."

"What shall we do with the others?" Damon asked.

"They may see this but they can't use their powers during it."

"We shall tell them." I said.

"You may leave now."

We backed out and closed his door once Shendramon was in.

"What was that about?" Huskimon asked as we walked down the hall.

"That's how he has fun with science." Damon said.

"He makes it sound like a sacrifice." Lightningmon said.

"That's why we love it when he does something like this. He'll continue this act until it is done." I said with a smile.

"Too bad Heka can't come to this. It would be too hard to explain everything." Damon said.

"I know." It would be hard on my part since she wouldn't be surprised about anything they do. I looked at Huskimon to see that he was being silent, for my sake.

Tim

"**Why didn't you tell them about the metal**?" Shendramon asked in my mind.

"I want to tell everyone that is present this weekend." I looked at the metal. I couldn't believe that something like this actually exist without anyone knowing it.

"**What if everyone can't make it?**"

"They will know through the others."

Don

"So we're heading to the Digital World the day before our three day weekend." Ken said when we got to school.

"And anyone that can make it to Tim's experiment day this weekend would be really amazed at how he acts." Nereida said with a smile.

"Why?" Neon asked.

"He's going to act like he's a high priest of some cult." Damon explained.

"I want to come!" Ceres said with her hand raised like she was trying to be picked.

"Don, Neon, Lily Dawn and Ryan have to come though." Nereida added.

"Why?" Ryan asked.

"He wants to test your powers."

"I'll make sure that I'm clear for that day." Lily Dawn said.

"Class, into your seats!" The teacher said and everyone went. I had never had my powers tested but I knew that it's good to know where the limits are so you can improve on them.

Hebe

Artemis and I were cleaning up the place. Astraea was at her office since it was around the time that they should've been on the moon. Apollo was going to get the brothers out of school since their mother and sister were coming over to visit to check up on them.

"I wish they didn't spring this unpleasant surprise on us." Artemis said as we were done.

"Why can't they come at the end of the day? She should know that it's not wise to come when they're not here."

"I told her that but she wouldn't listen."

"I got them." Apollo said as they came in.

"Why did you have to take us out so early? I didn't get to talk to Kari!" Aither said with anger.

"What period did you have her in today?" Artemis asked.

"Art class."

"You see her at lunch." I said.

"But I can't talk to her then."

"Whatever. Why don't you tell your mother that complaint?"

"Mother's coming?" Thanatos asked.

"That's why we had to get you out. She said they better be there or she'll give Zeus our heads." Artemis said.

"Well, since it was Mother and not you guys, I can deal with it." Aither said and that ended that.

"Aithermon, Hypnosmon, Thanatosmon, you all look so well." Nyx said as she and Hemera came in.

"Hemeramon, you're here too?" Thanatos asked as their mother was hugging them.

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Sit down, Nyx. I bet that you want to catch up with your sons' progress." Apollo said, gesturing where to sit.

"Thank you Apollomon." She walked over and sat down, "Hebemon, bring me some honey."

I haven't been addressed like that in a long time and I now hated it, "Right away, Nyx." I went to the kitchen and noticed that we only had tea, thanks to Nereida and Lily Dawn for suggesting them. "Nyx, we only have native drinks."

"Then get some from your garden." She said with annoyance.

"Mother, they don't have a garden." Hypnos said before one of us did.

"Where do you get your honey? Egypt?" She said with amusement.

"We don't drink honey anymore." Aither said.

"You… Don't drink honey… What have you done to my sons!" Nyx stood up, facing Apollo.

"We have done nothing to them. We were making sure that they don't stand out among the mortals of this land."

"I don't care if you want to mix them with these pathetic mortals. I allowed them to come to learn not to become."

"I understand that but your sons came with a different intent and with that intent, they had to blend in or they would find it restraining not to kill one."

"We are above them."

"But they don't know that and they have to continue to believe that. When we left this world to mortals to defend, they picked up another religion. These people have not forgotten their gods and we can't enforce them to. Dionysus must have told everyone that he met with that demon here."

"I was told and that's one reason I came. I've decided that I don't want you here anymore."

"Why?" Thanatos asked.

"It's too dangerous to let you stay. My sons, you will understand one day."

"How can we learn anything about life if we can't go among the mortals? That's how some of our brethren were created."

"How dare you say such a thing!" Hemera asked with shock. I finally realized that this was going to be good.

"How come you disguised your visit as a check-up?" Hypnos asked.

"I didn't want you to know that you would be leaving. Otherwise these once high Deities would've hidden you."

"At least the Sun and the Moon are still praised." Artemis said with boldness.

"What are you implying?" Nyx didn't like her tone.

"That the night is only something that comes out once the Sun has left and the Moon shines. No one praises the night, it only means that creatures of nightmare come out to play. You are now evil as well as beauty."

"You are not even a representative of the Moon."

"That's not what some people believe. In either case, you no longer represent the night. It's just something to keep time."

"Mother, don't listen to this low Goddess. You have more power over her now." Hemera said.

"Hemera, do you know that you no longer represent the day. That has been replaced by the position of the Sun."

"How dare you claim such a thing!"

"Sister, Mother, please. This is their home. You can not interrupt their way of living." Thanatos tried to calm them but it wasn't working.

"Why are you defending them?" Hemera yelled.

"I want to stay here and I am whether you want me to or not."

"The same goes for all three of us." Aither said with confidence.

"You would go against Heramon?"

"We would go against Zeusmon himself."

They were so shock that they just sat down. There was a moment of silence before we heard laugher. Everyone looked at the door to see Demeter standing there.

"Demeter? What are you doing here?" Artemis asked.

"I thought I should come here. I can't control the climate in the Digital World." She walked in.

"That never made you leave before." Apollo pointed out.

"I had no one that I could stay with. I hope it's all right."

"It is fine. We have plenty of room." Artemis said, though we all knew that it couldn't be good if so many Deities were stopping by.

"Hebemon, did you say that you only have native drinks?"

"Yes, Demeter."

"Bring me a sample of it."

"Right away." I had almost forgotten how to talk like a servant. Of course, I didn't like the feeling.

I brew some tea that Nereida loved and gave her a cup. She studied it a bit before taking a sip. "Hebemon, step outside with me." She still had the cup in her hand as she did. I didn't like the feeling that I got but I followed her anyway. "This is tasteless." She dropped the cup and it shattered on the ground. I stared at it, knowing that Lily Dawn had made that for Apollo.

"You didn't have to…" I was slapped on the face hard. I placed my hand on it and it throbbed with pain. I looked at Demeter and she was really angry at something.

"Were you planning on questioning my actions?" I looked at her, wondering what got her this mad.

"Don't tell me that your daughter got rapped by another man?" That was the worst comment I could've made. She summoned a hard rod and started hitting with it with a lot of force.

"How DARE _YOU_ say something about my daughter!" That phrase heavyed her strikes. I could only shield my face from her attack but that was it. I was wondering what was taking Apollo and Artemis so long to come. "You are nothing more than a Goddess servant! You should never speak unless it is to answer a command. Do you understand?" She stopped. I realized that I was on the ground, lying on my side. The cup was in front of me and I remembered when Apollo brought it home.

It was the some days before they left to go to the Digital World to explore. Apollo came in with a great smile, saying that Lily Dawn gave him this cup. It had all of their symbols on it, including the other groups. She wanted him to have it, though saying that the symbols were something that she thought up on her own. He claimed it as the start of a new life. _How dare she break it! That was Apollo's only gift from Lily Dawn._

I started to get up but she hit my back, "You didn't answer."

"My lady, may I ask where this rage comes from?" I sounded like my old self and she brought it.

"Dionysusmon told me that you were relaxed about serving him and that Artemis was the one that was cooking, cleaning and all that maiden work. You know that's your place. You are beneath them even if they don't live in the Digital World."

"So he requested that you take care of the problem?"

"Why not? He doesn't want to come back here."

"I understand that you are losing control." She was about to strike but I moved out of the way. I looked through the door to see that everyone that lives here was being held back by Hemera and Nyx.

"Hebe, run!" Artemis said.

"Don't worry about us!" Apollo said.

I nodded and ran towards Demeter, using a kick that Nereida showed me. She was knocked to the down and I gathered the shards of the cup. I ran as soon as I had them all and didn't look back (Wow!... I hope she's okay).

Nereida

I felt something stabbing me in the heart. I knew something was wrong with Heka.

"Nereida?" I looked to my left to see Damon looking at me. "What's wrong?" He whispered since the teacher was lecturing.

"I think Heka is in trouble."

He couldn't say anything. He knew that I could sense things now and he's not like Tim. He couldn't just tell me to skip the rest of the day to see if she was since Tim would get really mad. We both felt helpless in doing anything.

"You two better get back to the lesson, you're missing a good amount." Cody said and we followed.

"Who's Heka anyway?" Cody asked, once we were getting our things to get out of the class.

"She's a friend of mine but she doesn't go to this school." I said.

"Well, I say that you should listen to your instincts." He walked away to his next class.

"It's hard to believe that we befriended him." Damon said as we went out.

"I know. It's going to be hard if he finds out."

"That's why he doesn't find out."

Hebe

I got off the bus that stopped at the base of the Nereida's house. I managed to cover up my attack with clothing so no one would ask me anything. I knew that she wouldn't be here but I could at least ask her for some advice when she did. As I was walking up, I didn't know what I would say to her brother or grandmother.

When I reached her house, her grandmother was standing there.

"Heka, please, come inside." She said and I followed. "Tim is at school and Inazuma and Husky are gathering wood for me." She had me sit in her special room.

"Thank you for letting me know but I'm only waiting for Nereida. I can wait somewhere else."

"You know that I can see through your disguise." She stated, "I know that you're like Husky and Inazuma and Shendra. They think I don't know but I do. Please, I know you're hurt and I couldn't be proud if I do nothing."

She was a kind, old lady so I discarded the extra clothing that I put on. She moved behind me to see the many black and blue marks on my back. "I was planning on healing myself."

"My dear," she held my face in her gentle hands, "You don't deserve these marks and it would please my granddaughter more to have you here than here with burses."

"Thank you." I felt tears forming in my eyes.

"This might hurt but try your best." She said before applying some liquid on my back. It stung but that's it. I was luckily that she only hit me on my back and side. I was focusing on the shattered cup and wondered how I was going to fit it. "There you go."

I put back my shirt, "Thank you."

"Tell me a little about yourself. What are you?" She moved in front of me.

"My real name is Hebe. I'm a Goddess in Greece."

"Why didn't you defend yourself?"

"Another Goddess did this to me."

"Why?"

"I was nothing more than a servant in their new eyes."

"Grandmother?" Tim's voice called out.

"Stay here." She got up and walked out. I heard them talking but I didn't hear what it was. I started to concentrate on rebuilding the cup.

"Heka?" I heard their Grandmother said and looked up. I still held my power on the cup but it was lingering around it. "Would you like something to drink?"

"I will later. Thank you though."

She nodded and left. I went back to the cup.

Nereida

I thought it was odd that Karu wasn't here today, knowing who he really is, but I didn't dwell on it. I knew that it wasn't wise to raise questions about them, since TK doesn't like them and they don't know. They were here during lunch so I didn't know why he wasn't here now.

"I'm surprised that Karu was here today." Kari said once we were at the café to study.

"Why?" TK asked.

"I noticed that he was here during lunch."

"Maybe he skipped?" Ken offered, knowing that many students do.

"Now thinking about it, Shikyo wasn't in Physic today." Don said.

"Maybe they all skipped?" TK offered.

"Why would foreigners skip?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Maybe they're now living here." It was obvious that TK didn't like talking about them.

"Maybe something bad happened to someone they know and they had to leave right away." I offered, feeling that something isn't right about this.

"In either case, we need to study." Ryan said and we focused on our work.

"TK doesn't have to hate them that much." Damon said as we were on the bus.

"Karu tried to take Kari away, of course he doesn't like them."

"But he made it pretty clear that he wants no one to talk about them."

"I didn't want to say something about it but I think something is wrong about them not being here."

"Ken could've been right about them skipping."

"I don't think so."

"Whatever. Better not talk about that around Tim." Damon walked off the bus since we were at our stop.

I didn't like the fact that Damon brushed it off like it was nothing. He was the last person I would think would do something like that. When I step off the bus, I felt something bad, really bad. I didn't know what it was but I felt like it was at home so I started to run.

"Nereida, slow down!" Damon yelled behind me but I didn't.

I opened the door fast, "Grandmother? Tim?"

"What's wrong?" Tim came down automatically with Shendramon on his shoulder.

"Did something happen?"

"Nothing has happened." Lightningmon said as she came.

"Nereida… Why did you run here?" Damon panted.

"Something's up." I walked into the house, noting that Grandmother wasn't here. No one was following me and I felt that that was a good thing. I noticed something coming from Grandmother's spiritual room. I opened the door to see Heka on the floor, using her magic to fix a broken cup. I was about to step in but a hand stopped me. I looked to see Grandmother there as she closed the door. "Why is she here?"

"She is here for safety."

"Safety? Who's after her?"

"She did not tell me a name but it was a Goddess that had hurt her. I fear that she might try to come after her again."

"How did you know…"

"She told me what she was. I'm not blind yet." She walked away. I opened the door slightly to see that the cup was only half fixed.

"What is she doing?"

"That cup was shattered when she came here. I'm not sure why she wants to fix it though."

"I better leave her alone to work on it then."

"That might be best. I'll have Inazuma come get you when she's done."

"Thanks." I closed the door and talked to Lightningmon about Heka, letting her know that she was here without the others knowing.

TK

When I got home, I noticed that there was a message on my machine. I thought why they didn't call my cell since I have that on all day but I went over to see who it was.

"TK," it was Seto Kaiba, "come to my office this weekend. I need you to check something for me." The message ended.

"He's short and to the point." Patamon said.

"Doesn't he know my cell number?"

"Maybe not. You did change your cell phones."

"Good point. Well, I guess I'm not going to the Experiment Day."

"I'm sure they'll forgive you since this is Kaiba."

"Right."

Don

TK told us that he couldn't come since he had an appointment with Kaiba that was made yesterday. Everyone else was able to make it so they weren't so sad that someone couldn't come. Nereida looked like she had something else on her mind but Lily Dawn didn't want to go into her head nor Kari.

"Shikyo isn't here today." Neon mentioned when we were at lunch.

I looked around to notice that as well, "They wouldn't skip two days in a row." I didn't know why I was feeling anything for them. I didn't know them personally and all I've heard were harsh things about them.

"Maybe we should look into it."

"I don't think so. It could be nothing."

"Has anything ever been nothing? Something is wrong." Neon wasn't acting like herself. She would normally not care about other people.

"How could we investigate it?"

"We go to their house? Mackenzie-san would have it."

"How about if they're not here tomorrow?"

"But we have a free period today."

"Okay, we'll look today."

"Thanks."

I thought it was weird but then again, there have been many weird things that she has been doing lately that no one else can pick up, not even her mother or my father. She has been able to sense the good and bad in people, though she only tells me about it. I made a note that as her stomach is growing and our children being formed; her new sixth sense was growing as well. I didn't think that I should tell anyone about it since I didn't think it was anyone else's problem but ours.

In History class, none made a comment about Shikyo or his brothers missing (that's because no one else noticed or cared). I knew that they had Fuhai in their lunch time so I thought they would've said something about it but I didn't push it.

"I'm sure something is wrong." Neon whispered to me, knowing that I was studying them without them knowing. Something we learned from my father.

"We're still going with their word or not." I whispered to her.

"Are you two planning something?" Ceres asked privately once we were out.

"Just something we wanted to do. We might be late to the meeting." Neon answered.

"Ok. I'll let them know if you are." She went after Panther.

"Let's go ask before she leaves." I said.

"Right."

We went quickly to her room and grateful that she was still there.

"Mackenzie-san, may we ask you a question about a student of yours?" I asked as we walked in.

"Who?"

"Fuhai."

"What would you like to know about him?"

"Where does he live?" Neon asked.

"Why do you think I have something like that?"

"Because you're a traditionalist." I've also noticed that she gets a slightly new attitude every once in a while. She has three noticeable ones: hers, physically dominating, and creatively dominating. This one was the creative.

"Point made." She got up and went to her closet. She pulled out a file and wrote something down. "Before I give this to you," she put the file away, "Why do you want it?"

"We're assuming that he wasn't here today, right?" I asked.

"That's correct."

"We want to make sure that he's okay."

"I didn't know that you knew him and that you were friends. That's nice to know since he seems not to have any in class." It sounded like she had us in some kind trap that was invisible to us.

"Anything to help a classmate." Neon said with a smile.

She handed the paper over to us and we headed out.

We followed the address to the old side of the city. Most of the buildings weren't being used by anyone, except maybe the gangs of the area. We reached a run-down, two story building that had a flat roof. I thought it was strange but we went in there anyway. Then something hit us both.

"Did you feel that?" Neon asked.

"Yea. Stay here as I look."

Neon stayed as I moved forward. I didn't like what I was feeling and I was glad that LDinomon with me. I went to the wall and peered into the room. I noticed that there were people inside but I couldn't see who. I didn't like how the people were standing, like they were holding them hostage or something. I moved back to Neon, "Someone is being held in there."

"There might be another window you could check."

"Right." I moved fast and low, to make sure that the people inside didn't see me. I was glad that the windows were near the ground so I didn't have to levitate myself to see. I noticed that Apollo and the brothers were tied up along with a girl that I didn't know. Fuhai noticed that I was there but made no facial expression to show it. I looked at the villains to see that they were three females that wore the same idea as Dionysusmon. I knew that couldn't be a good but I didn't understand why they would want them. One of the ladies felt something and looked over but I ducked back before she noticed. I heard her coming over and I jumped to the second window and stayed on the ledge. I looked in the room to see that it wasn't being used for anything and that it was made out of wood where the building was made out of some kind of stone material.

"What is it?" I heard one of the voice asked.

"I thought I saw something." She started to walk back.

"Hebemon would walk through the front, not the sides."

I jumped onto the roof and walked to the other side. I jumped down and went over the Neon. "They're Digimon and they're waiting for another one to come by for some reason."

"Are they there?"

"Yea, they're tied up and I don't like to leave them like that."

"I guess you should make a distraction and I'll free them."

"Use something long and don't answer any questions until they're ready to talk. We also shouldn't mention this to the others unless Apollo brings it up with Lily Dawn."

"Why should we keep this from them?"

"Because TK wouldn't stop harassing them about it, plus we can't let them know that we're Digidestined."

"I forgot about that part. Sakuramon, you have to stay hidden unless something really bad happens."

"Right."

"Let's go." I said and Neon went to where I was. I created a small fire ball and tossed it at the door. There wasn't enough heat to burn the thing but it did knock it down. I jumped onto the roof.

"Nyxmon, Hemeramon, check it out." _Good, that means that only one for Neon._ I brought out a weapon to use.

They came walking out and far enough for a dim remembrance for my face if they had enough time to look. I came down fast and hard, knocking them out without giving them the chance to look at my face.

Neon

Once I heard Don attack, I launched my bow at the other's head. I missed since I hit her neck but it still knocked her out. I moved quickly to untie the ropes and left without saying a word. I met up with Don and we ran out of there.

"Did they ask anything?" Don asked as we were walking to the meeting café.

"Nope. If they did, I didn't hear them."

"Good. We'll let them come to us for the answer."

"Why weren't you scared when you were on the roof?" LDinomon asked.

"My not scared, my stomach can't handle it. I was using my healing powers to make sure that I didn't cough up something."

"Oh." That quieted him as we walked into the café. No one else was there yet so we picked a table and waited for the others to come.

It wasn't a long wait for them.

"So what was the thing?" Ceres whispered to us.

"We had to do something for my mother." I said, hiding everything on my face.

"We just didn't want to tell everyone if we didn't have to." Don said.

"Okay." She seemed to have bought it but we had to be careful around her.

Ceres

"I wonder if Neon's kids will have some kind of power." Ceres said as Panther was finishing her something.

"How about pondering over your work?" Panther seemed annoyed.

"Why are you still doing homework? I thought you would've finished that at the study session like you normally do."

"Call it research."

"On what?" Ceres seemed to have forgotten about her earlier worry as she leaned over Panther to see that she had some book open before closing it so she couldn't see the words and there weren't any on the cover. "Please, I want to see." She wined in her child voice.

"This is something I want to do on my own. Anyway, what brought up that question earlier?"

"Uh?... Oh, that question!"

"You're an idiot."

"Neon some time acts differently but it's too early to say if it's her own children doing or if it's the pregnancy."

"If it's the kids then why would you think they have powers?"

"They might be destined to do something so they're given the power at their birth."

"You mean like Matt?"

"I guess."

"What do you mean, you guess? I thought you would know."

"I do know but I can't say for sure if there's a destined thing that Matt has to fulfill with this power. It could've been that he was given it for something that had nothing to do with destiny and now he uses it which makes it seems like destiny is playing a role. Maybe it was by fate that he obtained it and now fate is leading him down this road."

"Aren't fate and destiny the same thing?"

"Nope. Fate is chance by your choices; destiny is what you become. Fate influences destiny but destiny governs fate."

"That's really confusing."

"Good, I didn't want to give you a straight answer anyway. Did you notice that Fuhai wasn't here today?"

"Not really, why?"

"Call it a feeling. I know something wasn't right before we left school but it suddenly has gotten better and I don't know why."

"Maybe it was nothing."

"It was something. Everything has a reason."

"Whatever." Panther put away the book, "Plantmon, make sure Ceres doesn't look."

"Right." Panther left.

"What's she searching?" Ceres looked at Plantmon.

"I can't tell you."

"Can you tell me?" Yi-Yamon asked.

"You'll tell Ceres and the same goes for Ele."

"Fine, we'll leave it as is." Ceres said, though Plantmon didn't look convince.

Nereida

Lightningmon told me that Heka was waiting for me in my room when I got home so I went up before dinner started. She was sitting on my bed with the cup fix.

"I'm glad to see that you're okay. Grandmother told me you were here for safety." She looked at me and smiled.

"I'm glad I had a place to turn to for help. I'm half afraid of going back too." She looked at the floor.

I sat next to her, "Tell me what happened."

"Demeter, Nyx, and Hemera came over to either take Aither and his brothers home or something far worst. Demeter was the one that attacked me. She even broke Lily Dawn's gift to Apollo." I looked at the cup to see all of our symbols and the others. I remembered she told me that she wanted to make it for him since she thought it would be cool.

"Lily Dawn and Apollo would be glad to know that you cared enough to fix it."

"I know and that's why I fixed it. I hope they're okay."

"I hope so too. We haven't seen them in school for some time now."

"I can't ask for your help. That's putting you in danger."

"What if Lightningmon goes?"

"Then they know that we know who you are."

"Why don't you stay here for a bit? We're leaving to go to the Digital World tomorrow night."

"Thanks."

"Any time." I smiled.

"I know. Well, I better make myself known to your brothers."

"Take a shower first. I'll let them know."

"Right."

I ran out of my room and to the kitchen since it was their turn to cook. Shendramon and Huskimon were helping with whatever they could. "Tim, Damon, Heka is here and she's going to stay for the night."

"Why didn't we hear her come in?" Tim asked.

"We had it planned out earlier but it wasn't really official until she came."

"Thanks for the short notice." Damon said.

"Anytime." I left.

"I'm glad she's going to get rest." Grandmother said as I stepped into the hallway.

"Me too. Hopefully her friends are okay."

"Is there something wrong with her friends?"

"They go to my school and I didn't see them today."

"I understand. Let's hope for the best."

"Right."

Hebe

I ate dinner with them and it was delicious. "Tim and Damon made it?"

"Yep." Nereida was setting up a floor mat for herself since I was going to sleep on the bed. Lightningmon seems to sleep on the shelf above.

"Thanks for your help."

"No problem. That's what friends do."

"I'm coming along, incase you need some help." Lightningmon said.

"What about their identities?"

"If something happens to you or Apollo then they'll come after the Deities that killed you."

I looked down, "Only if I need it."

"Good, Huskimon is going to follow as well."

"But Damon doesn't know that…"

"Incase we need more help. Shendramon and Huskimon are keeping your identity a secret."

"I know when I'm beaten."

"Then let's get some sleep." Nereida said with a smile and we did (Wow… a mini battle is going to happen when we're at school… Of course now I'm ashamed that I was mad at Aither… A little anyway… I'll try to be a little nicer to him… maybe…).

Damon

"Is everything okay with Heka?" I asked Nereida when we were on the bus.

"Of course everything is okay."

"Just asking." I left it at that. Heka said that she won't be here when we got back, which is good since everyone was coming here to go to the Digital World.

"Does everyone have their things ready for today?" Ken asked.

"Yep." Panther answered for everyone.

"What's the story for your Grandmother?"

"We told her that we're going camping for the weekend in our woods." I answered.

"Good." Then class started.

Ken

"Did you tell Izzy about this?" Ken asked as we were in Astronomy.

"No."

"What if he asked you to come to his place since he found something?"

"I'll just make something up. I still need to find a way to get all that information away from him."

"And why do we need to take away information from Izzy?" Ceres asked.

"I'll tell you later."

"Okay." We got back to the class.

Kari

"Do you not trust Izzy?" I asked, hearing what they were talking about.

"Izzy told me that he has to keep up some loyalty to Gennai so he doesn't think that he's with Matt."

"Oh, so if something happens that makes him talk, he might tell about Panther and everyone else."

"Right. I don't want him to know everything now for that reason."

"I'm sorry to hear that… Who will we entrust with our information?"

"I'm still looking."

At lunch, I managed to tell Ceres by mind what was going on and she told Panther in Spanish for some reason. I studied TK a bit, knowing that he was greatly hurt by this. I was half wondering why, since we put up the same act but knew it had something to do with Matt. I was beginning to see why Tai resisted Matt so much. He once told me that somehow, everything fells on him to do something important and everyone else suffers for it. I didn't want to believe it until now, wondering if Matt is hurting TK.

When we got into Art class, I knew that they thought it was surprising that I was sitting with Davis.

"What do I owe the honor to?" Davis asked like this was something special.

"Is there something wrong?" I've never heard Davis speak to me like that before and it was weird.

"Sorry, just wondering about other stuff. Something on your mind?"

"Do you feel like everything falls back to Matt in some way?"

"What brought this question?"

"Tai once told me that everything seems to fall back to him, hurting everyone else in the process."

"Things do seem to fall on him, I'll give it that. And let's not forget that he's hurting the unity of both groups. It seems like he doesn't care anymore."

"You think this is hurting TK in some way?"

"Probably, after all, who is the one that mostly listens to him and takes his side? Other than Panther, of course."

"I was fearing that."

"Why?"

"Things are just going to get worst and worst for TK and I'm not sure on how to help."

"Talk to Tai about it. He's normally good on those kinds of things and the same with Yolie."

"Thanks Davis."

"Any time."

And that's when I noticed that Karu was still absent from class.

Neon

"They're still not here."

"I'm worried too but we have to hope the best. We did all we could without revealing ourselves." Don assured me.

Hebe

When I arrived at the house, I noticed that Demeter, Nyx, and Hemera were still there but Apollo and them weren't. I went to Hecate to see if they were waiting for me there, since I didn't wanting to fight unless I had to.

"Hebe, I'm glad that you're alright." Artemis said as she wrapped her arms around me.

"Are you guys alright?"

"We are." Hypnos said.

"Someone came and freed us but we couldn't see who." Aither said.

I looked at Apollo and Artemis to see that they didn't know either, "What are we going to do? They're still at the house and it might not take them long to figure out that we're here."

"They're waiting for you now." Thanatos said.

"Thanks for the concern."

"We'll come up with a plan later. I'm not sure what to do myself since these are Goddesses." Apollo said.

"And we can't easily scare them out of place." Artemis agreed.

"We'll let you guys do the planning. After all, two are our mother and sister." Aither said and all three relaxed.

"Let's get started then." Apollo said and we created a circle to plan an attack against the three Goddesses that were invading our house.

Panther

We were cleaning up Mackenzie-san's room for her since the cleaning staff didn't want to for some reason. When we came to the room, it was a mess since Mackenzie-san was on leave for something and she promised us that it wasn't really family related. She didn't tell us how long it was going to take, so we didn't know when she was going to come back.

"We have to ask how her room got this way when we see Neon, Don and Lily Dawn again." Ceres said as she started the cleaning.

It was a real mess and I hated to see it this way since I'm starting to like her. "I can't believe students would actually hate her."

"Maybe they hate her because she favors you."

"Why would that be a factor? She doesn't show favoritism."

"No but I'm willing to bet that the students in our class can sense it. I know that she's trying to be nice to you but the others don't understand that. Anyway, talking about it won't get the job done."

"Right, let's get to work." We stopped talking and went back to cleaning.

"Lily Dawn, what happened in Math class today? It was a total mess." I asked once she arrived.

"Nothing happened during Math class, we all did our work."

"Did something happen during Math?" Kari asked.

"Somehow Mackenzie-san's room was a complete mess when we got there." Ceres said.

"We should probably find out who it was so it doesn't happen again." Ken suggested.

"They'll probably think that Panther and Ceres made it up to get at someone in one of her classes." Ryan said. They all understood that they would most like think that.

"Don't worry about it. As long as it's clean she doesn't need to know about it."

"Then on Monday we better check to make sure that it's still clean." Don said.

"Right. So let's go to the study session so we can get to the Digital World." Nereida said.

We all left to the café.

Hebe

We decided to go back and ask them to leave, though knowing that it was probably fruitless. The brothers came along with us, hoping to suede their mother and sister.

They were just sitting on the couch, waiting for our return. I noticed that the door had burnt marks on it.

"Demeter!" Apollo said. They got up immediately and looked at us.

"You finally returned." Demeter said.

"We're going to try this one more time, leave now or we will take action." Artemis said.

Demeter walked toward us, "You passed our little test. Zeusmon was being to question your loyalty and this proves that you will forever side with us. He really needs that insurance right now."

"You mean this is all a test from Zeus?" I asked with anger, knowing that that can't be all of it.

"Keep your place!"

"Don't talk to her that way." Artemis defended.

"You're protecting her? Well, it doesn't matter. As long as you two are still loyal, it doesn't matter who you protect." Demeter walked passed us and left to the Digital World.

"Mother?" Aither asked, with all three looking at her.

"I would like you to come home but Demetermon just informed me that it would go against Zeusmon himself so I must not. Stay away from anyone you don't know since we don't know who that demon's host is."

"We'll try and thanks." Hypnos said.

"You better make sure that they come home." Hemera said, looking at Apollo and Artemis.

"We'll make sure of it." Artemis said and they left as well.

"All this was a fucking test!" I said with rage again, hating being toyed with.

"There isn't anything we can do about it now so be glad that we were able to settle it peacefully." Thanatos said.

"Peacefully? Nothing has been settled."

"Hebe, let it be." Artemis said. I realized that I almost gave ourselves away.

"Why don't you guys get some rest and you can see what work you need to make up for school tomorrow?" Apollo suggested. They went up without a second thought. We walked outside so they couldn't hear if I yelled again.

"Hebe, we understand that nothing has been settled but they don't know where we stand on the issue." Artemis said.

"I realized that after you calmed me down."

"How did you heal yourself?"

"Nereida's grandmother did… Here's your cup, Apollo." I handed him the cup that I fixed.

"Demeter broke this one!" He snatched it out of my hands, "Why did you give her this cup?"

"I didn't realize I did until after she broke it. I'm sorry."

"At least it's fixed. Thanks."

"You're welcome." I smiled.

"You should get some sleep as well. Fixing it was most likely a lengthy task." Artemis said and they headed inside. I noticed that it wasn't that late so I looked around to see if Lightningmon and Huskimon were around.

I didn't see them, and they were most likely gone as well, "Thanks for watching me." I went back inside.

Nereida

When we were done with the study session, everyone went home to get their things for the trip. Lightningmon informed me that Heka was safe and that they had heard her real name. I told her that I didn't want to know and to try to erase it from at least her mind. I was really glad that she was okay.

"Is everyone set?" Ken asked, once Neon and Don arrived.

"Yep." Ryan said and opened the portal.

"This is going to be awesome." Damon said with excitement.

We all stepped through the portal, seeing apart of the Digital World that we haven't been to before.

"I'm glad that my theory held out." Ken said.

"What theory is that?" Tim asked.

"I was hoping that with thought, it could direct the location at which we appear like the way the computers of the old days did." He brought out his laptop, "According to my calculations, we should be about a day's walk from here."

Tim went over to view it as well, making sure since we were only given one day to do so, "I think your right. If this is the scale of the Digital World then it should be correct."

"Then why are we just standing here? We won't get any closer by standing around." Ceres said, "Which way do we go, Capitan Ken?"

"This way." He pointed with his finger and off we went.

Once it was getting late, we set up camp. We were fortunate enough not to run into any Digimon yet.

TK

"Are you ready?" Ken asked secretively since this was only between us.

"Yep. I'll let you know what she says."

"Of course you will. Matt's not here anymore." I smiled, knowing what he meant.

"Right."

After dinner, we went to sleep. Panther was the first to keep watch over the group, Ceres stand up for her company.

When I opened my mind's eyes, I noticed that I was back in the same area as before. I dare not call out, not wanting to invite someone unwanted.

_It has been a long while._ I turned to see her smiling at me again.

_I was in the neighborhood so I thought I should drop by._

_That's dangerous to do around here. Is there something on your mind?_

_Yea, could you tell me what the Jewels of Miracles and Destiny do?_

_There were jewels for those two?_ She blinked in pure confusion.

_You didn't know?_ I thought that was hard to believe.

_No… I didn't… Don't move and I'll go ask my source._

_Why can't I go with you?_

_Her host's mind is really hard to get into, even though I've done it a few times already._

_I'll stay but please hurry back. _I didn't really understand why I still cared for her.

_I will. _She left and I was left in the bright, open light. I was trying to formulate some way for me to ask her about her name. I didn't want to come out and said it, incase I was wrong.

_Thanks for waiting. _She came back with a smile.

_I didn't have anywhere else to go._

_Okay, the Jewel of Miracles enables the user to fly but you cough up blood once you're done._

_That seems a bit mild compare to what the others can do._

_True, but I don't want to cough up blood. Anyway, the Jewel of Destiny enables the user to escape any situation but the Jewel picks its own destination._

_That can be dangerous._

_Agreed. How did you find these? My source told me that they were hidden with the Mental of Kindness._

_You knew about the Mental of Kindness? Why didn't you tell me?_

_I was told about it only recently. Has Ken been able to open it?_

_No, do you know something about that?_

_Other than that my source thought it might not be opened in this lifetime but she said that she could be wrong, depending on how events play._

_At least you weren't holding back information._

_I wouldn't do that on purpose._

_Could I at least guess at your name?_

_Has it really been eating at you? You should pay closer attention to Kari. _There was some small amount of hurt on her face but it was well hidden.

_Many things have been happening so I had time to think about it. Please?_

_I guess so. _She said with a smile.

_Kitty?_

She was stunned, surprised, sad and happy all at once. _How… do you remember?_

_I wrote a play that had something to do with Matt's and mine past. You were in it but I still don't remember anything else. Matt has a picture of you and your sister that was taken and placed in someone's album but I haven't been able to see it yet. _

She smiled. _Knowing my name is an important step for you to find your past. I'm so glad that you know my name. _Tears were coming down her face.

I floated over and was almost surprised to hold her in my arms. _Could you tell me what happen when you came to the Digital World?_

She looked up at me and was about to speak but this gust suddenly came and it was powerful. _You have to go, someone is trying to enter._

_Who? _I didn't want to be separated from her so soon.

_I'm not sure but it's not safe for another to come in here. My host might wake up with another mind in hers. Please, leave as I'll hold off the other person._

_If we ever spent the night in the Digital World again, I want to hear your story._

_It's a promise._

I left that room and back into my head. I heard Kari screaming my name and leaping from my arms. I got up and saw fear in her eyes. "Kari, it's okay. I'm here." I held her.

She looked at me and hugged me tightly.

"What's the matter?" I heard Ken asked. I looked around to see that no one else was up by her scream.

"I… I felt like something was wrong with TK… Like you were slipping away from me and I couldn't see where." There were tears in her eyes, reminding me of Kitty.

"I'm here and I'm not going anywhere." I kissed her forehead, relaxing her.

"Why don't you try to get some sleep?" Ken offered.

"That might be best." She lay down and I stroke her face, letting her know that I was still there. She held my hand as she slept, which didn't take her long to get.

"I'm betting that she sensed that you were with her and tried to enter the conservation." Ken said by the fire, since it was his turn when I awoke.

"It probably was her. After all, her powers aren't control like Lily Dawn's. Her name is Kitty, so you know."

"You still believe that play has some kind of connection to us?"

"Of course I do. Anyway, whenever we come back, she's going to tell me how her and her sister ended up dying in the Digital World."

"What about the Jewels?"

"Miracles grants flight but blood is coughed up; Destiny bestows escape roots but it picks the location."

"Bet you forgot to ask who can activate them."

"Oops."

"Thought so. Oh well, I'm sure that they're not really needed for a while anyway so we can wait."

"Why aren't you scorning me?"

"Because you're messed up in the heart and that's messing with your head. All I can say is good luck finding a balance."

"Thanks for your support." I said in a mad playful tone.

"Any time."

I went to sleep, still holding Kari but feeling something missing.

Don

We were running from a group of angry Digimon. Unfortunately, Ceres thought that they were giant mushrooms and tried to eat one.

"We need to get them off our tails." Nereida said, stating the obvious.

"There's a forest over there." Ryan said and we all headed over. As soon as we were deep enough, we jumped onto the branches. We remained quiet as they all ran passed us. Once they were gone, we jumped down.

"That was close." Tim said.

"Why did try to eat them? You had breakfast." Damon asked.

"Sorry… I was still hungry." She was hitting her two index fingers together with a sorry look.

"Neon, are you okay?" I asked.

"I… just need… some rest." She was breathing hard, meaning that she was beginning to be strained.

"We'll have to take it easy." I said.

"That's fine. I better see if we're close or not." Ken said, bringing out his laptop.

"I'm sorry Neon." Ceres said.

"It's okay." She said with a smile.

"We're closer than what we were before." Ken said.

"How far are we?" Nereida asked.

"It should be this way." He pointed where the mushroom Digimon went.

"Shouldn't we be attacked if we're getting closer?" Panther asked out-loud.

"You would think." Lily Dawn said.

"I'm okay now." Her breathing was normal again.

"You could ride on someone." Kari offered.

"We should save our strength incase something does attack us."

"Alright then, let's move out." Ken said, closing his laptop.

"You should rest." I whispered to her.

"Don, I haven't rest until now so why should I start. We need answers and this should give us some."

"Stubborn as always." I smiled.

It wasn't that long until we reached a wall that looked like it went forever to the sky.

"Maybe you shouldn't look." LDinomon said.

"Good point." I was getting sick thinking of the height.

"We have to see how high it goes." Ceres said.

"I'll go." Ryan said as he starts to disappear. Once he was nothing but dust, he floated up. After a good while, he formed in front of us. "We'll need an airplane or something. It's too high for you guys to go up and there aren't much wind currents that I can use."

"Were you able to cross it?" Lily Dawn asked.

"No, it's too high even for me."

"Tim, maybe you could get us through?" TK said.

"It's worth a shot." Tim walked to the wall and placed his hand on it. He went through and came back. "It's a little thick and I'm not sure how good my ability is. I'll bring someone to the middle and they can create a hole."

"I'll go. I can use my heat to melt it." I said.

"Then let's go." I took his arm and he led me into the center of the wall. I let go of him and started to heat up really fast. I exploded that heat where we came from and it went through all the way. I still had enough heat to melt the other side so I decided that I should at least get as much as I could. There wasn't enough to get all the way until the end but it was better than nothing.

"Let me look to see how far it is." Tim said, sweating from the heat.

"Right." He walked into the wall but he didn't go all the way through this time.

"Good job. You managed to get most of the wall." That made me knew that I still had some work to do.

"Thanks. Everyone, you can come through." I said, realizing how weak I became.

They all walked through, with LDinomon landing on my head.

"Are you okay?" Neon whispered, noticing my movements.

"I'm a little weak but I'll be okay. I've never used up all my heat before."

"Take it easy then."

"Okay, Nereida, Damon, are you ready?" I heard Tim said and looked over.

"Ready." Nereida looked determined and excited about something and Damon was concentrating on gathering his energy. As Nereida jumped to do a round house kick, Damon opened his eyes to use his powers to increase the force behind the strike. With her kick, she managed to knock down the last bit of the wall for the tunnel.

"Nice move." Neon said.

"Thanks, we thought of that attack some time ago." Nereida said with modesty.

"This is really awesome." TK said, obviously looking at the land inside.

Neon and I walked closer to the others to see that the land seemed to be pure. The place was definitely peaceful and it seemed ashamed that we had to walk onto it.

"Ken, I think we found it." Ryan said with amazement in his voice.

"I really don't want to walk into it." Ken said, knowing that's how all of us felt.

"This place seems familiar for some reason." Huskimon said, making all the humans look at him.

"I know what you mean." Yi-Yamon said, jumping off Ceres's head. "It feels like I've been here before."

"This is your first time, right?" Ceres asked.

"I'm sure it is… Though I'm not sure why I feel like this isn't my first time."

"Don't worry about it… I know that I feel the same." Plantmon said. All the other Digimon were agreeing, at least the ones with the new Digidestined.

"This is really weird… How could they remember something that's obviously been locked away from the rest of the world?" Tim asked to himself, stepping into the land.

That's when something was heard and a huge rain of fireballs came popping from the sky down on him. Lightningmon grabbed him back to make sure that he was safe. We ran a bit deeper to make sure that we weren't hurt. Once they stopped, we looked to see that a unicorn with reins was staying at the edge of the forest.

"I don't know how you're able to get through the barrier but you will not pass through me."

"Who are you?" Kari asked.

"I am the protector of this land and no one will enter!" Fire came from her mouth.

"Spark!" Lightningmon formed an electric sphere between her palms and released it, negating both attacks.

"Lightningmon! What are you doing back here?" Her voice was hinting her anger.

"This is the first time we've met." Lightningmon was confused as all of us.

"That's what you say now. You will pay for your betrayal!" She started banging her head, breaking her reins and turning them into laser whips.

Lightningmon blocked them but that made Gatomon come out of Kari's protective arms, "How do you know that attack!" She seemed very angry at something.

"Lady… Gatomon… What are you doing with this traitor! She helped to bring the destruction of the castle! She's the leader of the Outsiders!"

"I don't know anything about the things you're talking about!"

"It has been many, many years since that battle was fought." TK stepped forward, moving ahead of Lightningmon.

The unicorn looked in shocked, like she has never seen humans before. "What… are you…?"

"I'm known as a human. In a book, I think we were prophesied with the letter H."

"You… Know of that book? Where is it? Give it back!"

"It's safe for now… It's back in the world that we belong to. These Digimon aren't the same that are told in that book. They have changed with the years. Whoever they were then, they aren't them now. They're our dearest friends and that's all we know." I was wondering where TK was getting his information from but then remembered that Izzy had told him something that he had discovered in the book and most likely that Matt has told him things before that day as well.

She was studying us for a while, though it was hard to know what she was looking for. "Why are you here?"

"We were looking for the place where the stories have told about. We haven't been able to translate the whole book but we understand that it might reveal something that we could use for our group." Ken explained, having Lightningmon relaxed.

"Why can't they read it?"

"The language has also changed over the years." TK said.

"Let me guess, you didn't think that a Digimon would still be here so you didn't bring the book?"

"We didn't know that a Digimon would be here but we didn't bring the book since we didn't think we would need it and we want to translate it."

"Fine. Get out of the hole." She relaxed as well. Everyone got out of the tunnel that I created. Her eyes glowed, creating a wall on the opening of the tunnel. "It's not so you guys can't get out, it's so that others can't get in. What would you like to know first?"

"Why was the book created? And is there a place that we can sit to listen?"

"Follow me." She started to walk into the forest and we followed.

"Horsemon seems a bit familiar." Sakuramon whispered into our ears.

"Really? How?" Neon asked.

"I'm not sure. How about it, LDinomon?"

"Yep."

"Seems like the Digimon recognize her." I appointed out.

"But do all of the Digimon recognize her? If that is the case then why don't they know why they know her?" Neon said.

"I'll go ask them." Sakuramon flew over to Gatomon, Wormmon, and Patamon before coming back, "They don't have the same memory as us."

"What about the other Digimon?" Sakuramon went over to each one and asked them. It didn't take her long before she came back. "Well?"

"They all have a feeling that they should remember. That means that he's important to us in some way."

"The horse is a he?" I asked.

"Yea, didn't you know that?" LDinomon asked.

"Not really. I thought he was a girl."

"By what?"

"The voice."

"Oh… I guess I can see why you would think that."

The rest of the walk was silent.

Damon

We reached this aged wall that has lost its color. The walls were high but we could see the top of this one. She led us inside to this stadium that had a big arena. Though only one side of the arena had seats and the other side seemed to be where the tunnel is that worked as the circumstance of it.

She got on the tunnel's roof and walked along it like it was nothing special. We followed her, looking at the sand covered earth. I guessed that there must have been many shows with warriors here, knowing that it must've been awesome. I looked at TK, knowing that he would know more than me about this, to see that he was emotionless while looking at it.

"Huskimon, do you know what this arena was used for?"

"No. Though I have a feeling that it wasn't good or pure at all." There seemed to be some underline hate with his words.

She jumped off the roof to a courtyard of this grand building. She walked over to this blocked off section that's border was made out of wooden logs and got inside it. We all took a seat on the logs.

"Are you ready to tell us?" TK asked calmly.

"First, this place is sacred no matter what happens to the world outside. That world, I don't have too much of an attachment to since I've lived here. Second, I am the only Guardian of this land. I placed a seal on me so that once my life is over; this land shall go with me. I'm not as strong as some other Digimon but I will do."

"Why is this place aged?" Ken asked.

"That's because of war and time. That's the only way that I knew that time was passing."

"If you knew then why did you attack us?"

"I can't allow invaders to come into this land. You are the first though, I must admit."

"Could you tell us about this war?" TK asked.

"The war started on the outside, where we just were. I don't know why the Outsiders started to get along but they did. My mother told me that one of the All Powerful was organizing them to fight against us with two others." She looked at Lightningmon, "But this was only a small rumor since her own thoughts were that the All Powerful was involved."

"What are your thoughts?" Kari asked.

"Well, it was true that one of the All Powerful was there, leading the Outsiders to wage war against us. There was also evidence that the other All Powerful were influencing some of the evils in the outside lands. I think that some of them wanted revenge for what went on in here."

"What went on during the war?" Ceres asked.

"A lot of fighting, though the saddest part is the fact that some of my fellow In-training Digimon went over to the Outsiders. They somehow were able to evolve to their other stages but only my mother and her friends were unwilling to kill them."

"Couldn't they come back as Digieggs?"

"The Digieggs were created after the war to make sure that the great lost suffered won't happen again."

"Who won?" Panther asked.

"The Digimon living inside the castle since the Outsiders were greatly divided at the final battle. But don't think that the Digimon outside the walls, where you live, are the ones inside the castle. The Castle Dwellers lost a lot more lives during the battle."

"How did they win if a lot of lives were lost?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Their leaders disappeared and we did take over some major campsites. They were never able to take the castle."

"Are there any Castle Dwelling Digimon that survived, other than you?" Ryan asked.

"Our most powerful Generals, who are my mother's friends, and my mother. My mother was the first Digimon ever given the ability to turn into a Digiegg."

"Are you also given that ability?"

"I am but when I die, I'll be reborn outside these walls. I'm not sure if I would remember the past like my mother can do but I don't care. She wrote it down so it should always be remembered."

"What do you know about the Legendary Crest?" Nereida asked.

"Legendary Crest? Is that what you called the Outsider's virtues?" She seemed to laugh at this.

"What do you call them?"

"My mother called them the Ultimate Power since she believed that they had the power to do things that the other Powers couldn't. Let me show you." She got up and started to walk towards the some gates.

We all got up and followed. She led us through a tunnel that spiraled downward for a good while before straightening out. There was a wall that had fourteen holes with twelve forming a circle and two on the inside.

"That looks like the way the jewels were drawn on the wall of that temple." Ceres said.

"That's also the formation to have our Digimon go to their Super Level forms." TK pointed out.

"My mother was down here a lot, telling me that she was creating a physical form for the Powers that existed here. Our Generals were the only ones that were able to control this power to give themselves more power when needed. But there's a secret that not even they knew that my mother discovered."

"Are we allowed to know?" Don asked.

"I don't see the harm. The secret is that there's a way to control the evil within each of Power. You weren't here to witness the bloody battles that our Generals went through to gain that title. Our Powers are stained with that innocent blood so there is evil growing inside of them." I knew that we all could sense Ken thinking back to his Digimon Emperor days. Though I'm not sure whether TK and Kari had some dark days as well. "But my mother found something that would allow the wielder to use both the dark and light side."

"What is it?" Ken asked.

"The secret might be here but I'm not sure. Mother had never told me the secret of it. She said that she was so close to discovering that ability."

"What good would it be if you could use both? Wouldn't it be just confusing since the evil would want to dominate?" Neon asked.

"Not at all. Matt is somehow able to tame the evil within him to use it for good intentions." Panther said.

"There must be a similar way that they could use both of the dark and light side. If they found a way to do that then they'll have a ton of power. Because if dark and light are together and harmonize then peace should come forth. What about the Ultimate Powers? Do they have the same internal flaw?" Ceres asked with excitement.

"Ours seem to have this special power to protect others. Also, there's evidence that we can place seals on anything we wish."

"Ours?" I asked.

"It was discovered that I have one of the Ultimate Powers."

"Which one? Only two aren't present right now but we know them all." Nereida said.

She looked at all the Digimon. "I'm not sure what you're talking about. It seems like you don't have one here. I'm the Digimon that owns the Ultimate Power known as Faith."

"It's nice to meet you. I'm the Digidestined of Faith." Ken said.

"That seems weird."

"Why?"

"Mother told me that no Digimon can have two Crests. There's only one symbol that can truly shine for each one. Even though she discovered that Lord Patamon and Lady Gatomon were able to summon the Ultimate Power of Peace, she figured that whatever child they gave birth to would be given that power."

"Are you saying that if they have a kid, their power would combine into a new power?" TK asked.

"Maybe, none of them had kids before so it's impossible for anyone to say."

"You mentioned that we were only missing one. How could you tell?" Neon asked.

"There was this meeting that I'm calling the Midnight Meeting. Mother, Fiterimon and I were the only ones that were there out of the Castle Dwellers that went to this meeting. Mother was trying to find some peaceful solution to end this bloodshed. The three leaders brought along with them loyal and strong friends to the meeting. Mother, seeing some of them during battle, wanted to hear their story. Later on, she wrote down their stories and the history of both lands in the other book she created. She believed that once something was written it would last forever."

"Why isn't she here with you?" Tim asked.

"She was killed once victory was declared. The Non-Digimon, also known as the All Powerful but mother liked calling them that, said that a lingering assassin was told to kill her. Lord Gabumon gave her the ability to turn into an egg before her life was gone. I believe that the Non-Digimon had killed her since they knew that she was so strong and wise that she could move anything she wished. They feared her since she studied everything around, questioned everything around, and understood that they weren't as pure as they made themselves as. She was a Consul that was very strong in the mind and she was the only one that was still a Rookie, all the others were Mega.

"She created the writing of the Castle Dwellers and later found that she was the only one that brought writing to the world. She was talented in the fact that she could use other techniques and create new ones. She was feared by them and they couldn't have someone who was unwilling to listen to them be in this new world that they were going to create. All the Generals were turned into a Digiegg and the same with the surviving Digimon in the outside lands. Only four of the other Consuls were alive and they were given the power to stay Mega forever and gave them territories to rule as well as Crest to own."

"You're mother sounds like an awesome Digimon." Ceres said.

"Thanks. I was fortunate that she was able to come back. That's when she wrote about the Ultimate Powers and told me what she had discovered about the world that the Non-Digimon created after the war. The only place they couldn't get is this area since I'm still here."

"What would happen once this place is gone?" Kari asked.

"The power that Thunmon, my mother, managed to seal when she came back to visit me would be unleashed for the Non-Digimon to take once more. She didn't want them to control everything again."

"Do they know that she did that?"

"No, but once they do you can bet that they will do whatever it takes to destroy this area and me."

"**You seem to know a lot. Could you tell me if I had a lower form?**" Shundramon asked.

"You don't and either does Huskimon or Lightningmon. This is the only form that you exist in and there's no other form."

"**We were told that we all have a Super Level form, so obviously you don't know everything.**"

"Super Level? Oh, the newest form. That was created by the siblings Digimon, which means that this form wasn't available to us in the past. Of course, they were respectful enough to wait for her return before giving themselves a name."

"Are you saying that this Thunmon gave the names for each level?" Panther asked.

"Yes, mother gave the names for each level."

"I think I like your mother. Would it be possible for us to study this as well? If your mother was so close to discovering the secret then I think we should have the same chance. We know the people that have these Powers and we would like to help them." Ceres said, though we all knew that she just wanted to learn it.

"If you could figure out how she was able to do so then be my guest."

"Really? Then is there a special way for us to get in here without breaking the wall?"

"I'll think about it."

"How will we know then?"

"You'll know when you know. I have many ways of sending out information."

"Thanks for all your help."

She led us outside, back to the hole in the wall, "Lord Patamon's friend, I suggested that whoever has the books shouldn't be with your group. Even though they were friends with mother, they did obey the Non-Digimon."

"Thanks for letting us know. I hope you can fix that." TK pointed to the hole.

"Don't worry about the wall. It will be fixed."

"Then we'll see you later. Thanks for all the information." Ceres said as we walked down the tunnel. Once we were out, the hole started to repair itself.

"I think I like her." Ceres said.

"Horsemon is a he." Yi-Yamon said.

"Well he sounded like a girl."

"He must be the one that Mirrormon mentioned to Matt and me when we were searching for the jewels. I wondered by he didn't want one." Ryan said.

"It might be a mental thing."

"But it's troubling to know that he doesn't know Endmon and Eternalmon. They are apart of our group but he didn't seem to know them." Panther said.

"That's true. So maybe we have to ask Mirrormon and her gang since they seemed to be borne after the war and reconstruction." Ceres said.

"We'll have to find her later since we don't know where to look. We have to head back." Tim said.

"Yea, I mean we don't really need to know right now, right?" Nereida asked.

"I guess you're right. Plus, some of us need the rest for tomorrow." Ceres said.

"That's right, so let's get back home!" Nereida said.

"We better not go back through here. Incase Gennai is sensing something." Ken suggested.

"That sounds good." TK said. We walked away. I thought it was sad that he would have to spend his life there, to remember what happened over and over again. _I couldn't imagine what that would be like. I hope that I would never go through something like that._

TK

I walked up to Izzy's room without Patamon. I was determined to get the books from him. Patamon was waiting at home since I promised that I would return before going to Kaiba's office. Everyone else spent the night at Tim's house so they don't know that I'm here. Izzy called me yesterday, saying that he knew I wasn't on some trip (I left that on my answering machine) so I had to come over to tell him why I was in the Digital World. I took a deep breath to regain my normal attitude before knocking on his door. He opened it up and smiled, "Come on in."

"Thanks Izzy." I walked in and he closed the door. It was a bit eerie to be in here. "Sorry for not telling you that we were going into the Digital World but Ken called us all in there two nights ago."

"Did he found the area?"

"We went to check but there was nothing. He's going to recheck his calculations one more time incase he made a mistake somewhere."

"Maybe I should help him with that. I do know the Digital World far better than he does."

"Actually, he told me that you could help him."

"How?"

"He believes that he could find it easier if he had the book. I know that we still need it translated but he thinks he could find the location of it's origin with some new software that popped into his head."

"How could he come up with a new software program that can do that?"

"He thinks it would help with the criminal field. The program is being tested somewhere else though and he hasn't told me where yet."

"Well, if he believes that would help then take it."

"Thanks Izzy and don't worry, we'll give it back to you when he's done."

"Okay, it's in my room."

"I'll go get it then." I walked over into his room and saw it on the dresser. I looked around to see his laptop opened but shut down. I didn't have the time to delete everything so I took everything he had lying around about his discoveries and placed them within the book. I then walked back out, "Izzy, hopefully you can still research everything you had saved into your laptop, right?"

"I can't, for some reason most of the data can't fit into my laptop. I had to download it to my main computer in order to have room for it."

"Did you find anything on Matt's Digivice?"

"Nothing new, why?"

"Just wondering. Well, see you later." I was able to walk to the door when I realized that I haven't seen Tentomon, "Where's Tentomon?"

"He's sleeping. It is early."

"But I didn't see him in your room."

"He hides himself sometimes."

"Okay." I opened the door.

"Why isn't Patamon with you?"

"We ran into some trouble yesterday so all the Digimon are really tired. Plus, he wasn't that interested in coming."

"Oh."

"Bye." I closed the door and walked to the bus. I looked at all the information that he got on the book, knowing that it wasn't all of it. He seemed to be searching for something through the book. I didn't like it so whomever I give this to has to have these papers as well. The only problem is that I didn't know who to give it to.

Ceres

"I hope everyone has been purified." Tim said once they were done with breakfast.

"Purified? That's a word I didn't think you would use." Ceres said with a smile.

"It's part of the role as Head Priest. Damon, Nereida, have them give a sacrifice before we start with the ceremony." He got up and walked out of the room.

"Told ya." Nereida said with a smile.

"So what do we do for the sacrifice?" Lily Dawn asked.

"That just means to give him time to organize everything."

"We should get going. He should've put on the finishing touches by now." Damon said.

Everyone got up and followed Damon and Nereida. Tim came up to them, making Nereida and Damon confused.

"We have to get to the ocean as soon as possible. We don't have that much time before the boat leaves." He was ushering everyone to move towards the doors. Once outside, Shendramon grew a lot bigger than normal. Everyone got on without him saying anything and he took off into the sky. They landed near the coast before running to the harbor.

"Good, you made it just in time." Said this old sailor.

"Thank you so much for saving it for us."

"Not a trouble, it's all gas up and ready for sailing."

"Thanks again." Tim led them to a reasonably sized boat that could fit all of them.

They climbed into it and Tim started the engines.

"Why do we have an extra boat?" Ceres asked as they pulled away from the harbor.

"We'll be testing three people while we're out here." Tim answered.

"It's obvious that Nereida is going to be one so who are the others?" Panther asked.

"Ryan and Lily Dawn."

"Why?" Lily Dawn asked.

"It's going to be a calm day so it's perfect to reach the near perfection for your talents."

"If you say so." Ryan said, liking the feel of the wind.

"Head Priest, who will be the Scribe?" Nereida asked.

"Ou, ou pick me, pick me, pick me, pick me!" Ceres said with her hand raised.

"Damon, give her the official ceremony for being a Scribe." Tim said.

"Right," He faced her, "This is a sacred honor that should not be taken lightly. Will you vow your loyalty to writing the results of these experiments and any notes that the Head Priest endows on you to write?"

"Yes!" She placed her hand diagonally on her forehead.

"By the power of the High Committee, I entrust you with the sacred notebook." Damon brought it out from his back and handed it to her.

"Thank, O Honorable High Committee." Ceres bowed as she received it.

"How far are we going?" Ken asked.

"We're almost there. We have to go at least fifteen kilometers." Tim answered.

Ken looked around, "That would be pretty deep around this area."

"That's why it works double. I'm sure you can also tell that the wind currents aren't as strong this far as well."

"Yea, that's true as well."

Then Tim stopped, "Okay, Nereida, go downstairs to get on your suit."

"Right." Nereida went down.

"The suit will not affect her performance. Lightningmon, could you get the rope?"

"Right." Lightningmon went to the front of the ship.

"This is so we can measure how deep Nereida can go. I know that she can go fairly deep but I'm not sure how much."

"You did give her guidelines to follow? If she goes too far, she can be crushed by the pressure." Neon said.

"She knows when to stop. By the way, this is only a test to see where you are with the elements that I'm giving you. It's by no means the limitations for your power. This will give you a quick reference point so you don't have to worry about where the limitations are in a small range."

"This is going to be so cool." Ceres said, writing all this down.

"Okay, I'm ready!" Nereida came out with a two piece bathing suit.

"It's going to be cool down there!" Neon said, sounding like a mother.

"I know but I can handle the coolest down there. Trust me; I swam enough times in the ocean to know that."

"Grab the rope and let's begin." Tim said.

Nereida took the rope from Lightningmon and jumped off the boat. The rope followed quickly near the beginning but then started to slow down.

"Is that a good sign?" Kari asked.

"She's fine so far." Damon said.

"What happens if she needs help?" Neon asked.

"She has a communicator with me." Tim said. "How are you doing down there?"

"It's really amazing. I'm going deeper than I have before." Everyone was able to hear her.

"Just watch for the normal signs of danger."

"I haven't seen any sharks or snakes in the area and I'll make sure to watch for electric eels... I think I see a fissure."

"Don't go near it."

"There's shouldn't be any fissures this close to shore." Ken said.

"Woo! It looks like a city down here!"

"Nereida, I suggest that you come up. There shouldn't be anything down there that's abnormal."

"I know but I'm seeing it. I'm not sure what it is though."

"Come on up, the test is over."

"Huh?... It disappeared."

"What's does the terrain look like now?"

"It's back to normal… You're not going to allow me to investigate, are ya?"

"No, we have other things to do right now. Get back to the ship."

"Roger."

"Damon, mark the rope."

Damon got paint and slashed the part that was right above the water line.

After a while, Nereida appeared, "I wish you guys could've seen it." She started to get up.

"At least nothing happened to you." Neon brought her a towel.

"A rough estimate is about 200 km." Ceres said as Panther and Plantmon were finishing pulling the rope.

"An all time best for me!" Nereida said with a smile.

"Okay, Shundramon, go up with Ryan to see how high he can go normally." Tim said, looking at his shoulder.

"**Right.**" He grabbed the rope and took off into the sky.

"Ryan, you can go up."

Ryan dissembled his molecules before floating up. The rope disappeared into the clouds for a good while.

"**He stopped.**"

"Damon, mark." He got different color paint and gave it another slash. "Shendramon, he can come down now." Ryan appeared in front of them and Tim gave him a rounded object. "Take that with you."

"Right." Ryan disappeared.

"Shendramon, I'm turning on the weight." Tim hit a button, not changing the position of the rope. Damon marked it before Tim hit it again. It dropped a bit but not by much. Damon marked it and Tim hit it three times, causing it to fall a noticeable amount. Tim hit it five times, causing it to fall a bit more. "Okay, we're done."

The rope came down and Ryan appeared in front of everyone again, "What was that testing?"

"To see how much weight you can hold."

"You could hold more weight than that." Lily Dawn said.

"I know but when I do something like that, it's normally with objects that have a brain. It was a bit harder to control it than I thought."

"Are you getting that, Ceres?" Tim asked.

"Yes, High Priest and I also got the measurements for each height."

"Good. Ken, has Kari talk to you on a regulator basis through your minds?"

"Normally no."

"What about Lily Dawn?"

"No."

"Ceres, go with Ken on the boat and the same with Damon. Lily Dawn, you're going to direct your telepathy to Ken only."

"Right." They got onto the extra boat and rode off.

"We're at kilometer mark." Damon said and stopped the boat.

"I can hear her." Ken said and Ceres wrote it down.

"5 kilometer."

"Still can."

"10 kilometer."

"She's dimming a bit."

"15 kilometers, we're at the shore." Damon parked the boat.

"A bit dimmer than before but still able to hear her."

"Okay, we're coming in. Wait for us there." Tim said through the radio.

They didn't have to wait too long. Tim paid the sailor and Shendramon took them back to their house. Tim led them to the basement.

"Okay, Neon is going to go first. You're going to freeze time for about two minutes with different amount of people. Ceres and Panther are first."

Neon touched their shoulders and froze time. They were amazed at how this was since they never had experienced it before. The people around them weren't moving at all. It seemed like it was eternality before she unfroze it. Ceres wrote everything down.

"Ken."

"Everyone, touch my skin this time." Neon said before freezing time. Again, an eternality past before they were released.

"Ryan."

Ryan got a spot before she froze everything again.

"Finally, Nereida." She got near Ceres before time became still.

"That was amazing!" Nereida said when it was all over.

"Are you okay?" Ceres asked.

"I'm fine. I normal go through four minutes of training while freezing time."

"Is that before or after your pregnancy?"

"After, it used to be ten."

"I just wanted to be safe. Damon, do you have the items for Don?"

"I'm bringing them now." He came with a cage that had a bird inside. That's when the ones that froze with time noticed that there was an insect cage, a fox that had bandages around its forearm, and a plant with its stem broken.

"You want me to heal them?"

"Right."

"Which one first?"

"The plant." Don went over to plant and healed the plant with no problem. Damon brought over a microscope and handed it to Tim, which he uses it to observe the stem. "The cellar structure seemed to have been replaced, not repaired. Wait, they are now connecting to the replacements, taking them into their own system… For plants, he's able to place some model for the repair but the plant does the repair itself. Okay, now the insect."

He walked over to look at it, "What's wrong with him?"

"His wings are torn off." Damon said.

"Oh… Now I see it." He healed it with no trouble either.

Tim went over immediately, "… There's a lighter model for the replacement but there's still one there. It also seems to be taking longer to regenerate. Note: once the wings of this insect are gone they can't re-grow. Now the bird."

He went over to the cage, "Is it the wings?"

"Yea."

Don first started to pet the bird, getting him relax to him being near him. Then he placed his hand on his broken wing and healed it.

Tim got the x-ray over and placed it near the wing, "the bone cells are bringing down the torn pieces back into place, now smoothing the bone to its natural shape. There seems to be no trace of the broken bone now. The fox is the last one."

"Okay." He went over and petted him as well. The fox was more edgy than the bird but he did settle down. Don untied the bandages, revealing a cut that only recently stopped bleeding. "Did you cut him?"

"Of course not, Grandmother saw him in the forest as we were in the Digital World and she thought that you could help." Tim explained.

"As long as you didn't do this to him for the experiment." He petted him again, this time healing as he did.

"The tissues are repairing themselves and the dry blood is turning back into fluid blood and being pulled back into the skin. The fox appears to have a little discomfort. Now the skin is being repaired, forming back to the way it was before the cut." He brought the microscope to his eye, "There's still that mold that the original skin cells use to repair over the cut." Once done, the fox started to lick Don's hand in gratitude.

"That's cute." Neon said.

"Glad to help, little guy." He finished petting him.

"I'll let him out." Damon said, heading upstairs.

"Everyone, stand near the walls." Once everyone was there, Tim hit a button to bring up a wall that was a little think.

"This is five meters and it's my turn."

"Okay." Ceres wrote that down.

Tim walked through it with no problem. "There was little difficulty walking through." He hit another button on that side and that wall went down with another rising up. "This is 10 meters."

Tim walked through again, "Again, no difficulty." He hit another button, "This is 15 meters." He walked through it, "No difficulty." Another rose up, "25 meters." He walked through it again, "A little pressure on my breathing but that's it." Another rose up, "30 meters." He walked through it, "A little more pressure but nothing that a normal person couldn't bear. Note: the wall that I went through in the Digital World was about 100 meters but I only went to 50 meters. Don was able to burn through 92 meters." He went over to the first button and pushed it.

"Tim, I got your weights." Damon said, bringing in a basket of bars.

"Thanks. I'm going through with only one weight of about 3 lbs." He walked through. "No problems." Nereida handed him another weight before Tim walked through. "The same result." Damon handed him three bars. "It's becoming difficult to bring the weights over." Nereida added another weight. "It's hard to bring the weights over since it's now about 18 lbs and I'm not a body builder person." Damon added one more. "A straight object that's about 21 lbs would bring me difficulty when traveling through a five meter wall."

"Now it's my turn." Damon said, throwing up the weight that Ryan was given.

"Damon, do you want to keep it in the air or rest for a bit before the next?" Tim asked.

"Keep it up."

"Okay." Damon placed the object in the air before Tim hit the button twice. "2 lbs." After a minute, Tim hit it three times with nothing happening to the object. He hit it ten times, dropping the object for a second before going back to its original spot. Then five hits, bringing it down a bit; then five more, bringing it down a bit more again but not very noticeable. "Now we'll have to go outside." Tim, Nereida, Lightningmon, Ken, and Don were bringing the rope longer than the boat with them.

Once outside, they faced the pathway. Tim attached a small ball on the end of the rope. "Okay, start throwing." Damon mentally picked it up and threw it. The rope unwrapped itself really fast. After a while, the rope stopped. "Nereida, mark." Nereida marked the rope before they started to pull it back.

"It's about 340 kilometers." Ceres said.

"Okay, now that we have all the data, let's go up to my room so I could get them into my database." Tim said and everyone headed inside.

TK

Before I went over to Kaiba's building, I checked Matt's computers to see where the story was going for everyone else (This was around the time they were out at sea). Once there, it wasn't that hard to guess where Kaiba was since it's the only room that I know where he tested things, assuming that's what he wanted me for. When I got there, he and Mokuba were the only ones in the room.

"I'm here." I walked towards them.

"What took ya so long to get here?" Mokuba asked with annoyance.

"I'm sorry. I had somewhere else that I needed to be. What can I do for you?"

"We tested the device that we had Matt get us and we found something very interesting." Kaiba said.

"What is it?" Patamon asked.

"Watch this." Mokuba pushed a button that activated some kind of portal. Luckily for them, nothing was in the pathway and no vacuum was being generated.

"We want you to walk through to see what's on the other side." Kaiba said.

"Why didn't you put one of your people to do it? Out of curiosity."

"None of them wanted to venture inside." Mokuba said.

"And since you know how to handle other worlds so well..." Kaiba didn't even have to finish his sentence for me to get.

"Okay." I walked to the edge of the portal and poked my head through. When I open my eyes, I noticed that it's the Digital World!

"Wow! Why are we here?" Patamon asked, obviously seeing what's inside the portal as well.

"Can you tell what area we're in?"

"I think we're near the place that we faced the Deity Digimon."

"Oh, no wonder this place looks familiar." I pulled my head back, ending the portal.

"Well?" Mokuba asked.

"It's the Digital World." Patamon said.

"The area is where the Deity Digimon, we assume, are dwelling." I said.

"How would someone there know anything about the Digital World?" Kaiba sounded like he was asking himself.

"Well, there is a Deity Digimon working there. Her Japanese name is Hota."

"Hota? She's a Digimon?" Kaiba seemed to be having trouble swallowing it.

"Yea, she wanted to send Matt and the crew into the Digital World so they could spread Zeus's control when they got back to the Real World."

"How do you know all of that?"

"Huh… Oops."

"Come on, we want to know." Mokuba plead.

"I can't… That method is supposed to be a secret."

"Hey! TK! Can you hear me!" I froze, thinking that I was hearing Matt's voice (again… kinda… except this time he isn't a keychain). "If you can hear my voice, grab your jewel! Hurry before I have to go!"

I don't know why I listened (maybe because it was Matt's voice and I wanted to get out of the situation that I put myself in), "Hold on a moment." I walked a bit away from them before taking my jewel from my pocket. "Matt?"

"Ah, you answer. Good, that means that this works… I'm so cool." I realized that that didn't sound like the Matt that I know.

"Are you okay? Where are you?"

"I'm in the International Space Station, waiting to be sent off into the known Moon that we have come to love."

"You're… not acting like yourself."

"Really? Oh… I normally act like this on space trips… I don't know why though…"

"How are you contacting me?"

"Through the jewels, duh. Why else would I say, pick up your jewel?"

"Just asking. Oh, be careful on the way coming back to Earth. The device takes you straight into the Digital World."

"So you know who the Digimon that's invading the company?"

"Yes…"

"Don't tell me who it is. I want to play detective."

"This is your life that we're talking about here!"

"I don't care. Gabumon is with me so I'm safe."

"This new personality needs to go away."

"I like this personality. Anyway, Gabumon's camouflage is working like a charm… Though I have to apply a new coat every day."

"Is there enough for the trip?"

"I hope so."

"What if it doesn't?"

"… Do you really need details?"

"Matt! Don't be so careless!"

"I'm not, I'm not… I have a plan set incase the dust runs out. But it would be pointless to tell you since I'm ninety percent sure that it will last. So, any problems with the story?"

"No… Oh, but I just hinted to Kaiba about it… Should I tell him?"

"… Why not."

"That was easy."

"I mean, whose he going to tell our secrets anyway? I don't think he's the kind of person to use blackmail on a regular basis."

"That's reassuring. Oh, we can't trust Izzy with all the information we have on the new group. He told me that he still has to put up a display of loyalty to Gennai."

"Oh… That's not good."

"But I'm not sure who should have the information. I managed to get the book from Izzy but he still has some information on his main computer and maybe laptop."

"Hm?... I vote for Seto."

"Why?"

"Well, he has nothing really to do… He's smart, since both Ken and Izzy worship him… I'm sure he's curious enough to find what we need… And he has a really fast translating system that's already in play into his computer… Not to mention that he already download the Digital Decoding Language software…"

"That's what you're calling it?"

"I wanted to think up something big for the name…" This was reminding me of Ceres now by his voice tone.

"… I can't say anything back that's mean…"

"Why would you want to? I am your older sibling after all."

"That doesn't mean I can ignore making comments."

"Then it's war when I come back."

"Hopefully by then, you'll be sane again."

"Maybe… Oh, I got to go… People are starting to move about and we have a flight to catch. If I get an extra moment, I'll call you again. See ya." The glow of my jewel was gone.

"Could've let me say bye." I sighed, glad to have told him the information but wondered why he had a split personality out in space. I walked back over to Kaiba and Mokuba.

"What was that all about?" Mokuba asked.

"Could you not hear Matt?"

"How were you talking to him when he's out in space?" Kaiba asked.

"… We have these jewels that give us special abilities and, when they're all together, allow our Digimon to reach a new level called the Super Level. Somehow, Matt figured a way to talk to me through the jewel. Apparently, only the jewel holders can hear the conversation."

"That would explain the silence." Mokuba said.

"Okay, Matt was able to use the probes that his company made, before gaining your technology and Hota came into the picture, that allowed them to withstand high pressure and is unable to be seen. They can record multiple hours of anything and Matt has that data reconfigured into written words. That's how I know that Hota is a Digimon since one of the probes is on a Digimon and that Digimon knows Hota." _Not to mention others that she knows._

"I'm impressed."

"He managed to keep this a secret for five months."

"Why only five?" Mokuba asked.

"It was slipped to me. So now I have to privilege to read what goes on in the other people's lives that are in this group."

"Does anyone else know about it in the group?"

"Ceres does, though it was through her own genius and not by Matt hinting at it."

"What else did Matt tell you?" Kaiba asked.

"Oh ya, we're going to entrust you with very important books that they need translated. It's written in the Ancient style of the Digital World so that's why it's taking us so long to do so. It was originally given to a friend of ours that's in first group of Digidestined but he told me that he has to be loyal to someone that's not so good anymore."

"Where are the books?"

"One's at my house and the other is at Matt's. I'll bring them to you right now if you want."

"How about I drive you over there so it'll go faster?" He started to walk towards the door without waiting for my answer. Mokuba followed him so I did as well.

Kaiba drove me to Matt's house so I got the book with the history of the ancient land. I handed him the book of the stories when we reached mine.

"We'll have this translated as soon as we can." Mokuba promised.

"There are already a few translated in the one that I just gave you. Everything that our friend had lying around in the room is in that book. Oh, if you can, hack into the computers of Izzy Izumi that would help out a lot. He was the one that we originally gave the book to and he told me that some of the information he found are in those computers. You can also play around with this." I handed Kaiba my D-3. "This was a device we used in the past to have our Digimon Digievolve."

"All right. We'll call you when we're done."

"Thanks."

They drove off.

Tim

Once everyone was settled, I brought out the box that I placed one of the pieces of metal in. "Okay, what I have to show you is so amazing that it's not found on Earth. The metal that the Digimon are mining in the Digital World is nothing similar to the DigiChromazon. It has this unique quality that allows it to absorb a certain kind of energy and store it. It also seems cable of storing tons of it in a small area."

"What kind of energy does it take?" Ken asked.

"I'm not sure since all the samples I have looked through are full. I'm not sure how to unleash the energy either but I think it's able to do the same thing. Nereida, could you hit the lights?"

Nereida got up and did so. I opened the box, showing that it glowed in absolute darkness.

"That makes an awesome flashlight." Ceres said.

"Luckily my room has no windows and the lights aren't on in the hallway. Nereida, turn them on."

Nereida went out and did so, displaying the absent of light from the rock.

"Have you understood why it does that?" Kari asked.

"Not yet, I'm assuming it's by what it has in storage."

"It kinda looked like the glow from a full moon. I was also feeling this tug." Ceres said.

"You might have something that reacts to it. That means that I definitely need to find one that's empty."

"Well, we were mining it to destroy someone in the Digidestined groups but were never told whom." Sakuramon said.

"How can a glowing rock destroy someone? Unless they want to blind the person." Ceres joked.

"I'm not sure but that's what I heard when I was with Lordmon."

"Oh… Then we have to be very careful."

"Once we know what it absorbs then we can take measures to make sure that it doesn't take it from the person that they're after." I said.

"It was pretty though."

"Okay, and that's the end of this voyage of knowledge."

"Then we'll see you later. Thanks for inviting us over." Lily Dawn said.

"Not a problem." Damon said.

They all left, since we walked them to the door.

Wow… We managed to get three interesting information within two/three days… That's pretty cool… I was a little scared when Matt was acting weird… I hope that he doesn't continue that personality when he gets back… I don't think that Panther can handle two Ceres personalities… Bye.


	19. Chap 18 Performance with Clearity

Hello! Kari had called me to let me know what they discovered when they were over at Tim's house, though I already knew it since I was reading it a bit. I'm going to tell them that Matt knows about the danger since he was able to contact me through his jewel… Though I'm still not sure how… I thought that everyone would like to hear it since everyone was worried about him… Okay... I better let the story to continue now…

Lily Dawn

"Wow… You know the best places for sunrises." I said as I lean into Apollo. It was way before school was going to start so Apollo thought that I should see this awesome site that he managed to find. Though this one was on top of a roof, it was higher than all the others that he's taken me to. That made this sunrise awesome since it seemed to rise from the city streets.

"I thought that you would like this."

I looked at Apollo's face. It always seems to shine radiantly whenever I watch the sunrise with him. He seems more peaceful and youthful than ever before. I love the look the sun gives him during this time. "I wish that the sun could stay like this forever."

"Like what?"

"Always rising, I love how the light shines on your face."

"But if it always rises, how will it ever set? It would need to set for it to rise again."

"I could just wish it, knowing that it will never come true. But I really do love the light reflecting from your face. Or your face absorbing the light."

Apollo smiled, making me smile back. I went back to leaning on him, seeing that the sun was almost about the city horizon. It didn't take long for the sun to finish its rising.

"What do you want to do now?" Apollo whispered into my ear.

"Well, I am a bit away from my school. I think I might want to start heading over."

"Too bad you can't skip."

"One day, I promise. I better get going." I kissed his forehead.

"Before you go, I have something to give you."

"You do?" I watched him taking something out from his back pocket. Normally, he hands me gifts when we meet since he doesn't carry anything else with him.

He brought out a small spray bottle that was nearly full. "I remembered that you put a sweetening smell on Bellimon everyday so I thought that this could help enhance it." He sprayed a bit on my wrist and I smelled it. It was a lovely scent that was really hard to describe. I had told him that I place a personally made scent on Bellimon since he once said that he liked her scent.

I looked at him as I allowed Bellimon to smell it, "Thank you, I'm sure that it'll help a lot." I couldn't tell if she liked it or not.

"The scent that's already there is more lovely than this alone. But maybe together, the scent with be grant."

I smiled, "Okay. I really have to go now." We kissed before I grabbed my book bag and jumped off the roof.

Apollo jumped off as well, "I'll walk you to the bus at least."

"Thank you." I wrapped my arm around his and we walked to the bus stop.

It wasn't a long wait, though I did wish that it was longer, so we kissed again before I got on. I watched him as the bus was leaving. I didn't stop until he was out of my sight.

"I love the smell." Bellimon whispered.

"That's good. Do you want to try it on?"

"Yea!"

I smiled to see her excitement so I sprayed a small amount on her. I smelled an even sweeter smell than before. "Wow, that is nice."

"Yea… Oh, weren't you going to tell him about the concert that you're going to be in for your dancing class?"

"Oh yea! I completely forgot about that!" I covered my mouth and looked around, since I said that a little too loud. There was no one staring at me, but I decided not to risk the fact that someone might see Bellimon's mouth move.

As we were walking along the sidewalk, "I'll tell him later today since I get to see him again."

"I'm surprised that you didn't tell him about it. You told everyone else like yesterday once Stan told you that you were performing within two days."

I remembered that. I called everyone, either by mind or talking, letting them know that there was this play that my dancing troupe was performing and it was really important. I don't know why I didn't tell Apollo when he called this morning. Panther woke me up, saying that she wanted sleep so I had to tell Apollo not to call in the morning. "It's too early and I forgot."

"That seems unlike you."

"But that's the only thing that I can offer."

"I guess that has to be good enough."

When I got to the school, no one else was here yet (that's because she went really early). I looked at the time and noticed that I had time to get something from the little café what was around the corner. I brought something for Bellimon and me to have for breakfast since it was really early when we left. "I hope everyone can make it."

"Of course they'll make it."

I smiled, glad to hear reassuring words.

"You're by yourself, that's not right." I turned to see Panther and Ceres walking into the classroom.

"What are you doing here? I thought that you would still be sleeping." Though I was glad that they were here.

"I figured that you could use some company incase you came here too early." Panther said as they took their seats.

"She kicked me out of bed when she realized that she was being mean to you." Ceres said, looking like she was going to die.

"Are you okay, Ceres?"

"I'm fine… I just had less of a breakfast than normal."

"I am sorry. I should've at least stayed up or come to the school to meet you." Panther said.

"I didn't think anything of it."

"Wow, what's that new scent Bellimon?" Plantmon asked.

"Oh, this is something that Apollo gave me."

"But he doesn't know that you're a Digimon, right?" Yi-Yamon asked.

"Of course not, but Lily Dawn told him that she makes this special spray to put on me so that she can concentrate better when I'm around. So he gave her the bottle but it's really for me." She said happily.

"Well, if he did know then I'll say that he's trying to win points with you." Panther said (I'm going to interrupt here for a moment. :coughs: Okay, since there are so many different points of view and you know what's going on all the time, thanks to Matt's probes, I think that it's about time that I clarify some things so you can keep them straight as you read. Okay, everyone assumed that Apollo was a Digimon but they had no proof. So now, everyone is thinking that Apollo is just another human. That's why they're not too worried but they're making light of the fact that he might know about Bellimon since she companies Lily Dawn everywhere they go).

We were talking about anything. After a while, everyone else started to come in. They all said that they could come, which made me extremely happy.

"Where's Neon?" Nereida asked as Don came into the classroom.

"She has morning sick. Don't worry, she'll be here. Oh, I'm able to come to your performance."

"Thanks for letting me know. What about Neon, do you know?"

"No, I'm sorry."

"That's okay."

Then class started.

It wasn't until next period that Neon came into the school.

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked.

"A lot better now. Oh, I'm able to come to your concert too."

"Thanks."

"Not a problem."

"What concert?"

We looked behind Neon to see Mackenzie-san standing behind her since she was near the door.

"Oh, I'm performing in a concert that my dancing troupe is doing."

"When is it?"

"The day after tomorrow, why?"

"Just wondering. Well, good luck with it."

"Thank you."

"Class, into your seats." We went to ours.

The whole class, I was counting the time away. I was really excited about going to see Apollo to see if he could come. I remembered that our coach told us that suits might be there, seeing how we were visited by Tea Gardner. I'm not really interested in getting anything now but I still want to do my best. I just noticed that Mackenzie-san was giving us less homework than she normally did.

"Neon, Don, did you notice how little homework we have in her class?"

"You do have a good point. I thought that it was only my voice and chorus teachers that cared about my grades." Neon said.

"I guess that Mackenzie-san cares too. Hopefully she gives the same thing to the other classes." Don said.

"I'm sure that she does. She doesn't want to appear unfair." Neon smiled with a smile that doesn't really look like hers, but I brushed it off.

"Well, see you guys later." I said before running over to my English class.

To me, the day seemed to be moving slowly. Neon was still participating in class since she said that she would stop when she was four months due, which will be next month. I had a feeling that it was due to the fact that Don's father was going to train her until then and she didn't want to feel left out. Also, her mood swings are very settled and are easily missed. Don seemed to be the only one that has been able to pick them up. Ceres told us that it's odd that they'll be two new attitudes that are the swings, but then they are all weird in our own way so that's what she summed it up to be. Everyone was going ease on her, but she was still able to be on top.

"Are you ready to tell him?" Bellimon asked as we were walking home after the study session.

"You haven't told Apollo about the dance yet?" Panther asked.

"It's slipped my mind this morning."

"Well, it was really early so it's easy to forget things then." Ceres said.

"I'm going to tell him today though."

"You have a date plan?" Panther asked.

"Yea, we're going around town to some foreign restaurant that he happens to know for dinner."

"That means that we have to cook for Stan tonight."

"He doesn't really mind."

"I don't think Panther likes criticism." Ceres said.

"No one ever made fun of my cooking while in the gang and no one has complained now." Panther was remembering the last time that she cooked for Stan since I was out with Apollo. She wouldn't talk to me about it until I asked Stan for the story. He told me that he was having fun with her since he knew that she took pride in her cooking skills. I had to make him apologized before she started to talk to him again. Though I have promised to keep this a secret, he did say that he's enjoys her cooking above all others.

The reason that this needs to be a secret since he had told me that all of his girlfriends have cooked for him whenever they wanted to and they were all good, but none were the best. Right now, he's seeing someone that I haven't met but I know that he has to lie about her cooking. I remembered that he came home sick after one of her dinners.

"I'll make him promise to keep his mouth full with food." I said with a smile.

"All he better open his mouth is to order what he wants to eat."

"Stan, promise me that you won't make Panther mad again. She's going to be cooking for you." I said as I was checking myself in the mirror. I was wearing tight, dark blue jeans with a circle belt; an ocean, purple long sleeves shirt that flare at the end; golden bracelets on both arms; golden looped earrings; and high heel boots.

"You better put on a coat." Stan said.

"I have one, father." I lifted up a leather jacket that Panther's allowing me to borrow.

"I just don't want you to get sick."

"Promise me that you won't make Panther mad again."

"I promise that I won't. Don't stay out too late. I'm not about to let you skip school because of a date."

"Why not? You have done that plenty of times."

"I made my mistakes so that why you don't have to."

"What if I told you that I was going to skip, would you allow it then?"

"I'll have to think upon that for a while. Have fun on your date."

"I will. See ya later." I went out of the house.

"Where did you place your necklace?" Bellimon asked, seeing that it wasn't visible around my neck.

"I have it on but I tucked it under my shirt."

"Oh… Why?"

"I just felt like it. There's no real reason."

"Do you think that Stan won't anger Panther?"

"I think that he'll be a lot better than before."

"What makes you think so?"

"I just have a feeling."

I hopped onto the bus to take me to the spot where I was supposed to meet Apollo.

Panther

I was cooking in the kitchen. It just hit me that Ceres could cook instead of me. Plantmon was upstairs since they're not supposed to talk around Stan and this is to make sure that they don't attempt to do so.

"Panther," I heard Stan's voice but I didn't turn around.

"What?"

"You do know that I don't hate your cooking, right?"

"You've apologized already."

"I just don't want you mad at me for just joking around. I really thought that you wouldn't mind."

"This is a different apology." I grabbed a plate since I was done with his dinner. I handed it to him, now seeing that he looked a lot different from all the other time that I've seen him. He had this look of wanting forgiveness but I didn't understand why he wanted it. "Look, I'm not mad anymore so there's no reason for you to carry that sorrow around."

"Thanks." He smiled an odd one as he took the plate.

I started to fill Ceres and mines since we were having the same thing. "Though, I would think me being mad at you wouldn't affect you since you hate what I've become." I said as I was washing the pan that I was using.

"You think that I hate you?"

"Don't you? You made it pretty clear from day one." I looked at him as I grabbed our plates. He looked hurt. "Whatever. I don't care either way." I walked up the stairs, wondering why he looked like that.

"You look disrupted." Ceres said as she was feeding Ele.

"Stan is acting weird." I handed her plate but she allowed Yi-Yamon to eat first.

"Really? In what way?"

"He started to apologize for what he did and he looked hurt when I told him that I thought he hated me." I was allowing Plantmon to eat first.

"Wow… that doesn't sound like Stan at all."

"Anyway, why don't you cook dinner some time?"

"Because I cook breakfast, we're not going to break the cycle just for you."

"I hope that this isn't going to be an every time thing."

"I'm sure that he had something else on his mind so that was making him a bit more emotional. I wouldn't amount it to something."

"Yea." I started to eat the dinner that I cooked.

Ceres

Ceres was bringing the plates down. When she reached the kitchen, Stan was standing there acting like he has been waiting for someone.

"Waiting for the ghost to return?" Ceres asked with a smile.

"Where's Panther?"

"She's upstairs in our room. Why?"

"Is she still mad at me?"

"Once you apologized the first time, she forgave you. She doesn't normally hold grudges on people. Well… I'm sure that she does but I don't think that she would hold one on you. Why are you feeling guilty all of a sudden?"

"Why should I feel guilty?"

"You apologized to her again. That means that you still feel bad about it. Get over it, she has." Ceres placed the plates in the sink.

"Did I really act like I hated her when you guys first came here?"

"Yea. There's no other way of saying it. You were nasty to her."

"I guess I didn't realize how much she had changed…" He said that quietly.

"Whatever. See ya tomorrow morning for breakfast." Ceres went back upstairs.

Lily Dawn

"That was a great dinner." I said as Apollo was walking me over to the dancing studio. We were doing to do one more rehearsal for the big performance.

"I'm so glad that you liked it." We went to a Greek restaurant. I had never had Greek food before but it was really good.

"Oh, do you think that you could come to my dance performance? It's two nights from now."

"Nothing will keep me away."

I smiled, "Thanks." I was really glad since everyone that means something to me will be there to see me dance my soul away.

"How about tomorrow we'll have a good luck dinner? Just us two."

I looked at him, wondering what he meant. Then it hit me, "You want me to leave Bellimon home?"

"I'm only asking. I don't mind either way."

I was a little nervous; Bellimon has accompanied us on all the past dates. I know that she won't be surprised by anything we do. She would only ask when we're alone. "Do you not like me carrying her around?"

"I don't mind at all. You don't have to tell me now. I'll know when we meet again. I don't mind either way."

"Okay, I'll think about it." I kissed him before heading inside.

I was lucky that I was able to concentrate at all. All I was thinking about was whether to let Bellimon come to this date or not. He said that he didn't care, but why did he mention it at all? I was really glad that Apollo understood that Bellimon means a lot to me, since I haven't told him that she's a Digimon. He seems to really understand me, something that I hadn't had in a long time. Every time I had a promising boyfriend, they seem to have doubts. A lot of times, they're real character slips into my head so I'm able to end it quickly. Apollo is different though, he always thinking about me, always caring if I'm okay. I wish that I could tell him everything. I wished that I wasn't the only one of us that was keeping something from the other.

"You seem really distracted today." Bellimon said.

"I was thinking about what Apollo asked."

"I think I should stay home."

"Why?" I looked at her, really surprised to hear her say that.

"I know that he'll keep you safe for me. Besides, don't you think I'm a five wheel?"

"Not at all. He had never thought of you as that either."

"Maybe, but I think that it's best to let you breath for a bit. Don't worry; I'll hang out with Yi-Yamon and Plantmon. I haven't done that in a while."

"It seems like you've made my decision for me."

"Just remember, you promised Stan that you would tell him if you're going to skip."

"I won't skip unless you're with me, okay?"

"Okay then, that's a deal."

I smiled, glad that Bellimon wasn't hurt by that.

"Stay safe is the next thing that needs to be repeated." Panther said once I finished telling them. When I came in, Stan said that he wanted to talk to me about something but said to talk to Panther first. I'm not sure what he wants me to look for but I wanted to tell her about this anyway.

"I guess that means that we're having a party tomorrow!" Yi-Yamon said.

"Yea, we'll have balloons and all!" Plantmon said.

"We'll keep her entertained." Ceres said.

"Thanks. Well, I need to go talk to Stan about something."

"Just letting you know that he's acting weird." Panther said.

"Really?"

"Yea, he apologized again for what he said about my cooking."

"Not only that, he feels sorry that he hated her at the beginning."

"Wow… I wonder if he's breaking up with his current girlfriend. I'll go talk to him right now then." I got up and went downstairs.

Stan was sitting on the couch, staring at the blank TV. "Did you talk to her?"

"I'm not sure what you wanted me to find but they told me that you were acting weird. Are you breaking up with your girlfriend?" I sat down beside him.

"Yea."

"Why? I thought that you liked this one, minus her cooking skills."

"Other things got in the way."

"Like what? An ex-boyfriend or something?"

"No, nothing that simple…"

"… Stan, what is it? You know that you can tell me."

"…… Promise you won't tell anyone, including your new stuff plant."

"I promise that I won't tell another being or object as long as I live."

"… I think… I'm starting to… fall for Panther…"

I stared at him. That really shocked me more than anything. "You're starting to like her?... When?"

"About the time that I made fun of her cooking."

"Stan, do you think that Killer is still around?"

"Isn't he?"

"If he was, why would she be here? Why would she be living at Matt's house? He's gone. He was killed in some fight before school started. I'm not sure how she took it, I'm sure that Matt knows and possibly Ceres. Stan, there is a place open in her heart for love."

"It's really hard to read her sometimes."

"And you think it's easy for her friends? Sometimes, her old life reappears and it's hard to tell what she means. Somehow, Ceres has been able to read her."

"You seem a little disappointed."

"We're best friends. It's kinda embarrassing when someone new comes in and somehow understands her a lot better than I do. I envy Ceres sometimes since she understands her so much. But then, I know that I'm the only one that truly knows her, so that helps me a bit. But Stan, give her time. It seems that none were able to read it."

"Jeez, that makes me feel a lot better."

"I don't know how she's handling Killer's death. You might have to give her time."

"I will. Thanks Lily Dawn."

"Anytime." I went back upstairs. "He's better now. He is breaking up with his girlfriend. He gets like this whenever that happens." I picked up Bellimon.

"Didn't think he dated so many women. At least I now know what's causing it so I won't be as harsh."

"Thanks Panther. Well, night." I closed the door, really sad that Panther can't see it. Though, she still might be hung up on Killer to care if others like her. That would be a tragedy for Stan (Wow… that's a lot of drama… in one house too… Wow…).

Hebe

"Where are the high school boys?" Apollo asked when he came inside.

"They're with Dionysus. He came in, asking who wanted to go party with him." Artemis answered.

"They wanted to feel like an adult again so that's why they went." I added.

"Good. Oh, I'm not going to be there tomorrow or the day after."

"Why? I wouldn't think you risk her life." Artemis asked.

"I'm not. We're still on the low but I promise to take her for a good luck dinner for her dancing play that she's in. That's also why I'm not here the night after next."

"I see. Then we'll tell them something."

"It's not like they care." I said.

"But incase they get curious."

"Well, if anything does happen, Bellimon will be there for back-up."

"She might not be there tomorrow." Apollo said.

"Why?"

"I asked that she not come. I'll only know by tomorrow though."

"Oh… then you better keep your guard up." Artemis said.

"I will."

"HEY! Apollo, you're back home from your fantasy!" We turned to the door to see that Dionysus and the boys walking back inside. All of them were drunk.

"You three, get to bed." Artemis said.

"We're not kids." Thanatos argued.

"As long as you're attending high school, you are. Now, get to bed."

They were mumbling as they were going up.

"You shouldn't have gotten them that drunk." Apollo said.

"Don't trouble yourself." Dionysus fell on his shoulder, "They were depressed and I helped them." He fell on the couch.

"They still have school tomorrow."

"Have them skip or something. Anyway, where do you go on your night outs?"

"That's none of your business."

"Seeing your one of your many girlfriends?"

"I got to keep myself entertained somehow, don't I?"

"Oh, so what number is she?"

"These people are more loyal than others."

"So you haven't traded her off yet? Is she the one that was at that play?"

"That's when I started to date her." I noticed that Apollo was trying to lie but was failing. He was known as the God of Truth so he couldn't have lie to someone's face, but he was so trying to do so.

"Really? Only a few months? That's nothing too special."

"Why do you want to know?"

"Hey, they were complaining that you had more freedom than them. I was just wondering where you go since they didn't know." He got up. "Well, I spent my time here so I'm heading back." He walked out.

"I don't like how he was asking his question." I said, knowing that he was after something that Apollo had.

"I'm going to be extra careful. If he was asking questions, someone is interested in knowing." Apollo said.

Artemis whispered something to Apollo and he nodded before he headed upstairs. She looked at the ground before looking at me, "We might as well go to bed."

I could tell that she wanted to tell me something but was too afraid to say it right now. I could sense that by the way that she told her comment to Apollo. Normally, she wouldn't even when they were just in their room. I nodded and headed up to my room, not saying a word.

Ken

"Thanks mom." I said as I took the phone from my mother. She smiled and walked away, leaving me with the phone, "Hello?"

"Ken, this is Izzy. TK told me that you needed the book for some calculations for the location of those ruins but I need it, and the other book, back. It seems that some high-level hacker got into my computer and erased all that data. I'm not even sure who would want that information but someone did."

Izzy was really nervous. I guessed that TK had found a way to get the book and all the data that was stored in his computers from him. TK hasn't told me about it yet, probably wanting to have a good moment to break it to everyone. I'm sure that everyone already knew that Izzy was becoming a little untrusting so they all knew that TK was going to try to get the book away from him. This made me wondered who he had gotten for the job (all these connections within ten seconds). "I'm still translating the portions that I think I would need. I know that it might go a lot faster with you translating it but I feel safer if I did. That way I can check it and recheck it, if that's needed. I brought them on a wild goose chase and I don't want to do that again."

"I understand. Well, I guess if it's that important then I'll let you have it still. Let me know when you're done though."

"You know that I will, Izzy."

He hanged up and I called TK.

"Moshimoshi, TK's speaking."

"Hey, Izzy just called me."

"Why?"

"He wanted to know about the book."

"Oh… What did you tell him?"

"I was fortunate enough that he gave me enough information to understand what story you gave him so I'm sure that he believed me. You should really tell the others tomorrow that you managed to get the book away and to whom it is with currently."

"I guess I have to now, considering that he could call any one of them."

"Yep, but it's more because of Kari. He would call her first before anyone else in the group."

"That's true. Thanks for playing along."

"I was glad that I was able to play along. Okay, see you tomorrow."

"Right, night."

"Why are you up this late, anyway?"

"I'm working on a story." (actually, I was at Matt's house since he called me on my cell phone)

"Then don't stay up too late."

"I won't."

"Night," I hanged up and went to bed.

Don

TK told us in the morning that he managed to take the book from Izzy and gave it to Seto Kaiba. We were all a bit surprised to hear that Kaiba had the book, and not only that book but the other book that was about us and TK's Digivice. TK assured us that Matt had told him about the Digimon since he had to learn more about the machine that was going to be used against us. He also told us that Matt has somehow figured a way to talk to us through our jewels, but TK hasn't discovered how yet. Matt knows about the dangers that he'll face when he comes back to Earth. Not only were we glad that he told Matt about the dangers, but he also told us. He told us that he was waiting for a good time to tell us, but since Izzy called Ken last night, he thought that it would be better if we knew now then later incase he comes to us.

Lily Dawn

"Wow, you're dressed to kill." Panther said as I came in to show off my outfit.

"That's my point."

"Just don't overkill him." Ceres said with a smile.

"Stay safe too." Bellimon said.

I picked her up and hugged her, "I will. I promise." I placed her down and went downstairs.

"You're not taking that pushie with you?" Stan asked.

"Not tonight. I'll see you later, okay."

"When will you be home?"

"If I don't come back some time tonight then I'll see you at the play."

"You're not going to skip school, are you?"

"No, I know better than that. A promise is a promise."

"Have a great time and bring this guy over some time."

"One day. See ya." I ran out.

"So Bellimon didn't come?" Apollo asked when I got to him.

"I thought it would be interesting if I didn't bring her. Now, let's see what you have planned."

Apollo smiled, took my hand and started walking. I just now noticed how different his hands were from all the other guys I've dated. Energy just seemed to be dripped from them. It was warm and comforting. I didn't know why I've never noticed this before.

"I hope this isn't a weird feeling for you." Apollo said as we were sitting in an Italian restaurant.

"Other than I've never been here before."

"That's good. They have good food."

"Great, you can help me pick something out."

"Sure." He smiled very happily. He pulled over his chair and sat right next to me. Since all of them weren't translated into Japanese, he was telling me what each was. He also managed to tell me how each taste without being too bias.

"WOW! This is good!" I took one bit and it was great.

"Glad that you like it. I wish I can take you to my house for some better food."

"Why can't you?"

"You might know someday. Right now, it's not safe."

"Really? Oh, I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Just enjoy the food that we're having right now."

"Okay." I smiled and we went back to eating. We were talking about anything as we finished.

"I didn't know that you knew Italian." I said as we were leaving.

"I only know Greek and Italian as well as a little English."

"Wow, I'm learning English right now."

"Really, maybe I can teach you another language that I know."

"How about when Matt comes back? That way you can meet my brother as well."

"That's right; you have Panther and Ceres living with you. Sure, sounds like a plan."

"I know an even better plan."

We stopped to see Dionysusmon standing in front of us with human clothing. _I thought that Digimon can't change their outfits!_

"What do you want?" Apollo got in front of me.

"Apollo, let's just get out of here." I was really wishing that Bellimon was here.

"Now, now, I know that we got off the wrong foot but we can still be friends, right?"

"I don't know what you're talking about but you better leave right now!" I said.

"I'll ask again, what do you want?" Apollo's voice was firm.

"Your little lover."

"What makes you think I'm going to hand her over?"

"Come on, do you really think I'm going to fight you when I can just open a portal?" I looked down and saw a portal that we use to get into the Digital World.

Apollo grabbed my hand before I fell all the way through. "Are you okay?" He asked, fighting to keep me from going all the way through.

"Don't worry about me, save yourself."

"I'm not going to do that." He started to pull me up. I noticed that it was hard from him for some reason, but then remembered that the portal sucks us up when we travel through them.

"Apollo, let me go. I'm not worth it."

"Of course you are. You're the most important person to me." I was really moved.

"Awe, isn't that cute. Just like all the others." I heard Dionysusmon said then a panther jumped upon Apollo, making him to let go of my hand.

"Lily Dawn!" Those were the last words I heard before falling into a cage.

"Hey! Where am I?"

"There's no need to shout." Said a female voice. She appeared from the hallway to see that she was really beautiful. "My name is Aphroditemon."

"The Goddess of Love?"

"I'm impressed. Where did you learn that from, little Japanese girl?"

"We do learn about Western mythology in school."

She walked up and lifted up my amulet, "Where did you get this?"

I moved back before she had a good grip on it, "That's none of your business."

"Well, I guess that Dionysusmon can talk to you for me. Violence isn't my thing. He'll be here shortly." She walked away.

I held my amulet, hoping that they will come soon.

Panther

I suddenly woke up. I had this bad feeling in my bones.

"Why are you up?" Ceres pled.

I got up and went to Lily Dawn's room to see that she wasn't there. I looked at the time to see that it was nearly two. I ran to Stan's room, "Where's Lily Dawn?"

He got up slowly, "If she's not here by now then you'll see her at school."

"How can you be so calm?"

"Because that's what she told me before she left."

I closed the door and walked back to our room.

"You didn't answer my question." Ceres said.

"I got a bad feeling."

"What should we do?"

"Wait until school starts. Let's hope it's nothing."

"Awright." She went back into the room and I went as well.

"Is she all right?" Bellimon asked lowly.

"I'm not sure. Let's hope she shows up at school."

We went back to sleep but I could feel that none were actually sleeping.

Ryan

I got up and looked out the window. I had a feeling that something had happened to Lily Dawn but I couldn't tell what.

"Why are you up so early? On a school day no less." Espomon asked.

"I have a feeling that something bad has happened to Lily Dawn."

"Panther and Ceres would be with her and Bellimon will never leave her side."

"We'll see when we go to school."

"Get some sleep then." He went back to sleep. I went back to bed but there was no way I could sleep.

Lily Dawn

"My, I didn't realize how beautiful you were." I opened my eyes and looked up. I sat down since I couldn't do anything else. Dionysusmon was towered over me, making me move a way a bit before getting up. I noticed that the cage was closed.

"What do you want?"

"What every good-looking guy wants. But there's a twist to mine."

I knew that I wouldn't like it, whatever it was, "Where's Apollo?"

"You're worrying about him? What makes him so special?" He seemed to be angry at something else then my actually words.

"He's my boyfriend, that's what makes him special."

He laughed, "Do you know how many girls have been with him? He can never be serious with anyone."

"I don't care whose he been with in the past. All I care about is that I love him. Now where is he?"

"I don't know. I didn't stick around to find out. But I must admit; Apollo can sure pick them." His hand on pinching my chin, "Tell me, how did the love birds meet?"

"How do you know Apollo?"

"How? What's easy, we're…"

"Don't get distract by her questions. We're doing the interrogation." I looked over to see Aphroditemon standing on the other side of the cage.

"Sorry, but it's her beauty. She might even topple over yours."

"How dare you say such a thing! This mortal can't compare to my immortal beauty!"

"Ah, but they can come close. I promise, dear Aphroditemon, that I will not be distracted by her mortal radiance."

"Sounds like you're giving it to her then me." She walked away.

"Well, I wonder how Apollo would feel if he can't have you first."

I moved back more, until I hit the wall. There was a desire in his eyes. "Stay away from me."

"Well, you have guts to tell that to a god." He started to move closer. "Aphroditemon told me that you learn about us in school. What we learn from our father is that what we want is what we get. No mortal can tell us otherwise." He was pressed against me, hovering his head above mine. "Apollo will be defeated."

Something hit his head so he looked to see who it was. Two new ladies were standing there, but one didn't have any purple on like the others I've seen. She wore an untraditional Western robe since it looked like a modern dress. It was sleeveless, light blue, tight-looking, and a yellow belt. Her hair was sky blue and came it her shoulders. She looked like she was very sweet but not too kind if the situation called for it.

"What do you want?" Dionysusmon didn't seem happy.

"You leave that girl alone. We're taking her from now on." Said the other lady that looked like all the others that I've seen, minus for the fact that she had jet black hair a bit of a pale face.

"Whatever." He looked at me and leaned close to whisper, "You'll be mine soon." He walked away.

I let out my breath, realizing how scared I was. I remembered that two ladies saved me for some reason so I couldn't relax right now.

"Don't worry. I'll explain everything later." Said the one with blue. She placed some metal bracelet on my wrist. "My name is Lethemon and this is so that everyone else feels safe enough for you to walk around. This is only for a short while so I'll keep everything brief. First, let's get you something to eat and clean yourself." She led me out of the cage. I watched the other lady but she just walked away once she closed the cage.

Ryan

I arrived at the school to see that Apollo was standing there. I knew that that was very unusual, "Apollo, what are you doing here?"

He turned around really fast before relaxing, "Ryan, I need your help. When will the others get here?" He seemed really worried about something, which wasn't helping my case at all.

"I came early. If it's really important, I'll get everyone here immediately."

"It's about Lily Dawn. Someone came upon us and kidnapped her. She seemed to know him from somewhere. He was able to summon this panther out of nowhere to distract me as he took off with her. He was also able to open some kind of vortex which he took her through. I don't know what's going on, I tried my best to protect her but he still managed to take her. I figure that you might know more than I do and know how to get her back."

"Thanks Apollo. We'll take it from here."

"I'm really sorry that I've let you down."

"I promise, you'll see her tonight."

"Should I stay to make sure that the others…"

"No, I'll tell them. You've been through enough already. Rest and I promise that everything will be okay."

He nodded and started to walk away. I got my phone and called Panther, telling her about what happened. It didn't take them long to get here.

"Do we wait for the others?" Ceres asked, holding Bellimon with her.

"What are you doing with Ceres?" Espomon asked.

"Lily Dawn was on a date with Apollo and we decided that I was going to stay home. Now I wish that I didn't."

"What did he say happen?" Panther asked.

"He said that someone attacked them and brought her to the Digital World, though he doesn't know that part. The person was able to summon a panther as well."

"It has to be a Deity Digimon."

Ceres grabbed Panther's cell and hit a speed dial.

"Who are you calling?" I asked.

She held the phone to her ear but she didn't answer me, "Hi, may I speak to Tim please? I know that it's early in the morning but we have a serious situation at hand……………………… Tim, Lily Dawn was kidnapped into the Digital World. We're guessing that it was a Deity Digimon but we're not sure. As far as we know, she was captured sometime during the night so we might still have time to save her. Have Shendramon contact everyone else so we can go out together. Have your Grandmother call Damon and Nereida sick and suggest something to the others as well…… See you at the school." She hanged up and then hit another button. "Stan, you have to call all three of us sick. Lily Dawn is in some trouble and we won't be able to get her to school in time. Create something to make it believable that Panther isn't skipping." She hanged up again. "Thanks for letting me use your phone."

Panther took it, "You're welcome."

"Then we'll wait for everyone." Ceres smiled.

It didn't seem to take long for everyone to come to the school. I repeated the story to everyone.

Ken brought out his D-3, the same with Kari, and they gave them to Ceres to transport them somewhere. Don opened a portal and we all headed inside.

Lily Dawn

I took a bath and ate something similar to what I had at the Italian restaurant.

"Do you like the food?" Lethemon asked with a smile.

"What's your game?"

"Game? I'm sorry that Dionysus scared you. He has this grudge and that blinds him sometimes. There's nothing wrong with the food, incase you're wondering."

"Why are you helping me?"

"You're a Legendary Digidestined. Titanmon has told us all about his dream that they will be the ones that will be on our side. We didn't believe him."

"In his dream or his words?"

"Do you know what his dream was?"

"I don't think I was ever told what it was."

"His dream was to open the gates to the other worlds. There are so many dimensions that you couldn't even image. He wanted them all to come together."

"What's so wrong with that?"

"That is not what we want. We want to take revenge for the betrayal that mortals have given us."

"Why do you have blue?"

"Oh, I guess that means you've never met Styxmon. The River Sisters, as everyone once called us, all have some shade of blue for their hair and outfit. Of course, I'm the only one that has a different outfit than the other two. If you're done, I'll show you around."

"Aren't you worry the others will come to save me?"

"Others? Oh, you mean the other Digidestined. I'm sorry to say but once we tract down your friends, we'll have everyone in your group. We have spies that are all around your world, looking for anyone that will get in Zeus's way."

"Why aren't you saying 'mon'?"

"Just like the ones that aren't Greek Deities or live outside this world, I believe that it's a little downgrading to call ourselves Digimon. We're so much higher and better than any normal Digimon, and that's including the other Super Levels."

"Okay, I'll listen to your story."

"Good, I'll explain it along the way. I figure that you should at least meet the person behind all of this."

We got up and started walking. We walked outside of this huge castle that seemed to reach the sky. It was really wide too, making me wonder how many Deities live here.

"It's amazing how we're all getting along inside this. Then again, it's so huge that there's always a change that you won't run into someone."

"Who was the other one with you?"

"That was Persephore. She's the wife of Hades." She started to walk again.

"Will I meet all the head leaders or something?"

"You shall. I think it would be interesting for our greatest challenge to know something about us."

"You're going to let me go?"

"It's not going to be that easy."

"Where are we going?"

"To see Thoth. He's an Egyptian God and a really good friend of mine."

"Did you have something plan with him today?"

"Aren't you interested to know if you're friends are here?"

"How do you know who that they are?"

She looked around, "I don't know them."

I figured that she didn't want to say it out here so I dropped the subject. I looked around to see if I recognized the area but I definitely didn't. I began to wonder how they knew about Apollo. What was his connection to them? "Can you tell me how you know Apollo?"

"I'll give you advice on that later. We're here."

I looked ahead to see this huge pyramid that looked to be made from gold. There were lots of different carvings on each stone. I knew that Ceres would have a field day translating them all. "Is there a way to get in?"

"There's always a way to get inside. Thoth, I have come to seek your divine wisdom."

One of the stones move forward and a beam came upon us. We were levitated into the stone. The room was really awesome. It seemed to be in a totally different realm or something, considering that there was no ceiling or walls. He had an ibis for his head and traditional Egyptian wear. "It's so good of you to come and I see that you've brought along a Legendary Digidestined."

"She's interested in knowing if her friends are coming."

"Look into the pot over there. You'll see your friends walking along the Digital World."

I ran over to see if he was telling the truth. I looked into it to see that they were. All of them were at least walking, "Where are they?"

"They're in the Digital World." He faced his palm towards me and a globe came up from the pot of water. A light was blinking on it and it seemed to be moving too. "Fortunately for them, they'll be arriving upon the barrier near noon."

"What are you going to do to them?"

"The Egyptians like to stay out of the Greek's problems. Just like they stay out of ours."

"You're safe here. He is how I know what your friends look like. The Egyptians don't care about what the Greeks are doing but they will follow if they're interested."

"Do you not believe in what Zeus is doing?"

"Personally, he can do whatever he wants. There's someone in your little group that I'm most interested in. That's the only reason I care." Lethemon said.

"I help her gather information on this person so that's why she comes over here." Thothmon said.

"Can I not know who this person is?"

"You will, in time. I grantee that. Anyway, let's be off. You have so many Digimon to meet. I will see you later, Thoth."

He nodded and I walked over to her, then we teleported outside again.

"So, some of you guys are our enemies and some are our friends?"

"But sometimes your friends will have to put up an act to make sure that they're not caught helping." She whispered.

"Are you one of those friends?"

"Maybe, you can never know. Just keep that in mind for the future."

Then we reached the castle and she led me through it.

"Where's her leash?" We stopped to see that there were three girls and a guy beside us. They didn't have anything really different from the others that I've seen, minus Thoth and Lethemon.

"Wasn't she Dionysusmon's toy?" Asked one of the females.

"The one that spoke is Anankemon; the one that spoke before is Biamon; the one that hasn't spoken is Atemon and the guy is Kratosmon. Anankemon has powers over fate; Biamon forces others to do her will; Atemon tricks others and Kratosmon has amazing strength. In other words, there's nothing special about them other than they live among us."

"Don't you downgrade our status!" Kratosmon said.

"I'll downgrade you as much as I want. As for the mortal, she's mine now."

"Didn't think you…"

"We're leaving now." She walked away before Atemon spoke. There was a long silence before she spoke, "Don't worry about them. They have nothing better to do than waste others' time."

"Nice servant, are you keeping her?" Asked a new voice. This time, it came from my side.

"Adikiamon, yet another lowlife that has nothing else better to do. Her powers are to make others do illegal things. But she gets her kicks by making someone inside here do them."

"I guess that means that you are keeping her. Could I borrow her some time?"

"No." She walked on.

"I didn't know that Deities can be so weird."

"You would be too if you were fixed on living here the rest of your life."

A female and a male Deity came walking down towards us.

"Isn't that…"

"This is Heliosmon and Selenemon. They're the titans that originally held the positions of Sun and Moon. Nice to see you guys again." She moved fast pass them. I figured that she didn't want to Heliosmon to finish his question and that I would never find out why.

Then we were approaching this grand door, "I didn't think you guys had doors in the past."

"We did." The doors opened and we walked inside. There was this man and lady sitting up high on their thrones with two ravens near the man. "Zeusmon and Heramon, this is Lily Dawn, the one that Dionysusmon brought in."

"Then why isn't he here presenting her?" Heramon asked.

"Because he had left her in my care. That's why she has that band around her wrist."

"Well, at least I've seen her face. So she's the one that Dionysusmon believes has some special power that we can use. She doesn't seem to be much." Zeusmon said.

"When you find out what that power is, bring her back here." Heramon said.

"Of course." We left the place.

"That was smooth."

"They're not interested in the small details too much."

"What power were they talking about?"

"Dionysus believes that you have some hidden power store within you that might decide the ultimate hand on who wins. Who knows, maybe you do."

"Who do you think has it?"

"I don't know. I have a wish but that's all I'm going to tell you." We were suddenly in an area where there were many didn't kinds of scenery. "This is the land of the Nymphs."

"No mon?"

"They have their own individual names that have the added 'mon'. The ocean nymphs are called Oceanidsmon; the sea nymphs are called Nereidsmon; the freshwater nymphs are called Naiadsmon; the forest and trees nymphs are called Dryadsmon; the ash tree nymphs are called Heliadsmon; the fens nymphs are called the Heleadsmon; the mountain nymphs are called Oreadsmon; the valley nymphs are called Napaeaemon; and the sheep protector nymphs are called Epimeliadsmon. Some Deities use them to carry out their work, like our own squads of henchmen."

"Shouldn't they be unhappy about that?"

"I guess but they haven't spoken up about it yet so the others are safe to use them." She continued walking along her path.

"This is Poseidonmon, the ruler of the oceans and seas." Lethemon introduced me to a man that looked similar to Zeus but a lot more built.

"So she's the one that Dionysusmon brought in. Maybe you should allow him to have his way with her."

"Maybe on another day, Poseidonmon." We walked out. "You're very popular around here."

"Maybe because I'm new and you guys haven't gotten out much."

"I guess that is true. Okay, we're going to the Underworld for our cult."

"Should I be worry or something?"

"Not really." I saw a ferryman on a boat but the boat was in the air. "This is Charonmon; he's the ferryman that takes souls and people across the river Styx to meet the dead." She handed him some kind of money and got in. "It's safe to ride in."

So I got in, "Why is there no water here?"

"Because the river became Styxmon."

"Then shouldn't the river return?"

"No, it doesn't."

I looked at the area where Matt's beloved Digimon once dwell (I just realized how naively innocent she made herself to be…). It wasn't that long before we reached land again, though we were surrounded by land since we're in a cave. We got out and she led me into a room where three ladies were attending to threads.

"These are the Fate Sisters. Clothomon is the one that spins the thread for every Digimon and person; Lachesismon assigns destinies; and Atroposmon cuts the thread at death." I was able to see who was who by their jobs.

"Did you came to find out if I do have it or not?"

"No, you can't ask them that. Not even Zeus can ask them that. But, if someone ever suddenly falls ill it might be someone here causing it. Other Deities can come in here to mess around with mortal lives."

"Shouldn't they stop them?"

"They only do sometimes, when it's really important." We left them to their work.

We passed this house that seemed to be there for no really purpose.

"This is the house of Acheronmon. Digimon come to him to reveal their sufferings to him. He doesn't get too many Digimon anymore since not that many Digimon know about him."

"Should he be really sad himself and not want to take upon that responsibility?"

"Someone has to do it. Oh, I forgot to tell you that the ravens are Digimon too. They come from the Norse. The one on the left side is Huginmon, translated is Thought, and the other is Muninmon, translated is Memory. Zeus used them to gather information throughout the worlds to see what he can do with it."

"Then shouldn't he already know who's in this group?"

"They're not that good. Oh, here we are." We were in front of another throne room but this time, it was a lot dimmer. Persephoremon was sitting there with a man next to her and an old lady with three heads but two without an eye. Each head only had one eye slot.

"I see that you've kept your word about showing her around." Persephoremon said.

"Why would I not keep my word?"

"You're not a very trusting character." Hadesmon said.

"Well, there's nothing else that I can do with her other than show her around."

"A lot of energy is coming from her." Said the head in the middle, which currently had the eye.

The eye was moved to the one of the left, "Maybe Dionysusmon was right, for once."

It moved to the right, "She is strongly connected to this world."

Hadesmon came closer to me, "Legendary Digidestined, eh? Well, this is a treat. Are you on our side or not?"

"We chose what side we're on. We understand that every Digimon is different so we treat them differently. If you fight us, we fight back."

"Honest answer. Okay, you may leave now." We left them as well.

"Am I done?"

"You are."

"Now what?"

"I'm going to stage you're release. That was part of my deal with Persephore."

"Why?"

"She doesn't like how some Deities take mortals as pets or servants."

"Why did you agree to help?"

"I don't know. Guess I was just bored. Oh, and my advice with Apollo is wait until he's ready to tell you how we know him."

"Can you talk about it here?"

"Yea, Hades doesn't always follow Zeus so we're safe."

"Why?"

"Everyone knows that Dionysus got you from him. They know that you're connected to him. He's bond to us until he dies, him and his sister. So once he's ready to tell you, he will but not before hand."

I was afraid they had some hold on him. There was no way that Apollo could've otherwise known about Dionysusmon. "Okay, I won't ask."

"Good. That means that you can't ask us either and don't let anyone tell you anything about his relationship with us."

"I promise. I'm going to wait for him to tell me."

"Good." She smiled sweetly before paying Charonmon.

"Why do you have to pay him?"

"It's his rule." She took off the band. "I can't believe everyone fell for it."

"For what?"

"This wasn't activated at all and it's real easy to take off too." She tossed it to the narrow pathway to the right of us.

"Why are you letting me go?"

"There's really no point in keeping you. Your group still has a lot of growing to do."

"Are you able to leave this realm?"

"Of course."

"And would anyone think twice about it?"

"Not really, why?"

"Because you seem really nice, not to mention that you saved me earlier today. I have this play that I'm dancing in tonight. You could ask Apollo to take you."

She seemed speechless, "You… really want me… to come?"

"Yea, it would show my gratitude for all of your help. Like I said earlier, we fight if we're attacked upon. Not only that, but I think we also chose who we want to fight as well individually."

"Thanks, you might see me there." Charonmon landed.

"This is a different stop." I looked at Lethemon.

"This is the exit that's outside our barrier. That way you can meet up with your friends faster."

I got out of the boat, "Is this where I can come back if I want to talk to you again?"

She reached into her purse and handed me some old, foreign coins, "Use these to get a ride. I didn't think you're group was like this but I guess I was mistaken."

"We're different from the others."

"Oh, you may tell the others about me but don't reveal my name."

"I won't since I'm guessing that you don't want the person to know who you are yet."

"That's right."

"Thanks for all your help."

"You're welcome." Charonmon pushed off and they started floating away. "Until we meet again."

I smiled then walked out of the cave I placed the coins in my pocket, that way I won't forget them. She didn't seem that bad, even though I don't know what her powers are.

Nereida

We were fighting against Digimon that was half horse and man that walked on two legs. Everyone was doing pretty well fighting them off. Bellimon was staying with us since Lily Dawn wasn't here.

"There doesn't seem to be any way to break this barrier." Ken said since he was analyzing their force field.

"Guys, we can leave now!" We all turned to see Lily Dawn running towards us.

"Lily Dawn!" Panther said with a lot of joy.

She smiled back but then one of the Digimon noticed her and fired an energy sphere at her.

"Bellimon Digievolves to………………………… Gloomon! Fear!" Bellimon turned into a purple stem flower with rounded petals. She shot a mental wave that somehow disrupted the energy and disbursed it.

Then there was a sound that came from the forest near Lily Dawn.

"We will not allow you to leave here alive!" Said on of the three females that were launching at Lily Dawn, but for some reason, she didn't seem all that worried. That's when her amulet started to glow and vibrant a purplish color, shooting a beam at Gloomon.

"Gloomon Digievolves to…………………………… Vilmon!" This time she evolved into a leaner steam with larger, rounded petals. "Paralyzed!" A spore was spray from her center of her head and it completely paralyzed them, whoever they were.

"Let's get out of here before it wares off." Lily Dawn said and Ryan opened the portal.

We ended up landing at the run down part of town.

"Are you alright?" Panther asked, making me noticed that Bellimon was now a larkspur flower.

"I'm fine. A River Deity protected me while I was there."

"A River Deity?" Ryan asked.

"Yea, I promised her that I wouldn't say her name but I did manage to meet Zeus and a lot of other Deities while I was there. I'm betting that we're not going to meet most of them as well. Where's Apollo?"

"I told him to meet us at the play tonight."

"So what's your new name?" Lily Dawn looked at the In-training from of Bellimon.

"I'm Larkspurmon." She said with a smile.

"Cute name."

"Hey, since we have some time to kill, let's head over to Tim's house and eat something." Ceres said.

"Sounds like a good idea; we were worried sick about you." Panther said.

"Sorry to make you worry. As we're eating, I'll tell you as much as I can about what happened." We all walked over to our house.

Hebe

Apollo was really stressed out. He came in, telling us that Dionysus had taken Lily Dawn to the Digital World. His only hope rested in her friends. There was a knock at the door and we really thought it would be Dionysus gloating over his victory but instead it was Lethemon.

"What do you want?" Apollo asked in a harsh manner.

"Is that anyway to talk to someone who just saved your lover?"

"What!" He got up.

"She's safe with her friends now. Dionysus did nothing to her."

"Wait… Shouldn't you say 'mon'?"

"I'm following your lead when I'm around anyone that cares. Oh, she also wants me to come to this play of hers."

"You… didn't tell her about me…"

"Of course not. I even gave her advice in not asking you anything until you're ready to talk."

"Why are you helping us?" I asked.

"Jeez, everyone thinks that I have a hidden motive. Look, I know how much she loves him and I don't want something like this to get in the way. She's a really nice person, and brave. Not many mortals would still hold a strong face with what Dionysus was thinking about doing to her."

"If he ever does something to her, he'll regret it." Apollo threatened.

"Why did he take her in the first place?" Artemis asked.

"Because he believed that she holds some power that can shift the balance of power. But do note that everyone now knows that she's a Legendary Digidestined so they'll be going through your guys' lives and the trio brothers to see if you know anymore."

"Luckily we don't know any others."

"Artemis, I'm hanging out with Thoth. I know that you guys know who the Legendary Digidestined are."

"You seem to like gathering information a little too much." Apollo said.

"I'm not going to do anything to them nor will I give it up to the others. I'm with the Egyptians now."

"And what about your last sister?"

"She has her own issues to work out. Sense me out when you're ready to leave." Then she left.

"Can we trust her?" I asked.

"We have to… Lily Dawn thinks she can be trusted so I have to do the same." Apollo sat down on the couch.

"At least you know that she was safe during her stay." Artemis said.

"That's true."

Lily Dawn

I told everyone what happened to me while I was there. I told them everyone that I met and what they're able to do. I didn't mention that Thoth was looking at someone for Lethe but I did tell them that they know who we are. They're not going to tell anyone else either since they don't care what the Greek Deities do.

Then it was time for my play. It was really awesome performing in front of a big audience. I saw in the back Apollo and Lethe standing near the doors. I smiled and during one of the dances that I had a solo on, I pour more soul into it to show her my gratitude. I also managed to see that Stan was sitting close to Panther. The whole play went smoothly. Our director was really happy since some suits were there to give out a scholarship to who they thought was the best dancer. Once it was over, I noticed that Apollo was standing near my dressing room.

"I'm so glad that you're safe." I said as I hugged him.

"I should be the one saying that. I'm so sorry that you were put through that."

"I'll tell you why it was worth it some other time but letting you know that you don't have to tell me anything about why you know them. I just want you to know that I'll get you out of their bond somehow."

He stared at me with confusion for a few moments before smiling, "Thank you for your help. I sincerely hope that you do find some way."

I smiled then we kissed. I heard screaming so I looked to see that one of my friends was running up to me. "Lily Dawn, Lily Dawn, you won, you won!"

"What?" I was confused as to what she was talking about since it seemed out of the blue. She pulled me to the front stage and everyone cheered. The person shook my hands and congratulated me on a well done performance. All my friends did the same thing, except that they hugged me for it. Once that was done, I went back to where Apollo was but he wasn't there. I got dressed and went over to my friends, who all praised me for a well done performance as well.

At home, Stan cooked dinner. Panther didn't make any comments about his cooking, but I didn't except her to. Afterward, Stan wanted me to explain what happened today but I couldn't tell him. So I just said I was tired from all of today and went straight to bed.

Hebe

The door opened and the three sons walked in with some kind of mix emotion on their faces.

"What's wrong?" Artemis asked.

"And why are you so late?" Apollo asked.

"Dionysusmon just gave us our new orders." And they went to bed.

We all knew that that wasn't good.

Wow… this is a really short chapter… But that's okay… It's probably better for you anyway… I wonder who Lethemon is searching for… At least she's not really bad… She might appear to be but she really isn't… Well… Bye!


	20. Chap 19 The Destiny Stones are the Signa...

Letting you readers know that it's November, it was the same for the last chapter as well. It's the next day… Yea… Okay, I'm going to start now…

Neon

Fuhai, Shikyo and Karu were all standing outside the school. None of the other kids were caring that they were there. They looked like they had no expression on their face. "Don, let me handle this."

"Okay." I knew that he saw them in the same way that I did.

I walked up to them, feeling like I knew what they wanted. Though I was the one that would be talking, Don was still with me. "Do you have something that needs to be talked about?"

"It's about your friend. We know that at least you two are part of the Legendary Group." Karu said, implying Lily Dawn since he didn't look over at Don.

"So, you are Digimon. We had our thoughts about it but we never dug deeper." I allowed them to know that I meant Don.

"Don was there too?" Fuhai questioned.

"Yes, I was the one that got two of them out of the door." Don answered.

"We were given orders to find out all of the Legendary Digidestined." Shikyo said.

"We're not giving them up, if you were hoping for that."

"We already have an idea on who they are, but we don't want to go through it." Karu said. My guess is that his fear is that Kari is in this as well, and whatever plan they have, he doesn't want her to be involved.

"And why don't you want to?" I asked.

"For starters, you two helped us out without thinking what could happen to you." He looked at my children, "And we're very grateful for that."

"And when you help us out, you have gain favor with the Gods and Goddesses." Fuhai said.

"We didn't do it for favoritism. We were just worried about you guys."

"Then you do deserve our blessings." Shikyo said.

"We're not looking for gratitude. Please, don't waste your energy."

"If you insist then, but tell us, why did you care?"

"Call it a feeling that something wasn't right. But you could do us a favor, what are your real names?"

"I am known as Aither." Karu said.

"Thanatos" Shikyo said.

"Hypnos." Fuhai said.

"No 'mon'?"

"We have gotten use to hearing our names without the 'mon' that we just picked it up." Thanatos said.

"Thank you. Are you planning on reporting us to the higher deities or are you going to forget about it?"

"We know that Lily Dawn has a lot of friends." Aither said as they were walking away.

"I guess we're allowed to tell the others." Don said as they walked into the school.

"I think we should."

"Okay." We walked in as well.

"Who would've thought that they were Deities?" Ken said once we told them everything we found out. We also told them about when saved them.

"I guess we can't reveal ourselves, even if we know who they really are." Kari said.

"But I wonder why they don't want to listen to the orders they were given?" Ryan said.

"That is odd, since you would think that they would be in the Digital World a lot." Damon said.

"Didn't you say that they're surrounded by Deities that don't call each other 'mon'?" Nereida asked.

"We did." Don said.

"Then maybe they're the ones that have softened their hearts to the plan that they were sent here to do. I believe that we can trust them enough let them know a few things through Lily Dawn, Neon, and Don."

"You guys are going to have to decide that sometime later." TK said. "After all, without Matt here, you all have to agree on whatever action to take."

Everyone was looking at TK. He was acting gloomy, which wasn't him at all.

"Are you okay, TK?" Panther asked.

"I'm fine. Why ask?"

"That wasn't your normal self." Ceres said.

"Well, it is true. Matt will be back by the end of next month and anything is able to happen during that time."

We all thought that he was now worrying about Matt's troubles when he comes back to Earth. He told us that Matt was warned about it, but I guess that never ease the mind completely.

"Class, get into your seats." And we all went.

I started noticing that a lot of my classes are becoming increasingly annoying. There's only Math, Music and Voice that I'm enjoying. Don doesn't want me to tell the others about the three different personalities inside of me. I know that they're my kids, but I understand that they have to be strong to control my thoughts. I wanted to know what kind of power they had, I wanted to know what their destiny will be, there were so many questions but I couldn't ask them. Don was keeping my questions silent. Mackenzie-san seemed to understand something, so she helps me a lot.

"I'm glad that you three are here today." She said with a warm smile as we entered the classroom.

"I'm sorry, it was a real emergency." Lily Dawn said.

"I understand. I covered for Panther saying that I went over to your house to check up on her."

"She'll greatly treasure it."

"Good. Now, you may take your seats." We went over. Mackenzie-san gave me a seat with her, and Don was near the front, so that way I don't have to walk that much.

"So what are you planning on doing for recovery?" Mackenzie-san asked quietly since the others were doing work. All I had to do was copy the notes and do the homework, she doesn't want to over work me.

"Ceres told me that I had to wait for about a month but she thinks that she knows a way for that process to go faster." (Remember, Ceres is telling her how to bare her kids)

"Okay, well, I'll give you my number some day soon so you can call me if you need me to get you anything."

"Thanks."

"By the way, have you noticed the different tones within your voice?"

I couldn't believe that she would noticed, "Don has mentioned them."

"There's a superstition that if you don't have mood swings, but new tones and abilities then your kids have a special gift."

"Really?"

She nodded, "It's not a popular one since not too many people have that feeling. That's what happened with my siblings and me, according to our Grandfather."

"Wow, he must've very intelligent."

"He was, and he was very wise and kind. We grew up with him in our lives for the most part."

"Does anyone take after him?"

"Date-san does a lot, since he trained directly under him."

"I hope that my kids will have their Grandfather and mother in their lives."

"I'm sure that their lives will be filled with adventures and happy memories."

I smiled, glad to hear the optimism.

"You and Mackenzie-san seem to be getting closer and closer with every class." Lily Dawn said as we walked out of her class.

"Yea, it's great to talk to her."

"I like the fact that she can use this style with all of her classes and not make it look like favoritism." Don said.

"Well, see you guys at lunch." Lily Dawn said as she walked off.

"Take it easy." Don kissed my head before I walked into my music class.

Kari

"TK, what's on your mind?" I asked. TK was being unusually quiet today.

"I'm thinking about Matt and me."

"Why?" Class hadn't started yet so we had some time to talk.

"There are so many unanswered questions that we want answered. We just want to remember our lives."

"Don't you know your lives?" This was getting me worried.

"No, we don't. There's a part of our lives that's missing and we don't really understand why."

"I'm sure that you'll find the answers."

"I know we will as well. It's just the waiting that's getting me." He smiled his humorous one. I smiled back, glad to see that he was back to normal.

TK

After the study session, they were talking about what they're going to do about three brothers. They would've talked about it during lunch but they had to act like they weren't the Legendary Group.

"I say that we change our name." Ceres said.

"Why? What's wrong with the Legendary Digidestined?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Because it's too long for our enemies to say."

"It wasn't created to have an easy saying."

"But don't you think that we should create a name for ourselves? I mean, we're wiser because we have a different past. Our past is much different from the others."

"That's why we're the Legendary."

"But we're no longer Legendary. Everyone knows that we've come out in the open. Our powers maybe legendary but we're not. We're still new, new in the past, new in the present, and new in the future. Our power doesn't come out all the time."

"Then what would you think our name should be?" Panther asked.

"Neo Digidestined."

"Neo?" Damon questioned.

"Yea, Neo means new. The New Digidestined. Doesn't that roll off your tongue?"

They were all thinking about it. This was an important decision that they all knew was simple to answer.

"Okay. So that's our new name." Ken said.

"Now that we got that off the topic, let's go back to the brothers." Panther said.

"I don't know if we should tell them everything. Could we really trust their word that they won't break?" Kari asked.

"That is one aspect of it. But we don't know if they're telling the truth now."

"Deities are very honorable beings. They won't go back on their word." Ceres said.

"Besides, they can change their loyalties and display that they they're still with the other." Lily Dawn said.

"Okay, we'll decide at another time. There are many factors that we have to think about. And once we do, we must all agree to it. Matt might be a temporary leader, but he's the closest one that we have right now." Panther said.

Everyone knew that Matt was their leader, even if he didn't call himself that. Panther isn't really taking over his spot; she was given a mission by Matt to carry out. She wants to do the best that she can, since she doesn't want to worry about him too much.

"Okay, we'll come to a conclusion another time. Well, see you guys later." Nereida said, and everyone left.

"TK, why are you thinking about that ghost girl?" Ken asked when we were away from the others.

"I'm not. I'm thinking about Matt's girl. I've been focusing on mine that I forgot about his."

"Are you going to do something about that?"

"Yea, I'm going to his producer."

"What if he doesn't know who you're talking about?"

"It doesn't hurt to see, does it?"

"I guess not. Let me know what you find then."

"Okay."

He walked towards his house and I ran over to the place that they performed many times. It wasn't that hard to find the producer, since he was more than happy to talk to me.

"I'm glad to see you, TK. I hope this means that the band might get back together." He said with his usually happy tone.

"I can't promise that. I was actually here to see if you knew what Diana's role was with the band."

"Don't you know?"

"Matt had never really told me."

"What brought this question?"

"Well, we lost touch with her so I was wondering if you could give anything about her role here, for Matt's sake."

He stared at me for a good while before talking again, "Well, she was a good person. She was by his side every moment that I saw them. She was their agent, and she was really good at it. She made it possible for Matt to only worry about his music. I realized that once she left. Even when he was going out with that other girl, she never left him. I knew that she was sad. He never understood how much she loved him. I guess that he was just blind to it. Most girls would just leave, give up right there, but not her. She held on her hope. What made her leave?"

"Matt has never really told me."

"Maybe… no, once they broke up, Matt was really depress. It was hard for him to think straight. Though some of his happiness returned after a year but I never learned why. Do you know?"

"Not really." I can't believe that everything is falling into place. I mean all of our missing memory. They all surround Diana and Kitty.

"Well, her roles were to maintain the equipment, collect tickets, pay the expenses, sale their image, give me a copy of any songs they were finished with, arrange their public appearances, the last idea that she gave me was that she was thinking about giving them outfits for a special concert. She was an expert, no matter how young she was. Did you know that she adopted the name Ishida since she lived with them?"

"Really? Wow, I thought that she still kept her last name."

"Now thinking about it, I never learned her true last name."

"Thanks for telling me. I'm sure we'll find her some time. Oh, there is one thing that I have to ask. We have this friend that's looking to being a singer. She's really good too."

"Bring her in some time and I'll have a listen."

"How about in a few hours?"

"She can be here that quick?"

"I think so."

"Okay, I'll wait."

I walked out and called Neon. She said that she can be there within minutes, since her mother was home. I waited outside since I knew it wouldn't be that long before she got here. When a car came up to the door quickly, Don and Neon jumped out before it sped away.

"You were spending the night over or something?" I asked.

"Not really. They picked me up." Don answered and we headed inside.

He was less enthused when he saw Neon walking towards him. Neon explained to him that her pregnancy hasn't affected her singing at all so he allowed it. She sang one of her own songs that she wrote herself. It was beautifully sung and she didn't sound like anything was bothering her. Of course, this impressed him greatly.

"Okay," He said once she was done, "I think that I know a way to introduce you to the public. You're going to be an opening act."

"Thank you very much."

"TK, do you think that Matt would be interested in doing one, last concert before really putting up the guitar?"

"I'll ask him when he comes back."

"Good. He should have the others numbers. Have him call me when they have come to a decision."

"I will, thanks for listening to her."

"It was a pleasure."

She bowed before we left.

"Thank you so much, TK." Neon said.

"Yea, this means the world to her."

"I know. Now you have a spot to shine. I'm sure that Matt will make a new song just so you can sing with him."

"That's right; I don't think I've heard him sing before." Neon said.

"I can't remember if he sung at our wedding." Don was trying to remember but it wasn't working (he didn't, all he did was play his harmonica).

"If he didn't, then you'll hear him now."

"Yep and thanks again. See you tomorrow." They left and I left to Ken's house.

"So, Diana was greatly involved with Matt's life." Ken said as he listened to my tale.

"Yep, and she also had his last name. I don't think too many people could claim that."

"True but still, how could he forget about someone like that?"

"It was a powerful spell that was cast upon us."

"And that part can't be helped. I guess we do have to find out as much as possible from Kitty."

"You're accepting that it was her?"

"I knew that you were thinking about her. We were in the Digital World and you were wondering if the mystery Digimon that Lily Dawn met is her."

"Wow… you're good."

"I'm glad that you noticed. Now, what are we going to do about that?"

"If we go the Digital World, we have to give some kind of an excuse to Izzy and come up with some purpose for the others."

"Izzy is a bit easy and it's easier for the others."

"That's true."

There was a knock at the door, "Ken, it's your friend Izzy." Ken's mother called.

He got up and opened the door. "Thanks mom." She handed over the phone to him.

Ken

I was wondering why Izzy was calling me since my chatting screen name was up. "Hi Izzy, what's up?"

"Ken, where's TK? There's something very urgent that you guys need to be here. I can't seem to be able to get his cell phone and he's not picking up his house one."

"I know where he is, we'll be there in a few minutes." He hanged up.

"What was that about?" TK asked as I hit the off button.

"Izzy wants us over at his place. It seems to be very urgent."

"Okay." He got up and we headed out. It didn't take us long to get over to his house and we discovered that everyone was here. We knew that this wasn't good if both groups were here.

"Everyone, one of the Destiny Stones has been destroyed." Izzy said, getting a reaction from everyone.

"Who would do something like that again?" Davis was getting mad.

"Don't worry; we'll stop whoever it is." Kari said.

He looked right at TK, "Are you sure? What if he takes pity on the Digimon?"

TK just looked at him, with no emotion on his face. I knew that was more dangerous since he was choosing his words carefully. Fortunately for Davis, Izzy interrupted the stares, "Davis, Azulongmon has something to talk to you guys about. Gennai didn't tell me what it was, but only your group is able to go."

"When does he want us to go to the Digital World?"

"Tomorrow, so after school, go straight to the Digital World."

"We will, Izzy." Yolie said.

"Okay, so once you're done, email one of us as we'll come to the Digital World. Izzy, you'll stay here to coordinate our actions. Cody, Ken, if one of you guys want to come back here to help him, you may. He would only need one." Tai said, taking his leadership again.

"I'll stay here." Everyone was surprised to see Yolie volunteering herself.

"Okay, everyone is going to break into groups. Only one group is going to have three. We'll decide that tomorrow when we met up again."

Everyone left. TK was silent, deadly silent. Kari had stayed behind for some reason but it was obvious that TK didn't want to stay with them.

"I didn't think you were so sensitive about it."

TK stopped in his tracks; even Patamon had a worried look on his face, "It's not that, Ken."

I walked up to him, "What's the matter?"

"I feel like I don't belong here anymore."

"What are you talking about? Of course you belong here. You were one of the original seven. You know just as much as any of the others."

"That's not what I mean… I feel like I don't belong anywhere. I'm just there in the Neo group because of Matt. It feels like I'm there out of pity or something. Here, everyone knows that I'm like Matt so they use whenever there's an opportunity to stab at him through me. I don't think I belong anywhere."

"TK, you belong here, you belong in the Neo group. No matter what anyone says, you belong here."

"Thanks Ken," he was smiling his unbelieving one, which is a rare one, "But I know what I see."

"TK…"

"You can't tell me otherwise."

"Is that why you weren't acting like yourself this morning?"

"Yea… I am not really in that group, so why should I have a say on what goes on there? I'm only there because of Matt. And now, it seems like I can never get back into the group that I belong to."

"What about the first group? You still belong to them."

"Maybe… maybe not, both groups are intertwined."

"Why do you doubt yourself now? You know where you belong."

"I just don't feel it anymore." He started to walk away.

I didn't understand why TK was acting like this. I knew that it wasn't because of Matt; this was much deeper than that. "TK, is this because of Kitty?" He stopped in his tracks again. "Well?"

"… I don't know. It might have to do with a lot of things. She might be part of it."

"Tomorrow, we're teaming up."

He turned around with wondered in his eyes, "I put that much together."

"But I bet that you were thinking that Kari will be with us. She's not."

He turned fully around, "Why?"

"Because you're hurting too much for her to understand. Let's not worry her too much."

"What about the others?"

"We'll tell them not to worry about us."

"Alright then, it's just us two."

"Good because we're going to have a long talk about what's making you think this way."

"Right." He walked away.

"What do you think it is?" Wormmon asked.

"I think that it has a lot of things. There's a lot of weight that he feels are on him." We headed home as well.

Kari

All the 'younger' Digidestined had left but me. All the 'older' Digidestined were waiting for this, I could see it in their eyes. They wanted to ask me something, maybe even TK and Ken if they had stayed. TK wasn't himself today, so I didn't except them to stay for too long, especially since Davis picking at his last nerve. I wanted to find TK since I was really worried about him, but I could see it in my brother's eyes that he wanted me here.

"They left." Mimi said, acting like a lookout.

"Good," Tai said, the atmosphere wasn't feeling good right now. I remembered that Ceres once told everyone that if something doesn't feel right, try to get out of the place. Unfortunately, I couldn't do that, "Kari, we need you to tell your group to watch two of the stones."

"You mean that two stones would be unprotected?" I didn't think that Tai was so careless, but remembered that he was probably expecting them to watch them. "But wouldn't Gennai be watching?"

"He might be, but would you rather have two stones safe than their secrecy?" I didn't like the fact that he was going to risk them. He doesn't own them, but I understand what he wanted. I wasn't sure if I could give it to him.

"I'll let you know if they're going to or not when we meet up again."

"You're not sure if they'll do it?" Izzy asked. Everyone was surprised.

"I'm sure they will but they might have something else plan."

"Wouldn't you be able to explain to them how important this is?" Mimi asked.

"I know that I can, I know that TK and Ken will do the same."

"Then what makes you think that they might not?"

"I know that they won't… The reason why I have to give you their answer once we meet up again is because we've decided to make very decision about the group as a group."

"Isn't there someone that's the leader?" Sora asked.

"Yea, we have a leader."

"Then why can't that person make the call?" Tai asked.

"Because he's outer space; heading, landing, or on the Moon by now." I knew that Matt doesn't like to consider himself as the leader, probably because of whatever argument that him and Tai had in the past, but I knew that he was our leader.

"Matt? I thought that he didn't want the title?" Izzy asked.

"He doesn't, but it's handed to him anyway."

"Then try to point out all the reasons why they have to help. We can't do this successfully without them." Tai said.

"I will." I left. I could sense that something was changing in them. I didn't like the feeling. I also noticed it in Yolie and the others. Something is taking hold within them and they can't seem to get rid of it.

"Are you okay, Kari?" Gatomon asked.

"I want them back."

"Who?"

"Everyone; TK is changing into someone distant, and I don't want to lose him like Sora lost Matt; Tai and everyone else are becoming more demanding and unwilling. I just want everyone to go back to the way they were before."

"But what would be before?"

"I don't know… Maybe back when we defeated Malo Myotismon. Everyone was together then and we weren't divided."

"Give it time; I'm sure that it will all work out in the end."

"I hope so Gatomon." I didn't want to lose TK.

Nereida

"Of course we'll help out, right guys?" Ceres said, looking at everyone. It was clear that everyone was willing to help. After all, we're Digidestined too.

"But Kari does bring up a good point, how are we going to hide ourselves while we're protecting the other two stones?" Panther asked to everyone. "Someone that listens to Gennai might be watching."

"I say that only two people guard the two stones and then we'll split ourselves among the other groups." Neon said.

"But there would be one group that would be unprotected by us." Damon said.

"That's okay; TK and I are teaming up." Ken said. Kari didn't seem worry.

"Okay then, I say that we split up into groups of two. The one that's left goes with Kari, is that okay with you?" I asked.

"Yea. I'll be with Davis and Cody since Yolie will be with Izzy during all of this."

"We'll give Tim a call sometime later today. That way he'll know to meet us there." Damon said.

Ken brought out a map. Good thing they called us to tell us to come to the school early for some planning. "Okay, I marked all the areas that have a Destiny Stone. The one with the 'X' is the one that's destroyed."

"So that leaves six more to protect" Ryan said.

"I'll go with Kari since I could get my message across if I get something while we're there." Panther said.

"Then we'll go to the snow area." Kari said, pointing to it on the map and Ken wrote it down.

"I think I'm more useful in the mountain region." Ryan said.

"And I know that I could use the heat of the sun better around there since we would be closer to it." Don said. Ken wrote down their names.

"I'll be in the water area." I said.

"And I'll be with her." Damon said. Ken wrote down our names.

"I better take this area. It's too open for my personal taste but I'm sure that I can find something to use." Ceres said.

"I'm going with you. I could probably find something faster." Neon said and Ken wrote down their names.

"That leaves Tim and me to work together. We'll take this area." There seemed to be some structure there.

"Then TK and I will take Chinatown." Ken said, writing down the last of the names.

"Okay, then after school, we're heading to the Digital World to talk to Azulongmon. You guys can listen in if you want." Kari offered.

"Whose he?" Ceres asked.

"He's the Digimon that guards the Eastern region of the Digital World. He also is the guardian of hope and light. He was once trapped within the Destiny Stones when Dark Master ruled the Digital World, maybe before that time." TK said.

"So is it safe to assume that he's no longer bond to the stones?"

"It is."

"So what are so important about the stones?" Panther asked, making everyone realize that we just jumped into something without looking fully around. If Panther didn't know about them, then they mightn't have told her about this period of time either.

"The stones help keep the balance of the Digital World. My guess is that it acts as a barrier so not so many Digimon can be here in our world." Ken said.

"But that can't be true since they're probably a lot of Super Levels here." Lily Dawn said.

"And not to mention that they could move freely through both worlds." Panther said.

"Maybe it's only works for the lower levels. Azulongmon himself is only a Mega."

"But there have been periods when Digimon have come to this world." Ceres pointed out.

"One time, they weren't really seen; another time, they came here on a mission and they're that many of them; they were in this world in a great abundance when the Digital World was in the sky; and then finally when there were a lot of Control Spires in our world. One could say that Digimon have appeared on this earth when Azulongmon was trapped and when he was regaining his strength." TK said.

"But what about the time that you guys saw that fight?" Panther asked, "The one that made you guys be chosen as Digidestined?"

"That was only two and the one that appeared on the computer was an accident."

"Didn't you once tell me that there was another group before you guys that took down Apocalymon? What happened to them?"

"We were never told what happened to them. Other than they were able to defeat him." Kari said.

"So there could've been another time in human history that Digimon have come upon the world." Ceres said.

"It's possible that there have been multiple times that they have come to our world, but why is that important?" Ken asked.

"Because that would mean that humans and Digimon have this special history that coincides with each other."

"Are we getting a little off the topic here?" Ryan asked.

"Oops, sorry." Ceres smiled.

"But Panther did bring up a good point. There was another group before TK and Matt's, what happened to their history?" Lily Dawn asked more to herself.

"Do you think that Horsemon might know what happened to them?" Damon offered.

"He hasn't left that area for a long time. I don't think he would know." Breomon said.

"Maybe Lightningmon would know! She knows a lot about other Digimon, I'm sure that she can find something on them." I said.

"I guess that's for a later adventure. Do you think that the brothers would know who is destroying the stones?" Kari asked.

"I'll ask them, since they know that I'm part of this group." Lily Dawn said.

"And tell them our new name." Ceres said.

"I will."

Hebe

"I can't believe that someone wants to destroy those worthless stones." Lethemon said when she came to visit us early in the morning.

"Does anyone know who it is?" Artemis asked.

"Yea, everyone knows that it's the group run by Collect Soulmon."

"Who?" Apollomon expressed all of our confusion. The brothers were here as well.

"Collect Soulmon is the Digimon that leads the Mystery Digimon. Hades managed to get information from the Digimon that were offered to go with her."

"What is he planning do to about it?"

"He can't really do anything about it. He only reported it to the others since she wasn't only taking Super Level data but also Human Souls that were still connected to us."

"How can everyone be sure that it's her?" Artemis asked.

"Because there's a rumor running around that says that she's looking for something within the Legendary Digidestined. It's not the same thing that Aphrodite and Dionysus are looking for though, so you can rest assured about that." It was obvious that Apollo was worried about Lily Dawn since he went there and found out that Dionysus was willing to have his way with her.

"Does she know where to look?" Artemis asked.

"No, if she did, she would've had a better plan then attacking a Destiny Stone."

"Is she planning on attacking another?" Aither asked.

"I'm not on her side so how should I know? The only thing that Zeus is worried about is that she'll discover the power within Lily Dawn. So we have permission to protect her."

"Is he looking for one of us to do it?" Thanatos asked.

"Yes, since you can be around her all day."

"I will protect her while they are in the Digital World. She hasn't met me yet so I can better hide myself among them." Artemis said.

"I guess I can watch her in every class period we have together." Hypnos said in an uncaring fashion.

"And what about the periods that you're not?" Lethemon asked.

"We'll keep an eye out for her, don't worry."

"Okay, I'll report this to Zeus. Have a nice day." She left.

"Artemis, can you watch Kari too?" Aither asked.

"I might not be able to but I'll try my best."

"I wish I can go but I think that it's best if I keep up whatever appearance I have with them." Apollo said.

"Aither, why don't you go with her? After all, they know that we're Digimon." Thanatos said.

"What do you think?" He looked at Apollo.

"I think you shouldn't since it's only the Legendary Digidestined, not all groups."

"Oh yea, I guess I figured that she was apart of it. Sorry." Thanatos apologized (it's really funny how close they are to knowing the truth but yet so far. Only Hebe, Artemis, and Apollo know the truth).

Lily Dawn

I walked up to Fuhai, who I now know as Hypnos. "Hypnos, do you know who's destroying the Destiny Stones?"

"You know about the Destiny Stones?"

"I know that at least one is destroyed. We want to know who is destroying them."

"It's the Mysterious Group of Digimon and their leader is called Collect Soulmon. That's all we know."

"Thanks. Oh, and our new name is Neo Digidestined. Spread that news around."

"Why?"

"Because Neo rolls off the tongue better than Legendary." I smiled before heading back to the others. _He knows now and he gave me the information that we needed._ I sent to everyone, not just to the people at this table, before sitting down. We talked about anything else, since they couldn't appear to be in Neo group (even though they have a feeling that they are apart of it… I'm sure they think that I'm apart of it too).

Ken

At the end of day, we rushed with Davis and Cody to the location that was picked out by Yolie. The others were able to follow us since we knew where we were going to meet her, at her house. TK slowed down a bit as we were coming closer to the building. He wasn't looking at anything, but he was holding Kari. I was just hoping that was a good sign.

"Good, I'm glad that you guys didn't have a study session day." Yolie said coldly.

"We wouldn't hold that with the Digital World in danger." I said, noticing that TK was just nuzzling Kari, as if ignoring Yolie (and I was too, I was talking to Kari during this).

She opened the portal and we were all sucked in. We landed in an open area that we hadn't been before. I was really worried that they weren't going to be covered. _Don't worry; Lily Dawn told me that there's something they can use around here._ Kari said through my mind. I nodded, since I'm not sure how this mind thing works when the link it cut off.

"How long are we going to wait for him?" Davis asked impatiently.

"He might be very busy." Cody offered nothing more than an excuse.

The sky started to get cloudy and blocked the sun. He appeared in front of us in all his glory. "Thank you for coming at just a dangerous time."

"Izzy told us that you wanted to talk to us." Davis said.

"Gennai, the other guardians, and I have discovered traces of a great power of the Digital World. This power might have the capability to allow your Digimon to reach the Super Level faster." That reminded me that we didn't tell them the purpose of the Jewels (yep, no one told them the true reason why we had the Jewels. Matt never told Izzy or Tai about it. Kari never told Tai or Yolie. Ken never told Yolie or Davis. I, of course, never told them since they're getting on my nerves).

"Really? Where can we find this power?" Cody asked.

"We're not sure where it's located since it's a very old site. It was supposed to be a ruin place." I knew that we were wondering what place he was talking about.

"How do you know that it's a ruin place if you don't know where it's located?" I asked.

"We have heard about it but it was only a rumor. But Gennai now strongly believes that it exists."

"Then you want us to go to this place to gain the power?" Kari asked. TK was still holding Kari, but he did look like he was paying attention. I'm sure that he was listening, but it would be something if he talked.

"Yes, but not now. The Destiny Stones are more important."

"How can we access the power? If it's in a place then it's going to be harder to get it." TK said, trying to show his warmth.

"We're not sure but we have full confidence that you will find a way."

"Thanks Azulongmon. We will find it at the next possible time." Yolie said, ending the session. As he started to leave, Lily Dawn came into my head (and ours too). _Guys we think that he was talking about the place where Horsemon is._

_Really? **Kari asked.**_

_Yea, since he said that it was only a rumor and that it was supposed to be a ruin place, we figured that it was that. The place is only a rumor. **Ceres said.**_

_Is someone going to warn him about it? **I asked.**_

_No one is going be near the place. It's on the far side of the world. **Tim said.**_

_Don't worry about it right now since they're not going to search for it when we have this crisis on our hands. **TK said which ended our mind conversation.**_

"I'll see you guys later." Yolie started to walk away, back to the TV that was there.

"How are we going to split up?" Davis asked.

"TK and I are going to take Chinatown." I said and we headed off once he gave Kari a goodbye kiss.

Kari

"And we'll take the snow area." I said with a smile.

"But why there?" Armadillomon asked.

"I figure that we should go there. Let me call Tai before we head over." I picked up my cell as Lily Dawn said that they were heading to their spots.

"Hello?"

"Tai, he talked to us and so we're about to head to our spot. Ken and TK got Chinatown and we got the snow place."

"Did you ask them?"

"I did and they don't mind coming along." I had to make it sound like it was Davis and Cody that I was talking about since they can't know that they're here.

"We'll talk about this some other time. We'll pick our spots when we arrive, just go to your spot."

"Right, over and out." I hung up and turned to face them, "Let's get going."

I started walking, not really waiting for them to answer me. I wanted to get out of there since I was worried about Panther.

_What were you talking about with your brother? **Panther asked. **_I had forgotten that she knew how mind reading works.

_He wanted to know if you guys were helping us. I had to make it sound like I was talking about Davis and Cody._

_Oh, okay. That would explain the coding in your words._

_Yep. It's really cold so you might want to think of someway to protect Plantmon._

_Thanks, I will._

"Why did Tai think what we wouldn't be with you?" Davis asked.

"I told him I thought that you two were going to be with me since I figured that TK and Ken would join up. He just wants to make sure that I'm safe."

"Why did those two pair off? I would think that TK would be with you and Ken and I would be with Davis." Cody said.

"They have something that only they can work out." I said with a smile, though I didn't even know myself. TK told me that it was about yesterday and the way he was acting. Ken offered to help so he took it. He told me that they're brother by relationship and he believes that he needs that now more than ever. I just hope that everything will be okay.

"I still believe that TK should be here with you. He's engaged to you after all. He has to protect you at all times." Davis said.

"And he does. He protects me all the time." I know he does.

"Then why isn't he here? I think that you're wasting your time."

"You're not still mad that TK is engaged to her and not you?" Cody asked.

"I'm not mad about that," and the funny thing was, I could see it on his face, "I just believe that if you love someone, you should very thing in your power to protect them."

"I thought she didn't like you." V-mon said before covering his mouth.

"What was that about?" Gatomon asked.

"Oh.. uhhhh… Nothing." He laughed nervously.

"THANKS A LOT, V-MON!" Davis said, turning red really quick.

"You're in love with someone? Who?" I was just being a girl now.

"Her name is Hoshi. She's in my Civic class."

"Is that the only time that you get to see her?" Cody asked.

"No."

"So that's why you haven't come by our table." I was wondering that for some time.

"Well, it's not like I'm welcomed there anyway."

"You are, no one feels threatened by you being there. You should bring her over sometime so we can meet her."

"Maybe." He smiled to himself.

"If he can ever get her to like him." V-mon said before Davis hit his head.

Neon

We got to the Destiny Stone before anyone else did.

"I wonder who is going to be here." Ceres said. We were standing on the cliff that was there so no one could spot us so easily.

"We'll find out soon enough, too bad that we won't be able to hear what they're talking about though."

"Why do you want to know what they'll talk about?" She looked at me.

"Because of Izzy, if TK feels that he can't be trusted with knowing more about us, what about the others? What ties do they have to keep our secrets?"

"You do have a point. So you think that they might talk about it while on guard duty?"

"I doubtful that the enemy would attack so soon, after all, they had a whole night and day to do something but they haven't yet."

"You do have a point. Okay, I'll send the same spell over to Don and Ryan. That way we can have a full understanding of any conversation that they'll have." (YES! I now know what Matt felt like when he couldn't get all conversations. I'm so glad that Neon is smart. Oh, Kari knew which ones the others were going to take, she just didn't tell everyone since she knew that it was useless information for them) Ceres closed her eyes and started chanting something. I didn't understand what she was saying but I didn't say anything. I looked down at the heart shaped stone. I wondered why someone was attacking it. If it was destroyed in the past, shouldn't they know not to do it again? "Okay, it's done."

"That's good. Should we meet back up before heading home?"

"To report what everyone discovered? I think we can do that at school."

"Speaking of which, we better get our homework done."

"Spoil my fun." She looked sad before sitting down and brought it out. I sat down as well, starting mine.

"Neon, it's Tai and Sora." Sakuramon said. I looked to see them walking up to the stone.

"Good, nothing seems to have disturbed it." Tai said as they were looking all around. The spell made it seem like we were right up there with them.

"They can't hear us, right?" I asked Ceres.

"It's a one way spell."

"I emailed Izzy." Sora said.

"I guess we better sit, it might be a while." Agumon said, so all of them sat down, facing our direction.

"Good, that means the sound is better." Ceres said.

"You've done this kind of spell before?"

"Of course."

I was wondering why but decided that it was best not to ask.

"Tai, how do you think Matt's doing?" Sora asked. I noticed that they were close to each other but something wasn't right about it.

"I'm sure he's fine. Matt's been up there many times before without any trouble." And there was something in Tai's voice what said he wanted to drop the subject.

"It's okay, Sora. Matt will be back." Biyomon said.

"Thanks Biyomon."

"That's odd." Ceres said.

"What?"

"I remembered that Panther told me that they were engaged but they sure don't act like it."

"I was wondering that. Why do you think that she's asking about Matt?"

"I'm not sure. We can ask someone that knows later though."

"What did Kari say about the Matt's group anyway?" Sora asked, looking at him.

"She said that they felt like coming. I just don't understand them. I thought I did when I talked to Matt."

"Do you think that you're going to get that leadership position?" Agumon asked.

"I hope so. That way Matt can't be so cocky and they won't just feel like helping out."

"You really think that Matt's being cocky?" Sora asked.

"Of course he is. He thinks that since he started this group that he can do whatever he wants without us being there."

"Maybe you're jealous that he got loyalty from the start."

"That's another thing. They're so loyal to him that they don't argue against him. What if he makes a mistake or something? He's too trusting." I noticed that Tai was now really worried. "He was taken in by Styxmon's words."

"I know. He needs to break free. This isn't healthy for him." Sora said.

"Talk about mood swings. Do you know what they're talking about? About Tai getting the leadership?" I asked.

"Yea, I was told that if there wasn't a leader among us then he would have it."

"Why?"

"That's what I was told. I think it had something to do with what Styxmon told him one time in his dreams. Panther told me that she once visited him there but stopped before they got Lily Dawn and Ryan."

"I see. I can tell that they're really worried about him too, no matter how much they might hate him."

"That still is yet to be seen with the other ones."

"True, I wonder why."

"They might reveal it."

I looked down at them, wondering why they're ties of friendship was stronger than the others. What made this group different from the other, other than they were first?

Ryan

"Neon texted me saying that Ceres placed a spell that would allow us to hear the conversation of the people that came here." Don said before closing his cell.

"I don't feel anything, do you?" We were near the stone, since Don can't stand heights.

"Nope but I'm sure that it'll work. I hope that we're well hidden here."

"Hey, we would be up there." I pointed to the top.

"But Don is afraid of heights." LDinomon said with a smile.

"I'm not scared. I just can't stand it for too long." He said in his defense.

"We have Joe and Mimi." Espomon said. We looked up to see them walking into the valley.

"Good, it's still safe." Joe said.

"Should we stay here?" Mimi asked as she was doing something.

"Yea, that way we can have a good overview."

"Blame my stomach, not me." Don said as we got into a better hiding position.

"I wasn't about to say anything." I said.

"I was talking to my partner, knowing that he would." He looked at him and LDinomon smiled.

"I guess we can't be too loud either, since the sound might carry." Espomon said.

"That's a good point." I said.

"I wonder who took all the data that Izzy had on Matt's group." Mimi asked more to herself.

"I'm sure that it was a Digimon. After all, who else would want something like that?"

"Should you guys be more worried about it then this? After all, they are Digidestined themselves." Gomamon said.

"But they're not our problem, they're Matt's." Mimi said.

"But they look up to you guys for wisdom and guidance." Palmon said.

"Not really. They look to Matt and the others for that. Maybe Yolie is right in we should see whether or not they're against the Digital World."

"After all, Tai did say that they felt like helping us." Joe added.

"I can't believe they're saying that." I said.

"I know, I mean we're protectors too so it's our duty to help them. Just because they're not allowed to see us doesn't mean anything." Don continued.

"We know that you're guys are the best." LDinomon said.

"Yea." Espomon added.

"Wait… Does that mean that they know about us?" Don asked more to himself and we all got quiet.

"I guess Tai had the right idea in grouping back together before they head to school." Mimi said, "That way we can ask her what she meant."

"When it's getting later, we'll eat." Joe said.

"We have to bring our own food?" I asked in disbelief.

"That's what it sounds like." Don said.

"We need some way of communicating to the others." I lay down, knowing that someone will contact us when they figured it out too.

Damon

Nereida dived down into the waters to see if it was still there. We were only going to tell Kari since the others weren't supposed to know that we were there. It didn't take her long to come back up.

"Well?" Lightningmon asked as she helped her out of the water.

"It's still there. Should I stay down there?"

"I don't think that's a good idea since no one else can be there with you. And it'll be too much on my part to move the water for a long period of time."

"You can ask someone if they can make a device so we can place it there." Huskimon suggested.

"But that will take time and time is in short supply." Lightningmon said.

"Well, I'll stay near the surface so that way you guys know that I'm still there." Nereida said.

I didn't like the idea, but we didn't have much choices, "All right, but do come up and talk to us. Give us a report every 30 minutes, got it?"

"Right Damon." She back-flipped into the water.

"Are you sure that's a good idea? We can't protect her that way." Lightningmon said.

"But we can't follow her, so we have to trust her."

Tim

Lily Dawn and I reached the castle thing that we were supposed to go to. There was a stone there with a golden band around it with weird markings.

"That's it." Larkspurmon said.

"**Yes, and it is unharmed.**"

"Good. I'll let Kari know." Lily Dawn said as we landed.

"What are the marks?" I asked the Digimon.

"There's a rumor that they're same markings as Gatomon's tail ring, but no one knows for sure." Larkspurmon explained.

"So no one has translated them?"

"Not that we know of, it is possible that Gennai did."

"But didn't they tell us that Azulongmon was trapped here by the Dark Masters?" Lily Dawn spoke once she was done, "Wouldn't that mean that they placed the rings there?"

"But then they wouldn't still be here." I pointed out.

"If their purpose was to seal Azulongmon… but there is that possibility that they're placed to seal the power of the stones themselves."

Lily Dawn did bring up a good point. "I guess I have to bring some of my testing supplies the next time."

"What is there to test?"

"I want to know if it's something physically powerful or mystically."

"I guess we should know that." She looked around. "I'm going to see what's around here."

"Good idea, we should know what this building was used for before it was destroyed. I'll stay here for now. Let me know if you found anything." I lay down near the stone and closed my eyes.

"Right." I heard her walking away.

Ken

It took us a while to reach Chinatown but it still looked the same way. We walked into the same restaurant but the same Digimon weren't there. We looked all over the place but found no Digimon anywhere.

"This is work, you would think that this town would be up and running." TK said when we went back to the front.

"I don't think that this is a good thing. We better check that pond." I said and we headed for it. Luckily, the Destiny Stone was still there but the soup that was there was gone.

"I guess that would explain the business shortage." Patamon said.

"But how are we going to get food?" Wormmon asked, sounding worried.

"I guess we see if there are any ingredients that we can use." TK said.

We headed inside of the restaurant to see that there wasn't anything left. As a matter of fact, only the buildings and plants were still here. "I'm going to email Yolie about this." I took out my D-Terminal and asked her 'what are we going to do about food'. She replied 'you were supposed to bring food with you'. 'You didn't tell us that yesterday, how are we supposed to know that'. 'Isn't there food at Chinatown?' 'No, no one is here and everything is gone'. 'Email Davis or Cody; see if they knew that they had to bring food'.

"Well?" TK asked.

"I have to check something with Cody." 'Cody, did you knew that we had to bring food?'

Kari

We reached the Destiny Stone and it was our good luck that it wasn't snowing. A beeping noise was heard and Cody grabbed his D-Terminal, "I got an email from Ken."

"What does it say?" I asked.

"Did I know that we had to bring food?" He sounded confused.

TK

Ken got a response and he didn't like the answer.

"What are you asking him?" I didn't bring even my terminal with me, since I don't trust anything that we had in the past.

"I asked him if he knew we had to bring food. He said no."

"What about school and sleep? Ask him about that."

Ken typed away.

Kari

"He's now asking about school and sleep." Cody relied.

"I don't mind skipping school for a while." Davis said.

"So in other words, we didn't know about that either." I summed up.

TK

"They don't know anything about that either." Ken said.

"Then email Yolie to let her know that, I'll call the others so they can know once she tells you."

"Right."

Kari

"He's going to email Yolie. TK will call us when she gives us a plan." Cody said.

"Then I guess we just wait." I knew why TK was calling. It was for the Neo Digidestined.

Ken

"Okay, she told me that one of us has to go to the Real World and get food for everyone. Izzy is right now asking the others if they have something." I told TK.

"I think that Angemon and Stingmon should deliver the food and items to everyone. That way the Neo Digidestined can have something too."

"That sounds good to me. I'll call Tim to have Shendramon tell everyone about it, minus Panther." I picked up my cell phone and called him. TK was calling Kari.

"Hello?" Tim answered.

"Tell Shendramon to let the others know that we're going to be delivering the food and items to everyone. Give him a list of what they need to we can deliver it. Call me when you're done."

"Right." He hanged up.

"I told Kari and I have their list." TK said.

I got a reply from Izzy. He said 'the others have their things so all we have to do is get the others'. "Okay, we only have to take care of the others."

"So Patamon, Wormmon, don't be seen by the others."

"Right." They both said.

My phone ranged, "Hello?"

"I got it. It's not really long but do you want to come and pick it up?"

"Just tell it to me." I got something to write everything down. "Ready."

"Okay, I would need my laptop, sleeping bag, and tent. As for food, have my Grandmother make something for everyone, she won't mind.

"Lily Dawn: sleeping bag, CDs, portal bomb box, and to tell her brother not to worry about them.

"Panther: a warm sleeping bag and a thick coat.

"Ryan: his laptop, sleeping bag, and to tell his father that he's spending the night over at Lily Dawn's house or something like that for a while for a project.

"Don: sleeping bag and some stomach pills that are at his house.

"Nereida: laptop, sleeping bag, water suit and towel.

"Damon: scuba mask, sleeping bag, water suit, water goggles, towel and water proof communicators.

"Neon: sleeping bag, a coat, lots of water, tell her mother that her and Don are in the Digital World and to tell his father something, and laptop.

"Ceres: she said not to worry about her since she carries all of her things with her.

"I suggested that you bring your laptop as well so we can all contact each other."

"Okay, I will. See ya later." We hanged up. "Okay, Patamon, Wormmon, you two are going to stay here as we head back to get them the things."

"Right!" They said.

I opened a portal and we headed through.

"Okay, I'll go to Tim's house to get their things and the food. I'll take Davis, Neon and Don as well."

"Then that leaves me with everyone else. What about Ceres?"

"Don't worry about her. She has everything that she'll need."

He gave me Davis's list and I gave him Panther, Lily Dawn, and Ryan. We went to where we needed to go.

TK

I told Stan, saying that I heard of his name through Lily Dawn, that they were doing something. I couldn't tell him what but he had to be ready to tell Ryan's dad that he's there for a school project and he's unsure when he'll be back. He should be able to go there in the morning right before school. I told him the same thing should happen with Lily Dawn, Panther, and Ceres. He allowed me to get the items that they requested.

I told Ryan's father that he was staying at Lily Dawn's house for a while. He also allowed me to get his items. I went over to Kari's place and told her mother that she and Tai are back in the Digital World but Kari will attend school. Of course she was worried but allowed me to get her a sleeping bag, coat, hat, gloves, water, and some instant soups. I then went over to Cody's place and told his mother the same thing. She allowed me to get him a sleeping bag, coat, gloves, scarf, and pot.

I went over to our meeting spot to wait for Ken.

Ken

I went over to Davis's place first since I knew them more. I was fortunate that Jun was back from school so she could give some excuse as to why Davis wasn't here. I got him a sleeping bag, coat, bars for a grill, and four spoons. I went over to Neon's place to let her mother know that they were in the Digital World and to tell Don's father something. She allowed me to get her things as she called him. So when I got there, all I had to do was walk in and get his things. It was a longer trip over to the Shuni's since they live so far away. I called her a head of time so she could make everyone something.

After I got their things, I told her that I'm not sure when they'll be returning.

"It's okay, if they need more food then let me know and I'll cook. Tell my grandchildren to be safe. And you others keep safe as well." She handed me four great big boxes.

"We will." I managed to carry them out and with me all the way to the meeting spot with TK.

"I think this will work for everyone." TK said once he looked at the boxes.

"Really? I thought it was a bit less."

"Nah, she counted for everyone but Kari. She's really wise since she somehow knew about the Digimon."

"That or she knows about them. Anyway, let's get back so they can eat." I opened the portal and we went through. I wrote down how to contact me through my D-terminal before we sent Angemon and Stingmon to everyone.

Kari

Angemon came flying down to us. I noticed that he went over some of the trees, most likely where Panther was.

"Thanks." I said as we got the things we needed. We were planning on making soup.

He nodded before flying away.

Neon

Stingmon came our way. He handed me all the items that I needed and how to contact Ken. He also gave me two extra boxes.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because Kari won't be able to eat with us since she's with Davis and Cody, also, you can't contact Panther in any direct way."

"Thanks for letting us know." Ceres said.

He nodded before heading off.

Don

Angemon came really fast down to where we were. He gave us the items before taking off. No one from the other group even noticed a change.

"They need more training." I commented.

"Well, at least we didn't have to worry about them spotting us." Ryan said, getting on his laptop.

Tim

Lily Dawn was still exploring when Stingmon came by. I set her things aside for when she does come back but Shendramon called her to come back.

"Thanks, this will come in handy." I said as he handed me the instructions to contact Ken. As he left, I got on my laptop to make sure that I could do so. I also had a feeling that Ceres was going to do something too, since she knew that we all were going to have a laptop.

Nereida

Stingmon brought us our items. I got online, waiting for Ceres to do her thing. He also gave us a way to contact Ken but Shendramon said that Tim was going to bring him and Kari into this little forum that Ceres is creating right now for us (they all have a wireless connection).

Neon

"Okay, everyone is right now on and that's including Kari and Ken." I reported to Ceres.

"Good, now let me take over." I moved aside so she could face the computer. She told everyone that she was going to do her spell now and she started to chant something. The computer started to glow (as did all the others) and only stopped when she was done. "Okay, now they are charged until I call off the spell and only we can hear each other." Ceres said.

"That is so awesome." Nereida said and it also typed her words on the forum.

"This is really good, since Don and I have to make sure that Mimi and Joe don't know that we're here." Ryan said.

"It's also good for Panther and me since we're around Davis and Cody." Kari said.

"They don't even see us talking to you guys." Gatomon said, though it was posted under Kari.

"And you guys doubted me." Ceres said. "How's Panther doing?"

"I don't know, we can't see if she is since of them." Kari said.

"There's always your mind." Lily Dawn said.

"Oh yea………………… She said that she's fine. She'll come by the fire when they fall asleep."

"That's good. By the way, we haven't heard from Ken and TK." Ceres said.

"We're listening in. TK is going to bring his laptop tomorrow so we don't have to use my D-terminal. Kari, you might want to do the same." Ken said.

"But what excuse can I give them?"

"Homework?"

"But then what about the power?"

"Say that you're recharging it when you return to the Real World." TK said. "I don't want to use them since I'm not sure if Gennai can track us with them."

"Okay, I will."

"Cool, so just keep the pc up and running and we can talk whenever we want." Ceres said.

Ken

"Okay, since now we have a way to talk to them, we can rely messages quicker." I placed my D-Terminal down. "Now let's talk about you." Wormmon and Patamon were eating right now.

"It's just something… I can't really explain it since I'm not really sure what it is."

"Try your best. We have plenty of time."

"Okay… It's like I know that I'm supposed to be different from everyone. I mean, that I am different spiritually, power-wise… I don't know…"

"That's odd. Have you ever felt that way before?"

"Unless it was locked up… I don't think so…"

Even though I knew that TK was just confused, he did sound like he was depress, "Well, maybe you're going through something. I can't really give an explanation but what if you talk to Kitty? Do you think she'll give you an answer?"

"Kitty? I really don't know. I forgot about her for a moment."

"What does she have to do with your mood anyway?"

"Oh… just that she was mine but something separated us. I'm tried of not knowing anything. It's so frustrating knowing that you're something but no one is willing to give you answers."

"You mean like it feels the world is against you?"

"Not the world, my world. My life doesn't want to give me answer. How am I supposed to learn anything if I can't even remember the right past? Everything that I remember, everything that I should believe is true feels false. Nothing is right and it's now weighing on my heart. What if they were always like that?"

"I don't believe everything we remember is false. I know that some of it has to be true. I know that I was the Digimon Emperor, this whole world knows that. I know that I'm with you guys, that we're all Digidestined. Everything that we remember isn't a lie."

"But can you be so sure? They remember everything we do. They don't remember anything about the second takeover. If all of our memories were erased then replaced, how can we be sure?"

"What about the Digital World? What about Gennai? If all that is false, do you think that we can still be there? Our Digimon are with us, they're not false."

"I don't know…"

"I do, the past is the past and nothing will ever change it. When we need to know, we will. After all, the Digital World once forgot its past and it still hasn't remembered it. Let's give it time for us as well. Besides, I think that Kitty will give you the answers that you need."

"I hope so. Are you going to keep the first watch?"

"Yea, that way you can talk to her. You seemed to be the only one that needs answers right now."

"Okay."

Kari

After a while, it started to get late. We had to email Yolie who was going to stay up. I volunteered for my group, since Panther and Plantmon needed to keep warm. Tai was going to for his group, so I let Neon and Ceres know that. Joe was going to for his, so I emailed Ryan and Don. I told Nereida and Lily Dawn's group to go to sleep and just stay alert. Ken emailed, saying that he was going to be the one that stayed up. Yolie emailed us that we leave a bit before school starts. _That's going to be a pain._ Izzy emailed that he wanted to see me before I went to school, as well as Ken and TK. I emailed him that I wasn't sure if they would come but I would let them know since Ken turned off his D-Terminal to everyone but the Neo.

Ken

"Ken, Izzy wants to see us three tomorrow before we leave for school." Kari said over the forum.

"Okay, we'll be there."

"Stay safe, Kari." TK said.

"You too, TK."

"Night everyone." Ceres said and then it was quiet.

"Good luck."

"Thanks." TK and Patamon fell asleep.

"You think this will help?" Wormmon asked.

"I can only hope."

TK

It didn't take me long to get back into the pure white area.

_I see that you guys are back within the Digital World. _She smiled.

_Do you know anything about the Destiny Stones?_

_Of course I do. They were used to seal Azulongmon when the Dark Masters were taking over the Digital World._

_What are they being used for now?_

_They're purpose is to keep the gates of the Digital World closed. Of course, that's only for the lower levels since all Super Levels have special portals that they can use._

_Was Titanmon trying to allow the lower levels entry to other worlds?_

_Titanmon? Oh, him, ah…………… I'm not sure. He didn't really tell his plans to Zeus._

_You're host is a Deity Digimon?_

_Oops, I didn't want to tell you that._

_Did you meet Lily Dawn?_

_Yep, I did._

_Well, I'm waiting to hear your story. _I sat down, kinda, waiting for her to speak.

She smiled and floated behind me, leaning against my back. _I came here with my sister and my sister's Digimon. We came after an enemy that almost killed everyone. My sister was especially angry since he used her against Matt, not to mention that he almost did himself. I know that we managed to kill him, but we were also killed in the process. Our bodies, with the help of her faithful Digimon, were turned into the jewels that you now have. My sister's body was given to the Tai's group, mine was given to Davis's group, and her Digimon's was given to the new group. Three Deities took pity on our spirits and fused us with them. They don't have our memories but they have our hearts._

_So, Styxmon had Diana's soul. _I concluded. _So whoever falls for me has you. How will we know the Digimon?_

_Her heart shall forever belong to Gabumon. No matter whom Matt loves._

_Are you thinking about Sora?_

_Yea._

_Matt wants to forget about their relationship. He doesn't want it to continue._

_Trust us, you never know the future. _

_Why can't we remember you?_

_We want you to forget about us. We didn't want the ones we love to suffer our deaths._

_But you're not dead and we're grieving anyway. Why is Ken in the same boat?_

_Because of what you told me before I left. I know that he has now forgotten everything about me, so I'm sorry for not giving you my Crest._

_You… had the Crest of Faith?_

_Yep, just like the Crest of Virtue belonged to my sister._

_Why give it to Ken?_

_Because I thought that he would keep me in his heart. I'm not sure if he does or not now._

_He's falling for Yolie now._

_Really? Well, at least he still has a part of me._

_What about me? Why deny me something of you?_

_You have the jewel… Besides, you're with Kari. I can't change that. _

_Didn't you fight for me?_

_There was no point. She knew nothing about me and I knew everything about you. We agreed to stay friends; I wanted you to be happy. _

_What made you think that would make me happy?_

_Because you couldn't explain your tug towards her. It was like she had a spell on you, but she knew not that she cast it. I didn't know how to break it, but I knew that you would always be with me. Our love was bond by no other. While you loved her, you secretly loved me and protected me more. I knew that if I wanted you, you would leave her in the dust. But that wouldn't be fair to her, to the one with the Digimon. Angemon and Angewomon were the obvious signs that you two belonged together._

_What did you erase from us?_

_Everything that had us within them. Trust me, it wasn't easy to change yours and Matt's since we were so close. I guess we couldn't get rid of everything about us. As for Ken, her Digimon found it easier to redirect it at someone else. I was hoping that he would still feel something for me. We tried to get everyone, but our powers were so weak when we got to the last one that he still remembers. He now has others remembering too._

_We don't want to forget you. Shouldn't we allow ourselves to cry for you? To show you our love and respect?_

_TK… You guys have taught us so much that we can never repay you. You gave us love, warmth, kindness, you guys were our world. We would feel like the animals we were if not for you. We wanted you guys to be happy, even if that meant we were no longer apart of it. _

_How can we be happy without you guys?_

_Ask Matt, he seemed to forget about Diana the moment she wasn't by his side._

_When was this?_

_At that Winter Concert, the one where Sora took him for herself._

_How did Diana take it?_

_She was angry beyond belief; she was so mad that she got quiet and small. She became me. _I heard her crying. I turned around and held her. _She's the strongest person I know. When I found out that you liked Kari, I told you straight out. You just happened to calm me back down and told me that you will always love me. But her… she just swallowed it. She still followed him where ever he went, always protecting him. It wasn't fair. You thought so too, but he didn't seem to care at all. _

_Is that really Matt? I didn't think he was like that._

_Diana knew that Sora did something to him. Why? She doesn't know and doesn't really care. She still loves him with all her heart. It's heartbreaking to remember her face. She hid her sadness from everyone, including herself._

_I'm sure there's a good reason for it._

_Don't worry, we're over it now. Our anger didn't last. _

_I'm sorry to hear it. _I held her tighter. _I really do want to remember you. I'm sure that Matt really wants to remember Diana as well._

_I'm glad to hear it, but you should really be with Kari. After all, Thunmon told me that it's only destiny playing out its hand._

_Destiny?_

_We were never meant to be. I was meant to be alone. And Diana is meant to lose everything she has every time she dies._

_How can this be destiny? I still love you. _I couldn't believe that I said that but I didn't take them back. I knew that I did, even though I love Kari.

_Maybe another time. But trust me, it is destiny. Right now, everything is as it should be. Well, at least what's on the surface. Can.. I stay here for a while?_

I placed her on my lap. _You can stay here for as long as you like. I'll be back tomorrow if you want me to._

I could feel her smiling as she got more comfortable. _You should rest. You never know when the Digimon will attack._

_Okay. You know how to reach me. _

_Thank you._ We just stayed like that.

I think we both fell asleep and went back to our bodies because I felt someone poking my face. I looked up to see the glaring light of the sun coming up and Ken looking down at me.

"It's nearly morning and everyone else left for their house. We have to get going to Izzy's."

I got up, noticing that I wanted her in my arms. "Let's go." I stood up and we walked over to the TV that was in this area. We happened to land in Izzy's room. I was really glad that Yolie wasn't here.

"Okay, why do they felt like helping us?" Izzy asked.

"They?" I asked.

"The new group."

"I had to say that to make it sound like I was talking about Davis and Cody since they were right there with me." Kari explained.

"Yea, they're protectors of the Digital World too. They won't consider it a job, they considered it a duty." Gatomon said.

"Sorry, but we wanted to make sure. How are they position?"

"We can't tell you that, Izzy." I said. Ken and Kari looked at me with wonder as Izzy looked at me with confusion.

"Why not?"

"Because they're part of the shadows, to be revealed when needed but not before. They want to be the shadows of us, the protectors of everyone when they don't even realize it." I figured that that's what they wanted, since they are originally apart of this group. Matt and Ken were only here by luck.

"But shouldn't we know? That way we know how well all the stones are protected?"

"You know that they're protected and that's all you need to know. You once told Matt that it's better that they move independently from us, to be quicker to respond than us."

He couldn't argue that, "Okay, fine. Thanks for letting me know."

"Then we'll report in after school." Kari said, ending our session with Izzy.

"That was some deep stuff." Ken said, knowing that he can't say anymore.

I wrapped my arm around Kari, knowing that it's safe to love both, "Yep. So, do you guys agree?"

"We should ask the others first. If they want to be known then I'll tell Tai."

"Okay, that sounds good to me." I smiled my normal one. I was back to normal, since I got to know her again. I learned their past, which made me glad. I noticed, as we were taking the bus to school, that I didn't hold Kari the same way I held Kitty. I couldn't explain it but it was different and I couldn't tell who was higher.

Everyone was camping out at Shuni's house because they were the easiest ones to get to. Lily Dawn had called her brother to let him know that they're okay and that they're staying at their house. She was going to go over to her house to pick up some clothes for herself and Panther since Nereida's were too small for them. Neon called her mother to have her deliver some clothes for her and Don. Ryan was going to go to his house to get his clothes. We were told this when we got to school, meaning that they hadn't had the chance to get their clothes yet.

We decided that we were going to do the same thing, since it would be much easier that way. Ken knew how to program the D-3's to enter through certain computers. So, during the school day, he was playing around with hers and his, incase we needed it.

Neon

"You don't look like you got a good night sleep. That's not really healthy." Mackenzie-san said as we were having one of our talks.

"I know. I was cold last night." _You try sleeping outside without knowing it._

"You are going to be warmer tonight, right?"

"Yea, of course… I do have one request though?"

"What is it?"

"Could you possibly give us less homework? We're all doing something that's really important and the less homework we have, the better." I whispered since I didn't want to let the other students that she had favors. Though I wasn't totally sure whether or not she could do this for us, but it didn't hurt to ask, right?

"I'll see what I can do. I'll let someone know tomorrow."

"Thank you for at least considering it."

"Not at all. I don't mind listening to my students when they need my help." She smiled so I smiled back, wondering how true that was.

At lunch, I told everyone about what Mackenzie-san might do for us. The ones that had her were grateful for my assistance, if it worked.

Kari

"There she is." Davis pointed out Hoshi for me. She was really pretty. Her hair was a pale yellow color what was bouncy looking, her face seemed really young and innocent, her figure was great too, and with this untraditional school it seemed that she wasn't afraid to show off her body either.

"And is there a reason we're looking at the most well-known girl in this school for her movie-star looks?" TK asked plainly.

"Yea, why are you pointing her out for us?" Ken asked. We were all near each other, to hide Davis from her radiate presence (or something like that).

"Because she's the most beautiful girl in the world." He was in his own world now.

"I heard that she can be mean as anything when someone annoys her." TK said.

"And that she has her own worshippers that will come after you once she's done." Ken added.

"She's not like that at all!" Davis defended.

"Looks like she got Davis in her trap as well." TK said plainly again. I couldn't tell if they were enjoying making fun of Davis or not.

"If you ask me, I think that you're not seeing the true beauty of a person." We turned around to see that Karu was behind us. I had almost forgotten that he was with us in this class. I looked at TK to see nothing in his eyes.

"Are you just talking about Davis?" There was nothing in his voice as well.

"Or maybe I'm talking about all of you, you just never know."

"We do know that beauty isn't just skin."

"Ah, that's where you're wrong. Because you see, the skin will reflect the inner workings of the soul; the eyes will reflect their purest emotion; the face will reflect their thoughts on life; the body will reflect their thoughts on health; but the most beautiful part is their mind."

"Wow… that was deep." Davis said, but TK wasn't really impressed. He seemed to be emotionless.

"Of course, you guys can't possibly know about the beauty of love since you don't have any inspiration for it."

"Of course we have inspiration for the beauty of love," TK said, "We have the purest form of it. We have nature where you have buildings and paintings. The spirit of the nature flows through our souls and reflect what we are."

He turned around to face us, "We have nature as well so that truly isn't a comparison."

TK turned to face him, "But we understand more since we didn't lose a lot of our ancient roots when invaders came to our land."

"Since when has Greece had invaders? We were once the all powerful rulers of the sea."

"Let's talk the Christians. They stole your belief and turned it into something so different that they were fearful of people holding onto the past. So they burned everything they could, toss them into the sea so no one could ever know of their existence. They were only spared the slaughter because some people had copies of masterpieces and could not dare part with them. I bet if the leaders of the Christians had a chance, they would've destroyed all the temples of the past too, just to keep it out of the minds of the people." I couldn't tell if he was trying to get him mad or not, since we knew that he's a Deity Digimon.

But that fact didn't make Karu any less mad. I could see that he was hiding his hurt, his anger, and his rage.

"TK, don't make funny of his culture. You wouldn't like it if someone made fun of the Japanese culture." I said, I didn't want to see hurt in his eyes and I was afraid of his anger, since he is a Deity Digimon.

"Sorry, I didn't know that I was offending you." TK said like it was an honest mistake. "Sometimes my love of Japan goes to my head. I really am sorry; I really didn't mean any harm."

"It's okay. I was just realizing how right you were about invaders in my country. I take no offense to your comments." He seemed a lot better now. "But allow me to say that we have a lot of soul as well within our art."

"Of course you do. After all, we study many Western artists in this class, though it would be that since the West wants dominance they're not going to glorify our history and culture as much as Europe and America. As a matter of fact, it's only in the United States, nothing about South America or Mexico or Canada. I wonder why?" I now was lost as to the reasoning behind this discussion. Ken was listening into it but Davis was back to watching Hoshi. I was going to follow Ken's example and just make it look like I was doing something.

"Maybe because we have a better understanding of the world than most other countries, since we dominated the world for a good amount of decades."

"But does that really give you the right to downgrade our culture because we're different or weren't as powerful? We're becoming a major player and I don't see Greece trying to beat us."

"That's because we're allowing the other nations to do it for us. After all, we don't have to worry about much anymore."

"Here's something to think about, is the reason you suppress other cultures is because you know that they're more powerful, and therefore you need to make them think that they're not. Is that the reason you want Greece to be the ruler of all, including in religion?" TK went back to work and the same with Karu.

"What was that about?" I asked when we were walking over to our next class.

"What?" He smiled as he asked.

"With that last question you gave Karu."

"Oh that, we'll see when the time comes." He kissed my forehead, "See you after class."

"Right." He walked into his classroom and I went to mine.

Hebe

"Hebe, do you really think we suppress the other Deities?" Aither asked. I was making dinner since Artemis is staying in the Digital World to watch over Lily Dawn better. During the day, she stays with the other Deities since she thinks that it would be a waste of energy to travel back and forth. That's the only reason that most Super Levels don't come here, it takes too much energy to travel between the worlds and most know that they could use that energy for some better use.

"What brought up this question?"

"Because I was talking to TK today about something and he left me hanging with that. I'm not sure what he wanted to get out of it but it made me think about the other Deities that are in the Digital World. I mean, there are even Asian Deities living there, so why are we on top? What made us rise above the others to become supreme?"

"If you think too much you'll hurt your mind."

"I'm being serious here!"

"Look," I started to serve the food, "I was only a cupbearer. My job was just to pour the honey into their cups. I only listened in when I could so I have no idea why we're on top. That question should really go to Apollo when he gets back." He went to the Digital World to check up on Diana.

"Fine. I thought you would know since you seem to know a lot."

I handed him his plate, "I might know a good amount about Japan but that doesn't mean that I know about our own people." I went up to the other two's room to serve them their food.

When I came back down, Aither was just looking at his plate. "It's bothering you that much?" I sat down with him and started eating.

"Do we really deserve to be on top?"

"According to what Apollo can get, the other Deities don't seem to care what we do. As a matter of fact, Artemis once told me that the reason we seem to have the most control is because we're the ones that are making the loudest splash."

"But I know that's not the case. I stayed there a lot longer than you. Zeus does have regular meetings with the other Deities, they talk about anything they want but Zeus has the ultimate say." Ever since his mother and sister took over the house that one time, they've been calling everyone, but the River Sisters, by their real name.

"Then you should really ask Apollo since he's still an Olympian God."

It was quiet for a while since Apollo didn't return late unto the night. The others didn't care about Aither's confused mind, and I'm not sure why I cared either. After Apollo had something to eat, we sat down on the couch as Aither asked his question why we are the strongest group.

"Well, the other Deities have just agreed that that's how it will be run. They all understood that there had to be order within our space so Zeus took charge and laid down the law. So that's why they all follow us."

"But if they are under our rule, why did they allow themselves to be degraded to something of a servant?"

"I don't think that they were as bitter about losing their place within the world as we were so they probably thought that we should be in charge to blow off our steam."

"But we haven't."

"They might think that we need more time. I was told that we weren't the only Deities that left the Digital World. Just some major players stay within the Digital World since they feel that they have to keep up some kind of appearance with Zeus. Even his brothers are getting a bit tried of all this hate and that's saying something about Hades."

"That's true. How do you know all this?"

"Because I went over to Thoth since I wanted to talk to Lethemon. He told me that they don't care about what we do anymore. Only if it seems interesting do they involve themselves with our activities."

"So they do rule themselves, we just seem to be in control." That seemed to bring some relief to him.

"That's right. I'm not really sure who is control but it's not really us. We're just making the loudest noise than the rest of them. Though the Egyptians are happy that they're ancient magic is being reused again with some of their most powerful wielders of their magic, so one could rightfully say that they are the ones that are truly in control."

"Thanks Apollo." Aither got up and walked upstairs.

"What was that all about anyway?" Apollo asked once we heard the door close.

"TK and he were talking about something. I don't think that TK truly believes that he's a regular person if he left him to ponder that for a long time."

"Good point. So far nothing has happened but she's not coming back until they're done."

"I'm doubtful that Collect Soulmon will wait this long unless she has some kind of plan in her mind."

"That's what I'm thinking too, but we can't be sure. She might just haven't found the next one to destroy."

"Do you really believe that?"

"That's what Zeus thinks, I guess I was hoping that it was case."

"It's okay. After all, you're worrying about Lily Dawn." I smiled and walked back into the kitchen.

Nereida

It's been a week since we've started this watch-out. It was starting to ware everyone out. Our homework was becoming less than normal and our tests were showing our understanding that was seeping within our heads. Of course, the only ones that weren't suffering from it were Panther and Ceres. Though Panther did suffer in the way of shivering uncontrollably since she couldn't always stay near the fire and it was too dangerous for her to do so. But all she says is that it's nothing or this is nothing compare to what I went through for training. Ceres doesn't seem to buy it, though she's not saying one way or the other.

TK

"Do you think that this machine will work?" Ken got a message from Gennai last time that we were going be attacked. Ken built a machine to help us but it was too obvious.

"I hope so."

"But once they see it, they'll know that they need to destroy it." Patamon said.

"That's true. We need to hide it."

"Unfortunately we don't have the soup and the bamboo is gone from this area." I said.

"You guys have a good point. I guess we better hiding spot."

"Why don't you use your Jewel Power?" I smiled.

"Meaning?"

"Yours has the power to camouflage, the one for Kindness."

He took it out and looked at it. "You have a good point."

"Wait, I was only joking." He placed it on the machine and it went into hiding. "Why? You'll be paralyzed when it's done."

"That didn't stop you, did it?" He smiled.

Nereida

"How much more do we have to wait?" Damon said as we were on guarding the stone. I was floating on the water since I need to make sure that nothing happens to it.

"Whenever that group makes its move." Lightningmon said.

"We know that it seems pointless but we can't let down our guard." Huskimon said.

I went under and swam back to shore.

"Something wrong?" Damon asked.

I got up and looked at the water, "No." I closed my eyes, concentrating on summoning the spirits of the Digital World. I needed their help to see what was within this world. I was looking for Collect Soulmon, wanting to know whether she had a plan ready. I felt something so I looked down. There was an image of a lady with brown hair that looked like Sora's style, a choker with a ruby looking cut stone on it, a straight arm bracelet was on her right and the swirl one was on the left, she was wearing a black tank top that showed her waist, hip-hugging jeans that showed a bit of her shoes, and gloves. But the scariest part of her was her eyes. She had no eyeballs!

"I know, she is scary when she opens her eyes but you get use to it."

We all turned around to see a boy with a jacket and T-shirt under it, a cloth belt, pants that went a bit beyond his knees, both hands were wrapped, and he had fighting shoes. His eyes were pure black.

"Who are you?" Damon demanded.

"My name is Arsmon. I'm part of her gang. I have to be impressed that you knew how to find her but I can't let you know what we're planning. It would ruin the surprise." He smiled to himself.

"Snowstorm!" Huskimon yelled and a hail of snow and wind was aimed at him.

He just jumped out of the way and dragged me into the water. Damon called my name before I went under.

I try fighting him but he went right to the Destiny Stone. He held me on it and I couldn't move under his grip. He smiled, seeing that I wasn't trying to fight him. Then he kissed me! _Don't worry; you won't be harm by anyone. I promise._ He pulled back.

"Why do you want to protect me?" He didn't seem surprise that I could speak underwater.

_Because I think that you're cuter than any one else in your group._

"You… know!"

_Only me, don't worry. No one else is interested in going to the Real World._

I was hoping that Damon was okay.

Damon

I was about to put on my water mask when something flew at us. Some guy in a fighting suit was now standing where Arsmon was.

"Who are you?" I asked angrily.

"My name is Kineticmon and now we're taking control of the stones."

"Thunder Claw!" Lightningmon shouted.

"Snowstorm!" Huskimon shouted. They're attacks emerged together and aimed at him.

I grabbed the laptop, "Guys, it's begun!"

Lily Dawn

We got Damon's message.

"What's beginning?" Tim asked with an unsteady voice.

"The end." We turned around to see this reptile thing behind us. "Our invasion has begun."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My name is Correstivemon. And now it's time for your end." He sucked in air before releasing it in a gaseous fume.

"**Rock Crusher!**" Rocks hit his mouth, allowing him to only release a small amount of the fume.

He spat the rock out. "Nice try." He smiled, showing his sharp teeth.

Neon

We heard from Damon and Tim but we still didn't have an answer.

"They turned off their laptops." Ceres said as she was checking their connection.

"Why would they do that?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know…"

"No time to talk." Sakuramon said. We looked over at Tai and Sora to see that two people were over there. One was wearing a cape and the other had lots of weapons.

"There are two Digimon over here. We'll contact you guys later." She turned off the laptop. She placed it in her bag, "Ele, don't you dare come out." She placed it down.

"We're not going to allow you to destroy the Destiny Stone!" Tai said. They hadn't said anything before this.

"What makes you think you have a choice, mate?" The one with the weapons said.

"You ready to make an entrance?" I asked.

"You better be careful." She teleported us behind them.

"I suggest that you listen to the nice leader of the Digidestined." I said.

"Otherwise we can't guarantee your existence." Ceres said with a smile.

"You think that two more will make a difference?" Said the one with the cape.

"Why don't you tell us your names?"

"My name is Chicanerimon."

"And mine is Bellicosmon." He pointed with his sword.

"Tai, Sora, you might want them to be at their highest form." I said.

"Golden Dust!" Sakuramon yelled. The dust rained down on them but it formed into a shield around them.

"Great work. Okay, Agumon!"

"Biyomon!" Their Digimon nodded and started to evolve.

"Yi-Yamon, get ready." Ceres said, knowing that this wasn't her power.

"He must've used a force-field to protect themselves against it." Sakuramon said as she was near us.

"Right." They finished evolving, turning into WarGreymon and Garudamon. Now, we had to wait for them to come out.

Don

"Should we warn them?" Ryan asked as he turned off the laptop.

"Maybe we…"

"Glad you haven't gone anywhere." We looked above the rocks to see that an eye monster and a guy that was coming out of the wall. They were looking at Mimi and Joe.

"Why are you here?" Joe asked.

"To get the Destiny Stone." Answered the eye.

"Let's go that way so they won't know that we were here." Ryan said, pointing to the entrance.

We moved over there.

"You think we would allow you to take it?" Mimi asked.

"It's not like we're going to allow your Digimon the time to Digievolve." Said the one within the wall.

"Then we better give them that time." I said.

"Right." We were at a good distance. "How about if they have help?"

They looked over our way.

"Who are you?" Asked the eye.

"We're the Neo Digidestined. And you are?" I asked.

"My name is Eyemon."

"And I'm known as Evanescentmon."

"Thanks for the names. Illusion!" Espomon sent something towards them that held them.

"You two better hurry." I said, seeing in Espomon's glowing black eyes that they were about to break free.

"Okay, let's go Gomamon!"

"Palmon!"

"LDinomon, get ready." Don said.

"Right."

"They're about to break free." Espomon said. Good thing that they turned into Zudomon and Lillymon.

Kari

I was getting a bad feeling about this. I just knew something was wrong.

"What's wrong Kari?" Cody asked. I was standing up.

"I think the others are being attacked."

"What!" They both were surprised, since they didn't understand why I would think that.

"Of course they're being attacked. That's the whole plan." We heard a familiar voice.

We turned around to see a metallic Arukenimon and a pyramid head Digimon.

"Who are you?" I asked, though I had a feeling I know who they once were.

"My name is Steel Arukenimon."

"And I'm Priamidmon. We're here to destroy that Destiny Stone again."

"Again? What do you mean?" Davis asked.

"We were once…"

"Arukenimon and Mummymon." I finished.

"And we're here for our revenge, thanks to our Master's help."

"You mean Oikawa?" Cody asked.

"We have a new Master now." Priamidmon said.

"We better Digievolve." Gatomon said.

"V-mon Digievolves to……………………"

"Armadillomon Digievolves to……………………"

"Gatomon Digievolves to…………………………"

"You think we would allow you to Digievolve?" Steel Arukenimon asked.

"We have become much stronger now!" Priamidmon lifted up his arm and energy was being gathered.

Green vines were shot at him, tying up his arms and the same with Steel Arukenimon. I smiled; glad to know that Panther was giving us some time.

"XV-mon!"

"Anklyomon!"

"Angewomon!"

I knew that we were going to need more than them to save the Destiny Stone.

Ken

I checked the machine, getting it ready. "Everything is ready." I said as I was walking back. Izzy contacted us saying that they were getting activity at each site.

"Do you think that Gennai has inside information?" TK asked.

"We can't really worry about that right now."

"Yes, since you need to worry about yourselves." We turned to see something within the forest. It looked to be a silhouette of a creature with a tail and wings.

"Who are you?" TK asked.

"My name is Shadowdramon and my friend is Shadow WarGreymon." A silhouette of a WarGreymon appeared from the forest.

"I have come to finish what I started." Shadow WarGreymon said.

"What?" That surprised us both, allowing us to know the true identity of Shadow WarGreymon, Black WarGreymon.

"Patamon Digievolves to……………… Angemon!"

"Wormmon Digievolves to……………… Stingmon!"

"Hand of Fate!"

"Stinging Strike!" They hit where they were, since they seeped into the shadows.

"I guess that was to be expected." TK said as we were looking everywhere for them.

"We need to get them to the machine."

"I hope it works." Since they were now traveling around us now.

I was trying to find a way to get them over there, but I didn't see a way possible.

"Hey, TK, do you have an idea on how to get them near it?"

"Yea, just cover me."

I didn't even have time to argue before he jumped out of the protective stance of Stingmon and Angemon. "Hey, shadows, you have no power what so ever. I'm surprise that your master would even allow you out of her cave."

They reformed as they looked at him.

"You'll regret those words." Shadowdramon said as they dissolved again.

They started to come towards him and TK ran into the forest.

"Ken, you better get to the machine before they come back." Angemon said and I ran over to it.

It didn't take long for TK to come running back. As he was coming closer, Angemon picked him up. That forced them to turn into solid form so I took off my camouflage to reveal a machine that was supposed to delete a Super Level Digimon, according to Izzy. I had it aiming at them already so all I had to do was power it up and hit the button. Suddenly, sparks started to come out from it and I knew that wasn't good. I jumped off it right before it exploded.

"KEN!" I heard TK yelled. Stingmon picked me up and brought me to the sky.

"I'm okay." I looked down at them to see that some of Shadowdramon was coming back to him. "Where's Shadow WarGreymon?"

Stingmon and Angemon were knocked out of the sky but they made sure that we weren't hurt. All of us go up quickly and then they went back to encircling us.

Lily Dawn

We soon found out that Correstivemon's fumes were able to dissolve anything Shendramon was able to throw at it.

"I think it's time to end our little game." He hit the ground, causing the earth to crack.

"We better be careful." Tim said, since we were on different sides.

"Yea. We can't allow him to get the Destiny Stone."

"Oh, I'm not here for the Destiny Stone."

"Then why are you here?" Tim asked.

"Because our master wants to take your souls, to use them for whatever purpose she wishes."

"Then you better get out of here because we will not allow you to take their souls." We turned around to see some lady with the ancient Western toga that had a purple belt.

"Artemismon, you really think that I would bow down to you?"

"I'm not asking you to bow down, I telling you to leave her alone."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because otherwise you'll face the wrath of the Gods." She pulled out her bow and arrow and aimed at him, "Do you really want to test me?"

"Try it!"

"Silver Arrow! Purify his data!" She shot at him.

He sent a fume at it, but it just went right through it. He blocked with his arm but he still screamed with pain. "I shall return!" He was deleted.

We faced her, wondering what she was going to do next. She put back her bow, "Others need your help. I believe they're near the water."

"WHAT! How do we get there?" Tim asked.

She pointed to her left, "They're in that direction. You better hurry."

"Why don't you help us?" I was half wondering why I didn't meet her before.

"Only if you need help but I'm sure that you won't need it." She disappeared.

"We don't have time to ponder. Shendramon!"

He grew and we got on and flew in their direction.

Damon

I wanted to help Nereida but Kineticmon was in our way. But no matter what we did, none of our attacks could hit him. He was moving too fast. When they did another combo attack, a rain of rocks came upon him as well. I looked up, since he was buried, to see that it was Shendramon. Lily Dawn and Tim jumped off him.

"Tim!" I was so glad to see him.

"Where's Nereida?" He asked as they were running towards me.

"Some Digimon took her under."

"Then why hasn't she come up yet?" Lily Dawn asked.

"I don't know."

"I'll ask her." She closed her eyes.

Nereida

_Nereida, are you okay? _I heard Lily Dawn's voice.

_I'm okay. What about your Destiny Stone?_

_It's okay, the Digimon that attack us is gone. Do you need help?_

_Why does she need help when she's not even being attack? **Arsmon asked.**_

_Who are you!_

_My name is Arsmon. Well, since they're a crowd up there I better leave. We'll meet again, promise. _He kissed me again before opening a portal and going through it. I just stared at it for a moment, not knowing what to think of this. I swam up, remembering that I was needed on the surface.

Damon

I heard a splash and Nereida did a flip onto land.

"Are you okay?" Tim asked.

"I'm fine. He didn't hurt me at all."

"Did you know that…" Lily Dawn was about to ask something when the rocks came off. Kineticmon looked angry.

"You think some rocks will take me down!"

"Kineticmon." He looked behind him to see Arsmon.

"Arsmon, what are you doing here?" That meant that he wasn't supposed to be here in the first place.

"Master is calling you back."

"Fine. I will have my revenge, count on it." Kineticmon left.

"Until we meet again." He bowed before leaving.

I let out my sigh, "That was close."

"What now?" Nereida asked.

"We'll go over to Kari first since all she has is Panther to help her." Tim said and we all got on Shendramon.

Kari

Steel Arukenimon shot her web at Plantmon then pulled her into the open. Unfortunately, she somehow brought Panther as well. "Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon shot her arrow at the Steel Arukenimon but Priamidmon was able to block it.

Plantmon jumped over towards us but I didn't see Panther anywhere. _Panther?_

_I'm okay. Don't worry about me._

_Where are you?_

"Kari!" I was brought out of my trance to see the web extended to me. I was caught and was dragged back to Steel Arukenimon. Panther came out of the snow and cut the web with her knife. I was still tied but I was more worried about Panther.

"Who are you?" Priamidmon asked.

"That's none of your business. Why are you after Kari?" She didn't seem to care that Davis and Cody could see her.

"Our Master wants her since she believes that the Light Digidestined holds some power that she can use to her will." Steel Arukenimon said.

"And to that I say look behind you or else you might be eaten."

"What are you talking about?" They both looked to see Shendramon flying right towards them. He roared and they ducked. As a matter of fact, Davis and Cody did the same thing but that didn't seem to matter to Panther, who grabbed onto his leg and went with him.

I ran back to Davis and Cody, "Angewomon, take them down!"

"Heaven's Charm!" As she was attacking, Plantmon got the webs off me. It seemed to be having some kind of effect on them.

"XV-mon!" Davis cried.

"V Laser!" He shot his beam at them.

"Anklyomon!" Cody cried.

"Rock Hammer!"

Lightningmon, Shendramon, Huskimon and Plantmon all fired their attacks as well. That was enough power to send them flying away. Plantmon grabbed onto Shendramon before they left.

_We'll make sure that everyone else is okay. **Lily Dawn said.**_

_Right._ They took off at full speed.

"I wonder who those Digimon are." I said, to make them wonder as well.

"Well, this isn't the first time that they helped us." Davis said. "We have to meet them some time."

"Yea, since they somehow know when we need their help." Cody said with suspicion in his voice.

I emailed Yolie to tell her that we have some information that they can use.

Ryan

They were now on our level since Evanescentmon was able to take away the ledge that they were on. Our Digimon were fine at the moment. But then Eyemon got above them and shot something at us from his eye.

"LDinomon Digievolves to………………… AeroDinomon! Fire Wall!" The wall protected us but somehow it dissolved.

"You really think that your Digimon can stop us?" We heard Evanescentmon asking. We looked over at him to see that Zudomon and Lillymon were knocked out and were now returning back to their Rookie forms.

"Palmon!" Mimi cried.

"Espomon Digievolves to………………… Breomon! Black Wolf!" A black shadow came out of him and attacked Evanescentmon.

"Hey," Joe placed his hand on my shoulder, "If two Ultimate Level Digimon couldn't take them why makes you think yours can?"

"Who said that we were trying to kill them?" Don said.

"Breomon, you better go to Flarmon." I said since his attack did nothing.

"Breomon Digievolves to…………………. Flarmon! Firestorm!" He sent a huge blast of fire towards them.

"Flame Wind!" AeroDinomon sent his attack and they both merged together.

"What are you trying to do then?" Mimi asked.

"Get them away from the Destiny Stone." I smiled.

"They're only decoys." Don said, "I'm sure they won't come back for the stone afterwards."

"Thunder Claw!" We heard and saw them being shocked.

Once they were done, they looked up to see Shendramon above them.

"We'll meet again." Eyemon said and they left.

"Guys, we're going to go to Neon and Ceres now." Damon yelled.

"You better go." I looked at Don.

"Right." He ran and jumped on Shendramon. Lily Dawn jumped down and they took off.

"Are you guys okay?" She asked as she came over.

"We're fine." I said as they went over to get their Digimon.

"Gomamon!"

"Palmon!" They picked them up.

"What do you think you were doing?" Joe asked, "Don't you know how dangerous it is in the Digital World?"

"How long have you been there and why didn't you show yourself?" Mimi asked.

"We know that this world is dangerous and we've been here as long as you guys have." I answered

"Why should we show ourselves? We're different from you guys." Lily Dawn said.

"Why are you upset with us?"

"When we tell you to do something, you should do it." Joe answered.

"We don't listen to you, remember? We're not even worth your time to ask you for advice." I saw a bit of shock in their eyes.

"Then… who do you listen to?" Mimi asked.

"To our hearts and to each other. Have fun cleaning up." I turned us into dust and we floated away.

Neon

WarGreymon and Garudamon were the ones that were fighting them once they broke out of the shield. I could tell that they weren't here to destroy the Destiny Stone. If they wanted to do that, then they would've already done so. Right now, they're just toying with them.

"They can't keep this up." Ceres said.

"Yea. Sakuramon, get their attention."

"Pixie!" She shot a beam at them but I knew that it wasn't powerful. They knocked them out before turning their attention on us. They returned to Agumon and Biyomon.

"You wanted something?" Chicanerimon asked.

"You leaving is one wish." Ceres said.

Bellicosmon took aim, "Too bad that we're not taking request." He fired.

"Eye of Judgment!" Yi-Yamon was able to sent the bullet right back but he was able to block it with his swords.

"Bellicosmon, you seem like a fighter, how about you toss me a weapon and we fight." I said.

"And why would I do that?" But he landed anyway, getting interested.

"Because how strong do you think WarGreymon was compare to you?"

"And what makes you think you can do better, human?"

"Because I'm training to become the best."

He tossed me his sword and then he pulled out a saber while tossing his gun to Chicanerimon. "Alright then, let's have a go."

"Are you sure?" Ceres asked.

"Yep." I got ready.

"Okay."

We stared at each other for a while before we launched at each other. I could tell that he was a good fighter just by the way we clashed. After a while, he seemed to be enjoying our match but I could tell that I was losing.

"You're good, human. No one has ever been able to keep up with me."

"Glad to have made an impression."

"But sadly, those who try are always killed." I heard a gun being fired. I looked to see that it was coming at me but Ceres got in the way. She stumbled back as she held her right shoulder.

"Ceres! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, don't worry."

I could see that she wasn't. "Why?" I looked at Chicanerimon.

"When did I say this was a fair fight?" Bellicosmon said.

"Ceres, get back."

"You can't handle a bullet."

"I don't care. This is my fight and if they want to make it two on one then that's their deal."

"Then be more careful."

"I will." She jumped back. I was now focusing on both of them. Neither one was going to have the advantage again. I launched at Bellicosmon, fighting with him fiercely again. I knew that he wasn't going to shot while we were so close to each other. When we moved apart again, he was breathing hard. I wasn't really tired, but it's hard to keep up speed with two growing kids inside you. I was just glad that he wasn't seeing it. I launched again, but I heard a shot again, blocking it with the sword. Bellicosmon didn't have enough time to move out of the way. The strike didn't kill him, though. I heard more shots being fired but they were all burned up. Don kicked Chicanerimon down to the ground and AeroDinomon grabbed him before he started to fall.

Don landed near me and ran over, "Neon!" He hugged me. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Don." I hugged him back.

"Why… are you… sparing me?" Bellicosmon asked weakly.

"Because you're not worth killing." He fainted.

"CERES!" I heard Panther said as she went over to her. "What happened?"

"I was protecting Neon." She said with a smile.

"We have to be heading over to TK and Ken." Nereida said.

"Panther, you and Ceres stay here." I said.

"Right." Ceres answered for them.

They helped me up and we headed off.

Panther

"It didn't seem to hit anything vital."

"Come on, I'm smarter than that." She said with a smile that reminded me of Matt, making me miss him.

"Where's your bag?"

"On that cliff. I didn't want Ele to get hurt."

"Plantmon, can you get it?"

"Yea." She extended her arm and brought it back. I went searching for something to pull the bullet out. Ele came out with something so I used it. Afterwards, I placed a folded cloth over it and taped it down.

"I don't think that's how it's supposed to go." Ceres said, looking at it.

"That's the best I can do with a guy here." I looked over at Tai and Sora, who were just watching us. I picked up her bag and placed it on my shoulders. "We better get going."

"We're not going to stay and answer any questions they have?"

"If they want to ask us something then they better speak up or hold their peace. I had to show myself to Davis and Cody."

"Why?" Yi-Yamon asked.

"It seems that Collect Soulmon wants Kari for something."

"I see, okay. Then we better get going. Is everyone meeting up at their location?"

"We meet up whenever we meet up."

"Sounds like an adventure to me." She smiled.

They got back their voices as we were walking away. "Where are you two going?" Tai asked.

"What? Need us to baby-sit?" I asked. I needed to get out some steam.

"What happened with the other stones?" Sora asked.

"They're safe."

"How can you be sure?"

"If you want to guard them your whole life, that's your deal."

"So, is Matt truly your leader?" Tai asked.

"You think you're better?" Ceres asked.

"I know him better than you two do. He's not a good leader, he never was."

"Maybe you were afraid to give him a chance, thinking that he would surpass you."

"How can he be a good leader if he follows his heart? He needs to use his head as well."

"You said that you knew him, you don't. You guys don't understand him at all." I said, holding a fist at my side. "How can you! You never came by just to say hi. You only came when you were summoned to be there."

"How can you know him? You've only been there for nine months!"

"Just because you know someone for eleven years doesn't mean you know him. You guys have been separated by time as well. When was the last time you went over to his house just to talk? When was the last time you invited him somewhere, just to hang out? Does he come to you when he's lost? Does he come to you when he needs advice? Do you make him feel happier when he's in a bad mood?"

"Do you?"

"He does come to us. He comes to all of us when he needs our help. He invites everyone since he understands friendship." Ceres said. "He even helps us when we don't ask him. He gives everything and barely asked for anything in return. You can't dare call yourself superior to him when you can't even do that."

"Matt understands friendship since that's his Crest. Tai's is…" Sora said.

"We know all of your Crest names and who has what. But does that really matter? Can't you have more than one? Can't you borrow some from one to aid yourself?" I asked.

"That's not how they work." Tai said.

"You know, I thought that you guys had a stronger bond of friendship than the others. I still can't decide if you do or not. What do you think?" Ceres asked.

"Of course our tie is stronger. We supported Matt a hundred percent."

"What changed? Was it me?" I asked. "Or was it Styxmon?"

"It's his carelessness."

"Then why don't you tell him that?"

"Because he's in space."

"Obviously this didn't start while he was in space. Are you upset with us so you're now blaming Matt?"

"If you're mad with us then blame us. We write our own path. We're not written down in some history book so we decided what we do." Ceres added.

"Not according to Izzy." Tai seemed proud of knowing that fact.

"But our story doesn't end there. Yours does. See ya, we have to go now." We walked away without another word utter.

Neon

We flew over the site that Ken and TK were at. They were still fighting against something, but I couldn't see what it was.

"What are they fighting?" Nereida asked.

"We'll find out soon enough." Lightningmon said as she fired some thunder at the ground. It obviously hit something since silhouettes rose from the ground. Don and I jumped down in front of Ken and TK.

"Are these Digimon?" Don asked.

"Yep and the names are Shadowdramon and Shadow WarGreymon." Ken answered.

"I see that you have more friends." Shadow WarGreymon commented. It wasn't that hard to tell who was who since we knew what WarGreymon looks like.

"He knows you?" I asked.

"Yea, he was once known as Black WarGreymon." TK answered. "Why are you doing this? I thought that you changed and that you wanted to protect the Digital World."

"Our Master has collected his evil data to create him again. She has the power to do so." Shadowdramon answered.

"I am still the Black WarGreymon that you knew, though I shall destroy anything that my Master tells me to destroy."

I felt really bad for him. His true heart must be in constant war with itself. How could she do this to someone that they know? I could feel him wanting this to end; he didn't want this to continue anymore. I hoped that Ken and TK understood this, because it would be wrong of them to attack him when all he wants is to be free. I felt my amulet vibrating so I looked down. It was a glowing light, soft blue and it landed on Sakuramon.

"Sakuramon Digievolves to……………………… Fairiemon!" She spun out of the transformation as a magenta wing with golden edges; green elbow gloves; green strapless dress with a purple cloth belt; green knee high heeled boots; two ponytail brown hair; golden bracelets; and a staff with a cloud at the end of it fairy. She wasn't that much taller than Sakuramon.

"You really think an Ultimate will make a difference?" Shadowdramon said as he came launching at her.

"Growth!" She started to grow to a human-size and hit him with her staff, which sent him flying back to the forest. She went at Shadow WarGreymon but he was able to dodge her swing.

"Be aware, Digidestined, we will come back to get what we want." He said.

"Is it the Destiny Stones?" TK asked.

"No, something more powerful." They were gone.

Fairiemon was glowing and gladiolus flower with blue, red, purple, and orange petals Digimon took her place. I picked her up from the ground once she was done, "And what's your name?"

"I'm Gladiolusmon!" She said with a sweet, little voice.

"Glad to meet you." I said with a smile.

"Neon, Don, we better get going." Nereida said.

"We'll meet you at their house." Ken said.

Don and I got on Shendramon and flew off. Tim opened a portal and we went right through it, coming upon his house and the others were already there.

Shendramon landed before shrinking.

"Sakuramon Digievolved?" Espomon asked.

"Yep, I'm Gladiolusmon now." She said with a smile.

"Let's head inside. Ken, TK and Kari will be here in a while. They probably have to report what they found to Izzy and Yolie." Tim said and we all walked to his house.

Kari

We all returned to the Real World in Izzy's room. We all reported that we were attack but we did defend our post well.

"What about the other two?" Cody asked, since no one was able to check on those.

"They're fine." Izzy said. "What were the Digimon?"

"They were all the new level." Sora said.

"Not only that, but Arukenimon and Mummymon are now Super Levels as well." Davis added.

"Black WarGreymon is also turned into a Super Level." I heard TK's regretful tone in his voice.

"What? Are you serious!" Cody asked, hoping that it wasn't true.

"He's now Shadow WarGreymon and he's following the leader of this group to the letter." No matter how anger TK can get with evil, I could see that there was sorrow in his eyes. "Cody, I'm not sure if there's a way to save him."

Cody just looked down, not saying anything. I wanted to see what he was thinking, but I decided that it wasn't wise. "We'll find a way, right?"

"We'll look, no doubt about that." TK said with an encouraging smile and that made Cody happy.

"We better get back home. It's been a while and we all need rest." Yolie said as she got up.

"Okay, you guys better go home." Tai said and Davis, Cody and Yolie left. TK and Ken were about to as well, but Tentomon stopped them.

"You want us for something?" Ken asked.

"We need to be somewhere." TK looked at me quickly, letting me know that it was for the Neo Digidestined.

"Davis reported to Yolie that he saw Panther there, is that true?" Izzy asked.

"You knew that they were going to be there so why are you asking?" TK was now back to being cold. Even Ken noticed it, since I could see it in his eyes even though he never looked at TK.

"But I thought that they were supposed to be in the shadows."

"They are but we can't help what happens during a battle. She showed herself to save me." I said.

"From what?" Tai asked.

"From the Super Level forms of Arukenimon and Mummymon."

"Aren't you going to give us names?" Mimi asked.

"Steel Arukenimon and Priamidmon."

"And why did they left if they could win?" Joe asked.

"Would you rather have them stay even when they're mission didn't work out as plan?" TK asked. "Is there anything important that you need to ask because otherwise we're wasting our time?"

"Yea, how come your group is so uncaring?" Tai asked. I could see in his eyes that he was getting annoyed by the way that TK was talking since he didn't look any different.

"They care." Ken said.

"They sure don't act like it." Mimi said.

"They don't have to be us; they were never like us so we can't suspect them to be us."

"But they should still listen and follow us." Joe said.

"And they shouldn't question what we do." Sora added.

We were all now shocked. "You… want them to listen to you and to follow you with a blind eye?" I asked.

"If that's what you want to call it."

We all looked at each other before looking back at them, "We're done here." TK said and we all left the room.

"I guess they don't remember that those actions are what bringing us away from Gennai." I commented.

"It doesn't matter now…" Ken quickly grabbed onto TK's shoulder.

"Ken?" TK asked.

He looked like he was trying to speak but it wasn't working. I went into his mind but I couldn't see or read anything. "Ken, what's wrong?" I went over to him.

"I know! Help me get Ken down the stairs." TK placed Ken's arm around his shoulders, "Ken used his Jewel Power."

I placed his other arm around my shoulders and we went down the stairs slowly.

Neon

Panther was helping Ceres out more and I felt really bad that she was hurt for my sake. I was also wondering what was taking Ken and them so long to get here. I knew that they most likely were talking to the others, but they know that we were going to meet up. Most likely TK is getting annoyed with them, which I can't understand why. I'm noticing that he's turning into a different person and no one knows if it is because Matt isn't here or if there's something else.

Then Panther and Ceres came in and Ceres was smiling like she always is.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"Of course, it seems that Panther has done this many times before."

"That's good to know." Don said.

"Have they not come yet?" Panther asked, looking around the room.

"Nah and we don't know why either." Damon said.

"Maybe Tai and they are asking them questions. I mean, we were nasty to them." Ceres said as she sat down.

"I don't think that TK wouldn't take it for too long. Plus, I know that Kari and Ken would want to make sure that we lay out all the information that we found."

"Yea, especially what Tim found out about our stone." Lily Dawn said.

"Tim, your friends are here." Their Grandmother came to the room and they walked in.

"Thanks Grandmother."

She nodded before walking away. Ken was sitting by the wall closest to the door and Kari looked really tired.

"You know that we don't bit." Ceres said, looking at Ken.

"He used his Kindness Jewel power before you guys came. Now, he can't talk or move too much." TK explained.

"Why?" Nereida asked.

"Because Izzy wanted us to test something that he built, but only Ken understood how to use it so I don't know the true nature of the machine. Ken used his jewel to hide it."

"Oh, can you still listen?" Ceres asked. Ken moved his eyes up and down, indicating that he understood.

"How come you're tried, Kari?" Lily Dawn asked.

"I just found out that I can move things with my mind."

"Wow! You're gaining more psychic abilities with every crisis." She said with a smile.

"I guess so." Kari smiled back.

"Okay, let's get this started. Who wants to go first?" Nereida asked.

"I'll go first," Tim said, "Okay, I discovered that the stones contain some kind of unknown energy within. I'm not really sure what it is, but I have a feeling that it was some connection with our Crest. My amulet started glowing when I was inside it but that's it."

"Do you want one of us some time to go in with you to see if it reacts to us as well?" TK asked.

"I would like to retest when Matt's here, since his amulet contains all the others' Crest."

"Okay."

"Then me," Nereida said, "Okay, not everyone within Collect Soulmon's group is evil. I guess that means that every group that we heard about the last time we were there for a long time might have their own "outcast". Someone that we can go to every now and then for information if we need it."

"How did you get that from the Digimon that dragged you down into the water?" Damon asked.

"He didn't attack me nor did he hurt me. That has to count for something."

"It might've been a trick, but we can't rule out any help that we can get either." Kari said.

"It seems that Joe and Mimi believe that we're evil or something. They weren't particularly warm to us once the Digimon were away." Ryan said.

"Yea and the same with Tai and Sora." Ceres added.

"They're bad because they're not getting their way. Don't worry about it." TK said.

"Yea, they're forgetting that we're not following them."

"Why do they think we should?" I asked.

"Because Matt was told that if there wasn't a leader among you that Tai would be that leader, Matt told him this and since you have everyone, Tai is waiting to take charge." TK explained.

"Well, we can tell them all that Matt's our leader." Ceres said.

"Do you really want him to be?"

"Of course, he brought us together and we're listening to you guys and him. Does he not want to be the leader?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know. I at least know that he won't grab it so fast like Tai did."

"Well, we'll let him know when he comes back to Earth." Panther said.

"Okay."

"Ken, do you want me to heal you?" Don asked.

He looked like he wanted to say a long answer, but just moved his eyes side to side.

"Well, at least it's the weekend so he has some time to heal himself a bit." Damon said.

"Okay, I guess that means that that's everything?" Kari asked.

"Yep." Nereida said.

"Okay, Panther, are you okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll live. I'll keep myself warm during the weekend."

"You might want to do that since it's getting closer and closer to December." TK said.

"Well, see you guys on Monday." Ryan said as he got up.

Everyone else got up as well, with Kari getting Ken. We thanked their Grandmother for her grateful offer of allowing us to stay at her house.

"I'm glad that it's nothing too serious with the others." Don said as we were walking home.

"What do you mean?"

"With the older group, that it wasn't anything too serious."

"Well, we'll see as time goes on."

"That's true. I'll see you tomorrow." He kissed my head since we were at my house.

"Right." I walked inside and mother was there.

"Are you okay? How are the kids?" She asked when she saw me.

"I'm fine and they're fine."

"Hi! My name is Gladiolusmon!" She came out from my hair.

"What happened to Sakura?"

"I'm her! I'm just her In-training form!"

"Oh, well it's nice to meet you. Are you guys' hungry?"

"We ate at Nereida's house."

"Okay. You better get to bed then. We can't have you too stressed out."

"Right, night mom."

"Night dear."

I walked to my room and fell asleep.

Wow, it seems that Nereida is a very special girl. I wonder if it's a good thing that Arsmon likes her. I hope that it doesn't hurt her in any way. Well, I'm not sure what to say after this. I mean, you read everything so you know just as much as me. Yea, about my behavior… I'm getting annoyed with everyone else's attitude towards me and the others. I know that it's not like me, but I am annoyed. Okay, bye.


	21. Chap 20 Patient Predictions

Hi, it's now December and Ken is able to move and speak. He said that he's going to suffer this pain for a while since I did. I'm glad that I can affect people…

Panther

Ceres and I were getting my permission clip signed since our class was going to go to a ski resort for PE. Our teacher was trying everything he could to get me not to come. Obviously, he failed.

"I hope you have fun on this." He said as he handed it back. There was a deputy near him since he was just coming out from a court hearing.

"We will." I took it and we walked out.

"Good, now we have that, we can be worry free."

I wasn't too sure, but Ceres didn't need to know that. There was something picking at the back of my mind that said that something was going to happen. I normally listened to this, the last time I didn't, Killer was killed. "Yeah, of course."

"Did you two get it?" Stan asked. He has become friendlier ever since Lily Dawn's kidnapping.

"Yes, we did." I showed him, proving my statement. I noticed that he was watching me, never really wanting to take his eyes off. I kept on ignoring it since I didn't care for any other. "Well, I'm heading to bed." I went upstairs.

I closed the door, looking at the books that I have on my side of the room. Ceres and I made an agreement that we wouldn't look at each other stuff without the others permission. I have kept my end and I know that Ceres has more honor than that. I opened the book that I'm using to research the Deities of the Western World. I didn't want Ceres to know since I know that she knows everything about them. I wanted to know about them.

"Hey, I brought ice cream for us to snack on." Ceres said as she entered the room.

"Great." I put the book away. Ceres was serving some in a bowl for Ele.

"Why are you so cold?" She asked as we were eating straight from the carton.

"What are you talking about?" I wasn't being cold.

"You seem to be distancing yourself."

"If I was distancing myself, I wouldn't be talking to you."

"Well, just remember that you can tell me anything." She smiled. "Hey, are you going to finish it all?" The carton was nearly empty.

We stared at each other for a while before we started to battle to get the last scope. Though, through our fighting, Ele managed to get it and her and our Digimon were eating it together. We all laughed once we stopped fighting.

"Panther, are you feeling okay?" Stan asked in the morning. I was applying some make-up that Ceres thought would look good on me. I haven't put on make-up for a long time that I wanted some on me again.

"Of course I'm feeling okay, why wouldn't I be?" I was beginning to wonder if there was something that I was expressing that I didn't notice. This was the second person to ask me how I felt.

"It just seems that you've gotten quieter."

"Well, would I talk to you first? No." I was finished and looked at myself in the mirror. I was killer gorgeous again, not that I ever wasn't. I was now realizing that I missed this side of me, the seductress who lingered within my mind that knows how to play on the emotions of men. "Is Ceres done with breakfast?"

"Almost." I turned around to face him. I felt something with his voice. Before his expression changed, I saw a hint of wanting in them. "Wow!" He wasn't hiding how he saw me, though I didn't care if he did or didn't.

I walked passed him, "Glad that I haven't lost my charm." I smiled as I brushed pass him before leaving him at the door gate.

"Make-up seems to be your natural element." Lily Dawn said.

"Yea, unlike most people, it really brings out your natural features." Ceres said.

"And I love how I can toy with guys' emotions."

"Really? Well, I'm sure not all men are like that." Lily Dawn said.

"You better start hoping. Don't worry; I'm sure that Apollo is yours now and forever."

She smiled openly, since Stan wasn't here.

" Yo, Stan, bedda get yor butt down h're before it's all gone. " Ceres yelled in English.

"Is that slang?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Yea, I picked it up." She smiled.

"You were saying something in English?" Stan asked as he walked down the stairs. He stopped for a brief moment when he saw me before focusing on Ceres.

"Yea, I just wanted you to get some food. It seems that Panther and I can be vicious when it comes to the last bit." She smiled at me, reminding me of last time. Our Digimon had already eaten by this time since Stan can't know about them.

He sat down next to me as Ceres was serving the food. Lily Dawn sat on the opposite side of me. I felt like Ceres and I were trapped in something that they created. When Ceres sat down, I felt something different. I couldn't really describe it, but I knew that something wasn't right. That something was feeling wrong, whether in me or within the actions they were displaying, I couldn't be sure.

"Panther, do you want me to bring my make-up stuff on the trip?" Ceres asked.

"Yea, I would like that."

"Good." She smiled one of her friendly ones. Like TK, Ceres had many different kinds of smiles to express herself.

It was getting colder, being December and all, so some of the Digimon needed some garment to keep them warm. Plantmon had different kinds of ponchos she wore; Yi-Yamon had nothing since she already had fur; Larkspurmon was given jackets that are also different from one another; Breomon didn't need one; Aero Dinomon was given a vest; Gladiolusmon was also given a jacket; Shendramon was given a poncho, but the opening was for his wings; Huskimon didn't need anything; Patamon was given a jacket; Gatomon wasn't given anything; Wormmon was also given a poncho; and of course Lightningmon was the luckiest out of them since she was able to get multiple outfits. So she now was able to look different than her normal looks, but she wears her original outfit underneath since we never know when we'll be called again.

During astronomy class, our teacher was telling us about Matt's mission since it was now released to the public. It said that they were to go to the International Space Station for a few weeks, which I guess that's when he contacted TK, for some repairs and to get some device that was sent up a while ago. They were to go to the Moon afterwards, where they would start the framework for the base station that would soon be up there. They also were to collect some samples for more studies that were going on Earth.

I was glad that I heard something about his mission, but I still missed him. I didn't realize how much I cared about him until he was no longer at my side. Though, the worst part was that we were constantly looking over our shoulders, or at least I am. Ceres's people might not strike at all, but mine wouldn't care. I could feel them lurking in the shadows, like they have done a few times.

"I wondered what device they were getting from the International Space Station." Ceres said out loud as we were walking over to Spanish class.

"I hope it isn't something that would place them in more danger. Matt still has to fight going to the Digital World." I said, looking out of the windows that were typical of Japanese schools.

"He'll make it. He's a strong person. We already know that." Her smile was now one to comfort.

"Right."

"_Potesne Latinam dicere?_" Fuhai asked as we were in class.

"_Possum, cur?_" Ceres answered.

"_Quomodo hanc linguam cognoscis?_"

"_Venerat ad animam meam ubi nata sum._"

"_Mirabile_!"

"_Et tuus?_"

"_O!... schola._"

"_Illud est bonus scire. Nonne dicis te esse ab Graecia?_"

"_Dico._"

"_Illud est vere magnificum. Et fratres linguam Latinam sciunt?_"

"_Sciunt._"

"_Habeat alterum sermonem mox._"

"_Ante proficiscor, eras unum novi destinati?_"

Ceres looked at him with nothing on her face. I wasn't sure what they were talking about, but his last question wasn't something that she was expecting. "_Quomodo deduxist?_"

"_Quid Hikare?_"

"_Aitherne dilaniat?_" She was doing her mockery tone and look.

"_EST! Amat eam illus._"

"_Sed illa amat Takeruum._"

"_Ista dignus ea non est!_"

"Class, into your seats." The teacher said as she was coming in. They looked at each other angrily before Fuhai went to his seat.

"What the hell were you two talking about?" I whispered to her.

"Looks like I'm spotted."

"What do you mean?"

"If you're going to speak, talk in Spanish. That's what you're here to do." The teacher said.

" I'll tell you later since I know that the class shouldn't hear this. After all, I'm sure that they don't want to hear about make-up. " Our teacher narrowed her eyes at Ceres. Ceres loved to show off her talent of learning fast. Though knowing that she had a boyfriend that lived in Spain, she probably learned it to speak to him better. I wondered if she still loves this language and culture because of him.

"So?" I asked as we were walking towards the table.

"The brothers mightn't know who are in this group. But they at least know that I'm in it." She said in a whisper.

"If you guys were speaking Latin then how did you know he meant that?"

"I know. Trust me, once you know the language, you can modify it to your liking and others will still get it."

She smiled for the table. Ceres was able to pass a note around; I only noticed it when it had to be passed to the person at the end of the table. It most likely contained what she told me, so I never asked to see it.

"Panther, were you able to understand what we were saying?" Fuhai asked.

"I just figured that you were talking in Latin since Ceres likes talking in that language. What was spoke, don't know."

"Oh… okay." He went to his seat.

"He most likely didn't know how to ask you." Ceres said, but I really didn't care. I mean, if we can trust some and not others, how will we know who to trust in the end? Our reasoning is based on the 'what' and not the 'why'.

I looked to my left as the class resumed its routine. I wasn't near the window, so it was annoying looking over people to see nothing interesting happening. I went back to staring at the board, not really thinking about anything.

I didn't realize something had happened until I started to feel cold. I looked around, seeing snow coming down by the tons. I felt myself being there, wondering if I was somehow pulled into another world or something. I found that I couldn't walk, only turn around in a small circle. As nothing happened, I started to shake. I still wasn't fully recovered from our time in the Digital World. When it's really cold, I start to shake uncontrollability.

I started to feel something stirring around. I saw them, the elites of my gang. They were all staring at me, smiling as if they won. I was ready for them, not wanting them to take me back.

"Your truth will come to you. Once you gain that, you will come back to us." Chaos said.

"What are you talking about?"

"You will soon see, my daring." Donn said before they faded.

I snapped back to my class as the bell rang. I wasn't sure if that was a premonition or something more.

"Panther, we need to get going." Ceres said. I picked up my things and we headed to PE. "Were you having a premonition?"

"I'm not sure." It felt too real to be a premonition.

"What do you think it was?"

"I can't say yet."

"What was it about?"

"Telling me that the elite still wants me."

"Oh… Don't worry; the others will help you as well as me."

"I know."

When we got outside of the locker room, we handed our permission clips to our teacher.

"It seems that this is sign by the judge." He studied mine like it was to help him on a test.

"Of course it was signed by the judge." I was getting annoyed that he was acting like this every time.

"Well, we're still going to have someone watching you. We can't be too careful."

"So I have bodyguards now. That's nice to know." I walked over to my spot and sat down.

"Don't worry, Matt is coming back soon and this won't happen ever again." Lily Dawn said.

"That's true."

We weren't really doing anything important. So it was easy for us to talk together. I was feeling it again, the same thing at breakfast. It was something that was telling me that I wasn't really wanted, that or needed. I shook it off. I had to believe that it was their doing, even if they don't have the power to do so. They wanted to separate me from them, make me feel like I wasn't wanted. I wouldn't fall into such a trap.

"Panther, I'm happy to tell you that Mina and Lita are going to be watching you." Mackenzie-san said as we entered her room. I knew that it was an invitation thing, but it just became habit.

"What's the best news I've heard today."

"Is it because they are related to you?" Ceres asked.

"Yep, so you don't have to worry about the trip."

"Thanks Mackenzie-san." She smiled and I just rested in her class. She didn't have anything for us to do, so we could do whatever we wanted. I was sleeping, not really wanting to talk to Ceres or Mackenzie-san.

I felt myself being pulled into a premonition. I knew that the first one wasn't a premonition, since I now know the difference between the two (so she's saying that she hasn't been pulled into another dimension before now… or something like that… though how does she explain going to the Dark World). I was seeing them coming from a hill. There was snow all around and they looked like they have won.

I jerked up really fast, since they were about to catch me with their eyes.

"Panther?" I looked over to see Mackenzie-san and Ceres looking at me.

"I'm fine." I looked at the window, still seeing nothing interesting.

"Are you sure?" Mackenzie-san asked.

"Yea."

"She probably realized that she was sleeping. She's wearing make-up today." Ceres said, most likely knowing that I had a premonition.

"Oh, I see." And she allowed it to end there.

"What did you see?" Ceres asked as the school day ended.

"The same thing."

"We'll stop them before they even get to you." Ceres said with a smile.

"I know." I wasn't too happy with what I'm seeing, but I know that I have to be strong.

"Guys, Stan is going to be a chaperon." Lily Dawn said as we were sitting at the table.

"Why?" I asked.

"He put that on my permission clip."

"Then why only tell us now?" Kari asked.

"I didn't look at it until the end of the period."

"That's right, you didn't give it to him until the end." Ceres said.

"I wish we could go as well. It sounds like a lot of fun." Nereida said.

"It would be nice." Neon agreed.

"Why don't you guys just go there? I mean, I'm sure that Tim wouldn't mind driving up there." TK said. I was beginning to notice that TK is changing. He looks the same, talks the same, but there's something in his calm state that tells me that something isn't normal. I've seen the look somewhere before, but I have a feeling that it's been so long ago that I have forgotten what it means.

"That sounds like a good idea. What do you guys say?" Damon asked.

"We'll be going later, of course, but we'll be there." Don said.

"Great! Another trip for the group! I love these kinds of outings!" Ceres said.

"We better study so we don't have to worry about it during this trip." Ken said quietly. He's been healing slowly, but he doesn't want Don or Mimi to heal him. None of us knows what he is waiting for, though I'm finding myself not really caring.

We went to work, finishing everything in a breeze. I don't know why I even do the assignments, I don't need them. I don't need school; I get perfect grades all the time. Everything is becoming boring again.

"Ceres, why do we even bother doing the work?" I asked. Lily Dawn was going on a date with Apollo before we left. Tomorrow, we would be heading up to the mountains, where they're waiting.

"Because we have to be like everyone else."

"You know that you have to do the work, especially since Matt isn't here." Plantmon said.

I stopped and closed my eyes. I hate being told what to do. "I know, Plantmon. But I don't see the point anymore."

"The point is that we appear to be like good students. We know, and I know that our group knows, that we're smarter than them. We have perfect grades all the time. Trust me, even though Ken was once the boy genius, he doesn't always possess it." Ceres said, probably guessing at to what I'm angry at.

I'm not a book. "It's getting old."

"Panther, how do you think I feel?" I looked at her, wondering what she was talking about. "I know more than the teachers. I have traveled around the world, seen more than they most likely ever will, and I have to bow down to them just because they think they know everything. The only person who I feel deserves my respect is Mackenzie-san."

That took me by surprise. We were so similar; I just now realized how similar we actually are. We both hate our teachers for thinking that they're better than us. We have to bow to them to boost their ego. Mackenzie-san and Date-san are truly the only ones that seem to have some mastery that we don't have. "Thanks Ceres."

She smiled, "Look, we're all smart and I know that they mean well. I know that on some days we want to blow up in their faces, but can we really afford such an enjoyment? It may seem cowardice, but we need someone would who stop them from harming us. We're strong and we can take on anyone that tries to get in our way, but somehow we're missing something. I'm not sure what that something is, but what I can say is that we both felt it before. You had it with Killer and I with my beloved. Now, Matt has filled that spot."

I smiled, "That's a long speech. Been waiting to use it?"

"You could say that. I'm still looking into this though."

"Why?"

"I want to fully appreciate what's been given to me. I don't want to take it for granted."

"Once you discover it, you have to let me know."

"I will." We continued walking home.

TK

"How are you feeling?" I asked. I was staying with Ken most of the time, like when he stayed by me during my recovery. His mother allowed him to sleep over at my house, to make it easier on him.

"I'm getting there. Being paralyzed is more painful than I thought." He was walking okay, but I know that it was only due to the fact that he worked to get his legs working. I was really worried that he might numb a nerve or something with his movements. "Why don't you want to go?"

"I want to get some work done." I couldn't tell him that I'm working on a new manga piece, because only Matt and Patamon know about it. I have to work on it slowly, since I'm taking care of Ken. "Don't worry; Kari knows where you are so she'll make sure that you're okay. Besides, you promised that as you're there you'll go to the hot springs they have up there."

"I know. But now it's a group event."

"Thanks still." He knows that I still don't think I'm apart of this group, but that hasn't made him give up on convincing me.

"Well… hopefully this weekend will clear your mind. You are apart of this group and it isn't because the ones that you're closest to are here."

"Wormmon, do you want to help us cook?" I asked, though Ken knew that I heard him.

"Yes!" We discovered that Wormmon could cook pretty well himself, though we felt it was pointless to seek the answer. Nothing else has been answer for us so why would this one?

"Have you noticed that Panther is getting distant?" Ken asked. I don't allow him to cook since he needs to recover.

"I have noticed. I wonder why. Have any theories?"

"I wish I did. I'll keep an eye on her while we're up there."

"That's good. I don't think that Matt would like it too much if something happened to her."

"That's true. Has he told you anything he found about her?"

"I'm not sure. I think I know just as much as he does." When Kari was telling Tai what happened, I stopped reading her part. I knew that her telling us was important to him, so I have honored that decision.

"It might be for the best. She seems to have a lot weighing on her now. And since the school knows that Matt is coming back, they might try everything they can to get her out of there."

"We won't let that happen. We just have to."

"They won't get passed us, not even if they bring the military." He tried to smile, but it wasn't happening. I knew it was there since I could tell by his tone. Ken doesn't have enough control over his muscles to form emotions on his face. So now it's going to be hard for the others to read him. Even his eyes have lost the ability to show emotions.

"That's right." I smiled for him.

Ceres

They walked into the house and discovered that Stan was there.

"I guess you have already packed?" Panther asked, her coldness showing.

"Lily Dawn told you?" He seemed to have some hope in his eyes, but neither caught it.

"She told us. Well, we still have to pack." They walked passed him and went up to their room.

"Hey, Panther, I know that you know him and all but you should still be a little nicer than that. After all, they're taking us in." Ceres said once the door was close.

"What are you talking about? I was being nice."

"I didn't think you can hold a grudge for so long."

"I don't have a grudge against him."

"Then why are you suddenly showing that you don't care?"

She stared at her, "I care about a lot of things. If I didn't, you would know it."

Ceres went over to her bed and laid down, "Whatever. It's your problem and not mine."

Panther went over to pack. It was silent for a long while.

Lily Dawn

When I got home, Stan looked like he was defeated. "Stan? What's wrong?"

He looked over at me, "Panther still hates me. I don't think she wants me to come."

"You can't change that now. Maybe this trip will bring her into a new light." I smiled, trying to cheer him up. He asked me not to tell the others until we were at the study session.

"Hopefully…" He got up and went upstairs. I was beginning to worry since I know that Stan has never chased after a girl for this long. I was wondering how Panther got into his heart. Though I was also worried about Panther since she's changing; I'm not sure how she is or why, but I can feel that it wasn't good. I wished I could help her, but I'm not sure how.

"Things aren't going to get easier in this house until Stan comes out and tells her." Larkspurmon said. Since my kidnapping, she has never left my side and Apollo is now making sure to hold both of us. I'm not sure if he knows that Larkspurmon is real or not, but I'm too afraid to ask him.

"That's true. They need to tell each other soon."

"Do you think that Panther will take him?"

"I hope so, for Stan's sake. This is the first time that he has so animatedly went after a girl. Normally, he would've given up by now."

"Wow!"

In the morning, Stan drove us to the school. Panther looked like she was thinking about something really hard. I was also noticing that her and Ceres weren't talking to each other. I thought that that was weird but I didn't ask why. When we got there, Ken was the first one out of our group that was there.

"Where's TK?" Panther asked.

"He didn't want you guys to force him to come. He said that he has a lot of work to do. Trust me; I tried everything I could to get him here." Ken explained.

"Is everything okay? I mean, he knows that Karu is going to be here." I said, knowing that Karu is a Deity Digimon and that he still wants Kari.

"Kari knew that he wasn't going."

That shocked me, knowing that Kari was willing to come here without TK when Karu was there.

"Is Davis also going to watch her or is it just us?" Ceres asked.

"Just us, Davis is going to be chasing his dream girl."

"Wow."

"Hi, I don't believe we've met before. My name is Ken Ichijouji." Ken bowed to Stan.

"Stan, it's nice to meet you. I guess this will be my first time meeting your friends." He looked at me.

"Minus one." Since TK wasn't going to be here.

"Hi, you must be Lily Dawn's older brother." We looked over to our left to see Mackenzie-san, Mina, and Lita. "My name is Layla Mackenzie and I'm her math teacher."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you. You're teaching must be easy to understand since Lily Dawn hasn't failed any of your tests."

"Well, she's a very good student. This is my little sister, Mina, and my sister-in-law, Lita." They bowed. "They're here to watch Panther."

"I thought they would allow me to do that since I was coming along." I now knew why he wanted to come. He wanted to get closer to Panther without having other people around.

"Really? Oh, I'm sorry. Panther, I guess you can pick who you want to come with you then. I didn't know that your guardian was coming."

"Thanks for all of your help." That was the first in a long time that I've heard her be grateful, "I'm sure that the school and the world would be at ease to know that I have eight people watching me to make sure that I don't mess up." She narrowed her eyes at Mackenzie-san, the first time that I've known that she did that.

But she just smiled, "A lot of teachers didn't want to come. We have gatherings all the time with them so they were willing to volunteer. Don't worry; they have their own groups to watch."

"Why isn't Date-san here too?" Ceres asked.

"He wouldn't be able to watch any kids since he can't move as fast."

"Besides that, they were looking for an excuse to have fun." Mina said, "Don't worry Panther; we won't be in your hair." She winked.

"So who do you have, Mackenzie-san?" Panther asked.

"I have you, Ceres, Lily Dawn, Kari, Ken, Ryan, Karu, Fuhai, Shikyo, Davis, and Hoshi."

"Hoshi? As in the most popular girl in school?" I asked.

"Yes."

"Wow, I get to meet her. I wonder if she'll talk to me." I always wanted to be her friend, to be part of her group, but I haven't worked my way up the ladder to get there.

"Sure, if you can get passed Davis." Ken said.

"What do you mean?" I looked at him.

"That's his dream girl."

"Are there other groups that are bigger than ours?" Ceres asked.

"A few, but we do have many parents that wanted to come so we're fine."

"How many chaperons per group?" Panther asked.

"Two or three, so we'll just have an extra."

"Oh, our other friends are coming too." I allowed her to know.

"I'm sure that it's going to be very enjoyable then." She smiled.

Then the others started to arrive. Once everyone was told who they had, we headed off. The only reason I think we have chaperons on this trip is because we have a big class. I noticed that Davis was talking to Hoshi, but she didn't really seem interested. Kari was talking to other people as Ken was talking to the third year actors and actress. Ryan was talking to his friend as I was with mine. Karu, Fuhai and Shikyo were talking to each other as Ceres and Panther were silent. I didn't like it that they weren't talking to each other, but I figured that they had nothing to say to each other.

TK

It was the beginning of a week long break that our school has. The others will go up there later today to make it look like they're not following. I don't think that anyone would really care. Ken texted me that Mackenzie-san was their lead chaperon and that Mina, Lita, and Stan were also there. He also told me that Date-san's other friends were there. I told him to call me when they got there. Why? I don't really know. He said sure. Then he added a list of who was with them. I knew that Karu and his brothers wouldn't try something on Kari since they want to know if she's apart of the Neo group. They now know that Ceres is apart of it, along with Lily Dawn, Neon and Don.

"At least you'll have a long time to stay at Matt's house. You better get working on that manga." Patamon said.

"Right." I went right to work.

It didn't take long for me to finish it so I went out and got food. I also cleaned up the house so I didn't have to bother Ken with it when he got back. I sent my manga to the company and started to work on my next novel. I had the news on, incase anything interesting happened.

Kari

It was a long while before we reach the cabin and it was beautiful. I was taking pictures to send back to TK since he couldn't be here. I really wished he was though, because it would be even better with him here.

I was sharing a room with Lily Dawn and Hoshi. There were four beds in all, so that meant that we can have at least one more person in here. Ken, Ryan and Davis were sharing another room; the brothers were sharing another; Panther and Ceres were together. Stan had his own room as Mackenzie-san, Mina, and Lita all shared one (they only know that since they told them were they were staying). I walked around, finding out that our class was taking half of the cabin. There were many people here, so I was hoping that the others could get a room. I was figuring it out in my head how this would work if they couldn't. Ceres and Panther's room had two beds, Ken's had one, and ours had one; if Stan allowed us to use his room, we would have seven extras beds. Neon and Don would share a bed, so that just left the siblings. Nereida could either stay with us or go with Panther, and Damon could stay with either Stan or Ryan. Tim would most likely stay with Stan.

"This place seems to be packed." I said as I was coming back into the room.

"This is a popular place for tourist. Look, you most likely won't see me until roll call so you can trash this room all you like." Hoshi said.

"You're not staying with us?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Is there any reason for me to stay? No. I'm only here because Mackenzie-san is going to call us to make sure that we're in our rooms."

There was a knock at the door and I went to open it. Lita came into the room with a clipboard in hand. "Hi, good, you're all here."

"Lita, Hoshi would like to sleep with her friends, is that okay?" I asked.

"Do you know who's their lead chaperon is?" Lita looked at her.

I could tell that she wasn't too happy that I told her, "It's that Chinese guy."

"Kento?"

"That's his name."

"Oh, hold on," she picked up her walkie-talkie, "Kento, one of my students would like to be with some of yours, is there enough room for her in the rooms?"

"Does she know if their room is full?"

Lita looked at her.

"They have one extra bed."

"They have an extra bed, she said."

"Okay, she can come here but have her report to me first before going into their room. Over and out."

"There you go." She smiled as she left.

Hoshi just stood there, not believing what just happened.

"They're friends of ours so I knew that if we just asked that they would be okay with it." I smiled.

"Thanks… do we have to go through you guys to use them?"

"I'm not going to let you know. You'll have to find that on your own." I knew that she would use them if she could, but I also know that they're not foolish people.

"Thanks anyway. I really do appreciate it." She picked up her bags, "I owe you one, so I'll return the favor." She walked out.

"She sounds like we helped her escape or something." Lily Dawn said.

"At least we have two extra beds." I smiled.

"Great, I'll go let Panther and Ceres know so they can come in here."

"Do that once the others have come. I want to make sure that they have rooms."

"Oh… that's a good point."

"Okay, everyone settle down!" Said one of the other teachers that were there. They were watching us and also controlling our trip. We were having lunch as a group since they needed to tell us some of the rules or something like that. "Okay, we're not the only guest here so please keep your pranks and enjoyable to a minimum. As you all know, we're staying here for a few days so keep the rooms as clean as possible. You're not allowed to leave your rooms or switch them. Report to your chaperon every time you're going somewhere so we know where you are. Never go out after lights out and no co-ed rooming. Okay, now have fun."

The hall went back to being loud.

"Where should we go first?" Lily Dawn asked.

"We have to see when the others get here." Ceres said.

"I'll go see if they're here now." I got up and went to the main lobby. I looked around, not seeing them anywhere.

I was about to head back, "You mean that you're booked?" I turned to the main desk to see that they were there.

"Hi, if it's okay, we have rooms they can use." I said with a smile.

"Are you with the school?" The lady asked.

"Yep."

"I need to have a teacher okayed the offer."

"And I can assure you that it's perfectly okay. They're just late arrivers." We turned around to see Mackenzie-san standing there with a smile.

"Okay, give us the rooms and we'll give them a key. You should've told us that you'll have late arrivers."

"Sorry." Mackenzie-san was giving the information to her. Once it was all done, I brought them to the lunch hall.

"Glad you guys could make it." Ryan said.

"Where's TK?" Tim asked.

"He didn't want to come and he didn't want everyone to pressure him." Ken answered.

"Hi, my name is Stan. I'm Lily Dawn's brother." He extended his hand to Tim.

"My name is Tim and these are my younger siblings, Nereida and Damon."

"My name is Don." He bowed.

"I'm Neon. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Wow, looks like most of you are here." Ryo said as they came up to us.

"We planned it that way." Panther said.

"Where are you five staying? I was told that everything is booked." Mia asked.

"We're giving up some of our room space to them." I explained. "Speaking of which, Lily Dawn's and mine room have two extras beds; Panther and Ceres's room has two as well; Stan has three and Ken and Ryan's have one but Davis is there."

"Stan, if you don't mind, I'll buck with you." Tim said.

"Not at all. Where is everyone else staying?"

"Neon and I will stay with Panther and Ceres, if that's okay." Don looked at them.

"Sure." Panther said.

"Then that leaves us with Lily Dawn and Kari." Damon summed.

"Is Mackenzie-san going to allow it?" Sai asked.

"Yes, since we can cover easier for them." She said as she came up to us. Most of the other students were gone.

"Okay, we will." Rowen said with a smile.

"Thanks." Neon said with a bow.

"I guess that means that you guys better get going to your places." Lita said.

"Right, Neon, are you coming with us?" I asked.

"Nah, I think those hot springs that Ken is going to is most relaxing." She placed her hand on her growing stomach.

"Okay, we'll see you at dinner." Don kissed her on her forehead before we headed out to the slopes.

TK

Ken texted that Tim and them were able to get rooms. They were sharing rooms with the others. He told me that he and Neon were going to the hot springs and everyone else was heading over to the slopes. I was over at Matt's house so I was able to read it for myself, though I didn't tell him that. I wasn't there for the story, just to get a feel for a dark room.

"It's going to be fun for them." Patamon said as I logged off the computer.

"I know. Panther seems to think that something is going to happen. I hope that nothing does."

"Same here."

We walked out of the house to get some lunch. Afterward, I noticed that flurries were coming down. I looked around, seeing that everyone else was amazed too. The meteorologist didn't say that we were having a snow day. I looked at the TVs in the window, seeing them changing to the weather. They were saying that this all of a sudden formed all over Japan. I thought that it was weird that a snowstorm was covering all over Japan, but I walked home just the same, since they said that it would pass very quickly.

Hebe

Demeter walked into the house, looking so lost that I allowed Artemis and Apollo to find out what was wrong.

"Demeter, please, tell us what's troubling you." Artemis offered her honey. After her last visit, we had some just incase they came over.

"It's just horrible. I never believed that it would happen." She muttered over and over again.

I looked outside to see that snow was beginning to fall around the city. I just remembered that it was time for her to visit her daughter in the Underworld during the cold months. They made it a new ritual when we became Digimon. I was wondering if she was sad by some cause of it. I looked over at them, wondering if they knew what day it was.

"Artemis, I need to talk to you."

Artemis peeled away as Apollo tried his luck, "Yes?"

"You might want to ask about Persephore."

She stared at me then outside before going back to her, "Is Persephore mad at you?"

That got her to stop and look at Artemis, "She told me that she doesn't want to return to me."

"She wants to stay? Why?" Apollo asked.

"She believes that one of these _Neo_ Digidestined is a daughter of darkness, a semi-goddess as she put it. Not only that, she has grown to love Hades. Zeus will do nothing to aid me, saying that it's none of his business."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Artemis said, comforting her to what she wanted. We didn't care, though I knew what they were leading to ask.

"Is there a reason you want us to know?" Apollo asked, masking their real question.

"I want to talk to those brothers. They might know who she's seeking."

"They're off on a field trip. They won't be back for a few days."

"Then bring them back, this is urgent."

"We're not sure how to get there and we don't know what room they're staying in, I'm sorry." Artemis said. I wanted to ask 'on whose watch'.

"Fine!" She got up, "I'll search for them myself. Where are they?" The snow was coming down more and more.

"They're up in the mountains. We forgot which ones though." Artemis lied, since she had to sign them. Though then again, they can't read Japanese so it wasn't really a lie. It would be a lie if I said it.

"That's good enough. I'll search until I find them!" She walked out of the house. I looked out one more time, knowing that we would be trapped by snow until she got what she wanted.

"We better get everything we need. This is going to be a long weekend." Apollo said and we all headed out. Artemis was going to get Hecate; Apollo was getting covering for the windows; and I was getting everything else.

TK

When I got home, the snow was already knee deep. I warmed up the house since it was freezing outside before turning on the news. They were saying that they weren't sure how this was happening but it appeared that the storm was increasing in strength and it wasn't leaving Japan.

"At least they'll get a lot of snow." Patamon said, sipping some hot tea.

"But it's very unusual that something like this would happen. We never had this bad of a snowstorm."

"You're thinking that it's unnatural?"

"Yea, but I'm not sure what is causing it."

"Maybe it's only a day thing."

"Hopefully." I texted Ken, asking him how it was where he was.

Ken

It was really helping my body to relax as we were sitting in the hot springs. It seemed to be helping my paralyzed state, which was good. Neon was also enjoying it, saying that the kids were at rest.

My cell beeped. TK asked me how the weather was up here.

"Who is it?" Neon asked. We were the only two here.

"TK, he wants to know the weather here." I got up to look out of the window. It was snowing and snowing pretty hard. "Looks like we're having snow." I texted TK that.

"I wonder why he asked."

"I'll ask him." I texted him 'why did you want to know'.

TK

"Well?" Patamon asked when he heard the beep.

"He says that it's snowing up there too and it looks like a lot."

"Let him know why we were asking."

Ken

"He says that it's snowing all over Japan." I was surprised to hear that. How can a snowstorm be covering all of Japan?

"That makes no sense. There's no way that can be possible, right?"

"That's what I would think. We better get ready for anything. This might be the work of some Digimon."

"Right." She got up and we headed back to our changing rooms.

Don

It was snowing by the time we were hitting the slopes. It was better for us since it covered the old tracks. Now one hardly noticed that it was snowing harder afterward a while, minus the Deity Brothers. I went over to them, seeing that they were pondering hard over the increase of strength.

"Is there something on your mind?" I asked.

"Yea, it's this snowfall. There's something familiar about it." Shikyo said.

"It's snow."

"We know that. It seems to have some signature to it. I think it might be Demeter." He looked at his brothers.

"That's right, isn't today the day that she goes visits her daughter in the Underworld. Something might've happened that made her either angry or sad." Fuhai analyzed.

"Well, judging by the increase, I'll say that she's pretty mad at something now." Karu concluded their commenting, though it wasn't making any sense to me.

"Who's Demeter?"

"She's the Goddess of the Harvest. She controls the weather, a bit. Whenever she's really upset or saddened, she is able to make it so cold that nothing can survive it." Shikyo explained.

"You think this is her doing because of her daughter?"

"Her daughter is her one source of joy."

"I see… Should we head back inside? I can convince Mackenzie-san if you think we need to go."

They studied everything around them, carefully taking everything in. "I think we should. It could become dangerous. Since we're not sure how long this will last, it would be the wisest move." Karu concluded.

"Okay." I went to look for Mackenzie-san but I found Ryo instead. "Ryo!"

"What is it?" He asked when I got to him.

"Do you know where Mackenzie-san is?"

"I can contact her through the walkie-talkies, why?"

"Could you tell her that we need to go back? I believe that it's becoming too dangerous for us to stay out for much longer."

"Okay." I was really surprised that he didn't ask me why I thought that, "Layla, Don thinks that we need to head inside."

"Okay, I'll tell the other teachers."

"Over and Out."

"Thanks a lot."

"Not a problem. Now, why do you think that?" _Spoke too soon._

"I can't really say right now but I do know that we should."

"Well, Sensei did tell us to trust your judge so that's what we're going to do."

"Why did he say that?" I didn't mind it, of course, but I did want to know.

"I don't really know, but we know that we can trust his judgment."

"Oh… okay. Tell him thanks when you talk to him." I went searching for the others.

The teachers were already calling everyone back, so it wasn't hard to find them. I told Lily Dawn and she told Tim. Shendramon spread it to our friends, letting them know what the brothers said.

"I'm glad that you guys came back so early." Ken said as we came up to them. They were hanging out in the lobby.

"Why?" Nereida asked.

"Because of the snow. TK said that it's covering all of Japan."

"Then it is her." We turned to our left to see the brothers there.

"What are you talking about?" Stan asked, the only one that doesn't really have some idea at to what they mean. I know that everyone else knows they mean a Deity Digimon, most knowing that it's Demeter.

"Nothing. Don, we'll talk later." Karu said before they walked to their room.

"We better do the same." Panther said as we all followed their led.

"The brothers told me that a goddess named Demeter is causing this snowstorm." I told Neon once we were in our room. The last two beds were pushed together so there was an empty space where all our stuff was going.

"Really? Wow, do they know why?" She asked.

"I'll say when we're together."

"I don't think that's going to happen too often. Stan is sticking to me like glue." Panther said.

"Yea, we have to find a way to get him away." Ceres said.

"I'm sure we can find a way." Neon said.

"Plus, we have Date-san's friends and family on our side." I said.

"Really? Then that's perfect." She walked over to the phone. "Hi, Lita, this is Panther. I was wondering if you could get Stan out on some chaperon thing……………………… You can make something up………………… I want to have a break from him……… Thanks. Bye." She put down the phone. "Let's go over to Kari's room."

We got up and went over. Lily Dawn called everyone else here by mind. Tim came once Stan was out of the room.

"Okay, here's the thing. They told me that Demeter is either saddened or angry at something that deals with her daughter. Today is the day that she goes to visit her in the Underworld. They were guessing by the amount of snow that she's really angry at something." I explained.

"And since it's all over Japan that means that it might have to deal with us." Tim said.

"I guess I better go over to them to see what's going on." I got up from the wall I was leaning on.

"We have a problem." Ken said. He was looking at his cell phone.

"What is it?" Kari asked.

"It seems like we can't get a signal. I was planning on telling TK what has happened. You might want to find the limits to her powers." Ken said, though not expressing his worry that was on his words.

"Okay." I walked out before coming back in, "Where is their room?"

Ryan led me to their room before going back to Lily Dawn's. I knocked on the door, looking around to make sure that no one saw me going in. Fuhai opened the door, "Come on in." He opened it wider to allow me entry.

They didn't change their room, like I was imagining they would. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yea, Demeter's powers are able to cross a wide area. Now, we know what that limit is, so we know that Japan is in that sphere very nicely." Shikyo said.

"So what does that mean?"

"It means that no matter where she goes in Japan, it's going to snow on this country constantly." Karu added.

"That means that Japan is going to go through a really bad snowstorm. How long can it last?"

"Weeks, months, years, it all depends on her." Shikyo said.

"Were you able to contact someone that might be able to give you an answer as to why she's doing this?"

"Oh, communication is going to be limited. My guess that only the TV will work after a while." Fuhai said.

"Why only the TVs?"

"Well… computers too, but I know that she hates phone lines so that's going to be the first thing to go."

"So no one is going to be able to talk to each other?"

"Nope, not long range anyway." Karu answered.

"What do you advise to do?"

"Wait it out, there isn't anything else you can do."

"Okay, thanks." I walked out and went back to Kari's room.

"They said that long distance communications will be down through the phone. The only thing that we can use is a computer. The TVs will be another thing that works. I can assume that radios will be taken soon as well."

"Do they know why she's doing this?" Kari asked.

"They couldn't get a hold of someone. And this can last for a long time."

There was a knock at the door before I opened it. Mina was standing there, "There's a meeting right after dinner. You can't go outside at all, okay?"

"Why?" Ceres asked.

"Because they need to figure out what's going on first. Don't worry; I'm sure that it's nothing serious." She smiled before closing the door.

"We're stuck until then." Panther said, looking out of the window.

"It's not that long until dinner. So we can all go somewhere for a while." Lily Dawn said.

"I'm going to find a way to contact TK." Ken walked out, most likely going to his room.

"Good thing I brought video games." Damon said as he started to bring them out.

"Can I play?" Ceres asked, standing over him.

"Sure." He brought out two controllers.

Panther walked out without saying a word. Damon was setting it up as Nereida was sitting on the bed, "I'll play the winner."

"Kari, did you bring your camera?" Ryan asked.

"Yep, do you want to look around?"

"Yea, we might as well get it in now." They went out.

"I'll go back to the room. Tell Shendramon if you need me." Tim said before walking out as well.

"I'll take a look around the place." Lily Dawn left and we left as well. We were sitting in the lobby, just enjoying each other company.

"This isn't good." Neon said as she was resting her head on my arm.

"I know. We all know."

Ken

I couldn't reach TK; all the lines were saying that it was busy. I only guessed that everyone else was trying the same thing and overloading the system.

"What are you trying to do? Nothing is working here except for the TVs." Davis said.

"I know." I just didn't want to give up so easily. There had to be something I can use to get in touch with TK. He most likely thinks that this is nothing to worry about.

"Are you trying to talk to Yolie?" He jumped on the bed.

"I'm trying to talk to TK."

"Why? If he doesn't want to come then you shouldn't tell him everything you're doing."

I wanted to tell him that I wanted to tell TK so he knows that he's still apart of this group, that we will still tell him things even when he's not here. But I looked at him; he was deep within his own thoughts.

"Things aren't going well with Hoshi?"

"Not at all."

"Sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. I'm not going to give up."

"That's good to hear." I went back to trying. There just has to be a way for us to get a hold of TK. There just has to be.

Panther

I care nothing for video games and I didn't feel like watching. I was watching the snow fall from a window in a silent part of the place. I hate the cold.

"Panther, you shouldn't stay near the window for too long. You might start to shiver." Plantmon said.

"I will."

"Pan–."

"Panther, why are you here by yourself?" Stan asked. I didn't look at him but I saw his reflection on the window.

"I don't feel like socializing."

"Is something wrong?"

"Maybe I don't feel like talking."

"I know that I'm not…"

"If you know then don't say it. It's a pointless remark that needs to go unsaid."

"I think you do need to hear it. Panther… You can't go around like this. You have to give it up."

"Give what up?"

"Your past, everything it held. You have to let it all go."

"Let me guess, you fear that I'll go back there." I smiled one of my old ones, the ones I held in the gang.

"No, but I don't want to see you in pain because of it."

"What do you care?" He grabbed my arm and pulled me to face him.

"I really do care."

"That's what I've been hearing. But you know what," I pulled out of his grip, "I don't care. I'm not ashamed of what I was, I don't hide that I was there. I went there by myself, and I left by myself."

"I thought that Killer got you in and that it was he that got you out?"

"I love him. I love him more than anyone else on this Earth, but when reality hits, I don't cry over my fantasy."

"That's why you need to forget. You can't keep holding on to that life. You have a new life, a better one."

"I'm not about to let anyone tell me what to forget. Only Killer himself can tell me what I can and can not do!"

"But he's dead, he can't come back."

"He will come back to me." I walked away, "Legally or illegally, I will see him again."

I didn't hear if he said something, I didn't care. I went out by a side door, outside to the cold. I curled up and started to let the tears roll. I didn't cry often, but he made me missed Killer so much. I knew where he is, but I don't know how to get there. Plantmon wrapped me up as much as she could, for comfort and warmth.

"Panther, didn't I just tell you that you can't be outside?" I looked up to see Mina. She didn't look angry, though I didn't look up at her when she was talking. "Are you okay?" She sat right next to me.

"Not really." I don't know why I wanted to tell her. I might've wanted to tell someone that was fresh.

"What's wrong?"

"… I had a boyfriend who was killed before I was adopted by Matt. Stan just made me miss him again."

"You must think about him everyday."

"I do. I can't forget about him. I don't want to forget about him."

"Well, let me tell you something. I know what you're going through on a small scale."

I looked at her, "You are?"

"Yep. The person I liked is cold and hard to read at times. But I know that he's kind and sweet when he wants to be. There's a kind heart that I know lies within him. Right now, he lives really far away. I think about him often. Whenever I see a couple, or Sensei and Lita together, I always wondered what it would be like if he was standing there. That he would surprise me with a visit and that we're together again. It's a girlish wish, but I really want that to happen. I know that mine isn't dead, but just know that I miss him just as much."

I nodded my head, glad to know that there was someone that understood my pain. "Thanks for letting me know."

"Are you ready to go inside?"

"Yea," we got up and I thought I saw someone out in the snow. "Is everyone inside?"

"Yes. Did you see someone out there?"

"I'm not sure." The snow was coming down really heavy so I couldn't see clearly.

"Stay here." She went out into the snow. She didn't go very far before coming back, "I don't see anyone. We just have to hope for the best. We'll know when we do a head count."

"But that's only for us. What about the other people that are staying here?"

"We'll tell them to do a head account as well."

I nodded and we headed back inside. I looked out into the snow, wondering if I saw something.

"Okay, we have everyone here. Now, you can't go outside. There's seems to be a bad snowstorm and most communications are down for the moment. Don't do anything too reckless while we're waiting for the storm to pass." The main teacher said. Everyone was getting restless.

"I couldn't get in touch with TK." Ken whispered to us. I couldn't tell if he was upset or frustrated.

"Why?" Kari asked.

"All the connections were down. I'm going to try tomorrow though."

"I guess there isn't much else we can do."

We were talking about anything now. I noticed that Kento came back from the front desk. He went to Mackenzie-san and them and she nodded her head. Lita came over to us, "Panther, they did a head count and they have everyone."

"Thanks. It must've been the snow."

She nodded before going back over to them.

"You thought you saw someone out in the snow?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Why were you outside?" Ceres asked.

"I needed some air." Stan was silent, though he was looking at me with pity. "Anyway, everything is fine so don't worry about it."

Ceres wasn't really ready to accept that, but she didn't say anything.

"I hope you didn't get too cold while you were out there." Neon said, acting like a mother. She was setting up our bedding like a mother would. We have to let her do this; otherwise she would either yell or give us these eyes that make you pity her.

"I didn't stay out too long."

"That's good. Okay, lights out." She walked over to her bed and Don turned off the lights.

Damon

"I wonder if Panther is okay. She's been acting weird lately." Lily Dawn said as we were all getting ready to go to bed.

"It might be Matt again." Kari offered.

"I hope so. I mean, Stan was dead silent during dinner and I didn't like it."

"It could be that he had nothing to say." Nereida offered.

"If it was that… it couldn't be that. That's not him."

"You might want to ask him tomorrow. It doesn't seem like we're going anywhere any time soon." I said.

"You're right. Well, night." She turned off the lights and we all went to sleep.

Ryan

"You're still trying." Davis said, seeing Ken on the computer. He was typing something on his laptop, waiting for the chance to get access to the Internet or for some idea to hack into it.

"I'm not giving up."

"I'm sure that TK is fine. He can take care of himself." He fell on the bed. "Don't stay up too late."

"Right."

"Ken, let me know if you do, okay?"

"I will." He looked at me. It was kinda creepy to see no emotion on his face. I couldn't tell if he was smiling or not.

"Then night." I turned off the lights and went to bed.

Tim

Stan was still quiet. He seemed to be deep in thought. I didn't want to disturb him, since I don't know him well and I don't know what's wrong.

"**_Why don't you talk to him? He might need it right now._**" Shendramon said.

_I'm not sure what to say._ Lily Dawn had been teaching me how to talk through the mind. I've only been able to do it with Shendramon as a medium.

"**_Just say anything. I'm sure you can get him to talk._**"

"Tim."

"Yea?" He did my job for me, "What is it?"

"… Have you been head over heals for someone but they keep ignoring you or they think themselves superior so they don't even talk to you?"

I was wondering who he was talking about, "I've never allowed myself the pleasure to think about girls. I've been taking care of my siblings ever since our parents died. Why don't you explain more about it?" I sat down next to him, knowing that he might just need someone to listen to him.

"Well… I like this girl and I don't know if she likes me back. She once had a boyfriend that she loved, I guess a lot, but that person is died. She doesn't want to let go of the past, which I know is killing her inside. I'm not sure how to make her forget about him and her past."

"So you want her to move on?" This still wasn't giving me in-sight as to who the person was.

"Yea, but she thinks that she's fine with everything. She always has this hard attitude about her, but it has recently been cold. I'm not sure what's going on, but I know that she hasn't asked for any help. And I really do want to be that help."

"Have you tried to let her know that?"

"I'm not sure if it had gotten through. I haven't felt like this with any other person before. I'm confused as it is, so I know that I'm confusing her greatly."

"Maybe you just need to come out and say it to her. I mean, trying it indirectly wasn't helping your case." That would be my guess.

"I'll try, but she might bit my head off."

"At least it will be out there, right?"

"Right. Thanks."

"No problem."

He got up and turned off the lights. I was glad that I could help, but now I'm really curious as to whom he was talking about.

TK

I got up early and turned on the news. It said that it hadn't stopped snowing since it started.

"You might want to see if Ken sent you something." Patamon said.

I went to the computer, nothing. I went to the phone, nothing. I went to both my cells, nothing.

"Nope."

"This is becoming really bad," I looked back to the news. "All schools in Japan are closing down because it's too dangerous to venture outside. Everyone is advised to stay within their homes until this passes. There have been reports that old homes are collapsing under the weight of the snow. We'll report more when we have an update."

I grabbed my coat and scarf before opening the door. It was nearly blocked with snow, meaning that my car is covered. "Patamon, we have to get to Date-san."

"Okay." He flew upstairs as I closed the door. I turned off all the lights as I made my way up. "Ready." He had opened a window and was standing outside.

"Digiarmor Energized!"

"Patamon Armor Digievolves to……………………….. Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!"

I hopped on Pegasusmon, closed the window and went off to Date-san's house. I remembered that his house was made out of wood, which isn't good with all the heavy snow.

When we got there, we had to battle the harsh winds that came up; you could barely see his house.

"Pegasusmon, you get the roof and I'll get the door."

"Right." I jumped down and started to dig my way to his door as Pegasusmon was taking the snow off the roof.

Once he was done, he went back to Patamon and started to help me dig. Our hands were going numb and we were becoming frozen, but we didn't stop. After a while, we were about to reach get rid of a good amount of snow to allow someone to slide into his house. Though that wouldn't do him much good so we kept on going until he opened the door.

"Come inside, quickly."

I handed him Patamon before I slid through. He closed the door and led us to his fireplace. He placed wood in there and somehow lit it up. "Why are you here? I thought you would be on the trip?"

"I didn't want to go." I was shivering really badly since we were out there for a long while. Patamon was shaking, but since I was holding him, Date-san couldn't tell.

"Stay here and I will make you something." He went into his kitchen and I allowed Patamon to be closer to the fire.

"Are you okay?"

"Yea, you better get close too."

"I will." I was hearing him cook really fast. "I think he might be done quickly."

"Okay."

Date-san came back with two bowls of soup. "How are you doing?"

"A lot better, thanks." I was wondering why he brought two, but I didn't say anything about it.

"I will get you a blanket." He sat down the tray and went upstairs.

"You better drink up, Patamon."

"Right." He came over and started to drink the soup that was there.

"TK," Patamon froze, we didn't even hear him. I turned around to see him caring two blankets with one of them smaller than the other, "you and your friends do not have to hide your creatures. I know that they are alive."

I looked at him, trying to think up a lie but there was no way that I could, "When did you know?"

"Ever since Panther and Ceres were over here; you do not have to hide them from any of my friends or family. Of course, that would mean that I have to tell them about your creatures."

"Were we that obvious?" Patamon asked.

"No, not at all, but we were about to see through your disguises. Please, you do not have to hide yourself any more."

I looked at Patamon as he did to me. I was thinking about it, since they're not supposed to be known. "Okay, but don't go telling the whole world."

He smiled as he handed the blankets to us, "If we have not told anyone yet, why would we start it once we knew it was okay?"

"You might've wanted proof before you start to talk."

"You have our word as warriors."

"Thanks."

"Have you been able to get a hold of anyone?" He sat down on the couch that was facing the fireplace.

"I haven't tried anything but Ken hasn't sent me anything. No one has sent me anything."

"Once I learned of this storm, I have been trying to reach someone from there. Nothing has worked so far."

"That's weird. Do you have a computer I can try?"

He looked like he was debating on telling me, "I do not. Lita and Mina were planning on getting me one, but they have not gotten around to buying one."

"Oh."

"Why did you come over?"

"I knew that your house was made out of wood so I thought that it wouldn't be able to handle all the weight."

"I do appreciate the help. I am not sure if the wood is able to hold the weight. I guess we will know soon."

"I can clear the snow every now and then." Patamon said.

"And have you be frozen again? No, but thank you. We have to find a way to reach someone up there."

"I have a car that we can use, but it's buried under all the snow."

"We will think about that as the option last. By the way, I do not believe I know your name." He looked at Patamon.

"I'm Patamon. Sorry about that." Patamon placed his hand behind his head. I somehow figured that he knew his name, though knowing that that was a dumb thought.

"It is nice to meet you." He got up and got the bowls. "We will think up something." He walked back to the kitchen.

"It sounded like he was giving you hope." Patamon said.

"Yea… Did you feel like he knew your name?"

"Yea, that's why I didn't say anything. Weird, uh?"

"Yea, very weird." I got up and walked over to the kitchen, "Date-san, do you need help?"

"If you would like to make some tea, go right ahead. I'll set up your room." He smiled as he walked passed me.

I wasn't really thinking about making tea, but it didn't sound like a bad idea. I opened a cabinet to see a whole lot of different teas. It was reminding me of Matt's house once he learned that tea was his savior from the evil that was within the demon. I started to make some.

"I am glad you found it. I am sorry for not telling you where it was." Date-san said as he and Patamon came in. Patamon flew to my head and sat there.

"It's okay. I was able to guess where it was. You have a lot of tea."

"I am not sure what kind my guess would need. That is why I have so many."

"That makes sense. Oh, I'm done."

"Great. Let us have it at the table."

I set it on a tray and we walked over to it. As I sat down, it somehow felt familiar, like I've been here before. I looked at the table, seeing that it was able to rotate in the middle. "That is so cool! I didn't know that they made these here."

"It was by luck that I got this table. Nothing more."

"It's still awesome. But then again, I don't have too many people that come over to my house but it would be perfect for Matt's house. We all meet up there to study together when he was home."

"And now?"

"We meet at a café since there isn't much other places we could go that it isn't that far."

"It is good to hear that you study together. Is that everyone I had met at the festival?"

"Yep." I noticed that I was a lot more at peace with Date-san. It was a bit nice, but I remembered that my friends were still trapped up in the mountains and we couldn't reach them. I looked out the window, wondering when this snow is going to end.

"They'll be fine for now." I looked at Date-san and he smiled some reassurance to me.

I smiled back.

Tim

It hadn't stopped, and it was now covering the walkway outside. The teachers were wondering what to do. The news was saying that it wasn't moving but they can't tell if it was gaining or losing strength. Even in the areas that normally don't get snow were getting some.

"This is looking bad." Don said. The ones that I brought were staying in the lobby since the teachers called a school meeting.

"Yea, if we get too much snow, plants might stop growing." Neon said.

"Not only that, we'll be stuck here longer." Damon added.

"I guess we could always go…" Nereida was about to say but I interrupted.

"We're not going to wait it out in the Digital World." I said firmly.

"At least it's better than doing nothing."

"By the way, why didn't Inazuma come along?" Neon asked.

"Apparently, she doesn't like the cold."

"At least she did stay home that way she's taking care of Grandmother." Damon said.

"That's true, as well as Husky." I added.

"And what about Gladiolus and Aero?" Nereida asked.

"I didn't think it would be good for her to come." Neon said.

"And Aero isn't able to stay in cold places too long." Don explained.

"I wonder if they have theirs." I asked more to myself.

"Well, I know that Ele, Plant, and Yi-Ya are here."

"Gato and Larkspur are here."

"So we don't know about Worm or Breo, I guess we have to ask them later."

"Yep." I said.

Panther

The teachers weren't saying anything interesting. They were warning us to stay inside and not to panic. They also told us that phone and Internet connections are down. I looked over at Ken, seeing that he stayed up all night trying to reach TK. I wondered why he tried so hard since it doesn't really matter since TK is in the same boat as we are.

"Did you try everything?" Kari asked as they ended their session.

"I even tried the D-terminal and still nothing."

"You might as well get some sleep. There isn't much else to do." Ryan said.

"Right." He got up and went to his room.

I got up and went to a window upstairs. It was so high that the only way of getting out was by jumping out from here. I touched the glass, feeling the cold.

"Are you wondering if the person you saw is out there?" Plantmon asked.

"A little."

"Panther, there you are." I heard Stan say.

"I can't escape here, unless I want to die." I smiled to show that I was joking.

"Please, don't joke about that."

"You want to talk about something?"

"Sorry for yesterday."

"It's in the past. Nothing can be done about it."

"But still, I don't want to hurt you."

"I don't burse easily. So don't worry."

"What did you mean by legally or illegally?"

"You mean when I mentioned Killer?"

"Yeah."

"I don't know."

"You know."

"It's not important."

"It was to you yesterday."

"That was yesterday. I've gotten over it."

"Please, tell me. I need to know as well."

I looked across the snow. I noticed that it was snowing less. It hadn't reached the window level, though I don't know if the window is set higher than normal. I felt something entering my mind. I thought it was Lily Dawn so I allowed it full entry.

_Glad to know that you love me._ It was Donn! I stepped back from the window. _At least now we know that you're close by. Our scouts said you were going to be up here. We will find you._

"Get out of my head." I said with fear.

_You called me to come inside and now you're telling me to leave. That's very rude._

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOU! GET OUT!"

When I felt hands on me, I pushed the person away from me before running. I was pushing him out of my head, so I couldn't hear him. Someone pulled my arm to make me land on them, "LET ME GO! LET ME GO!"

"Panther, no one is here."

I was breathing hard. It was Ryo. I rested my head on him, "Sorry."

"What's the matter?" He was considered about me, something that I didn't think he would show, at least towards me.

I didn't know how to word it. I was calming down now, so I was able to think, "Sorry, you wouldn't understand."

"Just tell me."

"… There's an elite group in my gang and they want me to come back to them. I know that they're near here."

"Come on." He led me to my room. I was stroking Plantmon's arm, since I needed the comfort. "Here." He got me a glass of water. I took it and drank.

"Thanks." I handled it back.

"How do you know they're here?" He said down on the chair that was within the room.

"They have the power to enter minds. They can control you. I can't fight them."

"What are their names?"

"Chaos, Donn, Satogi, Apofisu, Neraru, and Dotsun'sa."

"Who's the leader?"

"Chaos."

"Do you know why they want you back? I thought that you didn't want to return."

"I'm somehow important to them. I've always been important to them."

"Look, we not going to let them hurt you. So you don't have to worry about them."

"They're coming after me."

He got up and went to the window. I really thought that he saw them, "I guess we really do need Sage to come here."

"Sage?"

He looked horrified. That meant that Date-san's name is Sage. "I can't believe that I slipped."

"I won't tell anyone. It seems important that others don't know his name."

"Thanks. Layla and Mina were saying that they needed a way to have him come up here. They were saying that this snow isn't natural."

"How can they tell?"

"They can sense these things. Though I do have to admit, we're all sensing it so we know that there's something with this snow."

I wanted to tell him that it's a Digimon that's doing this, but I knew that I couldn't. There was a knocked at the door. "Yo, Panther, are you okay?" It was Don.

"I'm fine. You can come in."

He opened the door and saw Ryo there, "Stan was wondering where you were."

"I do have other people watching me."

"Don't tell me that. Don't worry; I'm the only one that he asked."

"Why?"

"Neon and I were the first that he saw and I told him that I'll take care of it." He was watching Ryo, though not very cautiously.

Ryo walked out, most likely seeing it too. "He stopped me from running."

"What happened?" He closed the door.

"There's this elite group in my gang and they're somewhere close. They still want me."

"Why haven't they chased you before?"

"They have. Ceres was able to keep them away from me the last time we saw them."

"I see. Well, Neon is staying with Stan so let him know that you're okay now. I'll let Ceres know."

"Thanks."

"That's what we do for each other." He left and I left after a while.

"I'm here for you too." Plantmon whispered as I was looking for Neon.

"I know, and I'm glad that you are."

I saw them in the lobby.

"Panther?" Stan asked.

"No other."

Neon got up, "Where did Don go?"

"He's looking for Ceres."

She smiled before leaving.

"Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" Stan asked as I sat down near him.

"It doesn't concern you and I don't want it to so just drop it. All you need to know is that it's not going to get any easier."

"Why? I want to help you as well." He sat down himself.

"If you don't drop it, I'm leaving."

"Fine." He lay back, "Do you guys enjoy keeping secrets from me? Is it some game?"

"Who's 'you guys'?"

"You, Lily Dawn, I can't say anything about Ceres though since I don't know her."

"I'll ask them… I have to ask people… But we don't want you to know because we feel like you shouldn't know. We just don't want you to know."

He got up, "Fine then, don't tell me." He walked away.

"It might make it easier around the house." Plantmon whispered.

"Easier has never been something that I do."

"Oh…"

"Panther," I turned around to see Ceres, "Don told me. Who talked to you?"

"Donn."

"That's the one that likes you?" She leaned on the couch.

"Yea. He said that one of their spies told them where I was. They'll be coming soon."

"I'm sure you've already heard this so I'm not going to say it, since even I have said it multiple times. What offers have been made?"

"Ryo is going to find a way for Date-san to come up here."

"Well… he does have a big house… there is a possibility that he could leave there."

"But how will he get up here in time?"

"I can't think up everything."

I rested my head on the couch, "I hate this."

"We just have to trust that they will be able to get more help."

"I don't want too many people involve. That just gives them more minds to control."

"Well, you do understand that they would want to help. Everyone in our group will want to help."

"I know."

"Wouldn't that give them a strain on their powers?"

"There are six of them." She started to count on her fingers.

"If Date-san is able to come, that will make it twenty-two people that they have to face, minus us, and about seven Digimon since Don, Neon, Nereida and Damon didn't bring theirs."

"So that's about twenty-nine beings they have to deal with… That might just overwhelm them but I've never seen them at full strength."

"But see, at least you know that it could and we should give it a try."

"Thanks. Thanks a lot."

"Not a problem." Ceres smiled.

TK

I was allowed to look around as Date-san was cleaning. I only went up to the fireplace, seeing something familiar within the photos. Outlines of people were on the pictures. I could tell by them that they were kids, but I couldn't tell who they were.

"Trying to solve the mystery?" Patamon asked.

"Yea, but at least they're coming through." I looked at all the pictures there, seeing that there was one of him and his sisters when they were young. They were glowing green, orange and red, one each color. I thought that it was weird, wondering what it meant.

"I see that you both like looking at pictures." I looked behind me to see Date-san.

"You have so many that it's hard not to look at them."

"Do you have any questions?"

"Why are you guys glowing here?"

"It was to show our destiny."

"What was your destiny?"

He walked over and pointed to Mina first, the farthest on the left, "Mina was to go back to her past life as the warrior of Venus. Orange is the color that represents her in that time so it has carried over now. Layla was to go find the magic that is formed from the West and the East. The hot red color is for the color of this magic. I was to go with the others to follow the path that my armor had. The dark green is the color for my armor."

I looked at the color that was his and remembered that his armor was this color. "Did you know your rule when you were young?"

"No. Only when we met up again the first time did we know what our destiny was."

"Why?"

"At that time, we had lived through most of it."

"Why are those pictures by the fireplace only have the outlines of the other people?"

"I believe they are starting to remember their past or something like that."

"Are they your brothers?"

"Yes, they are."

"Why don't you help them more?"

"I have to be slow about it. If I do not, I might not have them at all."

"Maybe I can help?"

"I do not want to trouble you."

"It won't be any trouble at all, I want to help in any way I can."

"Thank you, and I might take you up on that offer, but for now, I have to try my way first."

I really wanted to help, not really knowing why. But I allowed it to end there, since this is his fight and not mine. I noticed another picture that had someone missing in it. He was surrounded by people, but two caught my attention. One was a guy, smaller than the others, with spiked red hair that's in the shape of a hand and golden bangs; the other was someone that looked like Damon, but a bit older. "Who are they?" I noticed that they were standing outside of this house.

"Those are some friends that one of my brothers made. They taught him interesting things so I thought that it was befitting that we took a picture of them together."

I looked at it, seeing that they're holding up something in their hands, "What are they holding?"

"Their favorite card, I have to go train. You may look around if you wish."

He walked away as I still was looking at the picture.

"It ain't going anywhere." Patamon said.

"But there's something familiar about him." I pointed to the smallest one.

"Why do you think there's something familiar about him?"

"I don't know, but I know that there is."

"I know what we can do." Patamon flew up from my head.

"What?"

"Let's look around. We've never been upstairs and they did say one time that in one's bedroom is where you find the most precious things to him."

"You're right." We headed upstairs, since we would have to stay here for at least a day. We opened every door, finding five of rooms. Each seemed to have different size, which is weird, but none was small. Most had more than one bed, especially one of the big rooms. The other big room had only one, meaning that this is Date-san's room. I looked around, seeing a bookshelf with only old books. They didn't have a side label or a front label. Patamon was looking through the top windows that were there. It was bordered by windows with a circular or hexagon shaped at the center. There were two normal windows on each side of the room, one that faces the ocean and the other facing the forest. The forest looked like snow mountains and the ocean looks like an ice ring. "This snow can't be good for anyone."

"Yea. Even the window is frozen. Did you find anything interesting?" Patamon came back down.

"Not yet." I opened a closet to see only clothes so I closed it. "There doesn't seem to be anything here."

"Minus these books." Patamon hovered near them.

I walked over to the shelf and took one of the books. I noticed that there was a button behind it. "Should we push it?"

"I would say no…" But I pushed it anyway. The wall next to it moved to reveal a hidden closet. I looked in it to see a case that seemed to be for weapons.

"Why does he have this in a hidden closet?"

"Don't know but you should hide it again and put the book back before Date-san comes up."

I hit the button again and that closed it. I opened the book to see it written in old style Japanese. I couldn't really read it, so I wondered if Date-san could. I closed the book and placed it back on the shelf. "Doesn't seem he keeps anything up here."

"I did not know that you would explore that much."

We turned around to see him smiling at us from the door. "Where you there long?" I asked.

"I have been here for a few minutes."

"Sorry, we don't mean to be rude." Patamon said.

"It is okay." He walked in.

"Are you able to read this?" I pointed to the book that I held.

"If you are asking if I know how to read that ancient style, yes."

"What does it say?"

He pulled that book out and opened it, "This is the one that contains my armor. These books have knowledge on all of the armors that were kept in the east."

"What do you mean you by that?"

"There was one armor that was found in the west."

"Why?"

"It was meant to be separated from the rest."

"Oh. Why do you have a weapon case in a hidden closet?"

"At one point I had to run from my house and I did not want to the intruders to have them since they contain secrets to the armors."

"Do your friends know them?"

He placed the book back, "No." He walked out so we followed.

"Why? Should they know their own armor's power?"

"At one point, they could not be trusted." He stopped at one of the smaller rooms. "This is your room." He opened the door and I looked to see that it was the first one that we looked at.

"Okay. Thanks. How did you find this kind of house? I'm noticing that it's all built in a very artistic way." I noticed that there were different styles for each room and each section.

"Do you like art?"

"Meaning?"

"Designing, drawing, studying?"

"I am in an art class."

"I guess you are really good in it."

"Why guess that?"

"By the way you were able to pick up on the architecture. I had it built by people who would later be my friends."

"Really? It must've taken them a long time to build it."

"It was not that long at all."

"Did you have to pay a lot for it?"

"Not really."

"Why?"

"They made a mistake so they thought that it was best if they did not charge too much."

"So… how much did you pay for it?"

"That is not so important." He walked down and we followed.

"Since you didn't seem to mind that we were searching around before, would you mind if we continue?" Patamon asked.

"Sure, if you happen to find something interesting, let me know."

"Shouldn't you know what's in your house?"

"My sisters can leave things here."

"Oh, we'll sure to let you know."

He went to the couch and we went to the next room.

"Why are we so interested in looking around his house?"

"He's allowing us to for one thing and we have to know as much as we can conclude from his stuff."

"But what if we get the wrong conclusion?"

I thought about that for a moment, "We'll ask him."

We went into the dojo and noticed that it looked a lot like Matt's, which there is a difference. Oh, I'm assuming that I'm not going to be able to get into Matt's house by this time chapter is over so I'm going to be thinking up as much comments as I can. So okay, the difference in the two is that this Date-san is very well kept.

"Do you think he has hidden places for weapons in here?" Patamon went over to one of the areas where it was built in for Matt's dojo.

"We can see." He hit the side and it opened.

"Wow! I didn't think there would be one here?" Patamon looked at me.

"It might've been luck." I said as I went over. I looked inside to see weights. They were all of difference sizes.

I went around seeing if they were any more. I was really surprised that we found a lot of similarities in where the hidden spots are. Mind that there were different items within these than in Matt's since Matt has powers to increase. Though the only weird thing is that in one of them, there was a button in it with some kind panel.

"Now that's weird." Patamon commented.

"Let's go ask Date-san about this." Patamon landed on my head and we went to the living room. He was watching the news, "Date-san, are you busy?"

"No. What is it?" He got up and followed us to the dojo, "I see that you have been searching."

"May I ask what this is for?" I went over to the panel. And no, I didn't ask in an aggressive way.

"This is for some higher level of training."

"Are you the only one that used this?"

"My sisters use it every now and then. They have not used it in a while."

"How is this higher training?" Patamon asked. Patamon was remembering about Don and his quest to get stronger in his training and this might help him.

"I can increase the gravity with this panel and the button activates it."

"How can it increase the gravity?" I didn't see anything around that could do that, though I won't know what to look for.

"It was built into the ceiling and floor. I am not sure of the technology involved myself since I never learned it."

"Have I asked who built this house?"

"Yes and the answer to it was my friends."

"Okay. This house is really amazing. Could you set the gravitation machine to a low number so I could test it? I'll be careful."

He smiled, "Okay, I'm setting it to two." He hit a few buttons to set it before activating it. It was heavy but it wasn't much. I would think that I would fall to the ground under the weight, but I didn't and neither did Patamon.

"Is this it? I thought it would be heavier." Patamon said.

"Do you want me to go higher?"

"Just to five." I said.

"Okay." He hit another series of buttons and it got a little heavier but it still felt like nothing. Then something hit me, when did my body get training to handle this? Or maybe our bodies are able to handle this kind of pressure naturally? "Thanks." He turned it off.

"If you were listening, you would have heard the generators activating."

"I didn't hear them." I looked at Patamon and he shook his head.

"They are silent to most ears, I guess. Is that all?"

"Yea. Thanks."

"No problem." He smiled before walking out. I walked over to the panel to study it.

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about seeing the wiring to this. I want to know how it works."

"Why don't you just ask him to show you?"

"Because that would be too easy."

"Don't be like that! This isn't your house, you know."

"Yea, good point." I went around closing the hidden spots before walking out, "I'll ask him later."

I went into the kitchen to see if there was anything interesting here. I noticed that he likes a lot of water for someone who has a lot of tea. He had a special fridge for them. There was tube in it as well with slimy, or watery, purple stuff in it. It was attached to the side and it seemed that you needed some key to get it out.

"I wonder what that is." Patamon said.

"Date-san?" I called.

"Yes?" He walked into the kitchen.

"What's this that's in the tube?"

"A promise to my brother. I told him that I would get that for him but I forgot to give it to him before he was taken. So when I get him back, that is the first thing that he gets."

"Are you going to tell me what that promise is?"

"Let me explain first why it was a promise. When we were coming home from a trip, I showed him how to place food into water, something that Lita had showed me when we first met. But he is a very talented cook, so he was able to perfect it to where he could hide anything he wanted within any kind food. He was willing to show me but I could not allow him since this was his own creation and I did not want this talent to be used as a weapon. He originally created it so that I could defeat my greatest enemy so he asked me to get this from one of my old enemies who are now my friends. He's armor is known as the Armor of Venom."

"Your brother wanted to poison someone?"

"I guess he could tell, or feel, how much I hated him."

"Oh… My brother can do the same thing."

"Meaning?"

"That he could also give water flavor."

"That is really interesting. I hope I could try some of his cooking some time."

"I'm sure that he wouldn't mind." I smiled and he smiled back. An old clock rang twelve times.

"It is noon. Would you like some lunch?"

"Can we help?" Patamon asked.

"Sure."

So we were cooking together. Again, I found it strange that I could be at peace in a place that Matt wasn't in.

Ryan

Ken didn't come down when they called for lunch so I went to the room to see why. When I opened the door, I saw him still sleeping.

"Ken?"

"Hm?" He sounded like he just woke up.

"Did I wake you?"

"A little. What is it?"

"Just wanted to know why you weren't at lunch, that's all."

"Oh… I've been sleeping. Anything interesting happened?"

"Well, there are people who are after Panther and she believes that they're close by."

"What are we planning on doing about it?"

"Mackenzie-san and Mina are going to find a way to bring Date-san here."

"Do they have a way to contact him?"

"Not that I know of, why?"

He got up from the bed, "I'm going to be working on a way to contact him then."

"You're giving up on TK?"

"No, but I believe that TK is over there. Why do they want him over here other then to help Panther?"

"Apparently Ryo told Panther that they were also able to sense something funny with this snow."

"Okay." He stretched a little bit, "Where's Davis?"

"Still trying his luck."

"He is a stubborn one. Thanks for waking me." He walked pass me and we headed for the café.

"What is Ken doing?" Ceres asked. We were trying to figure out how to get in touch with Date-san.

"I really don't know. I know that he's going to try to find a way to get in touch with Date-san." He was going around the place, asking people for different things for some reason.

"I thought he wanted TK?" Kari asked.

"He thinks that TK is with him for some odd reason."

"I hope it works and that he is over there. The more people, the better." Panther said. She and Ceres told us their theory on their limits that they're hoping is true. Though they're not making any promises about it.

"Panther, could I speak to you alone?" Stan came upon our group. I was getting annoyed at how Stan was intruding on our group time, so I could just guess at how pissed off Panther was. She got up and walked with him, leaving Plantmon with us.

"Why did she leave you here?" Neon asked.

"Panther is just about ready to snap and she doesn't want me to be around if she does."

"That sounds like her. She doesn't like to let others into her problems unless forced to do so." Lily Dawn said.

"Yea, and she doesn't want people to know her wrath unless they are her target." I added. I noticed that Lily Dawn looked sad for a brief moment before taking a sip from her drink. She knew something about what Stan is after, and probably Larkspurmon as well. That was making me wonder what Stan was after since he only wants to talk to Panther.

"Whatever he's driving at, Panther isn't responding to it." Ceres said, "Lily Dawn, you might as well tell him to give it up. She might have a history with him but that doesn't seem to stop her small rage that she shows."

"I can't control his actions. I'm not even sure what he wants with her. What has Panther told you?" She looked over to her.

"She hasn't really told me anything but I could tell by the way she's acting."

"Yep, Panther doesn't really like it but she seems to be dealing with it." Plantmon said.

"They have to work it out." She acted like she didn't care and everyone else bought it. I knew that she cared deeply about this topic. But why wasn't she saying it?

Panther

It was now getting annoying that he keeps wanting to talk to me. Whatever was on his mind, he sure was doing a bad job expressing it.

"What is it now?" I was getting tried of it, but luckily I have patience.

"Panther, please, allow me to protect you. I want to protect you." There was something within his eyes. He was begging, pleading to me.

"Why?" My curiosity got the better of me.

"Because I… I care about you."

"That's what friends do."

"Not like that."

"Look, whatever you're thinking, drop it. I don't need bodyguards."

"What's Matt then?"

"He's my guardian."

"I would've thought you would consider that a bodyguard, considering how he protects you from the law." He was now countering. I didn't really care that he was getting defensive, but I did care at how he was treating the new topic.

"He protects us because he cares about our safety. He doesn't want us to get hurt by anyone. He does the same for me as he does for everyone else."

"Really? How many of them are running from authority?"

"One more, but there are more fears than just authority. We look upon him for strength, for comfort. He listens to us with an open hear and is willing to do anything for us."

"You're talking about you and Ceres, right?"

"I'm talking about the people that are our friends."

"How can he be the light that you all need? No one can be that."

"That's because you never took time to know him."

"He's probably trying to get something out of it."

"How dare you say that about Matt!" He took a step back, "He's not like me. He doesn't take anything from anyone! We take everything from him! Don't you ever say that about Matt! He has a lot more heart than you!"

"Panther, why are you getting defensive about him? He's someone that is ruling your life. You hate people like that."

"If you don't wanna black eye, I suggest that you stop all your talkin'." My threat was real and he knew it.

"You never defended your brother like this, so why him?"

"Because my brother never trusted me, no one in my family trusted. They all feared me. Only Lily Dawn and Ryan had enough faith in me to stay with me. Matt took me in when he could've let me live in jail. He allows me to do anything I want, talk anyway I want in front of him about anyone, not caring if it's good or bad. He helps me get through things. He is willing to put his life on the line for me. I care about him because he trusts me. He trusts me so much that he wants me to tell him about my past. He doesn't want to learn about it through discovery."

"I know that you changed, Panther."

"Well guess what, he changed me. No one else could, but him."

"What about Killer?"

"Killer never really changed me. I love him with my very soul; I would break all rules to have him back. But he would try to see the world how I see it if he could be brought back. Matt would open his arms to him and invite him to stay at our house. He would protect him as he does us now. Matt's warmth and friendship have no bounds."

"Has he ever met Killer before?"

"Yes and he helped him even when we didn't make a good first impression. Would you defend me against society even when you know I've done wrong?" I hid my emotion, not allowing him to answer in a way that Matt would. I wanted to know his answer.

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it, the city hates me. They want me locked up until I die. They know more than what you know. They tell you that I need to be brought in, to get me off the streets. Would you still protect me, even with a hell of evidence to tell you that they're right?"

He didn't know how to answer that, as I thought. He knew what he should answer, but he also knew that he should hand me over if there was a lot of evidence against me. Whatever he wanted, he had lost it.

"Your silence is more than enough." I turned around.

"What would he do?" Stan asked when I was a few feet away from him.

"You know what he would do." And I continued on my way. When I got there, only Lily Dawn, Ryan, and Ceres were there.

"What did he want to talk to you about?" Lily Dawn asked.

"I think you need to enlighten him on Matt. Apparently he doesn't understand how important he is to all of us."

"I better go do that." She got up and went to where I was.

"Lily Dawn knows why he keeps talking to you." Ryan stated.

"How can you tell?" Breomon asked.

"It's in her eyes, her expression. I know the look on her since she normally has to have a still expression when she has to hide something."

"That is her. She was doing that?" I asked.

"Yea, we were talking about you guys a bit when you left." Ryan confirmed.

"I wish I had someone that could read me like that." Ceres said.

"Why?" I asked.

"Because then you know what I'm hiding. I don't like to hide things on purpose, but sometimes I feel that I have to."

"Yea, she's not a very opened person." Yi-Yamon commented.

"Even to you?" Plantmon asked.

"Yep. I had to work at it for a while before she talked to me. Though what she doesn't know is that Ele sometimes tells me stories about her." She smiled.

"Ele, have you?" She opened her bag to look at her then had this playful mad look, "And here I thought you would be my dairy."

"I think that you're better off than most of us," Breomon said, "I'm sure that most still don't talk about their problems to their Digimon."

"So what was he talking to you about anyway?" Ryan asked, looking at me.

"He was telling me that he cares about me then it somehow moved to Killer and Matt."

"What was he saying about Matt? I know that you can get pretty defensive when it comes to him."

"That he was just using me to get something."

"How funny is that! That what you told Killer…" Plantmon stopped right there.

"Plantmon, how did you meet him? He died before we got you?" Ryan was very confused.

"I don't think you have much of a choice now." Yi-Yamon said.

"Panther, Ceres?"

"The last time they were after me, they brought back Killer." I answered.

"But he's died."

"They brought him back to life."

"Oh… I'm sorry that he couldn't stay."

"Matt was too."

"Ceres…"

"I'm not sure how to myself. I've read how to do so, but I'm not sure if it would work."

"It's okay. I'm fine. So Plantmon, you can continue your comment." I didn't mind sharing the pain I felt, but I don't want to give it to people if they don't care.

"When we meet Killer for the first time, Panther was telling him how she felt she was taken advantage of everyone in the group. That's why it's funny that Stan would accuse Matt of that since Panther considers herself doing that already."

"Thanks." I think that Ryan likes to be told things. I have to keep that in mind for next time.

Lily Dawn

I was running around, looking for Stan. I can't believe how cruel Panther can be sometimes. She is a different person when she's alone with someone. I finally found him in his room, looking that the ceiling.

"Stan?" I closed the door, incase Tim came by.

"What does Matt have that she cares so much about him?" He sounded like he was asking himself. I grabbed a chair and sat near him.

"He encourages her. He does the same for all of us."

"But why," He sat up, "Why is he doing so? There has to be a reason for him to gather so many different people."

I wanted to tell him about the Digimon, Larkspurmon and our Digital duty, but I couldn't, "Stan, he's like our…"

"I want to know why he brought you together. I don't care to know anything else until then."

"Was she that cruel to you?"

"She got really defensive when I brought him up. She told me that he was the one that changed her, is that true?"

"I think so. She cares deeply about him. It might have something to do with her not having anyone else to turn to for support. She always had Killer by her side."

"She says that he protects her. Why won't she allow others to do the same?"

"I think she doesn't like to involve other people in her affairs. If they are with her when it happens, I think that she's more willing to let them know her more. When we… when we were in a tight spot, Matt step up to protect her with every move he could. He defends her from his friends. Kari, Ken, and TK defended her when Ryan and I were uncomfortable with her by what she told us. She got closer to them because of it, I believe."

"Would you now turn her in if they came to get her?"

"I might, but I don't know. Stan, I hate how she's hurting you."

"I'm not giving up on her."

"If you push too hard, she might not allow you access at all."

"……… I'll think up something. Why can't you guys tell me what's going on?"

"Because we decided that whatever decisions are made, it will be made as a group. Do you want me to ask the group if I can tell you?"

"Please, but don't tell them why I really want to know."

"I won't. I promise."

I was able to find everyone but Ken by the time dinner came. He only appeared to hear what was need to be said before leaving. Unfortunately for me, I was eating dinner like a normal person.

"Where is Ken going?" Mackenzie-san asked.

"He's going to find a way to contact Date-san." Ryan answered.

"I am assuming that he knows the situation?" She looked at Panther.

"He knows and that's why he's going to try and get him here." Ceres answered.

"Thank you. I'm sure as long as my brother is told what is happening, he'll find a way here." She walked back to the other adults. I ate quickly so I could find Ken. There wasn't that much of a crowd anywhere, I even checked his room a few times, but I still couldn't find him.

"What's eating you?" I turned around from walking away from their room for the fifth time to see Ryan standing there with Breomon standing near him.

"Do you know where Ken is?"

"He requested that he not be disrupted right now. Why?"

"I need to have a group meeting."

"It's about telling Stan about us, right?" Breomon asked.

"It's clear that you want him to know but… for some reason this has to be a secret." Ryan said.

"Neon's mother knows about them."

"That's because of her babies. No other parent knows about them."

"Stan is my sibling, he is not my parent. My parents could care less about us."

"I'll go ask him about it."

"Why can't I talk to him?"

"Because I'm the one that placed him where he is now."

"You didn't follow him after dinner."

"You know I'm a bad liar." He smiled as he and Breomon disappeared.

"At least you'll get your answer." Larkspurmon encouraged.

"But he doesn't understand why I want him to know."

"It's not like you could tell him why anyway."

"That's a good point." I leaned against the railing.

"Yo, I hope that this gloom look is only because you can't see Apollo or that you're worrying about him." I looked to my left to see Panther standing there like nothing is the matter. How can she stand like that when she left Stan in a mess?

Though she did bring up a good point, I haven't thought about Apollo since this whole trip began, "Yea, I hope he's alright."

"I'm sure he is. Is Stan doing okay?"

"Why ask?" _Maybe Stan got through to her._

"He's been acting weird lately and I have no idea why." _My hopes are shot._

"I'm not sure myself."

"That's not what Ryan said. He saw you calming your face when I was talking to him."

"What does that have anything to do with it?"

"We know that when you calm your face, you're hiding your emotions and knowledge of the situation. You're a very open person otherwise." She said that with encouraging smile.

"I promise that I wouldn't tell." I forgot that we were once close.

"Okay." She smiled one of her rare friendly smiles. I thought she had lost that smile since her time with the gang, but it seems that they couldn't get rid of it. That made me smile. "Whenever you're able to, let us know." She walked down the stairs and joined Ceres. They talked briefly before walking away together. I wanted to go with them, but I had to wait for Ryan to come back.

It didn't take him long before he did.

"He said that he'll go with what the group decides to do. He doesn't mind either way and I made sure that he knew that this was important to you so he did give it some thought."

"Thanks. I'll talk to everyone tomorrow then. It's getting late." I walked to my room, glad that no one was there yet.

"What's on your mind? You seemed sad when you saw Panther go with Ceres."

"I don't know… It seems that Ceres is taking Panther away from us. I had completely forgotten that Ryan, Panther and I were so close that we could almost second guess each other. Now it seems that I can't even do that."

"Maybe it had to do with the distance that was placed when she left you."

"But it was for like two years. She stopped seeing us when she left junior high school."

"A lot can change within those years. You just have to get to know this new Panther."

"I guess." I had finished changing and hopped into bed. I was too tired to be thinking about others right now.

TK

Between lunch and dinner, we were watching the news. They were reporting some collapsing buildings and blackouts and food shortages. It had stopped snowing, so rescue quads were being sent from different countries to help us out. We kept an ear on the news to make sure that we heard any news from the region they were at. I was both glad and worried that we heard nothing about them, and I'm sure that Date-san was feeling the same way. I could tell that we both wished that we went with them on the trip. Though I should mention something about his news channels, they aren't all in Japanese. He has a few stations from France, America, China and Britain. I was really glad that I knew all the languages, but I was surprised to see that Date-san could understand them since they weren't translated.

"Date-san, can you understand all of these?" I looked over at him, since he was sitting at the table reading an old looking book from his basement.

"I do not know French."

"Then why do you have it?" Patamon asked before taking a sip of soda.

"Lita knows French so it is for her." By the way he was looking at the book I could image him with glasses and taking notes on it.

I got up and went over to him, "What are you reading?"

"A long while ago, Lita and I went to Europe. When we went to Germany, a couple invited us to their house for dinner. Afterward, they gave us gifts of their most precious items since they did not believe that their own sons would care for it. This is one of the books that the husband gave me."

I looked at it and I couldn't read any of the words on it. "What's it in?"

"It is philosophy."

"What language is it in?"

"This one is in Latin so I am translating it. It appears to be from an unknown philosopher."

"That's right. I forgot that you know Latin."

"That is correct."

"Are all of them located in the basement?"

"Yes, most of the items that we got on that trip are there."

"Why haven't you decorated your house with them?"

"If my brothers ever come by, I want them to remember the house since this is an important place in their memory. If I decorated with many foreign items then they might not remember."

"May we go see them?"

"Sure. You get to have a preview of Lita's wedding dress."

"I thought that you were going to have a traditional Japanese wedding."

"We are, but the wife gave her that so we are going to put it to good use."

"Oh. Okay, we'll be up in a bit." I walked over to the door that I knew led to the basement, by process of elimination. Patamon flew over to my head before I descended.

I hit the lights to see this beautiful dress. It was ancient white, strapless with simple waves that were long and gorgeous. The head piece was decorated with beautifully woven flowers and gems. The veil seemed to be covering just the eyes. There was also a cape that was light blue, possibly sky blue, that reached to the end of the dress. I would love to see Kari in it for our wedding, but I knew that we still have a ways to go before we start planning for it.

"Wow," was all that Patamon could say.

"Yeah." I pulled my eyes from it to look around. They had boxes bordering the wall and there was a bookshelf filled with old books. There was a space on the top shelf so I went over there.

"These must be the books that he mentioned." Patamon pulled the first book on the top shelf. He handed it to me and I opened it to find that it in manuscript format in Latin, I think.

"I'm impressed that he knows this." I handed it back to him and grabbed one closer to me. I opened it and saw that it was in another language, I think, and it was even harder to read than the other books. "I'm really impressed."

"He must be a scholar." Patamon landed on my shoulder.

"He must be." I put the book back. I went over to the boxes to see what was within them. There was a bunch of clothes and items from France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Greece, Russia, Britain, and some other country that I didn't know existed. It was all very interesting, and I also thought that it was odd that they got a lot of stuff from them. _How much money do they make?_

"Wow, this is really cool." Patamon picked up something from Russia.

"Yea, it is. But how do they have the money? Unless he gets paid well."

"Some of the items Lita were able to get on sale and they were not expensive at all." I turned around to see Date-san walking down the stairs. He didn't have the book in his hand. "The things from Germany, we were given by friends of the couple and they showed us places to get good prices."

"Where is Belgium located?"

"It is the country that Germany went through to get to France. It is above France and below Netherlands."

"Oh, I didn't know that. The trip must've been fun."

"It was though I would not mind going back to that couple in Germany since he had so many other books."

"That's really cool. Are you taking a break?"

"Yes. I thought that you might need some clarity."

"Thanks." I got up and walked over to him. "That dress is really something."

"I know." He smiled with joy.

"Why aren't you two married yet?"

"I want my brothers to be here."

"I understand that." I would want my brother to be at my wedding and I know that Kari would want Tai there.

"It is getting late. We should head to bed."

"Right. Nothing else was on the news?"

"I will check before going to bed."

"Okay." We headed up to our room. Of course that's when I realized that I didn't have anything to change into or change to the next day.

"They did not say anything about the region so they should be safe." He handed me some night clothes.

"Okay and thanks."

"It is no trouble." He walked over to his room.

"Are you actually going to bed?" Patamon asked with a yawn.

"Of course." I changed and got into bed.

"When you feel like searching more, let me know." Patamon got comfortable and so did I.

"Right." I actually liked the feeling of sleeping here. There seemed to be some safety being here.

Ken

I was kicked out of our room since I was still working on my communicator. I'm not really sure how I was able to put it together, but I wasn't thinking about it. Wormmon was sleeping near me so I was the only one up. It was in the shape of radio but it was a lot more powerful. It had to be to reach Date-san. I just knew that TK was there, but I had no logical way of knowing.

I was working under a lamp but suddenly it just turned off. I was just about to finish up with the radio so I was a bit worried. I tried to turn it back on but it wasn't working. I was feeling something but I'm not sure what it was. I got up from the couch, trying to find it.

"Are you done?" I heard Wormmon asked.

"Something is here."

"And how right you are." I heard a voice from behind me. I looked to see six dark figures.

"Who are you? Wait… are you the ones that are after Panther?" I got into a defensive position.

"So you're one of her worthless friends." Someone was walking forward, "So, where is she?"

"I wouldn't tell you."

"What is with you people?" I was confused at what he was talking about but I was pushed back by something. I was able to grab my radio as I flipped over the table. "Why can't you stay in your place!"

"What are you talking about?" I realized that I was moved by some power.

"You weak humans should…"

"Donn, we have to stay focus on the mission."

Panther

I got up, feeling them near. I got up from the bed and was about to leave the room, "Panther?"

I turned around to see that they were up as well. I grabbed Plantmon, who was now waking up. "They're here."

"I'll get Tim." Neon got up and went out.

"As she's getting everyone else, we'll see where they are." Don said and we headed out. As we were making our way to the stairs, the Deity brothers were standing there.

"What's up?" Ceres asked as we stopped.

They were looking at me. "We need to talk." Fuhai said.

"Whatever you want to say, say it now." Don said.

"There's someone here with a lot of dark energy." Shikyo said.

"How about trying six sources of dark energy." I said.

"How do you know?" Karu asked.

"Because they're after me." All three looked at each other, "What?"

"Why would they be after you?"

"I don't know but I'm going to stop them. Where are they?" We heard a window breaking.

"Is everyone okay?" Mackenzie-san was behind them, the same with her family and brother's friends.

"Yes, Mackenzie-san." Karu said.

I looked over the railing to see nothing underneath. I jumped over it and landed on the main level.

_We're outside with one of your friends._ **_Chaos said._**

I ran to the other side of the lobby and jumped up to the next level. A gust of wind blew through the broken window. It wasn't snowing anymore and the moon was out. I jumped out and followed their tracks like a cat on the hunt.

Don

Panther just went after them without any backup.

"We'll follow her until you catch up." Ryo said before they all went down the stairs.

"Where is Panther?" Lily Dawn asked. Everyone was here now.

"She went after them." Ceres said.

"Everyone, I know that it might be hard, but please, forget about secrets and promise to keep those secrets. It seems that nothing should hold us back." Lita said.

_Do they know about the Digimon?_ "We can't argue." We all went down the stairs since there wasn't any other way of getting to the other side. As we were following their tracks, I noticed there were some footprints that weren't made from shoes or feet.

Panther

I saw them near the mountain. They had Ken and Wormmon with them. "Release them!"

"Panther, so glad that you could join us." Chaos said, "We were wondering when you would arrive."

"Panther, stay back!" Ken warned.

He was being held by Satogi in one hand and Wormmon in the other. A gust of wind came and it was really cold. I couldn't control my shivers.

"Panther, why don't you wear this?" I looked over to my shoulder to see Donn standing there.

"Sun Laser!" Donn jumped back from her laser shot.

"So that's your little friend." Apofisu said, "Your friend here wouldn't tell us what they are. Maybe you would like to enlighten us?"

I narrowed my eyes at them, "Why would I do something like that?"

"We would like to know what aided you. Now be a dear." Satogi said, somehow making Ken winch in pain. "Tell us what they are."

"Yea, we would like to know everything about them." Neraru was right next to me. The next thing I knew was that everyone, minus Satogi, was surrounding me.

"Panther, don't say anything." Ken said.

"You don't want him to get hurt, do you? You can tell that Satogi isn't even trying." Dotsun'sa grinned evilly.

"I'm not…" They were now entering my mind. I could feel Plantmon loosening her grip.

"Iron Rock Crusher!" The ground started to shake, making them lose their focus. They somehow got back to their line, but they weren't really being affected by the earthquake.

Plantmon was unconscious on the ground so I grabbed her to make sure that she wasn't going to go under the snow. I looked behind me to see Ryo and the others in armors coming up.

"Panther, are you okay?" Rowen helped me up

"We have to get Ken away from them." I looked back over to them.

"I see that you like having help now." Donn said with anger.

"Release Ken now!" Sai demanded.

"How is it that you can conquer…"

"Do not say anymore, Donn." Chaos ordered.

"Are you guys okay?"

We looked behind to see everyone else, including the Deity Brothers, but minus Mackenzie-san, Lita and Mina.

"Are you too weak that you have to bring in help? Panther, I thought you were better than that." Donn mocked.

"Ceres, it is so good to see you again." Apofisu smiled.

"Can't want until I kick your butts again?"

"I see that your confidence level has gone up."

"And I see that you've gotten dumber."

"Panther," Chaos stopped Apofisu from talking, "Do you really think that having an army with you is going to save you? Come now, even you don't know the full extend of our power."

"It doesn't hurt to try. You're not going to use me for whatever you have plan." I said.

Satogi smiled as he tossed them down. They weren't getting up, though. They were slowly sinking underneath the snow.

"Panther, if you don't do anything, they'll be frozen as they're being crushed under the weight of the snow." Chaos smiled.

"I'll get them." I heard Neon's voice said.

Neon

When I finished with my sentence, I had already turned on my power. I was glad that they followed my rules as I ran over to where Ken was laid. I used my reversing time powers to bring him back up from the snow. He came grasping for air, though Wormmon wasn't.

"Neon…"

"I'm okay." I got him all the way up and helped him back over to our side.

"Thanks." He was moving slowly. I didn't know why Wormmon was in better shape than Ken.

"Ken, are you okay?"

"Not really, but we can't worry about me right now."

"Okay." Though his words aren't what worried me the most, it was his eyes. I couldn't tell how weak he really was.

When we were safely over at our side, I turned it off. Panther blinked a few times before smiling and returning her attention to them.

"Ken, let me taken you back." Ryan offered.

"I'm fine." It hurt not to be able to read him.

"What do you guys say to a unified attack?" Panther asked wickedly.

"You kids attack first. We'll back you up if it doesn't work." Ryo said.

"Sweet Look!" Larkspurmon announced and they looked distracted.

"Black Wolf!"

"**Rock Crusher!**"

"Eye of Judgment!"

"Lightning Claw!" All their attacks merged into one, with Yi-Yamon's attack increasing the power. I could tell that Ceres was adding more power with her own magic and Damon was holding it back for them to gather power. Nereida jumped up, did a round kick, sending it flying at them with great speed. The explosion told us that they should've been killed or sent flying away.

But they were standing there like nothing happened. The only evidence that they did something was the big hole in front of them.

They all laughed. "It would've worked on others like us, but we've been growing stronger as they stayed the same." Said the guy that looked to be the leader. It was hard to see their actual faces with only the light of the moon for assistance.

"Panther, it's not safe here. You must go, now." Rowen whispered.

"This is my fight! I'm grateful for the help but I am not about to leave!"

"Good, I was wondering when someone would say her name." We looked to the left to see one of the three ladies that was at the Brothers' house.

"Demeter!" Karu said.

"What the hell are you doing here?" The leader asked.

"I want my daughter back and that bitch is going to help me." She looked at Panther.

"What do you want with her?" Asked one of the others.

"I don't care about her, personally, but my daughter and her bastard of a husband want something from her."

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm sending her to them with a message. Tell them to be done with their search." A portal appeared underneath Panther. She tossed Plantmon over to us before completely falling in.

"Panther!" Lily Dawn tried to grab her hand but it was too late. Kento made sure that she didn't fall in. Ceres caught Plantmon, who was unconscious.

"Where is she?" That guy seemed really shaken.

"She's in the Underworld."

"You will bring her back!" He was able to move forward but the leader stopped him.

One of the other guys there pulled out a gun a fired at her. She looked really surprised but Ceres pushed her out of the way.

"Ceres!" Yi-Yamon yelled.

"Demeter, it would serve you better to stay out of our way." They disappeared, but there was no logical explanation on how.

"You better leave before my rage is aimed at you!" She looked over at us, "Aither! Thanatos! Hypnos! What are you doing here?"

They just turned around and started to walk back. "Demeter, can any Sun Deity take away this endless winter?" Karu asked.

"Of course."

"Good." They continued.

"Let's go." Ryo said and we all walked back. Ceres walked back over to us.

"Are you okay?" Yi-Yamon asked.

"Yea, it was only a scratch." She smiled off, even though she was holding her arm and it was bleeding.

"Lily Dawn!" Stan came out from the window, coming toward her.

"Stan!" She fell into his arms. "I couldn't grab her. I'm sorry."

He led her inside first. Mina and Lita got Ken from me.

"Ceres, let me take that bullet out." Rowen said. Ceres walked over to the couch as they laid Ken down.

"But don't you need light?"

Ryo pulled the switch but it didn't work.

"They're out." Ken said, though I couldn't tell if it was weak or not. Lita walked over to the lamp and it became bright.

"Mina, make sure that everyone is asleep. We don't need others waking up."

"Right." Mina seemed to understand what Lita was talking about since there was a hidden message behind her words. She went upstairs.

"Sai, Kento, could you two look around for some bandages and water. Ryo, watch them as I get my tools."

"You carry them around?" Ryan asked.

"A good doctor would." He smiled as he went upstairs.

I sat down, feeling weak from worry and stress.

"Neon?" Don asked.

"I'm fine, just a little tired."

"What happened out there?" Mackenzie-san asked.

"Panther's elite appeared. They somehow got Ken but Neon was able to get him away. Our present Digimon attacked but they were able to deflect with their own power. Then a Deity Digimon appeared, her name is Demeter, and sent Panther to the Underworld that now exists in the Digital World. For some reason, Persephore and Hades want her. The elite knows about the Deities and aren't afraid of their wrath. So whatever their power is, it allows them to know the existence of them as well as give them power to not fear them." Ceres explained.

"It also seems that there are others like them out there in the world." Don said. "Why don't you enlighten us?" He looked over at the brothers. "You know who are in this Neo group. Everyone that had a Digimon or was without armor is apart of the group."

Karu's eyes widen as he looked at Kari. "Is it true?" She nodded.

"What do you want us to do?" Shikyo asked.

Rowen, Sai, and Kento all returned at the same time.

"Nothing for now. Who are they?" Don asked.

"They follow an evil cult that had existed during the beginning of man. This cult has grown over the millennia and there is already a group fighting it." Shikyo answered.

"Do you know why they want Panther?" Ceres asked. Rowen was already working on her arm.

"Not really. It might have to do with many stories surrounding their master."

"She should be safe, if she's with Persephore and Hades. When I was with them, they weren't mean or harsh so I'm sure that they'll do the same for Panther. They might want to make sure that she has anything." Lily Dawn said, "And don't say anything to me about Apollo. He has to tell me himself."

"Fine."

"Would someone please tell me what's going on and what are those?" Stan pointed to Larkspurmon.

"We're known as Digimon, short for Digital Monsters. We live in the virtual world, called the Digital World. We're here to protect our world and our partners that live in this world." Plantmon answered. I didn't realize that she was up until then. "My name is Plantmon and I'm Panther's partner." She sounded depressed.

"My name is Larkspurmon and I'm Lily Dawn's partner."

"Breomon and Ryan's."

"**Shendramon and I'm Tim's partner.**"

"Yi-Yamon and Ceres's partner."

"Gatomon, Kari's

"Wormmon, Ken's."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Stan looked at Lily Dawn.

"We don't…" She looked over at Kari.

"Normally, people won't believe us. We never told our parents or friends that are outside of our group. There are other groups that have Digimon as partners, but they even can't know about us this group. I'm sorry that you felt out of place in your home, but it was meant to protect you." She explained.

"At least now you know." Ceres smiled before winching in pain. Rowen pulled out the bullet and was snitching her up.

There was a sound near the window that was broken. We looked up to see this demon thing crawling into the building and lot more outside. They were pushed out by some force. "Someone seal the window!" Ceres yelled. Mackenzie-san jumped up there and did some weird movements that seemed to do the trick.

"Mina, help me get the other entrances."

"Right." They went around getting all the windows and doors.

"Ceres, you shouldn't have done that." Rowen said.

"Magic is one weapon against them, right Karu?" She looked over at him.

"They're from the Underworld. I suggest that no one enters the Digital World from here since I'm sure that Hades doesn't want anyone interfering."

"We got all the entrances." Mina said.

"So there isn't any way for us to go there and get her back?" Stan asked.

"There is a way." Ken started to get up.

"Ken, stay down." Mackenzie-san said.

"I got to start working on that radio." He argued.

"Where is it?"

"Behind this couch."

She walked behind it and grabbed it from the floor. She handed it to him once he was carefully seated. "Be careful, okay Ken. Everyone, get something to eat. Everyone else shouldn't be up for a while."

We all got up and went to the kitchen. Rowen, Mackenzie-san and Mina were the only ones that didn't follow us.

Ken

Ceres and I were the only ones out of the group that didn't go. She was still getting her arm healed and I was working on the radio. It was important that we get it up, since only they can help Panther. I was wondering how we were going to get Plantmon there, since she would want to help Panther. Only we understood, but we weren't about to let their unknowing minds to stop us.

"Ken, please don't push yourself." Mackenzie-san pled. I didn't really know why she was, but I was more worried that I would listen. I didn't know why I wanted to, since I normally don't listen to people.

"I won't." It was almost done anyway.

"Is there any way I can go there with them?" Plantmon asked.

"We'll think up a way." Ceres encouraged.

"I would like to know how, unless they can get in here without being caught. My brother is good, but I don't think he can be that good." Mina said.

"If we need it to happen, it will happen. Have more faith than that." I said, smiling internally.

"Mina, he might be able to fight off the demons long enough for them to get Plantmon to them. We'll know their condition when you call." Mackenzie-san said, finalizing the decision.

"Your arm will heal. Just don't move it for a while and come see me at your next available time soon." Rowen said. To translate: when this is all over, come see me.

"Okay!" She smiled.

"Why did you push her out of the way?" Rowen asked as he packed up.

"Her Roman counterpart is who I take my name after. I have to respect her."

"I see." He got up once he was done, "I'm going to be putting this back in my room." He walked to the stairs.

"Ceres, you might as well wait until the others are done. There's no need for you to hurt yourself anymore." Mina said since I heard Ceres getting up as well.

"Okay." She sat down again.

After a while, the door opened and there was this bright light shining. I looked over to see Kari leading them from the kitchen.

"Kari!" Ceres got up again.

"The light wasn't working." She explained.

"And I had to use my heat for the shove." Don added.

"What's wrong with her glowing?" Shikyo asked.

"She'll go blind afterwards." Lily Dawn said.

"Are you okay, Ken?" Kari asked.

"What do you want to do? The longer you keep it up, the longer the effect." I asked.

"Whichever helps you."

"I have this light here so you might as well turn it off."

She nodded and turned off the glow. Neon grabbed her arm and led her to the table that they were setting the food. Lita was trying to power up the other lights, but it wasn't working. As everyone else was eating, I was still working on the radio. I was going to eat when I got it done.

TK

I took a nap before getting up and searching the room that the TV was in. I knew that he had hidden spots here too, he just had to. Patamon was searching the kitchen, in case we missed something. We would make an awesome burglar team. I heard a hallow part near the entrance, who would ever think there?

"Patamon!" I whispered.

He flew over, "Yea?"

"I found something." I was searching for the button that opened it. I found it at the top and it revealed something interested notes that are written in a female's handwriting. They mostly contain love in them, so they had to be from Lita. "Darn." I put it back and we went searching around here, knowing that this should be a good spot for hidden spots.

In another spot that Patamon found, there was some priceless jewelry that looked like they could come from royalty.

"He must've gotten them from Lita." Patamon said as I put it back. It was a complete set: earrings, necklace, ring, and bracelet. I was half wishing I could get something like that for Kari.

"They must get a lot of money. Let's keep looking."

In the hall that held the phone, the only phone it seems to exist in the house, we found another one. The odd thing about this one is that there were three spaces into it. The others were only the hidden place. There was nothing at the bottom of this hiding spot, so the items must be within the caves.

"These must be really important to him." Patamon said.

"Why say that?" I looked at him. I didn't know why I wanted him to delay me from looking at them.

"No other spot was design like this."

"It could be the way the designers wanted it."

"But he would've had something at the bottom."

"Are you advising me to not look within?"

"A little, but I'm not really sure as to why."

"And I don't know why I want you to delay me. This must be really important."

"I would think so. Should we continue?"

"Yea. Which one?"

"That one." He pointed to the right.

I stuck my hand in and felt paper. I pulled it out to see that they were drawings of robotic creatures. There was something familiar with them though, as if I had seen them before but I couldn't place where. There were a lot of good pictures of them, whatever they were. One of best was of a black cat-like one, which happened to be drawn the most. There were some with two people facing each other in this dark, purplish area. Some of them were of a circus life, business, training and kendo. For the training and kendo, Date-san was the model used. I figured that it was one of his brothers until I looked at the back. It had my signature that I use now on my artwork!

"What?" Patamon asked.

I pointed to the symbol, the shooting star with wings. It's as small as I make them now. "That is my symbol for my artwork."

"Really? Oh, now I see it. What does that mean? Is someone copying you?"

"I… hope not…" Though I half knew that wasn't the answer. I placed them back and went for the cave at the left. It was a laptop and it still had good amount of battery power left. I started to notice that this laptop had things of the Digital World, things that only Ken would know. It had a decoder, a map, information on Digimon. This was becoming really weird. I looked at the spot on the bottom that Ken placed his own special seal to allow others to know that it's his. I saw it, his flower.

"What?"

"Ken has a seal that he puts on his things to let people know that it's his." I lifted the laptop to show it to Patamon, "This is it."

"Then… he has something of Ken's?"

"It looks like it, but how can he? It doesn't make sense. We never met him before this year." I placed it back and was nervous about the center cave. What secret did it hold? I grabbed cards but I could feel something cold next to them. I pulled the cards out, seeing the back of them as a black oral with brown surrounding it and gold bordering it. I turned over the deck to see an image of a monster. I looked through it, seeing, no feeling its familiarity. They were calling me to do something. I didn't understand what was going on, but I wasn't really scared. I was in the sense that I didn't know what was going on.

The phone rang and I dropped the cards in the closet. I closed the door and went to answer the phone but he was coming down the stairs. He looked at us for a moment before answering it, "Moshimoshi, Date resistance…… Ken? How are you able to call here? All the phone lines are supposed to be down………… TK, he needs to talk to you." He handed me the phone.

I took it, not really wanting neither to talk to him nor have him ask questions. "Ken?"

"TK, I'm so glad that you're over there. Good thing that I know you pretty well."

_How well do you know me?_ I glanced over at the spot where the closet was, "Yea, good thing. How were you able to call?"

"I was able to build this radio so I could call Date-san, but now isn't the time to drool over my genius. Panther was sent to the Underworld and you two are the only ones that can get her back. They have sent demons to make sure that we don't leave here."

"But what about your cover?"

"The Brothers know and the same with the people that are tied to Date-san. Do you know anyway for you guys to come and get Plantmon?"

"Hold on," I covered the phone, "Date-san, do you know anything that could bring someone to you?"

"Layla should know transportation spells."

"Mackenzie-san should know a transportation spell."

"…… She says that the barrier is un-enabling her to do so. Anything else?"

"Doesn't work." I looked at him.

"I have a plan, but you will have to get us there."

"Okay, we're coming. He has a plan."

"Okay, we'll be standing by. Oh, and don't enter the Digital World around this place."

"Right. Over and out." The line was cut and we got dress. We went to his room, having the better windows and all.

"DigiArmor Energize!" I yelled.

"Patamon Armor Digievolves to………………………… Pegasusmon, Flying Hope!"

I got on Pegasusmon as Date-san opened the window. Pegasusmon flew out and waited for Date-san to close it and hop on.

"We have to go fast, Pegasusmon." I said.

"Right." We took off as fast as we could.

Panther

I woke up from a hard fall. I could feel the cold ground on my back and dampness of the place. I looked up, feeling a soft wispy breeze over me. There was a faded imagine of Killer standing over me. I moved back, not knowing what was going on before remembering that I'm most likely in the Underworld of the Greeks. It looked like he wanted to talk to me, or protected me. In either case, I wanted to hear him speak. I looked around, making sure that others wouldn't crowd around before biting my thumb. I held it out for him to drink, which he did.

"You shouldn't have done that." He said as he was gaining back some of his form.

I touched his shoulder, feeling it hardening. I jumped to hug him, glad that I got to see him once more. "I've missed you so much, Killer."

He was now cradling me, "I've missed you too, Panther. But you shouldn't be here. It's too dangerous."

"I wasn't sent here by choice." I noticed that I was crying.

"Hey, shade," we looked behind Killer to see this ugly guy with an iron hammer in his hand pointing to us, "Bring that girl to Hadesmon."

"What's your name?" I've learned that it's useful to ask that.

"I'm Hephaestusmon. Now Shade!"

We got up and started to walk in some direction. "Do you know where you're going?" I whispered.

"Not really, but I do have an idea. Why does he want you?"

"I don't know, but I do know that Demeter is the one that brought me here."

"Demeter?"

"She's the mother of Persephore, if you know who that is."

"I do." He grabbed my hand, "I won't allow them to do anything to you."

"Thanks." I placed my other hand on his arm.

"Where's Plantmon?"

"I tossed her to the others since she was unconscious. I hope they're okay. They're still after me." I suddenly remembered the fight that I left.

"Who?" We stopped so he could face me.

"The elite group."

"They can't get you here."

"But everyone else is still in danger. I have to go back."

"You will… I'm sure that this is nothing."

I nodded. I needed this to be over and soon. We continued our way and soon enough, we heard people talking. One of the voices was really angry and it sounded like Demeter.

"Why do you still want to be here with him?" She asked as we entered the room.

"They are here, Lord Hadesmon." Said one of the three heads that was on one body. Their attention was turned to us.

"Demetermon, we'll talk again." Hadesmon said.

She didn't look too happy as she walked away. I looked over at the ones on the thrones before walking towards them. "Your mother wanted you to have me?"

"I'm terribly sorry about that. We were hoping we could meet you at better timing." Persephoremon said.

"I'm here now, so what is it?"

"Before we answer that, why is that shade here?" Hadesmon asked.

"This is my boyfriend."

"We wanted to know if you had a certain bloodline."

"Other than I'm a Neo Digidestined, there's nothing special about me." None that I know of anyway.

"We thought you wouldn't know. I'm sorry but you'll have to stay here for a while longer."

"Why? My friends are fighting my enemies. I have to help them."

"You mean those stealers?" Persephoremon asked.

"If you mean Chaos and his group of followers, yes." That made them all silent and I didn't like it at all. They all held the same expression, shock. "What? Have you heard of them?"

"Why are they your enemy?" Hadesmon avoided my question.

"They want me to join their group but I refuse."

"Do you know why they want you in their group?"

"No."

"Killer was your name, right? Take Panther somewhere. I'll call when I need you to come back."

Killer grabbed my hand and pulled me out of there. I was about to yell at him for not answering my question and I knew that Killer could tell. "It's wiser to listen to them than go against them."

"They seem to have answers for me. I want to know."

He pulled me into him, "Panther, I don't want them to become angry with you just because you could get away with it with everyone else." He was actually shaking. The only time I could remember him shaking this badly was when he did his first killing. I noticed that I have never wavered when it came to a kill. He must've seen some horrible things to be fearful of them.

"Okay, Killer, I'll listen to them." I cradled him now. He was scared, really scared, "I won't let them punish you for anything I do." We stayed like this for a long time.

TK

We were fortunate enough that no one was out saving people. We got there in no time to see thousands of demons swarming the hotel.

"What are you going to do?" I asked. We hadn't talked the whole time since I was afraid that I might say something about the closet near the phone.

He got up from sitting and transformed his cane into two swords. One still held his green orb and the other had the things that were nailed to his cane. I couldn't see what they were, but I was more curious as to what he was going to do. He jumped up into the air and in front of Pegasusmon with the swords making an 'X' behind him.

"Vice Mark!" He brought them in front of him as they made the 'X' there before releasing the energy in a huge 'X'. It hit the monsters really hard that they couldn't move. "Go through the top windows!" Date-san yelled.

Pegasusmon dodged the demons that were there as he made sure that none followed. We both noticed a window so we took it. Pegasusmon landed on the floor and I got off to look for them. When I got to the lobby, I saw them all standing there. "Plantmon!" I yelled.

Everyone looked up and Plantmon got herself over to me. "What should we do with the demons?" I asked.

"Leave them to us once you leave." Mina said.

"Okay. Good luck." I went back to Pegasusmon and we went back the way we came. Date-san was holding his own against the demons but we had to get to the Digital World. At the first opening, we went in and grabbed Date-san. The demons were following us, but Pegasusmon was able to out run them.

"What did they say?" Date-san asked.

"Mina said they'll take care of them." Plantmon answered. "How are we going to go to the Digital World? I just remembered that you don't have an amulet."

"How did you know that…" I was about to ask but she stopped me.

"One, Pegasusmon is out in the open; two, his friends and family knows so we can assume that he knows as well."

"Oh… Don't worry about the entering part. I have an experiment that I want to try." I said with a smile.

"When did you become a scientist?"

"A few minutes ago," I held out my Jewel of Hope, "hang on." I concentrated on having a door open, imagining it tarring through the sky like creating a hole within a paper.

"WOW! YOU DID IT TK!" Plantmon said. I looked up to see that I did, but instead of the portal being its natural color, it was a swirl of soft yellow.

"ALRIGHT!" I yelled as we entered the portal.

Panther

Killer was telling me about what it has been like down here and I've been telling him what I've been up to. I even told him how I'm noticing a change within my group but I can't seem to find what's causing it. He was the only one, next to Plantmon, that knew of my mission to keep this team together until Matt got back. It was my secret that I couldn't tell another, but he deserved to know. I even told him that Stan is starting to make moves on me, though I didn't allow anyone to know that I knew.

"What are you going to do about him?" He asked, though I couldn't tell if he had formed an opinion about it.

"I want him to back off, I want him to go away, but I can't. We're leaving in his house so I have to deal with him. At least until Matt gets back."

"Panther," he brought my face to his, "I love you and nothing will ever change. You must find whatever makes you happy."

I didn't want him to say what I knew was coming, "Killer…"

"There you are." We turned around to see Persephore standing there. "I would like to show you something."

We got up and she led us to a room where they were making thread. "What's this room?" Killer asked.

"It's where lives are born, destinies are created, life ends. Lachesismon, show me the threads again."

A lady walked to the cabinet that held many colorful threads. She brought out a pattern that was being woven together after a long time of separation. A few of the strings had woven together earlier than the others, but they were now all weaving together and I could sense that it was going to be beautiful. She sat it down close to us, "This one, right?"

"Thank you, yes. Panther, this is the life of everyone that is involved with your life. Almost everyone in your group has something special about them, something extra that makes you unique."

"Could you show me them?" I asked.

She pointed to the ones in the Neo Digidestined. For mine, there was a thread that was cut, clearly cut from pattern and it was really an amazing pattern they were creating. But now, my thread was being covered up by six others and most of the others. There was one thread that interested me for TK's. It normally lightly touched his, only once did it touch everyone, minus Matt and a few others. Right now, it was touching TK's, most likely meaning that the person was with him now. I could also tell which one was Mackenzie-san by whose thread her went through the most.

"Why are these three in the middle?" One of them was Mackenzie-san and another was one that touched TK's thread the most. They also intertwined with other threads, but the whole thing wasn't together at the beginning.

"These three are really important to the rest of the people here. They are the key to everything."

"And this thread is the most important since it's at the center?" It was the one that was with TK's.

"Yes, it is. But do remember, this is another stage that they're going through. Some of these lives had another things do to before joining this one."

"But wouldn't that mean that they're string was cut?" I remember reading that once a person's string was cut, they were dead.

"They were never cut." Lachesismon answered.

"They know what they're doing. They've been doing it since the beginning of time." Persephoremon said.

I looked at the threads that were weaving beautifully together. I have to remember to ask TK who he's been with since this snow began. I noticed that there was something missing, "Where are our Digimon?"

"Digimon have their own section." Lachesismon said, pointing to another cabinet.

"Why can't they be with us?"

"Because their destiny doesn't belong with yours, they are only a stage that helps you reach your next level. They are not here forever."

"But they are still touching our lives, still influencing us." I didn't want to hear that, not from them.

"It's just like us. We don't have threads that are able to be cut. We influence and interfere with mortals, but we can't be wined with them." Persephoremon explained.

"But you weren't always Digimon and they are influenced by us as much as we're influenced by them."

"It had been set since we came to this world. We can't change it." Lachesismon said.

"Is this all you want to show her?" Killer asked.

"Yes, you may leave now." Persephoremon said. Killer took my hand and pulled me out of the room, walking closer to the entrance.

"Killer?" I had no idea what he was doing, but I didn't like the feeling of it either.

He stopped and looked at me, "Panther, you must go."

"Why?" I didn't want to leave him again.

"What about your friends?"

"I would leave the world behind for you." I touched his face.

He placed his hand on mine and smile, "I know you would. You've done it once before. But didn't you believe that you were born for better things? That the gang was only a step, that there was something more for you to do?"

"What are you saying?"

"You wouldn't leave them, even for me, the first time. You wanted me to join you. Panther, create something for me. Remember me. I don't want to be the cause that holds you back."

Tears were coming out. "Killer… you want me to move on?"

"We will never forget each other, what we had. You were my first and my only."

"Then why can't you be that for me!" I hugged him, letting my tears fall. "Why can't you be that for me?"

"I can't come back to you. I can't share the sun with you."

"I know that you can. I'll find a way. I'll make it happen."

"Panther," he placed his hand on my head, "You need someone there who would protect you from everything."

"That's why you're coming back to life. I've been looking…"

"I don't want to go back!" I was shocked by his words, but with his hand on my head, I couldn't see if he meant it. "I don't want to go back to that world. I like it better here."

"You… can't mean that… What about us? We promised that we will be together forever!"

"But we can't be. I'm here and this is where I want to stay."

"Why… why are you doing this… we promised… we promised…"

"I'm sure you made promises you couldn't keep." That hit me cold. He was the one that told me never make a promise you couldn't keep, for it will look bad on you. I fell to the ground, my knees too weak to stand. I lay on his legs; he wasn't even trying to comfort me. I got his tactic. He wanted me to leave, to think that he hated me. He was doing this so I would leave and have no regrets. _I've seen too many girl movies to know this. Thanks to Lily Dawn and Ceres._

"Killer, you don't have to pretend anymore. I will go. I'll respect your wishes. You couldn't give me any when you were live so I'll listen to them now. I will, I promise. Please, don't make me hurt anymore. I will always love you, nothing will ever change it."

He bent down and hugged me hard. I hugged him, not wanting to let go, knowing that he was wanting the same. "I'll ask Hades. I might be able to watch over you. I'll make up something with your power."

"I would like that."

"You shouldn't make that guy suffer."

"What should I do?"

"If you have feelings for him, go for it. If not, don't worry. But don't make him suffer."

"Okay, I won't."

"Panther!" I looked up, not letting him go, to see Pegasusmon, TK, Plantmon and Date-san.

"Who's that?" Killer asked.

"The one in the hat is TK and the other human is Date Sage. He's the important person to all of this." I whispered as we got up. I was wondering how he was important. What stake does he have in all of this?

"Panther!" Plantmon came over to hug me, "I was worried about you! You should've brought me along."

"I'm sorry." I petted her head.

"Killer! You were watching her down here?"

"And shouldn't I?

"I thought you would be over at the Japanese side."

"Here is where I am."

"TK, Date-san, this is my boyfriend Killer."

"Hi, it's nice seeing you. Panther, I'm sorry but we have to get going back. The others are still trapped and they're now surrounded by demons." TK said.

"Alright, I understand." I looked at Killer, "You better ask."

"I will. Don't worry. Your friends need you." He placed his hand on mine.

"Stay safe."

"Stay safe, Panther." We wanted to kiss each other, but that would be too painful on our part.

I walked over to them and got on Pegasusmon. Date-san made room by sitting backwards. Pegasusmon took off at a great speed, but I couldn't bear to look back at him. I might jump off.

"Are you two okay?" Plantmon whispered.

"I'll tell you went we get back."

"Okay."

When we got out of the cave, we took to the sky. The sun felt good, reminding me of what Killer was talking about. I once told him that I might like the night and full moon, but the sun was my favorite object in the sky. When he asked why, I answered that it's able to endure so much responsibility. It has to warm us, light us, guide us, inspire us, give us life. Its strength is dependable, something that I wanted to become. I might like the darkness that surrounds us, but I always want the sun more.

"I'm sorry to pull you away from him like that." TK said.

"It's okay. Really, it is. It was probably better that you did."

"There seems to be an angry lady that does not want us to leave." Date-san said. We looked at the ground to see Demeter standing there. She summoned a lot of different Digimon from air and they all came charging at us.

"Plantmon Digievolves to………………………… Flowermon! Leaf Blast!" She shot from her leaves, able to do a full wipe. She kept on summoning more, suddenly becoming more than they could handle since Pegasusmon was helping.

"Don't worry, Date-san, we'll take care of them." TK assured him.

I looked at him to see that he was standing, getting ready to attack. He sat back down, though having his cane ready, as if it was a sword. I looked at the battle scene, wondering where the opening will be and when it will come. There didn't seem to be many, if not any. Flowermon didn't seem to have any other attacks that would do damage and Pegasusmon was only defending since we're on him. We couldn't do anything to help, so we had to wait.

I noticed that a blast was aimed at us, and we couldn't move to avoid it. My amulet started to glow a greenish moss color.

"Flowermon Digievolves to………………………… Bushmon! Stretch Arms!" A bush that was shaped as a horse appeared where Flowermon was and her legs extended to block the blast. "Shape!" She started to form into something a lot bigger than the mass together. It was giving her a natural position of being a thing of fright. She had changed into a T-Rex, though only a rough one since she was still a bush. She did a roar, which was earth-shattering for a plant, swung her tail at all, deleting them in that instant.

It gave us the chance to escape. Once out of their territory I was about to open the portal, but TK stopped me, "I learned a new trick." He smiled. He held out his jewel and in front of us was a portal opening to a swirl of yellow. Normally portals, even ones we make, are a purplish pink to the looseness of the eye. We entered through it and came out on a battlefield filled with Western demons. Once they saw us, they all retreated for some reason. It was like our appearance was enough to scare them back to their world. I was only slightly wondering if they were Digimon as well as we descended to the snow.

A light came from where Bushmon was and a thin brown thing was there and anything that was apart of a plant seemed to be out of place in this snow.

"You are?" I picked her up, afraid that she might freeze or something. I had almost forgotten that I was shaking myself from lack of warmth.

"I'm Rootmon! But I don't have an attack like some of the others."

I didn't really understand why she told me that, it's not like it really mattered in the end. I smiled to her, "That's okay." She seemed to smile at my smile. I felt something being placed on my shoulders. I looked to see Date-san giving me his jacket. I only then realized that they had to get here in a hurry to save me. _Date-san… Why are you important to us?_ "Thanks."

"Let us not stay out here too long." We entered the opened window that they made getting to me. We saw them in the lobby.

"Panther!" Stan said as he started to up. Lily Dawn, Ryan and Ceres were coming up with him as TK made room for them. He was the first, and at the moment the only, one that hugged me. "I was starting to worry that they didn't get you back."

"I'm sorry for making you worried." I rested on him, remembering what Killer wished. "I'll try not to make the same mistake."

"Panther, where did you go?" Ceres asked, making Stan pull back.

"I went to the Underworld to visit Hades and Persephore." I noticed that TK and Date-san were down with everyone else already. TK looked really nervous about something when he saw Kari so I went down as well. "What's wrong?"

"Kari used her jewel as they were cooking." TK said.

"You used it for something that small?" I didn't have hate behind my words.

"I thought I should help out."

I smiled anyway, not really knowing why I'm smiling so much, "Oh well, what's done is done. Did they do anything?"

"Who?" Ceres asked. I looked at her, now noticing her arm.

"What happened to your arm?"

She blinked before looking at it, "Oh that!" she smiled, "I protected Demeter since the gun-slinger shot at her."

I laughed, knowing that it was like her to smile at something so serious. Killer must've put the smiles and laughter in me again. I can never thank him enough for all he has done for me. "Please tell me that it's not serious."

"Rowen?" She looked at him.

"It's not serious but I would still feel better if I checked on it."

"Would you like to make it a house call or a real visit?"

"I'll make a house call."

"Ken, does that radio has enough power to make one more call?" Karu asked. I had actually forgotten they were here with us.

"It does. Let me show you how it works." Ken knew that they were going to contact some other Deities. So we really could trust them with our secret with the trust that they won't harm us. He took the radio upstairs and his brothers followed.

"Why did you do that?" Kento asked.

"I know that their call in private. Anyway, it may be that the snow will go away very soon." Ken said, but there wasn't a smile on his face.

"If someone could tell them that the snow should not melt in one day then that would be good." Date-san said.

"Why?" Neon asked.

"If it were to melt all at once then unstable land will move and we will have a major flood since the land can not absorb all that water."

"I'll go." Don went up.

"Okay, everyone should go back to their room and get some sleep." Mackenzie-san said.

"What about Date-san and TK?" Kari asked.

"What do you want to do, TK?" Date-san held such tenderness towards TK as well as a question that worried TK for some reason. When Date-san noticed that he was worried, it saddened his heart but it didn't show on his face. "How will we cover our sudden appearance?" He looked at his friends, somehow knowing TK's answer.

"The only one we have to hide is TK." Ryo said.

"I have students from this school."

"Oh… Hm?" Everyone was thinking.

"If it's too much trouble, we'll just head back." TK said.

"TK, if you do not wish to go back, that is fine. We will just stay here. You came to my house at your own will so there is no commitment to going back there." Was it his understanding that made him important to us, or was it something else? Then it hit me! What if it had to do with those pictures? They held the clues we needed. I'll have to ask TK later.

"It would be hard to convince them that we were here before the snow since they would've likely seen us during the days that we were trapped." TK said.

"Leave that detail to me. I can place a spell that will make them think that they saw you here." Ceres said with a devilish smile.

"Do you want to leave it in her hands?" TK looked at Date-san.

"Yes, I believe that is fine. Just do not hurt everyone in the process."

"Okay!"

"Now that we have that settled, you guys can go to bed." Mackenzie-san said with a smile. "TK will stay with Kari and Sensei will stay with Lita."

"Date-san, can I talk to you for a moment?" I wanted him to know that I knew his name.

"Sure." He whispered something to Lita before following me to the other side of the place. Everyone else headed to their rooms, including Stan. "Yes?"

"Ryo slipped. He told me your name."

"But you have not told anyone. Are you planning to do so?"

"No, for whatever reason it seems important that your name is a secret. But why?"

"There are people that I want them to remember me but I can not force them. I have tried to go to them, but fate would not allow me to see them. So far, they have to come to me rather than me go to them."

"Do we know these people?"

"Yes."

"Why don't they remember you?"

"There was a powerful spell that was cast over everyone that I know. It was so powerful that Mina and Layla were taken from me and Lita was about to marry another man. It seemed that I was the only one that remembered those days."

"Sorry to hear that."

"But I have gained my siblings and love back, so things are not all bad. To add to joy, my friends and I have become closer and I do not have the fear that they will judge or attack anyone new that I claim to be my friend."

"Why… did you have that fear?" That seemed something that no one would do.

"We had lived together for a while at Mia's house. When I decided to go out on my own, they had strong objections to it. The only one that did not was Kento. When I was finally on my own, they still did not want me to make new friends. They did not want me to leave the group. Now, that hateful curse is gone from them and they are back to the people I teamed up with to fight evil."

"So something was possessing them for all that time?"

"Yes, and since you know this, you might want to hear my theory on where this curse has done." That shocked me. I thought it was gone forever. "We did not destroy it since I thought that it was apart of them that I have not seen before. Only when they came back into my life did I know that it had lifted and only when I met Cody did I know where it went."

"How do you know Cody?"

"That has to be a secret since I would have to be truthful later on in my tale."

"So where did it go?"

"It went to the others that have Digimon; to the ones that I have not seen, minus Matt though since I can only hope that it has not reached him."

"What makes you think that?"

"Call it a feeling. I do not have any solid proof that they all have it, but I do believe that if they have that hatred then it is dangerous for your group to stay near them."

"I'll keep that in mind the next time we have to baby sit them. Do you know what the Fates do in the Western mythology?"

"They weave the fates of mortal with the thread they make."

"I met them when I was in the Underworld. They said that there are three people that are important to us and that the one in the middle was the most important. You were with TK most of the time, right? Your string was in the middle."

He smiled with overwhelmed joy that he seemed unable to stop. "I know, I know. I seem to be the kind that hides what I feel. I am like that on most levels, but when it comes to them… They have unknowing opened locked doors and I do not think I can ever close. I believe they have that power when they work together. That or it is only two of them that have that power, I really do not know."

"Ever thought that they can all do it, but it only feels like it's all three since they all opened your doors in some way."

"You might be right. Have you been able to guess who they are? I know that you are very bright."

"Not yet, but I at least know it has something to do with those pictures. How are they?"

"More of the missing ones are coming back. It is a good start."

"I'm glad. For some reason, sadness shouldn't be with you."

"Thank you. Sadness should not be with you either. Let your friends help you."

"I will. Killer was my real reason for going on. I foolishly thought it was for Matt that I carried myself, but it was really Killer… Now, I'm not really sure how to conduct myself."

"What did he tell you?"

"I have to move on because he doesn't want to hold me back. Do you know where I can get one of those carrier tombstones? I promised that I would have something to remember him but we never took any pictures."

He placed his hand on my shoulder, "Your tears should not hide and I do know where to get one. Layla will hand it to you when you get back to school. Do you have an idea on how you are going to move forward?"

"I'm not promising anything."

"All he can ask for is for you to try your best. May I say something?"

I looked at him. He was so caring for someone who only lightly touched my life, but I knew that he was more important than that so I nodded.

"When you try your best, you are showing a lot of courage. If something like this happened to someone close to me, since my family and friends are very dear to me, I do not know if I could move forward even if they wished it. I have faith that you can do it though, for you have the patience to live through it all with only a few marks on you. You seem to have a lot of other things to take your time from thinking about Killer, but if I know your love then you think about him when no one is watching you. He is yours that you do not want to share. But it seems that Ceres has someone like that too. It could be helpful to you both if you tell her of your courage."

"Thanks Sage… I'm not really formal, sorry." That would be the first time that I apologized for my manners.

"Do not worry about it. I would like for you to call me by that whenever you wished, but I can not have that yet."

"I understand. You have a lot of courage too." I smiled before walking back to my room.

Don and Neon were already asleep and only Ceres was up.

"What did you want to talk to him about?" She whispered.

I went to my bed and lay down the exhausted Rootmon. "I know his real name."

"Can you tell me?"

"No, sorry." I smiled.

"What happened to you? You allowed Stan to comfort you and you're happier."

"I was wondering when you'll ask." And I started to tell her what happened. I also allowed her to know that he told me to tell her. She thought that was a good idea and that we should both get one. I also let my last bit of tears to fall on her shoulders, knowing that this was going to be painful for me. But as long as I have my friends, and now Date-san, I can go through it. Whatever burdens I feel, I don't have to hide it anymore.

Wow! That was cool… and I didn't read any of the others since I think that I shouldn't… But I'm worried about telling Ken what I found… I told him all the things that weren't in – that – closet… I know that I'm going to have to tell him some time… but I'm not sure when… I guess it's best if I tell him when Matt is back. After all, it's not that long until he does come back… I hope that I don't slip up on it… Bye!


	22. Chap 21 They Are Back to Take Our Souls

It's a few days after the vacation we got. The whole nation is shut down to get so all the snow can be cleared. They're dumping it in the ocean or in some other nation. Though know that Apollo did get rid of some of the snow, but he did follow Date-san's advice. Oh, this is also not hurting our economy since there are still business deals and trade going on. Karu and I hadn't had a talk yet, but we're planning to when we go back to school. Also, Panther has been nicer to everyone else, but there is still a gloomy look on her face when she's able to think. All I know is that it has something to do with Killer, but I'm not sure what since Ceres said that we didn't really need to know.

Ken

I was a bit worried about TK since he and Date-san came to lodge. TK doesn't seem to have told anyone about his fears, though Patamon understands them. I didn't that TK would be afraid of him, that or worried. Since we couldn't go to school, TK has been working on his novel. I've tried to bring up anything that he found out about him, but TK somehow always manages to find a way out of it.

"Wow! I finished that one early." TK said as he shut down his computer.

"TK…"

He looked at me, "Yeah?"

"Why are you scared of Date-san? I thought that you would be the last person to be afraid of him."

"I'm not afraid…" He unfocused his stare.

"Then why are you looking like that?"

"Fine, since I can't get it out of my head." He sat back down and turned his chair to face me. "He has awesome things in his house. There are old books that are about his armor and his friends, hidden spots, a dojo, a gravity machine, flavored water, poison for his brother, pictures, a beautiful wedding dress, stuff from European countries, really expensive jewelry, philosophy books that he got from a German, awesome architecture, one phone… and things he shouldn't have."

"Explain that part?"

"Near the phone there's a hidden spot that has three holes in it. Within them contains drawings, laptop, cards, and something metal. I am guessing they are his brothers since they seem to be hidden from view and he told me that he doesn't want to force his brothers to remember him."

"What's so strange about these items?"

"The drawings had my signature on them."

"Maybe one of them thought that it looked cool or something." Though I know that's highly unlikely, but I want TK to give me another reason.

"The cards were Duel Monsters, but that's not really unusual. What was is the laptop. It had your signature on it and it was in the same spot that you normally place it."

Now I knew way TK was avoiding him, he didn't want to ask about those items because we don't know how they got there. "Did you look to see what was in the laptop?"

"It had things about the Digital World."

"Maybe during our memory lapse… but that would mean that we've met him before, right? Why hasn't he tried to help us?"

"Maybe he is… but indirectly… But I don't really want to know how he knows."

"Why?"

"Doubt, fear? I don't really know… All I know is that I don't want to ask about them. At least not until I see the last item that was in there."

"What about Mackenzie-san? Are you going to avoid her too?"

"No… she's my teacher, of course I'm not going to… I just won't say too many things about his house."

"So is that why you didn't want to go back?"

"Yea… I was afraid that I would look and know everything… I just didn't want to know when I didn't have time to think."

"Okay… So, tell me everything you remember he told you while there. I still want information on him, and we haven't been doing a good job searching for anything."

"Okay…" He took a deep breath before starting his analyze of Date-san.

Hebe

The brothers had just told us that they know who the Neo Digidestined are and they know who they are. Aither seemed worried and depressed that Kari was in the group because we're not sure what Zeus is planning for them. All we can guess is that he wants them killed or turned into slaves for his use.

"What are you going to do?" Apollo asked.

"We have to tell them." Hypnos said.

"Why don't you guys talk to them first? I understand that you were sent here to find out who they were, but didn't you find that they care about you?"

"But that shouldn't matter, right?" Thanatos asked.

"Doesn't it matter? Have they ever acted ill towards you?" Artemis asked.

"Not really… Only when we did something to them." Aither said.

"Then don't they have the right to know what you're planning?"

"Fine… But I'm going to be talking to TK… It's possible that he might not be a Neo Digidestined, but there's something that we need to talk about."

"If or when you're going to tell the other Deities, who would you tell?"

"Why ask that?" Hypnos looked at me.

"Because if Zeus just told to you tell them when you find out, that means you can tell anyone, right? Then they could get the information that you need to know what he's planning."

"He did say that we have to tell someone about our discovery." Thanatos reminded.

"Who should we tell?" Aither asked.

"You could tell one of the Underworld Deities. They don't seem to have the same goals by what you told us." Apollo suggested.

"Okay, we will. But before we do, I'm going to be talking to TK about this."

"Of course."

Artemis pulled me into the kitchen. "Are you going to tell them about Nereida?"

"No, if they know that I was friends with one of them, they would have to report that as well. It would be safer if they didn't know about it."

"You better let Nereida know then." She went back into the room. I opened the window to look outside. The snow was being melted slowly by the sun. It would be pointless to walk over to her house since I can't explain how I got there when most transportation is down. I was going to call her later at Hecate's house. It was the best and safest choice I could make.

Kari

Tai was talking to Sora about my situation. He was angry that I wouldn't allow Mimi to heal me. I couldn't tell him my reason. He might think that it was stupid reason. Ever since he knew that I didn't feel the same confidence that he does, he has been slowly turning into someone that would make her own decisions. That why I couldn't tell him that I was following TK's and Ken's example. To suffer with the side effect so you can become stronger. Though TK wouldn't like the idea, but I know that Ken would, as well as I, use our Jewel Power if it meant to help another.

"Kari, you've been quiet." Gatomon said quietly so Tai couldn't hear. I just now noticed how Gatomon doesn't have a pulse. I never noticed it for some reason when I could see. I am also realizing that my other senses were sharp. I don't mean they getting sharper, they are already sharp. It must be due to Matt's training.

"Toward what they've been talking about? I can't really say anything about it." I'm over here at Tai's house because I can't let mom know that I'm now blind. She wouldn't understand. They do because they also have Jewels.

I looked over to the phone, seeing in my mind's eye that it was going to ring. It did.

"Tai, it should be Izzy." I said as he walked passed me. I could feel him looking at me with a puzzled look. He continued his way and got the phone.

"Hello, Yagami resistance…………… Izzy? What are you calling for?" I heard him turned to look at me, "Come to your house? How are we supposed to do that?... Do you need me to contact anyone else?... Okay, I will. See ya in the Digital World." He hung up, "How did you know?"

"Why are we going to the Digital World?" Sora asked.

"He didn't say. Kari, how did you know that was Izzy?"

I couldn't tell him that it's my new psychic powers because I didn't tell him about it when I started getting them, "I just figured. Who do you need to contact?"

"TK and Ken. Ken's not home and TK's not answering any of his phones."

I was wondering why TK wouldn't, but then remembered that he has caller ID. I brought out my cell phone and pushed with my mind the number for TK's cell.

"Hi Kari!" He said happily and cheerfully.

"Hi TK! How are you?"

"I'm good and the same with Ken. Are you getting lonely at your bro's?"

"Not really. Did you not pick up the phone when Izzy called?"

"Well… I didn't want to talk to him… I was telling Ken what I found out about Date-san."

"Are you not going to tell everyone else?" I knew that they couldn't tell what we were talking about because I'm not going to allow them to know.

"I am, but Ken and I were doing an investigation on him since first exams."

"That's a long time. And I thought you were better than that."

"We are… but we just got sidetracked with other things… We'll be better, I promise!" He yelled in a way that reminded me of Ceres. I was also beginning to see how similar they can act sometimes, but normally not at the same time.

"You better be sure of it. They don't want to be in the dark forever."

"Anyway, is there a reason I should've gotten the phone?"

"He just wanted to tell you that we're meeting in the Digital World."

"Oh… okay… well, I'll tell the others and you'll call me back with the time."

"I will, but wouldn't you like him to call you since he's arranging this?"

"I still don't trust him. You, Ken, and Matt are the only ones that I do trust out of our old groups." He said that so sadly and yet filled with so much truth that it hurt hearing it.

"Is that the truth?" Tears were coming down.

"Yea… Kari, are you crying? Did I make you cry?"

"It's the truth that's making me cry. It's both heart-warming and saddening at the same time."

"I'm sorry Kari."

"It's okay. I'm just glad to know that I'm in there with them."

"I'll see you in the Digital World then."

"Right." I hung up and put my phone away. I heard a fist hitting the wall.

"Why does he have to be like that?" Tai asked angrily.

"Be like what?" I asked.

"At whatever selfish reason he had for not picking up the phone for Izzy."

"It wasn't really selfish…"

"Then why didn't he?"

"He's just a little lost…"

"A little lost? How can he be lost?"

"I'm not sure myself… but he is. He wants to know the time that we're going there."

"He didn't tell me that. I'll wait to call him back."

I got up and placed my hand on the wall. "Let me know when you do." I walked upstairs to the room that I was staying in.

"What about Ken?" Sora asked.

"He knows." I continued my way.

"Kari, what was the truth?" Gatomon asked.

"That he doesn't trust the others. He has lost hope in them on some level." I hugged her, "It was the way he said it that told me that it was the truth."

"I see." She patted my arm.

TK

I put down the phone. I would have to make it up to her when I saw her.

"I'm sure it wasn't for herself. I think she was crying for you." Ken said.

"You might be right… but I am the one that made her cry."

"I guess that means that Izzy called my house."

"Did you not tell your parents were you where?"

"I did and I have my cell with me so I don't know why Izzy didn't call that."

I was about to comment but a knock came into the room. We all looked at the front door, wondering who it could be. I got up and opened it to see Karu standing there with no jacket or anything to protect him from the cold and yet he seemed fine.

"I need to talk to you outside for a moment."

I grabbed his hand pulled him inside. "It's still cold out there. You shouldn't have walked all the way here. Let me get you something to warm yourself…" He grabbed my hand as I was about to go get something. I looked at him.

"I didn't walk here."

"Oh… Then how did you get here?"

"I am a God. Now, I need to talk to you and it has to be alone." He was looking at Ken, Patamon and Wormmon.

Ken picked up Wormmon, "Patamon, I think we need to finish something upstairs." He went up.

"Oh yea! Coming!" Patamon flew up to meet him before going into a room. I noticed that door looked closed.

"Sit on the couch." I offered with a smile as I went over.

I sat down in the one that Ken was using and he was sitting in the one that I was using.

"I need you to know that we're going to have to tell someone about our discovery. We were sent here for that purpose."

"Why are you telling me this? I'm not a Neo Digidestined.

"I thought so… Who is?"

"Ken told me about the fight with those Elite people from Panther's gang. It's all the students that were on your side. They are the other Neo, but there is still one missing."

"Who is that?"

"You said that you were sent here with the purpose of finding out who the Legendary Digidestined are. Why?"

"We're not really sure why."

"Why were you sent to our school?"

"We figured that they would be connected to, or at least the old Digidestined would lead us to them."

"So it was only by luck that you were able to find out."

"Yes."

"But that didn't really matter to you since you wanted to be with Kari."

"Yes."

"I know that you guys don't watch us. So how did you become so deeply in love with her?"

"We can watch the humans that come into the Digital World if we wish… I did watch you and her when you came into the Digital World. I thought that you were a wimp when you were younger, when you first arrived. You grew into a fighter in the end. I thought that Kari was too sweet for her own good when she came. But it was because of her that I saw how fragile mortals are. When you guys came back because of the Digimon Emperor…"

"You saw how much she has grown." I finished his sentence.

"I fell in love with her, knowing how beauty works. Her inner beauty was her sweetness, I realized, and that's how she can look so beautiful on the outside."

"And the spell was just your way of getting your way because you also knew how that works too, right?"

"Yes. I still remember our old ways of getting what we want."

"Then why didn't it work?"

"Because the human heart is much stronger than us at times. When it's deep and true, it can over power us as well."

"Even though you knew that we love each other that much, you still went and did it because you hoped that there would be some flaw that would bring her to you."

"That's why I didn't do anything."

"There might come a time that there is a flaw, it would be pointless to wish for there not to be one. But, I do know that we'll see through it. Can you accept the next best place?"

"Where's that?"

"Be our friend, you and your brothers."

"But, aren't you here to destroy us?"

"They don't really want to destroy anything. They will fight if being fought. They will seal anything evil."

"How do you know that it's evil or not?"

"We've seen it a few times… But, I guess they will have to come up with a definition themselves. So, will you be our friend?"

"Yes, yes we will. But keep in mind that we will have to do things that we might not want to do. We can't disobey Zeus."

I was thinking about their crest. I was thinking about what Matt wants. He wanted us to be free from Gennai. Would he also wish for them to be free from Zeus even though he had a longer reign than Gennai? "It's okay, but don't be surprise if we get angry." I said with a smile.

"It will only be expected." He got up, "Do you know the story about Pandora?"

"A little."

"When fire was stolen from us, we gave man their first woman. She was beautiful and would've been taken by anyone, but Zeus gave her to the brother of the man that took our scared fire. As a dowry, she was given a box. The brother was warned never to accept any gift from the gods, but he couldn't turn her down so he told her never to open the box. After the years passed since their marriage, she was curious as to what was within the box. When her curiosity was at it height, a gift of Hera, she opened it. All the evils of the world flooded the world before she could close it again. Her husband was angry at her but he told her to open it again. As the evils were consuming them, she opened it to allow the last evil out, hope."

I looked at him, wondering why he was telling this to me now. But I couldn't help but get angry since he just called my greatest strength evil. But for some reason, I couldn't voice my anger.

"Hope is something that mortals believe in. They need something that they think will power them against the gods. How foolish of them to think something as this? Hope is what gives mortals their boldness, something that all gods punish if it is towards them. But slowly, Hope did become something to behold. Its power reaches over many worlds, over many hearts, over many souls. It might've been evil to the people of the past. They couldn't see how far they will go. But they made it. Now, they are strong, and they can't understand how Hope doesn't play into this. There's an evil creature of the darkest beings that is after Hope since its release. He knew of its power, and he wanted to kill it at its birth. The Moon Goddess saved it. Now she has sent others to protect it. But even though Hope was evil at the beginning, it has become something of good. TK, never forget its roots and never forget what it has become." He walked to the door and out.

I wasn't really sure what he was telling me. Was he telling me to be careful? Or was there something more to it? Was it his realization of what Hope is now to us? I was really confused.

Ken came walking down with Patamon on his head. "That was weird."

"Did you get anything after he paused?"

"Nope."

"Strange… Could you call the others?"

"So you're head will stop spinning, sure." He picked up his cell and started to make the calls.

I went into the kitchen for no real reason. I was thinking about what he said. It was all replaying within my mind, but I couldn't figure it out. I wasn't mad that I couldn't, more like worried since I knew that something was going to happen where I would need this.

"TK," I looked at Ken, who was standing at the entrance, "They're heading to Tim's place. Neon's mother and Stan are taking everyone there."

"What are they going to tell their Grandmother?"

"They said that she'll understand if they need to go outside for periods of time. Any luck?"

I shook my head.

"You're not the personification of Hope." He walked away. I knew he meant that I shouldn't worry about it since I'm only the holder of Hope. Hope really isn't me, but apart of me. Just a side that I could turn off if I need to. I could pass it on and be done with it forever. Kitty came to mind. I don't think she ever gave up her Faith. I don't think you could give it up, that we are the personification of our crest.

"Ken," he came back, "You're wrong. I think we are our Crest."

"Then…"

"I can't. I only know that we are. I can't prove it, I can't show it, but I know that we are our Crest. We might be able to pass it on, but it is still within us. We still hold it, and we can never get rid of it. That's probably why it took you a while in order to accept Faith, because it wasn't originally apart of you but it slowly became you."

Ken sighed, "There seemed to be truth within that…"

I smiled, knowing that Ken finally gave in. "Thanks Ken."

My cell went off. I looked at the number to see that it was Kari, "Hi Kari!"

"Hi TK, letting you know that we're all meeting in the Digital World at nine."

I looked at the clock to see that it was four. That would give them enough time to get there. "Okay, and that's perfect for them."

"Good to hear. Where are they meeting anyway?"

"They're meeting at Tim's place."

"How do they explain leaving though?"

"Ken told me that she would understand if they left for a while."

"Wow! That's luck. Okay, so I'll be with you at nine."

"And I'll see you there. Bye."

"Bye." She hung up.

After a while, Tim called saying that they all came. I told him that we'll be meeting in the Digital World at nine.

Kari

We were the first ones there, minus Izzy and someone else. I couldn't really tell who it was, but I figured that it was Gennai since he's the only one that would be with Izzy and not greet us on sight.

"Hi Gennai." Tai said as we got closer. He was guiding me along by his hand on my shoulder.

"Is there something wrong with Kari?" He asked.

"I can't see."

"How did this happen?" He was mostly playing his consider.

"We're not really sure how it happened." I heard TK's voice behind me. I turned around and he hugged me tight, "I'm sorry that I made you cry." He whispered.

"It's okay." I was glad that I was in his arms.

"How can you not know what happened?" Gennai asked.

"We're still trying to figure that out, Gennai." Ken said. "We'll let you know when we find out."

Everyone else appeared.

"Good, everyone else is here." Izzy said.

"I have a warning to give you all. It has to deal with your old enemies, Tai."

"What do you mean?"

"Izzy gave me the warning that Wizardmon gave to you." TK gripped me tighter, "Yolie also gave me the information about the cloned Digimon of you. I managed to do some searching and I have found their leader. He's name is Megamon and he seems to have a powerful army."

"Have you found out what they're planning?" Cody asked.

"I haven't found out his plans, but the evil Digimon that they had faced in the past are now reclaiming their lost empires." I could feel TK freezing up. He wasn't shaking, but he was probably seeing Skull Devimon within his eyes.

"What can we do, Gennai? They're all Super Levels. We haven't been able to reach that stage yet." I said.

"I know, Kari, but you must do something. We can't allow them to gain what they lost. I have faith that you can pull this off."

"Do we have time to come up with a plan?" TK asked, though he had to put strength in his voice.

"I believe so. Start on this journey as soon as possible."

"We should all head home and come back here tomorrow morning at five. I'll think up the best way to split us so we can cover more ground."

They started to walk away, the same with Gennai.

"Tai, I'll bring Kari back to your house a bit later." TK said.

"Why didn't you want Gennai to know about the Jewels? I'm sure he knows about them." Tai asked.

"He doesn't know and he shouldn't know."

"Kari, TK, Ken, please tell your group that they'll be included into my plan."

"Just don't give Mimi or me anyone we ran into before." Sora said.

"Why?" Ken asked.

"It's none of your business."

"Who were with you?" Izzy asked.

"Don, Ryan, Neon, Ceres were watching." I said.

"Include Panther in that as well." Sora said.

"Give me the other names in your group."

"Lily Dawn, Nereida, Tim and Damon." TK said.

"Okay, I'll think up something. I'll see you tomorrow." Izzy walked away.

"Why shouldn't Gennai know about the jewels? Is it because it's connected to Styxmon?" Tai asked.

"I know how they were created and the creators wouldn't want him to know about it." TK answered.

"So you want us to lie to Gennai about them?"

"Yeah, is that hard?"

"It is when Kari ends up like this."

"Some side effects are a bit worst than this. Yours happens to be one of them."

I could tell that Tai was getting angry, yet TK is keeping his cool. "We have somewhere we need to go so I'll be back later, okay Tai?" I didn't want them to fight.

TK gently tugged to let me know that we're leaving. We walked for a while before I heard a portal opening.

"For someone that doesn't really fight, you sure can start them." Don said.

"They're not really worth to finish." TK said. "We're in Tim's house, right?"

"Yep."

I heard Ken walk up to it, "Kari, give me your hand."

I extended and he took me across. I noticed how smoothly these portals are. The ones that we used with the computers are harder and tough. These seem to give the impression that you can go anywhere you desire as long as you wish it.

"Okay, let's start the meeting!" Ceres said with energy. I was able to sense that we were the only ones here.

"To start off, there's a legend that we were told that was rewrite. We haven't been able to figure it out, so I guess it's your turn to think." TK said. He told them the one we heard when we were fighting Myotismon. He also gave them what happened once we used it. Then he told them the real version of it. It was silent when he was done.

"Well," Ceres broke the silence, "the hour of between could mean midnight or the time that the moon is in the new phase."

"And since the reverse one told of the union of Light and Hope, Peace might be made of the same thing." Tim said.

"The new stage might be our Super Level stage. So once this is done, we should be getting the ability to do so." Ryan said.

"But Myotismon was the Undead King before. Is he the one again?" I asked.

"I don't think so," Lily Dawn said, "There are many Rulers of the Underworld thanks to the Deities."

"She's right. It could mean any one of them so it's most likely not Myotismon." Panther said.

"Does anyone know the legends that drove Styxmon away?" Neon asked.

"TK, did he tell you?" Panther asked.

"He did. Something bad will overcome the Virtue and everyone will be in left to fight a battle that needs something more than they will think. The true watcher will lend the ultimate hand that defeats and brings the Digital World to peace. All the worlds will return to the center of love. The other is: a powerful Digimon will die at a battle. She returns to the world as an egg. She waits to be opened, to be free again, to see the world she last remembered. She's open at strange surroundings. Two faces are happy for her birth but everyone else is mad. She took the two away from their goals and the others hate her for that. One day, they kill her and that made the two mad. They never knew what really happened but it turned them to their original thinking and ideas. They never forgot her and she'll never forget them. She returns to the world in many forms but goes back to highest form with her own powers, every time dieing. Later, she realized that she can't protect the people she cares do much about. She leaves with another and they die with another that came along without their knowing. She makes everyone forget, even the ones that remembers them the most. Everyone must forget so everyone can have a happier life, even though they brought everyone happiness."

"So are they saying that we're connected to more than this world and the Digital World?" Neon asked.

"I'm not sure what to think about them. The last one was what made Styxmon worried since she believed it was her that it was talking about."

"But Matt didn't believe it. He knew that something wasn't right about it." Panther said.

"Why?" Don asked.

"Because he just didn't believe it was talking about her. Now that I've heard it, I'm thinking the same thing."

"Maybe they translated it wrong." Ceres offered.

"How could they translate it wrong?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Well, they're not really familiar with the ancient language of the Digital World so they could translate it in a way that could make it seem that they're thinking was right."

I could feel that TK wanted to say something, but he didn't. I don't know why. Maybe he thought of something that could help. Was he afraid to say it?

"TK, is there something that you would like to tell us?" Ken asked.

"Remembering the legends is reminding me of that girl that sometimes visits me when I sleep in the Digital World. The last time she appeared, she told me her past. It sounds a lot like the second legend."

"Sometimes, when one thing is able to be repeated, it sounds like it could only fit one thing." Ceres said.

"So you're saying that it's possible for a legend to relate to two things?"

"It might sound like it and sometimes it's okay to tell people that it relates to them to give them hope, but truth is that it only relates to one thing. Unless it mentions that it is going to happen again or it's obvious that it relates to more than one thing."

"Also, she told me that it was her and her sister that gave us these Jewels. It was also her sister's Digimon that created the Neo Jewels."

"So there were three people that created the jewels. How did they?" Nereida asked.

"I was told that they created it with their last breath. They were chasing after some enemy of theirs and they all were killed. Three Goddesses took pity on them and hosted their spirits. Styxmon has the sister with the Digimon."

"So there are two others that we need to find. They gave their lives for these and probably for us as well. We have to thank them."

"Why did they create them?" Neon asked.

"I'm not sure. They might've wanted to help us. I don't mean the Neo group pacifically; the sisters were connected to the old groups."

"Why don't we know them?" I asked.

"Because the Digimon erased everyone's memories to make sure that we weren't sad that they were gone."

"Do you know the name of the Digimon?" Panther asked.

"Thunmon."

"You mean Horsemon's mother?" He nodded. "She has a lot of power."

"She does."

"Well, we have to go to bed so we'll be ready tomorrow." Neon said.

"Neon." I heard her stop, "I don't think you should go. Our enemies are really dangerous and they might be out for revenge. For your safety, I think it would be best if you stay behind this time."

"Thank you Kari for your consider. TK, Ken, do you think this is wise as well?"

"I can't really say since I never fought them." Ken said.

"I think so. You can't move as fast as before and it would put you in danger since we're not sure what powers they have now." TK agreed.

"I'll stay then."

"I'll keep her company." Don said.

"Thank you." I said.

"I'll be back. I have to drop off Kari at Tai's house." TK said as we stood up.

"We'll have a room ready." Damon said.

TK took my hand and we walked outside. "DigiArmor Energized!"

"Patamon Armor Digievolves to………………………… Pegasusmon, Flying Hope." TK picked me up and placed me on him before getting on himself. Pegasusmon took to the sky.

"Are you cold?" TK asked.

I shook my head, "I'm fine. TK…"

"Yeah?"

"Why does that girl keep going to you?"

"Her sister is named Diana and she was in loved with Matt."

"What does that have to do with you?"

"The girl's name is Kitty and apparently we liked each other when we were young. Since we all had our memories erased, it's really hard to remember. She told me that I gave her up to be with you. That's why she comes to me."

"How do you feel now?"

He wrapped his arms around me. "I am worried about her, but I love you."

I smiled and placed my hand on his face, "I believe you."

He got more comfortable, "I'm glad."

He knocked on the door once I got off Pegasusmon.

"I'll see you before we split up." I would've looked in his direction but Pegasusmon took to the sky.

"Right. Good night Kari!" Then they were gone.

The door opened, "Kari, where's TK?" Tai asked.

"He left before you came." I walked inside.

"Why did he leave you there?"

"He left right before you opened the door. Did you want to talk to him?"

"Yeah, I wanted to ask him more about the Jewels."

"What else do you want to know?"

"Who are the creators and why shouldn't Gennai know?"

"You know how much we don't trust Gennai. We don't want him to know everything. The ones that created them didn't like Gennai either. Please brother, don't tell him and have the others promise the same thing."

"Fine."

"Thank you." I went upstairs.

Panther

Stan was standing outside of our room. He didn't see us coming toward him.

"I guess he wants to talk to me…" Lily Dawn said but I stopped her.

"If I'm wrong, I'll get you." I went up to him, "You want to talk?"

He looked at me and smiled, "Yea, Plantmon, could you go with the others?"

"And have you been with Panther?"

"Sure, you have to give them some alone time." Ceres said as she took her out of my arms. "Let's go Plantmon." They went into the room.

The others went into the room before Stan grabbed my hand and pulled me away. I allowed him to drag me to the garden. Once there, he pulled me closer to him.

"You want to talk?" I asked again.

He dropped my hand and placed both hands on face. "Yeah."

Before he moved closer, I stopped him. He looked at me with a confuse look. I've been given him the attention he wanted. I've now seen that it's gone to his head. "You're going too fast, Stan."

"You're calling this fast?"

"Because you haven't even told me anything, I have to guess at what you're thinking."

"And this won't prove it?" He placed one of his hands on my back and the other behind my head. He pulled me closer.

"I took the liberty of asking Lily Dawn how many girls you had." He looked worried, "And she told me that you had many."

"What else has she told you?"

"That you normally dump them and it's normally happen once you know their cooking."

"You're point?"

"That you somehow judge girls by their cooking. Why, I'm not really sure but that's not really my business. So if you want me, you'll have to prove that I'm more than the other girls that you've dated. I've seemed to pass the first test, but that's not enough for me. If you want me to forget Killer, you're going to have to work much harder than this." I smiled as I pulled out of his hold. "Remember that." I headed back inside.

"What did Stan have to say?" Ceres asked as Plantmon jumped to me.

"He wanted me, but he ain't havin' me that easily." I smiled to Lily Dawn.

"I thought that…"

"Lily Dawn," I interrupted, "It's because I don't want to be left in dust if I don't pass his test two. Besides, I'm a fighter and I didn't even allow Killer to have me that easily."

"At least you're giving him a chance. Now let's go to sleep. Lily Dawn, if he comes in while we're sleeping, I will attack him." Neon said.

"He should know better." Then we all went to bed.

Ken

Izzy had everything planned. He even had the location to where their enemies were at. I was to team up with him. Tai and Davis were teaming, Joe and Cody, Mimi and Yolie. Sora, Kari, and TK were on their own. He wanted them to stay for a while. Once the others left, he handed them their papers.

"Where are they?" He asked.

"The Neo Digidestined?" Kari asked.

"Yes." They came out from their hiding. "There seems to be two missing."

"Neon and Don thought that it would be best if they didn't come." She answered.

"Is there a reason you seem to be ordering her around?" Ceres asked.

"Ceres will go with Kari; Lily Dawn with TK; Nereida with Sora; Tim with Tai and Davis; Damon with Mimi and Yolie; Ryan with Joe and Cody; Panther, you're with us. Kari, you're going after Myotismon and I'm giving the paper to Ceres." He handed the paper over. "Let's get a move on." He walked away.

Panther and I followed him as everyone else headed in their own direction.

"Izzy, are you okay?" Panther asked.

"Our enemies around returning and you think I'm okay?"

"Sorry I asked. Who are we going after?"

"Puppetmon."

"Puppetmon? Oh, I remember Matt telling me about him. So I get to fight someone that Matt fought? How cool is that?" She said in her pride.

Izzy stopped. He looked at us, well more like Panther but since I was standing near her it looked like he was also looking at me. "Panther, how can you say that you want to fight someone that separated us? Does following Matt mean that much to you?"

"I'm sorry Izzy. I'll try to sound more worried that we're facing your old enemies." I couldn't tell whether she was being truthful or just mocking him. Since I know that Izzy doesn't know her as well, he believed that she meant it so he kept on walking.

"Which one were you giving him?" I whispered.

"Mocking." She smiled.

Nereida

Sora was serious and quiet as Birdramon took us to our location. I noticed that we were heading over to the area that we landed on when we were done with the sea. I was glad that I knew where we were heading.

"Sora, who are we going against?"

"You probably wouldn't know."

"Nereida, we're going to fight Etemon." Lightningmon answered.

"Who do you know?" Birdramon asked.

"Knowing the old evils is something I did as a hobby." She said with an uncaring tone.

"Do you know what they're names are now?" Sora asked.

"I didn't even know that they had new forms. So I wouldn't know."

"It could be dangerous so keep your guard up." She looked at me.

"I will." I said with a smile.

Lily Dawn

"TK… we're going against Skull Devimon, aren't we?" I asked as we were flying over the water that we cross before. We were heading back to that island.

"Yeah, we are."

I placed my hand on his shoulder, "Whatever fear you have of him, I will be by your side. He will not harm you."

"It's not me that I'm worried about. It's Patamon." He petted Pegasusmon, "He almost killed him… He practically did if it wasn't for the power of the Digiegg."

"It's okay. We'll make sure that nothing happens again."

He looked at me and smiled, "Thanks."

"YEAH! We'll protect you guys for sure!" Larkspurmon said.

"Right." Pegasusmon agreed. I knew that this was only easing his fears a bit, but it put a smile on his face.

Ceres

They were taking Nefertimon to take them to Myotismon's castle. They were flying over mountains to get there.

"Kari, do you think this was a smart move?" Ceres asked.

"I'm not really sure, but we have to trust that Izzy knows what he's doing."

"But this is your greatest enemy, right? I know that it's best to face your fears head on, but it's not always that easy."

"It's not just for me, Ceres. Gatomon wants her revenge over him."

"Is that true, Nefertimon?" She looked pass Kari to look at Nefertimon.

"Yes. I was under his control for the longest time. I want him to suffer for those years."

"Okay, I could understand that. Well, I guess I'm here to make sure that Kari is okay and that you don't kill yourself in order to kill him."

"And you know what the worst part is?" Kari asked.

"What?"

"I think he's been watching us for a long time, ever since we were looking for the Jewels."

"Then we'll see how much he knows about us." She smiled, though knowing that she couldn't see it. Kari has her eyes closed because her eyes are pure white.

Damon

We caught up to Mimi and Yolie. They were at the edge of the cliff.

"How are we going to get to that beach?" Mimi asked Yolie. I was lucky that there was enough tree cover for me.

"We can go on either Halsemon or Aquilamon." Yolie offered.

"Halsemon might be a better choice."

"Okay. DigiArmor Energized!"

"Hawkmon Armor Digievolves to………………………… Halsemon, the Wings of Love!"

They got on the mainly red copper furred creature with a metal as a helmet and its wings. He took off in the direction of the water.

"How are we going to catch up to them now?" I asked as they took off.

"Here." Huskimon tossed me a wood piece that was long and thin. He had his collar on and his leash. The only reason he had those was to fool our neighbors.

I smiled, "I guess that means that I'm going water skiing." I got on the board and grabbed onto Huskimon's leash. He took off the cliff and made the water harder under his feet so he had something to run on. We stayed a good distance away from Mimi and Yolie so they wouldn't spot us. Lucky for us, they weren't that high from the surface.

"We have to keep an eye on the water. We don't know what kind of Digimon is down there." Huskimon warned.

"Right." Though the interesting thing would be to explain it to Yolie.

Ryan

They were walking in some direction. We were still in the wooden area, but I had a feeling that the one we were facing was in the woods.

"Joe, who are we facing?" Cody asked.

"We're facing Machindramon."

I remember him. TK and Kari told us that WarGreymon took him down with help by Kari somehow. They were never sure how she was able to do, since it didn't happen again. They thought it might be something about her crest, but it was only a guess.

"Didn't they say that he ruled over a city that was filled with things from our world and that there were many robotic Digimon there?" Breomon asked.

"Yeah, they did. I guess this is the quickest way of going."

"It must be. At least we're able to keep up with them."

"Yep."

Tim

I didn't really like how Izzy was giving out orders to us, but we were here to help out. My impression of the leaders getting together was them chatting away about anything. You know, to show off their accomplishments or something. But they were dead quiet. I guess Tai had a lot to think about since it seems that they do not like us too well. I'm not sure why Davis isn't talking, but I didn't really mind it. My luck was that they were walking through the woods and since I can travel through things, I didn't have to worry about making a sound.

"Tai, who do we have?" Davis asked, breaking the silence.

"Piedmon. He's the leader of the Dark Masters." Tai seemed to have some bad memories about him or about them.

"Shouldn't there be one more evil Digimon that we have to face? The last one that you guys fought."

"I would assume but either he doesn't have a Super Level form or he's not apart of this group. Only Izzy knows for sure."

"Well, we'll figure out a way to defeat these punks." Davis said with confidence.

"We'll surely try." As Tai was being the most realistic out of them.

"**You think they will succeed?**" Shendramon asked.

"We can only hope that they can, but I'm sure that this is just for show. That's what that mysterious Digimon's group was doing. If they happened to reach some end to it, that was better for them. They were only making themselves known."

"**So the best thing to do is to see what happens and not to assume that there's a real goal in mind.**"

"There's always a goal, but it might be nothing that we can do about it. They're playing as they might have guessed. We just have to be the unknown factor that they don't see."

"**Right.**"

Now, the leaders were chatting up a storm about many things, being the leaders that I thought they were.

Don

We were helping their grandmother around the house. We told her that the others were going to be out for a long time. She smiled as if she knew. She asked if they were going to return for their meals. We weren't sure, but we figured not.

"Thank you for letting me know. Make yourselves at home as you wait for their return."

"Thank you for your kindness." Neon said with a bow.

She went into her mediating room and we went to the girl's room. Ceres left something to contact them but we knew that we should only do so at night. Everyone brought their laptops with them, since we knew that the way we communicated before was helpful. She wasn't sure if it could cross dimensions. We didn't know who they got paired with and it would we could only hope that Ceres and Panther were paired with someone that had one. Otherwise, this would be tough.

"What are we going to do here? I don't want to be a bother to her." Neon said.

"Let's hope that it doesn't take too long. Though that's going to be tough to say since we're not sure what they need to do."

"I know. We'll hope for their safe return."

"Right."

Lily Dawn

We were lucky that we were able to land before the sun had set. We were back to where we began our own mini journey into the Digital World.

"We should keep walking. Whoever has Metal Seadramon might be here already." TK said.

"Okay." I was wondering all the Super Levels that were here and if they were still here. The ones who weren't deleted anyway. "TK, do you know who has the Digimon you mentioned?"

"I think Mimi and Yolie."

"But if Skull Devimon is here, why would he give some of his land to another?"

"Metal Seadramon ruled the seas. Part of the land here was used as a base. Since they can't go under water, they will have to find some way to bring him up."

"Wouldn't it have made more sense to have Joe and Cody to against him then?"

"You would think. Izzy might have some plan in mind when he thought this up so we just have to trust it for now."

"I thought you didn't trust anyone from that group?"

"I don't."

"Then why do you trust it now?"

"Because he's putting Ken, Kari and you guys in danger. I can only hope that whatever he is hoping for to happen does come true."

"Thanks, but we're warriors too."

"Matt would feel the same way." He looked at me with a smile.

"I guess." I smiled back. "If you're not tired, I think we should walk as much as possible before setting up camp." I had my laptop on for whenever Ceres set up the spell.

"Okay."

Damon

They were coming up to a beach area as the sun was setting. I kinda remembered the area from when we first came here. There was a forest beside them so we headed there. When they landed, they set up camp.

"What are we going to do now?" Yolie asked.

"We have to until tomorrow." Mimi said.

"Okay."

"I'll keep watch for tonight."

"Thanks Mimi." Yolie went right to sleep.

Even though I didn't want to be seen by Mimi, I at least wanted to know who we were going up against. So I wrote in the sand: Don't talk loud as you answer these. I am Damon. Who are we facing?

"We're going against Metal Seadramon. How are you able to do this?" She kept her voice low so Yolie didn't wake up.

I erased what I wrote before. This is my power. It's not connected to my Crest in any way. Why are you here? I thought he ruled over the water.

"He doesn't but we were lured here at one point by him and we fought one of his henchmen here so Izzy probably thought that we can get him to come here."

Shouldn't a water base Digimon be better to fight against him?

"This is what Izzy came up with. I know that he put a lot of thought into it."

Okay, I'm here if you need me.

"Where are you?"

That has to remain a secret. We don't like letting people know that we're here unless it's needed.

"Fine. But that means that you're on your own for night watch."

Okay! I settled down behind a tree.

"Who are they facing?" Huskimon asked.

"Metal Seadramon."

"I remembered him. He was one of those Digimons that was willing to kill his own men if they didn't do what he wanted."

"It sounds like he's a henchman now." I smiled.

He nodded and we just rested since no one else was on the forum yet.

Nereida

We were in the desert as the sun was setting.

"We better stop to rest for the night." Sora said as Birdramon landed.

"Shouldn't we keep on moving? The night is the best time to travel the desert since we don't have to worry about the heat." I asked.

"We didn't do that when we first arrived here."

"Are you planning to fly all the way to Etemon's fortress?" Lightningmon asked.

"Yep, that's why we can afford the rest."

I didn't really like the idea myself. I knew that the others that had to go to the desert traveled during the day because we were in a hurry to find them before we had to return. I'm sure that they would've gone in the night if given the choice. "Okay."

The desert night wasn't as cold as I thought it would've been. I also didn't like that we were so opened. It was giving me an unease feeling but I had my laptop on so I can warn the others when if I needed to. No one was on the forum that Ceres created for us the last time. I figured that everyone was waiting for Ceres to release the spell again.

"Why do you have that on?" Sora asked.

"You'll see. It's the way that we're able to talk to each other even when we're far apart." I smiled.

"Don't you have to worry about the batteries?"

"Not once Ceres does something."

"Let me know when it's set up."

"Okay." I knew that I wouldn't have to tell her anything since she would be able to hear it.

Ryan

They set up camp so I logged onto the forum. No one was saying anything so I knew that Ceres hasn't set up the spell yet. We were now on an opened road, so I figured that we were closer to the city. TK and Kari told us that they had to walk along a really long road before reaching the city. We were on it for most of the day, so I hoped that we were closed. When I talk to the others, I would have to ask them. Cody and Joe were talking to each other, the same with their Digimon, so I couldn't talk to Joe alone. So I waited for Ceres to get on and placed that spell of hers.

Tim

They set up camp within the woods. They were really close to the edge of it. I opened my laptop but no one was saying anything.

"Are we really close to Piedmon's place?" Davis asked.

"I think so." Tai answered. He looked in the direction that he believed that Piedmon was located.

"Should we really be resting?" V-mon asked.

"We have to save our strength." Agumon answered.

As they were talking over the fire, I was wondering how everyone else was doing. I looked up at the foreign stars, wondering if they were as close as we were.

"**Are you worried about tomorrow?**" Shendramon asked.

I placed my hand on him, "I'm only worried about the others. But, I have the confidence that even though we're all far apart, especially Matt, we're all here to give the others the strength we need."

"**That doesn't sound like you.**"

"I know. But we're protecting people who hate us and we're going to be facing Digimon that have more strength than us. We're all split up. Only two groups have two of us. Somehow, I don't think this is right. So I have to believe that we're here for something other than being their shadow and their guardian."

"**Alright, believe it if it will help ease your mind.**" He rubbed his nose on my cheek, making me smile.

"Thanks Shendramon." I looked at my laptop and still nothing.

Panther

We were in the forest. I remembered Matt telling me that one of Puppetmon's henchmen, he only believed he was because he could never find him again to confirm, had convinced him to fight against the others. He only aimed at Tai and Agumon because he still cared for them. He always will because they were chosen for this task of protecting the Digital World. It was their destinies, as well as ours.

I looked at Izzy who was on his laptop and at Ken who was looking at the fire. They are people that Matt cares for, but then why do they have to be the ones that betray him. Ken doesn't really, but I think that Izzy is. TK believes it, but I still want Matt to tell me himself that Izzy can't be trusted.

"Izzy, why didn't you send Joe and Cody to deal with Metal Seadramon? They're better apt for water because of Ikkakumon and Submarinemon." I asked.

He stopped typing, "I don't think that Yolie and Mimi could handle Machindramon."

"We're not going to argue now since it's pointless, but I do agree with Panther on this one." Ken said. "They don't have any water Digimon with them so if they get pulled into the water, it would be hard for them then. I'm also sure that it's hard for Ikkakumon to move really fast on land."

"Do you seriously doubt me, Ken?" There was a weird look in his eyes. I remember Izzy; he was the first person I had met of the old group. These weren't his eyes, but they were gone as quickly as they came. "I'm sure that they'll be alright. You two should get some sleep."

"Even if we wanted to, we couldn't. We're waiting for Ceres to get on." I said.

"Why? Get on what?"

"You'll see when it happens." Were the others turning into something they're not as well? Will Matt, or we, be able to save them? Date-san might be right about that curse coming to them. I hope that we can do something about it.

Ceres

They set up camp within the mountains. They were a bit far from the castle still, but they could make it tomorrow.

"Here you go Kari." Ceres placed a water container in her hands.

"Thanks." She placed her hand on the top to help guide her more to her mouth. "You need to get that spell up. My laptop is in my bag."

"Right." Ceres got the laptop and logged on the forum. She noticed that everyone else was on, including Neon. "Great news! Everyone is on."

"That is good. You better place that spell now then."

Ceres closed her eyes and was chanting over and over again. The computer was glowing just like before. It stopped with the end of the chant. "It's the same as before since I'm sure that Nereida and Panther wouldn't want Sora and Izzy to know."

"Actually, we told Izzy that he'll find out how we could communicate to you guys. I guess we just have to tell him now." Panther said.

"I told Sora the same thing. I guess it's better for the others though." Nereida said.

"Sorry about that, but I can't change it while it's in place."

"It's okay."

"How far are you guys from your desire target?" Tim asked.

"Kari and I aren't that far from the castle. We should be able to make it before noon tomorrow."

"How is Kari doing? Is she alright?" TK asked.

"I'm fine, TK. What about you?" She came closer to the computer.

"We're still walking since TK figured that Mimi and Yolie would be on the island as well. We'll rest once we feel tired." Lily Dawn said.

"Don't push yourself." Stan said.

"Stan? You're here too?" Panther asked.

"Yeah! Neon and Don called me over when most of you guys were on."

"I thought that only we can talk through these."

"Stan, are you just reading what we're saying or can you actually hear us?" Ceres asked.

"He can't really hear you guys, so all he's doing is reading." Don said.

"So that means that only his voice carries over the computer. See, I know my own spells." Ceres said.

"Then why were you so unsure a moment ago?"

"Tai believes that we're not that far from Piedmon's place." Tim said.

"Sora believes that we're not far either." Nereida said.

"Mimi and Yolie are waiting for Metal Seadramon to appear." Damon reported.

"I hope we're not that far. We're still on that road that Kari and TK told us about." Ryan said.

"We're not really sure how far we're going to get." TK said.

"Izzy just told us that we're not that far either." Ken reported.

"Okay, we'll need our sleep so everyone should get some sleep." Kari said.

"Right, night everyone!" Nereida said.

Everyone bayed night to the others before it was quiet. Ceres looked up to the sky to see the moons of the Digital World.

"Kari, did you know that there were moons in too?" Ceres asked.

"I don't think so. Why?" Kari was sounding like she was going to sleep.

"I see three moons here and they're of different colors."

"Are they really beautiful?"

"Yeah… But they're all going into their full moon stage together."

"That's really unusual." Yi-Yamon said.

"Why is that?" Ceres looked at her.

"Because I remembered being told that these moons are meant not to be together with their phases. Something terrible is going to happen."

"Like what?" Kari asked with fear.

"The legend… Neon! Neon, Don are you two awake?" Ceres yelled into the computer.

"Yeah, and I'm sure that everyone else is too." Don answered.

"What is it?" Neon asked calmly.

"Check to see what phase the moon is in."

There was a long silence that followed. "It's going towards the full moon, why?"

"That's it! I believe I know when the legend is going to take place." Ceres said in a distant tone.

"When?" TK asked.

"It's going to happen on the Chinese New Years. They still follow the lunar cycle and I know that this year was an off one since it had thirteen months. So, this is it. The Underworld God will come from his realm to claim this one as his own."

"Are you positive, Ceres?" Panther asked.

"Yea… I don't think there's any doubt about it in my mind now."

"At least now we know… What is the hour?" Tim asked.

"Probably midnight, but I'm only guessing."

"As we once said to Izzy, you made it this far so we have to believe in you all the way until the end." TK said.

"You said that to Izzy?" Ken asked.

"Yeah, it was before we found Kari."

"Now that we have this mystery solved, you better get some sleep. You'll need your strength to fight." Neon said.

"Stay safe, friends." Don added.

"Night." Nereida said.

Panther

"What was all that about? Why are you two moving your lips in front of the computer?" Izzy asked.

Ceres's spell did work well. He can't hear us talking to our friends. "This is how we can communicate to the others. Ceres set up this forum when we came here the last time. The reason you can't hear us say anything is because of the spell that she placed. Only we can hear what is being said." I said, though I didn't have any pride in it. I was just telling him as it was.

"Why? Shouldn't we know what you're saying?" Tentomon asked.

"As much as we wanted to include you, once the spell is placed, she can't change it." Ken said.

"Then why not remove it and place another?"

"If she feels like she can't do that then she shouldn't. She has her reasons, whatever they are. Sorry guys." I said. I think I understand her better than anyone else. When she doesn't do something, it usually means that she can't do it or she's unwilling to do it. But he didn't need to know that part. "We need some rest anyway." I lay on the ground, trying to get some sleep.

Nereida

"Are you're going to continue?" Sora asked.

"Yep, okay, where was I again?"

"You were saying that Ceres created a forum that only people from your group can enter."

"Oh yea! She created this the last time we were in the Digital World so we could all keep touch with each other. She then has to cast a spell to keep the power of our laptops up and allow us to talk to each other. So we don't have to write to each other, which take up too much time if we're in some kind of danger. I'm sorry. I wanted you to hear the other voices, but she cast the same spell as before, which means that you can't hear them talk or I when I talk."

"Can't she just change it?"

"I'm sure she would if she could. I'm not sure of her reason and she didn't really give one."

"Are the others alright at least?" Sora had her eyes closed.

"Yeah, they're fine. They're close to their target location." I smiled.

"Good to hear. We all better get some sleep then." She lied on the sand and I did the same thing. I was looking at the moons. Those moons will bring one of the gods over to our world to fulfill the legend. I'm sure it's Hades, but it's not good to pass judgment on them so quickly. After all, he was so nice to both Panther and Lily Dawn, from what they've told me. I wished that I got to talk to her before all of this. I wanted to know how they were doing and if it was okay for the brothers to know about us, or if it was okay for my brothers to know about her. _I guess I just have to wait and see. Be safe, Heka._

Hebe

"I called Kari's house but her mother said that she was over at her brother's. And TK and Ken aren't home either." Aither said when he came back from searching for them.

"Why do you need to talk to them so urgently?" Artemis asked.

"Because I gave him a message that I can see won't be delivered." Lethe walked into the house.

"What's the message?" Apollo asked.

"I wanted to warn them that Megamon is aimed to kill them all. He doesn't really care about the Neo Digidestined; he wants to kill the older ones. But I see that he has already found a way to bring them in."

"Should we still warn them?"

"Call Lily Dawn and see if she's still home."

He brought out a cell phone! _Since when the hell did he get a cell? AND WHY DIDN'T HE ALLOW ME TO USE IT TO CALL NEREIDA!_ He hit a speed dial and waited. After a while, he hanged up, "No one is at her house."

"That must mean they're there with them. Good."

"Why do you want the safety of the older Digidestined?" Artemis asked.

"You judge too harshly, Artemis. I do wish for their safety, but I feel that what else I wish should remain a secret." She smiled. "It is nothing ill-will towards them." She walked away.

"Can we really trust that?" Thanatos asked.

"She did help Lily Dawn. But you do have a point." Apollo said.

"We'll wait for them. Apollo, leave a message with Lily Dawn to call you back as soon as she's able to." Artemis looked at her brother.

"Right." And he went right to that.

I walked into the kitchen and looked up at the moon. I was hoping that Nereida was okay and the same with Lightningmon.

Lily Dawn

We were at the base of the mountains when we stopped to rest. TK and Patamon were silent and I thought that it would be best if I was too. Our Digimon were the only ones that were sleeping since they needed their strength to fight. I did cook for them as well, but only Patamon ate out of them. I was really worried about TK's psyche since he won't be any good to Patamon if he doesn't snap out of it.

I was about to say something when a blast came straight at us. We hit the ground to avoid it and it landed a long distance, creating a loud explosion. We looked to where it came from to see this weird floating fish thing with arms. "Damn, I missed." He said with an evil tone.

"Lily Dawn, TK, what was that explosion? I saw and heard it from the beach." Damon asked.

"We're being attacked."

"We're all prepared now." Ceres said.

This skeleton bull came charging at us from the side. We barely had enough time to dodge them.

"Patamon Digievolves to……………………………… Angemon! Hand of fate!" A laser blast came from his fist as he shot at the bull.

"Larkspurmon Digievolves to…………………………… Bellimon! Petal Dance!" A swirl of petals was aimed at the fish.

They were both able to dodge them with ease.

"Is that all you got?" The bull asked.

"And it's rude not to ask for our names. I am Mega Pukmon." The fish said with pride.

"And I am Skull Bullmon. Now prepare to die."

"Now, now Skull Bullmon, you have you leave some fun for me." Skullmon appeared from the forest on the opposite side of Skull Bullmon.

"And I have to have revenge on the little Saiyan and his Digimon." Skull Devimon appeared behind us. We were completely surrounded by them. All of them knew this and smiled.

Nereida

"Sora, wake up. TK and Lily Dawn are being attacked." I was shaking her shoulder a bit.

"That has nothing to do with us."

"But it does since that means that we all have to attack the others." A lady's voice said.

We looked behind us to see this woman in a long skirt, strapless shirt that showed her stomach, and beaded choker, forearm, bracelet, two ankle bracelets, and a belt like one that was hanging off her hips a bit. Her hair was up and she had a head band of one large bead and the same with her necklace. "My name is Collectmon."

"And I'm Jewelsmon." A sweeter voice said. We looked to the side to see another lady with mini skirt, strapless shirt that shows her stomach, and a pointy hat. Her hair was short and wherever she could place jewelry there was one there. Unlike the first one, this one had shoes on. "And it's our job to kill you." She said with a smile.

"Girls, girls, there's no need for a cat fight." A male voice that sounded like a famous rock star from America said. He was a robotic looking monkey with sunglasses. "Digidestined, long time, huh? My name now is Machine Etemon."

Sora finally got up and the same with Biyomon. "What are you plans, Etemon?" Sora asked.

"It's Machine Etemon and our plan is to kill as many Digidestined as we can. Skull Devimon said that there might be other Digidestined, so what's your name girl?" He looked at me.

"My name is Nereida and this is Lightningmon. You guys are going down." I said with a bit of false confidence since I wasn't really sure how we were going to do that.

That made him laughed, "Alright! Let's see you try." And they got ready to attack.

Ceres

"Kari, stay close to me." Ceres said as they were getting ready.

"I hope that TK will be alright."

"We have to leave it to Lily Dawn to take care of him." Their Digimon were ready and listening for anything to come their way.

The sound of drilling was heard and they all jumped to avoid the flying rocks that were thrown at them. A Digimon dragon with drills of different sizes and in different place appeared from the whole that was made in the mountain. "So I have finally found you. My name is Drilldramon." His voice was a bit hard.

"I can't believe that it took you this long to find them." A bat came from valley side of the mountain. "Gatomon, it has been a long time hasn't it?" The bat said with an evil grin that was felt.

"Myotismon?" She asked, like she didn't want to believe that it was him.

"Yes, it is me but my new name is Batmon."

"And now it's time for you two to die, especially since we can't have a strong Saiyan alive." Drilldramon said.

They were both confused as to why he said that, but that didn't stop their Digimon from getting ready.

"What is your name?" Batmon looked at Ceres.

"My name is Ceres and my Digimon's name is Yi-Yamon. Be sure to remember it because we'll kick your asses." Ceres said with a smile that held confidence.

"I see that you're brave. We'll just have to make sure that we kill Kari in front of you to take that away." Batmon opened his mouth to release a sonic wave at them.

Damon

I wrote to Mimi that TK was being attacked. She got Yolie up just before missiles were fired at them. I was able to slow their speed enough so they could dodge them and also redirected them somewhere else so they wouldn't get hit by any of the debris. A metallic sea serpent came from the water and the same with a female android with guns as hands.

"Digidestined, we meet again." The serpent said with an evil voice. "My new name is War Seadramon."

"And I am Androwomon." She has a robotic sounding voice.

"Do you not have a new Digidestined? And here I thought I would get to meet one. Oh well, it's time for your deaths now." War Seadramon said before sending a blast from his mouth at them.

Panther

We were all up and ready for Puppetmon to show up.

"Guys, they'll most likely come with someone else so be ready to fight more than one Digimon." Damon warned.

"Good, we found you." An evil, playful voice said. A hand-held puppet with an ax, pointy nose and hat came from the forest in front of us. "Call me Repermon. You should consider this an honor. Our leader is here personally to see your end."

A Digimon that was compiled of many Mega level Digimon, with most parts I recognized, came from the same spot at Repermon. "Izzy Izumi. Oh how I longed for the day where your death comes." His voice was something of evil. "And it looks like I will see the death of Ken Ichijouji as well." I couldn't tell if he was grinning or not.

"And who is this new girl?" Repermon asked.

"My name is Panther and my Digimon's is Rootmon. I guess you'll have the honor of being defeated by us." I said with my old hunting look within my eyes, I could feel it there.

"How do you know of us? And do you want me dead?" Izzy asked.

"Because I want to kill my creator. Is that so wrong?" Megamon said.

Repermon swung his ax at us, sending a blast at us.

Ryan

I got Damon's message, but there was no way of telling that to Joe and Cody. They were asleep so I had to wake them up before they were attacked. I turned invisible and floated over to them.

"Joe, Cody, wake up! The Evil Digimon are coming!" I yelled.

They got up and looked around to see who was there. I went back to my spot and watched them.

"What was that?" Cody asked.

"I'm not sure." Joe was the calm one. A meteor of blast came from the sky straight at them. Even I had to move so I wouldn't get hit.

"Breomon, are you okay?" I asked since I was holding him.

"Yeah, what about them?"

I looked around for them to see that they were okay as well. Joe was using his Jewel Power! "I hope he doesn't stop now." I said more to myself.

"I'm impressed that you two survived that. I was sure that we would've killed you without any effort." An evil female voice said from the sky. She was wearing tight pants, boots, and one strap shirt. Her long hair was up and she had tattoo of a star on her left forearm, a shooting star on her other, two circles with a line connecting them on her forehead, the same thing but what looked like the kanji for rice added to it, and a necklace that looked a bit like Matt's Crest except for the center.

"Who are you?" Joe asked.

"I am Loyalmon." Her eyes kinda reminded me of Panther when she's serious about something. Those killer eyes that say she doesn't mind what she's doing.

A dragon looking Digimon came with her and was much bigger than she. It had three pairs of wings and two arms. "My new name is Holydramon." He spoke but didn't move his mouth. The only good thing was that it wasn't by the mind.

"I guess you guys didn't get a new Digidestined. Oh well, we'll kill them when we feel like it, if we wish. Now, Cody, it's time for you to die." Loyalmon said.

"Why are you after him?" Gomamon asked.

"It's nothing personal. Well, actually it is since he's the God of Life and if he ever gains more power, he will become a threat." She took two daggers from her back. "Now," they grew into swords, "Time for your end." She launched toward them.

Tim

Tai was up so I went into a tree to hide myself from him. "Tai, you have to wake up Davis. The Digimon are attacking."

He got up and looked around, "Whose there?"

"My name is Tim and we were just told that they're attacking the others. Apparently, they're with others from the group as well. So you won't just be fighting him."

"Thanks. Why are you hiding?"

"We're here as back up. Don't worry. I'll help when you need it."

"Okay." I went back to my spot as he woke up Davis.

Two blasts came from opposite directions at them. They had to jump forward to avoid it. I grabbed Shendramon and allowed the debris to go right through me. I ran over to another tree before becoming solid again.

"And here I thought we had the upper hand." A flying lizard with hands said to the left.

"I guess we need better aim." A half dragon and dinosaur with wings laughed to the right.

"Who are you?" Davis asked.

"My name is Lizmon." The left one said.

"And I'm Dinodramon." The right one said.

"And you should know my former name." We looked at the tree tops to see this guy with symbols of playing cards on his body. The shield was a diamond and the sword's hilt was the clover. "But my new name is Deckmon."

They got up from the ground.

"And here with thought we would see these new Digidestined. What did they call themselves?" Lizmon asked Dinodramon.

"I think they called themselves the Neo Digidestined. At least that's the word from the underground network." He answered.

"Oh well, it doesn't really matter does it? We need to kill them anyway." Deckmon said, looking at Tai and them.

"Good point. We need our revenge on their Digimon." Dinodramon said.

"Yeah, they're not as powerful as they once were. I guess those Digieggs erase memories and power. That or you guys didn't want it anymore. That's a mistake that we'll use." Lizmon said moving his claws as if cracking them.

"What are you talking about? We've never met you guys before." Agumon said.

"Yeah, aren't you guys Super Levels?" V-mon asked.

"We're more powerful than Super Levels. And it doesn't matter if you forget or not. We'll kill you just the same." Dinodramon said.

I couldn't believe that there are more than one surviving ancient Digimon. I guess they had some grudge against their ancient selves, but why do they believe that they are them? I would have to remember this to ask Horsemon later. He might even know their story if they don't reveal that as well.

"Now, die." Deckmon said, swinging his sword at them.

Lily Dawn

We were running now since TK was now frozen and Angemon went back to Patamon. Bellimon did her best to defend us, but her attacks weren't really doing anything and TK wasn't allowed Patamon to fight. I knew that I had to make TK calmer but I couldn't do that while we're being chased.

"Bellimon, give a big Petal Dance so we can get some cover." I said.

"Right. Petal Dance!" She released a lot more than usual and that stopped them for a while. We ran faster and found a cave. I pushed TK in before getting in myself. Bellimon and I were watching to make sure that they wouldn't spot us. They came into the area but quickly moved on. I let out a sigh before looking at TK. He was holding onto Patamon tightly and was letting out tears.

I moved closer to him, "TK, you have to get over this."

"I can't… I can't lose Patamon again."

"You're going to lose much more if you don't allow him to fight."

"TK, I'll be fine. I can do to my Ultimate form to fight against him. Bellimon can't do this alone." Patamon said, trying to comfort his partner.

"Everyone, be quiet. They're coming back." Bellimon warned.

I moved up to the entrance to watch them as well.

"They seemed to have vanished." Mega Pukmon said.

"They have to be here somewhere. Why not blow up everything? That will surely get them out of their hole." Skull Devimon chuckled. "Skull Bullmon, go over there; Skullmon, there; Mega Pukmon, you'll do fine over there; and I'll get here." They all moved to where he pointed. The only bad thing is that he was still here.

I went over to TK, "You have to now, there's no way around it. I'm not asking you to conquer your fears, but at least face them once."

TK was staring at the wall of the cave as Skull Devimon was counting down their attack. Good thing that he started at ten. At two, TK made his decision.

"Patamon Digievolves to………………………… Angemon!" Angemon broke the rock that made the cave. TK stood up but his eyes were closed. "Angemon Digievolves to……………………… Magna Angemon!"

"So I finally get to see you at your highest level." Skull Devimon said. His henchmen surrounded us, but TK's eyes were still closed.

"I may still fear you, I might always will, but that doesn't mean I won't fight you!" TK said with anger. Manga Angemon launched at Skull Devimon and they started that battle.

"Okay, it's your turn Bellimon." I said, looking at her.

"Right! Bellimon Digievolves to…………………… Gloomon! Fear!" Luckily for her, they were all in the same area. They froze in their place and Mega Pukmon was the only way I could tell that something happened. I looked at Magna Angemon's battle to see that he was doing really well. Though it was hard to tell who was winning at this point. TK's eyes were opened now, so he was watching what Magna Angemon was doing.

Nereida

We were doing so well against them. Garudamon was fighting along with Lightningmon and Sora was trying to get us away. Lightningmon was taking care of Machine Etemon and Garudamon was keeping the other two away. It wasn't really helping since Collectmon seemed to be absorbing them into her. I'm not really sure what Jewelsmon was able to do, but I guess it was better than knowing what she was able to do.

"Sora, we have to do more than run." I said as I was being dragged away. I was glad that it was night since we still had the coolness of temperature. It was making it easier for us not to lose strength so quickly.

"We can't fight them!" Sora said with horror.

I couldn't believe that we were doing this. She was allowing her own Digimon to fight without her and she didn't seem to care. I would understand if it was an evacuation or protecting someone, but we're both Digidestined.

"Sora!" Garudamon called to her in pain. We stopped and turned around to see Garudamon just standing there. She wasn't attack them or anything and that's when we also saw Lightningmon being held by Machine Etemon.

"Looks like we got them." He said.

"What did you do to Garudamon?" Sora asked with fear. She pulled me behind her.

"I placed one of my jewelry on her. I can control anyone once I do that. Maybe I should place one on her." Jewelsmon looked at Lightningmon.

"Don't you dare touch her!" I yelled.

"How touching." He made her winced.

"Let her go, now!" I knew that this was her only form. If she's killed...

"You better do what she ask of you, hippie." A voice said.

"Who are you callin' a hippie, boy?" He asked angrily. We all looked at the source of the voice to see Arsmon. He was standing there like a warrior or something.

"Another human in the Digital World?" Sora sounded like she was in disbelief.

"Aren't you one of Collect Soulmon's men? What are you doing butting in on our business?" Collectmon asked.

"For a maiden, I will always help. Besides, my Master doesn't mind that I'm helping her."

"You're in love with a human? I mean, even though I fall for them, I don't actually love them. That's really pathetic." Jewelsmon laughed.

"Sister, you're one to talk." Collectmon said.

The distraction was enough to allow Lightningmon to try out some of her moves on Machine Etemon. She flung him to the other two. "Spark!" She shot a huge ball of electricity at them, first shocking before they were blasted away from us; far, far away by the looks of it. She looked at Garudamon, "Thunder Claw!" She broke the foreign object and she went back to her In-training form Yokomon.

"My job is done here." Arsmon was able to turn around.

"Wait!" I called to him.

He looked back at me, "Yes?"

"Thank you very much. I know that you can't always do this for me."

"And I'm very sorry that I can't." He smiled.

"Who are you? How are you able to come into this world?" Sora asked once she had the tired Yokomon in her arms.

"Digidestined of Love, if I told you any more about me, I would have to do something unsightly to you. Now, Nereida is able to answer your questions because she is like you." He just stared at me for a long while before leaving. I was really flattered that he was doing this for me. I was only hoping that it wasn't a trap or something. Then I thought about my brothers and how they would handle it.

"It wouldn't be pretty, would it?" Lightningmon asked.

"Nah, not in the least." I looked back at Sora. "He's a Digimon and his name is Arsmon. Collect Soulmon is the leader of the Digimons that attacked the Destiny Stones. He sounds really important to the leader so I can only assume that he's at a high position. That's why he couldn't tell you anything."

"Why was he looking at you for so long?" Sora asked with unbound hate in her eyes.

"Apparently he likes me…"

"You have to stop this before you get hurt. Nothing good comes with loving a Digimon."

"I wasn't really told what happened between Matt and Styxmon…"

"Just do as I say, don't give him a reason to keep on loving you. It will only cause you grief and pain. And who knows what they can get from you just because he is ordered to get it."

I know that wasn't really true. Apollo and Heka are perfect examples of it. But I didn't want to be on her bad side since most of the others were. I had to make some good impression, like I believe Kari and Ken are doing. "You're right. It's the first time a guy has actually noticed me."

She placed her hand on my shoulder, "You're making a good choice." She smiled. "Let's get out of here. I don't think there's anything else we can do about Machine Etemon now."

"We'll walk a bit more before resting then. Everyone else is still fighting."

"That's right! We can't rest! But none of them are that close."

"I have an idea, but we need a secure place before I can begin."

"Okay." We started to run, run all the way back to the forest, which wasn't really that far since it is the forest that Pixiemon lived.

Ceres

Ceres was carrying Kari as they were running down the side of the mountain. Angewomon and Yi-Yamon were blasting away at Batmon and Drilldramon whenever they could.

"Ceres, allow Angewomon to carry me." Kari said.

"She's busy fighting, dearest."

"But what if you trip?"

"If I do then I'll make sure that we take to the sky." She smiled.

Batmon sent a sonic wave near them, making Ceres trip and started to fall. Kari held on tighter as Ceres said a chant that got them into the air. Yi-Yamon jumped onto her back and Ceres went at a greater speed.

"I was a bit worried that you wouldn't be able to keep up." Ceres said, looking at Angewomon.

"I can keep up. It seems… they can as well."

"What? Yi-Yamon?"

"Yep. Drilldramon has wings."

"What can he do when he's in the air?" Kari asked.

"Well, he can…"

"Throw rocks at us!" Ceres said as she dodged the rocks that were flying at them from the ground.

"Ceres?" Kari asked.

"We're okay."

"Celestial Arrows!" Angewomon called and released many arrows at the rocks coming toward them.

"Nice shot." Ceres said.

"I'm going to try something." Kari said and she brought her Jewel.

"I can handle this."

"Wouldn't you have done something by now then?"

"TK is going to be mad about this."

"Thanks Ceres." The Jewel of Light glowed and shot two beams at Batmon and Drilldramon. They were blinded since they stopped in their flight.

"They stopped." Angewomon reported.

"Yi-Yamon, hang on tight." Ceres said before turning around to face them.

"Funny how I can now see." Kari said.

"Don't do this often, okay? Angewomon, hold Kari for a moment." She handed over Kari to her. Ceres started to chant something and they were struggling to keep themselves up. As she increased the sound of her voice, they were struggling even more. At the last word, they froze and fell down to the valley below. "I'm so glad I'm not wearing a skirt."

"Do you need me to carry you too?" Angewomon asked. Kari's eyes were back to being white.

"Nah, but I just remembered that you could've used your psychic powers to stop them."

"How?" Kari asked.

"That would explain why you didn't. We better see if anyone else is okay in a secure location."

"Right." They flew toward a far away forest.

Damon

They weren't doing well at all. I was doing my best to keep them safe, the same with Huskimon since he was now helping them. Lillymon and Aquilamon were being healed whenever they were hurt. Huskimon was the only one that seemed to try to keep himself safe. I didn't like how they were doing this since it seemed to tell their Digimon that it was okay to get hurt. I couldn't believe that Mimi or Yolie would do just an act, but they sure were pushing it.

"This isn't even a real fight." War Seadramon laughed as he launched rockets at Mimi and Yolie!

They weren't hit directly, thanks to me, but they were hit by the shock of it. They were flown pretty hard and they sounded like they hit the ground hard. Androwomon took aim at their worried Digimon and shot two lasers at them. They reverted back to their Hawkmon and Tanemon before landing with a thump.

War Seadramon laughed as he was charging up for his final attack. As he fired, I used all my might to send it back at him but Androwomon blocked it.

"Who's there?" War Seadramon asked with raged.

I stepped out of the forest, "Name's Damon and this is Huskimon." I don't really know why I was acting tough, but I thought that it would be better if I did.

"So you're one of these Neo Digidestined, eh? I was wondering who this Digimon was." He was charging up again.

"Snowstorm!" Huskimon yelled as a huge swirl of snow came at them and froze all the metal they had.

I concentrated really hard before sending them flying with a great speed into the ocean. I collapsed since this would be the most that I have used my powers. Plus, they were really heavy.

"Damon?" Huskimon was at my side.

"How are the girls?"

He turned his head to look. "They're getting up now."

"Hey, are you okay?" Mimi asked. I could hear her coming over. She didn't sound weak, considering that she was just flown. I figured that it had to do with the healing powers of Purity.

I left a note in the sand, "Let's go."

Huskimon picked me up and jumped to the forest as Mimi got to the spot. Huskimon didn't stop until we were deep enough so they wouldn't follow. "Are you alright?" Huskimon asked.

"Yeah. I just need to rest a bit. I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

Panther

Tentomon was in his Mega Kabuterimon form, Wormmon was in his Stingmon form, and Rootmon was still the same. She wasn't really covered from her time as being Bushmon. They weren't doing badly, but they weren't doing well either. Megamon was about to attack Mega Kabuterimon with one of his attacks when something pushed them back. I noticed that something dark or black was around them when it happened, but I couldn't tell what it was. I hated the fact that I was being useless.

"Is anyone able to respond?" Nereida asked.

I ran over to the laptop, "Nereida, are you guys alright?" Right now, they were being held down by something.

"Yea… Do you need any help?"

"We do, how fast can you get here?" Ken asked.

"Sora said that she has an idea. I'm going to allow her to take over."

"Okay." I said.

"Panther, point the screen toward Ken and Izzy." Sora's voice said. I pointed the screen over there and a red flash of light appeared. "Ken, I'm using my Jewel. Give the weapon to someone so they can fight."

I looked over at them to see that a staff appeared in Izzy's hands and Ken's Jewel was glowing. I placed the laptop down and Rootmon. "I'll do it."

"Are you sure?" Ken asked.

"What if something happens?" Stingmon asked.

"I guess that's where your invisible comes in." I took the staff. "I don't like to be out of a fight anyway." I smiled at them before launching at Megamon and Repermon.

"Sending in a human is an unwise move." Megamon said once the blackness released them. They launched a blast at me, but I was able to dodge them. I thought that going invisible would help right now and I seem to have gone to that. They were confused as they were turning around so I made my move. I jumped into the air and turned off the cloak before striking. I managed to get Repermon knocked out.

I looked at Megamon with my hunting eyes, but I couldn't really sense his fear. I went invisible again, charging in front of him before he turned around. I became visible before turning the staff into a sword. When he realized that it was too late, he turned around. I got him in the arm and I remembered being told that once they're injured like that, they'll delete. But he wasn't being deleted. He was bleeding! He threw me off him before grabbing Repermon. "We'll meet again." He took off with Repermon.

I was breathing a bit harshly, but I turned around to see that Stingmon had Ken. I walked over to the laptop, "You can stop now. We're safe."

The light went out. "She fainted. So she can't help anyone else. Ask Izzy were we should meet?" Nereida asked.

"Izzy, where should we meet?" He was looking at his Jewel with Motimon within his arms.

"Huh? Oh, right, um? ………… By the beach, we'll start to head there now."

"Go to the beach. How will we get the others?" I asked him.

"Shouldn't they be… right. We'll think up something."

"Okay, over and out." Nereida said and logged off.

I closed the laptop before going over to Ken. He was still breathing normally.

"Is he alright?" Izzy asked.

"Yeah, he is. He'll just need some rest for a while. This won't make TK too happy. How do you feel?" I looked over to him.

"Weird but not too much different. Why?"

"Because you can only do long range attacks. Since you're not much of a fighter to begin with, I guess that isn't so bad."

"What was that red light?" Motimon asked.

"That was Sora's Jewel. She has the power to combine Jewel powers." Rootmon explained.

"I think we better head over to the beach as well. We're no good since only one Digimon is evolved and can evolve." I said as I picked up Ken's things.

"Right." Izzy got his stuff before we walked back the way we came.

Ryan

Zudomon and Ankylomon were giving it their all to protect their partners. Both of them were now using their Jewel power to help them. Loyalmon and Holydramon weren't lighting up on their attacks.

"Breomon Digievolves to………………………… Flarmon!" Flarmon jumped above the tree line as I turned into dust. "Firestorm!" A swirl of fire came at them as I moved over to them.

"Don't release the energy of your Jewels yet." I warned before heading up to join Flarmon.

I came just in time to make it seemed that he was flying or something.

"So an annoying little Digimon decides to be a good citizen." Loyalmon said when she disbursed the fire surrounding them. "What's your name?"

"I am Flarmon and my partner is name Ryan."

"So you're one of these Neo Digidestined Digimon. So where is your partner?" Holydramon asked.

"I'm standing on him." I could hear Flarmon smiling since they were so confused by that statement.

"So I don't get a hello?" I asked, though they only heard my voice.

"I guess you were telling the truth. Holydramon, take care of them." Loyalmon said as she descended.

Holydramon smiled as he was powering up. I looked down to see that Cody gave his Knowledge weapon to Zudomon before Zudomon launched at her. I was able to dodge his attack, but I couldn't keep it up forever since we were only luckily that a wind current came at that time.

"Flarmon, we can't have a long fight because I'm not sure of the wind."

"Right." He jumped off, "Laval!" He cried when he was over him. The lava came fast from his mouth and landed on Holydramon. They were melting his wings and his skin, but it was also heavy enough from keeping him from escaping.

"Loyalmon!" He cried.

She pushed Zudomon out of the way and launched an attack that was made out of water. It was cooling his attack so he jumped back on me. Holydramon was still burning so they had to retreat.

"You were lucky this time, Cody, but you will die." She said as they were fleeing.

Their Digimons went back to Armadillomon and Bukamon. We went to our hiding spot and I checked out what we were supposed to do now. Nereida and Panther were talking to each other and Izzy said to them to go to the beach. I turned back into dust and went over to them.

"Izzy said to go over to the beach. Some will already be there." I reported.

"Who are you?" Cody asked.

"Cody, this thing helped us so I think we can trust it." Joe said, but none noticed that I was already heading back.

"Are you okay?" Breomon asked.

"Yeah, just a bit tired from being in that form for a long time. It's hard to keep calm under pressure." I said with a smile as I picked up my things.

"Too bad Lily Dawn wasn't here, uh?" Breomon asked with a smile.

"Yeah." And we started on our way to the beach.

Tim

XV-mon and War Greymon were doing pretty well against their ancient enemies. XV-mon was fighting against Dinodramon and War Greymon was fighting Lizmon. Deckmon was just watching from the trees, seeming to enjoy this.

"**We have to do something.**" Shendramon said.

"But what?" I couldn't really think up anything useful other than sending Shendramon to fight against Deckmon, but that would be a bit pointless.

"XV-mon, use this!" Davis took out his Jewel and it was shining a blue light. The Crest of Friendship appeared in XV-mon's hands.

"Thanks Davis." He launched it at him but he managed to dodge it in time.

"So, those powers have more abilities. I wonder if that Consul had anything to do with it." Dinodramon pondered.

"She might've done something. She does have a lot of power." Lizmon replied.

"What are you two talking about?" War Greymon asked.

"Gabumon's lover. Nothing else." Lizmon went back to attacking War Greymon.

"**That does mean they know Thunmon.**" Shendramon said.

"Which means that they might know you as well. It also tells us that these powers were added after the war."

"Enough chatting." Deckmon stepped down, "Time to kill these kiddies." He was swinging his sword in a circle.

"That's your cue." I said as Shendramon flew over to them.

They were backing up since their Digimon were unable to get away from their battles. When he threw his sword at them, Shendramon's tail suddenly blocked it. "**It's not nice to throw things.**"

"And you are?" Deckmon seemed annoyed.

"**My name is Shendramon and I'm one of the Digimon for the Neo Digidestined. My partner's name is Tim.**" Since I'm in college, they would probably never see me.

"And where is your partner? Is he such a coward that he won't show himself?" Deckmon seemed like he was challenging or something since he said that very loudly.

"**He shouldn't be the one that you concern yourself with.**"

"So one of the leaders managed to have the power of the Digiegg," Lizmon said. War Greymon was on the ground and didn't seem to have the energy to get back up.

"Now the war continues. Where are your buddies?" Dinodramon asked. XV-mon was in the same position.

"**They are with their own partners.**"

"So you guys are part of the Neo group, eh? Well, this makes killing you all worth it. Who else is in this group?" Lizmon sounded bloodlust.

"**You will just have to wait and see who they are.**"

"Davis!" Tai looked at him and Davis nodded. Tai got out his Jewel and both were glowing orange, though Davis was mixing the two lights together to get different colors that resemble moss, blue-green and brown.

Their Digimon rose with new found power and were ready to fight again. Both were glowing orange as they stood to face them. "You haven't finished your fight with us." War Greymon said.

"Well, well, it seems that you found an energy source." Dinodramon said.

"I guess that means we need to get rid of them at some point." Lizmon said with a smile. They continued with their fight.

"That means I have the pleasure of destroying you myself. Oh, how delightful!" Deckmon put his hands close together and swords appeared around them. They launched at Shendramon.

"**Stone Wing!**" His wings turned into stone and he used that as a shield. He launched at Deckmon with great speed and knocked him aside.

"You're pretty good. What level are you?"

"**Ultimate.**" He took to the air and flapped his wings hard a few times to release boulders on him.

Deckmon jumped into it, cutting the ones that were in his way. Shendramon decreased his size to avoid it before growing again. "**Stone Tail!**" He swung his tail with a lot of force that flew him straight to the ground. "**Rock Crusher!**" Boulders appeared in the air and were launched at him.

Once the smoked cleared, Deckmon was breathing hard and only a few scratches were on him. "You're really good."

I glanced over to the other two's fights to see that they were having the advantage over their ancient enemies. At the same time, Lizmon and Dinodramon pushed them into each other, making them hit each other on their backs. They went over to Deckmon and grabbed him.

"You'll die at the next meeting." Lizmon said before they took off.

The glow around their Digimon was gone and the Crest of Friendship vanished from XV-mon's hands. I looked over at them to see that they had collapsed on the ground. I ran from where I was to see if they were alright.

"Who are you?" XV-mon asked but then turned to Shendramon.

"They're fine. They're just out of energy since it's apart of the side effect. Oh, and remind Davis that he can only do hand to hand combat. You might be in the same boat." I looked at XV-mon.

"Right."

"I wish I knew how the others were doing." War Greymon sounded worried.

I went over to my laptop to see that Panther told Nereida to head to the beach. "The beach seemed to be where you're supposed to head. You better get over there before you start to lose energy as well."

"How do you know that?" XV-mon asked.

"We have a way of communicating to each other."

"What about you two?" War Greymon asked.

"We can't be known so don't worry about us."

"Why can't you be?" XV-mon sounded suspicious of me.

"Can you really risk asking me that when the side effect all that are involved with the power?"

"He has a point. Let's go." War Greymon took to the sky and XV-mon followed.

"**That was a little too close. Davis and Tai will now know about you.**" Shendramon said with concern.

"They can't harm me. They don't know my last name and they probably can't give a good description of me. I just now have to avoid them in the Real World."

"**Then I shall keep an eye out for them when we're out in the town.**"

"Okay," I petted his head before jumping on him. "Let's see if anyone along our way needs our help."

"**Right.**" Shendramon took to the sky and flew towards the beach.

Lily Dawn

His henchmen were still frozen with fear and Manga Angemon was still holding his own against Skull Devimon. TK's anger seemed to be fueling Manga Angemon. Whatever fear he had, he was facing it like a warrior.

"Lily Dawn, I'm losing control over them." Gloomon said.

"Hold on as much as you can." I was hoping that at least Manga Angemon would send him away, if not delete him.

"I'll right my best." Gloomon was concentrating really hard.

Manga Angemon got a good punch in that stun Skull Devimon for a moment. "Heaven's Gate!" He made a circle with his sword and that created a dimension gate. It was pulling everything in it, making Gloomon to lose her concentration. They were also being pulled into so we were holding onto the ground to make sure that we weren't also going to be sucked in.

Skull Devimon threw something within the gate and it closed. That seemed very unusual since it seemed that Manga Angemon was even stunned by what had happened. "Now the little one will die." He aimed his hand at TK! Something came out from his hand.

As Manga Angemon was running to take the hit, but something was happening with TK. His whole body glowed, and I don't mean yellow either, and he shot something with that aura at Skull Devimon. Skull Devimon didn't expect TK to do that so he was hit directly by it. I ran to TK, grabbed him since he stopped glowing, and pulled him over to Manga Angemon.

"Gloomon, use our other attack against them." I said as Manga Angemon took us up in his arms.

"Bad Smell!" She yelled as we took to the sky. I was actually going to use it as a cover, but it was actually having some affect on the skeletons. Gloomon jumped up to us and we made our escape.

"What was that, TK?" Manga Angemon asked.

"I'm… not sure…" He was looking at his hands.

"I guess that means that we better see what we have to do. We're not going back there again." I opened the laptop to see that Nereida and Panther were talking about where to meet. "We have to cross the ocean again." I looked at TK.

"We'll pick up Damon before heading over."

"But you would have to tell Mimi and Yolie." Bellimon said.

"She has a point." Manga Angemon said.

"He had to have had a way of getting here. If not, I'll think up something that will keep me there."

"Okay." I smiled.

We got to the shoreline to see that Mimi and Yolie were there. I jumped down in the forest before they noticed him. I searched for Damon and found him sleeping near them.

"Damon?" I shook him.

He moaned before opening his eyes and rubbing them, "Yeah?"

"We need to cross the ocean."

"I'll try." Damon tired to lift up a piece of board but it wasn't working. "I must still be tired. Sorry."

"It's okay." I went into TK's mind. _TK, can you hear me?_

_Yeah, you need me to stay?_

_Yep._

_Okay, I'll think up something. Come near the clearing so you can come out quicker._

_Okay._

I picked up Damon, "We have to go to the clearing."

"Okay." He leaned on me as we walked towards the clearing. Mimi and Yolie just took off to the ocean. We didn't come out until they were out of sight.

"Are you okay?" TK asked as we walked over to him.

"Yeah, just tired. I had to use my power to get War Seadramon and Androwomon away."

"Patamon, do you think that Angemon is strong enough to handle everyone?"

"If Damon holds Huskimon, yes."

"Okay, then let's do it."

"Patamon Digievolves to………………………… Angemon!" I got on his back with Bellimon holding onto me, Damon was in his arm and Huskimon was being held by him. I was really surprised that he was able to carry us all the way over to the continent and at a fast speed. Everyone else was there.

"Are you guys okay?" Tim asked as he got his brother.

"Yeah, I just used too much of my power." Damon smiled.

"How's TK?" Panther asked.

"He faced his fear like a warrior." I smiled for her.

"We need to have a meeting after this." Ceres said. "They're after something from them."

"I agree, one of them was calling Cody the God of Life." Ryan said.

"And they have two ancient Digimon that have a history with V-mon and Agumon." Tim added.

"It's agreed then. Who is going to tell them?" Panther asked.

"I will. I'll stay behind as well." I offered.

"Okay, I'll let Stan know. Just be careful."

"I will Panther."

They opened a portal and I went over to where they were. Tai, Davis, V-mon and Agumon were all sleeping. Sora was being carried by Mimi and TK was holding Ken.

"We better get everyone back home. I don't think they'll try again for a while so it should be safe. I'll have Gennai inform me if anything happens." Izzy said to the ones conscious.

"Mimi and I will go around to everyone to heal them." Yolie said.

"Just don't come to Ken." TK said.

"Why? He needs my help more than since he didn't recover from his last one." Yolie was angry about what he stated.

"Ken doesn't want to be healed that quickly."

"Kari?" She looked at her.

"I'm in the same position." I could only guess that she used her twice too, the same with Ken.

"Everyone, head home. I need to talk to these three away." Izzy said.

Everyone went through the TV with the others helping with the ones sleeping. I wondered if everyone else used their Jewels to help them.

"Where are they?" Izzy asked.

"The rest left. I'm here to get them." I came out from my hiding.

"Did they help?"

"I'm sure they helped as best as they could. Did you want to speak to someone?"

"Not really. If you guys discovered something important, allow me to know immediately." He and Tentomon went through the TV.

"What got him so worked up?" I looked at them.

"We'll just have to ask Panther." TK said.

I opened a portal, "Everyone is waiting. Kari, we'll get you home later."

"Okay." They stepped through before we did. Stan was really glad to see with his own eyes that I was alive.

It was really interesting to hear everything that the others had learned. Kari and TK, by process of limitation, were something called Saiyan and Megamon wanted them killed because of it. They have an underworld network to gather information since we only told the Deities about us. Izzy is the creator of Megamon in some way. Cody is called the God of Life. As well as that there were two ancient Digimon that are out to kill Agumon and V-mon. They also revealed that everyone used their Jewel powers and that they helped them in anyway they could.

"I could do some blood testing if you want me to. I could see if there's anything special about you two that we should know about." Tim offered.

"Maybe on a later date. I don't want to over exert Kari." TK said.

"I understand. Kari, you should rest for a whole day at least."

"I know and I will. It might be better this way anyway." She smiled.

"And congrats on facing your fear, TK." Neon said.

"Yeah, it's not an easy feet." Don added.

"Thanks… thanks so much." He was being modest.

Since it was still night, we all just slept over at their house.


	23. Chap 22 Chasing Unity, Secrets Revealed

[Kari

"Joe and Cody are sick so Mimi can't help me with healing everyone. I'm working on Cody right now, but it's not easy to heal him. So you'll have to stay at someone's house for a while." Yolie called in the morning to tell me this. She was saying that I couldn't go back to Tai's house yet.

"Okay, I'm probably going to be staying with TK anyway."

"Good, see ya later." She hung up and I did the same.

"Hey, Kari, it looks like we have to go back to school." Ceres said in the living room. I put my cell in my pocket, placed my hand on the wall and walked back there.

"Officials have said they believe it is safe enough for students and teachers to head back to school. The snow has melted to a safe point that they should be safe while walking after two weeks…" The reporter said. I walked over to the table and Lily Dawn helped with breakfast.

TK was helping Ken to at least walk. He doesn't have the speech yet, so I know that TK wouldn't be going to school today. I was wondering if I should go along as well.

"Kari, you probably stay with TK and Ken for today." Panther said. "Stan can take you to his house."

"That might be a good idea." I then noticed that someone wasn't here, "Is someone not here?"

"Don and Neon are still in their room. Neon was having some pains this morning." Nereida said.

"Oh, are they going to school as well?"

"They probably shouldn't." Ceres said, "We can all go to school and meet up at the session meeting."

"That sounds good." TK said as he walked in. I heard someone else with him, "That way we can get all the homework and notes they give. I'm doubtful there's going to be too many people there or any order to the day."

"Is Ken with you?" I asked.

"He is. Oh, Nereida, Damon, could you ask your grandmother if we can stay here? That way we can stay here incase the school let's you out early or something."

"I'll go ask." Damon said as he got up from the table.

"Kari, are you going?" TK placed his hand on my shoulder.

"I'm going to stay with you. Tai and Sora won't be able to get help because Mimi is taking care of Joe and Yolie is helping Cody. They're both sick."

"**Ken is saying that since the side effect is being defenseless that it should include body systems.**" Shendramon said. "**And that someone has to enter his mind to talk to him since he doesn't have the power to go into ours.**"

"You guys can stay. Tim just told me that he doesn't have to go to school today." Damon said when he entered.

"Could he take me to my house? I need to see if anyone left me something on my house answering machine." TK asked. "Kari might want to do the same."

"**Ken would like to stay here to rest since he's a little tired.**"

"I'll go ask." He left.

"The rest of us should get ready for school though." Nereida said as they all got up.

"Nereida, you have a call." Lightningmon said.

"Thanks." Everyone left the room, but TK since his hand was still on my shoulder.

"Is Ken here too?"

"He left with the others." He kissed my forehead. "Are you okay? I was so busy with Ken that I didn't see how you were doing."

"I'm fine TK. It was right of you to look after Ken first." He held me and I could feel him shaking. "TK? You're shaking."

He got himself more comfortable on me. I placed my hand on his head. "You can't believe how scared I was. Then when I found out that you and Ken and everyone else used their Jewels…"

I kissed his head, "I think being blind helped my fear of him since I couldn't see him."

"I love you." He was rocking a bit.

"I love you. Why don't you stay here for a while? We don't have to go anywhere for a while." I stroke his head. He nodded.

[Nereida

"Nereida speaking." I said when I got the phone.

"Where were you guys? Please tell me you weren't in the Digital World." Heka said in two breathe.

"We had to be there. The older ones needed us."

"Is everyone safe at least?"

"Yeah, but they all used their Jewel Power, minus TK."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"Are the brothers coming to school?"

"Yeah, they have to. Artemis is making them go. Who's going to be there?"

"Me, Lily Dawn, Ceres, Panther, Ryan, and Damon."

"Why not TK, Ken, or Kari?"

"Kari is still blind and Ken is still paralyzed."

"Oh… Be careful."

"Right. You too." She hanged up and I did as well. I went up to my room to get ready for school.

[Ceres

"Who is going to get their things?" Ceres asked with her normal happiness.

"I can get most of TK's things." Panther said, "But we can plan this when we see what today is going to be like. After all, it's technically the first day of two more days that we have to worry about school." There was unusual happiness in her voice too.

"Panther, are you okay?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Why do you ask?"

"You seem happy this morning." Ryan answered.

"Don't you guys remember? Matt is supposed to be back when we get out." She smiled. Panther looked over to Ceres to see her looking out of the window. "Something wrong?"

Ceres didn't take her eyes away from the window and she was silent. Panther went over to her and lightly touched her shoulder. Ceres snapped out of it so suddenly that she was wide eyed before taking a breath. "Panther, don't do that."

"What were you looking at?" Panther stared out of the bus window as well, but didn't see anything.

"It's nothing. The play of the shadows."

"Okay." Panther moved closer to her, but she was talking with everyone else.

Ceres smiled, glad that she didn't ask anything nor allowed the others to do the same. She looked out of the window once more, but shortly joined in on the conversation. There weren't that many students at school, but that didn't really enter the minds of the Neo Digidestined. Suddenly, Ceres grabbed Lily Dawn and Panther's arms and pulled them out of the classroom. "I need to talk to them about something." She said as she left.

"What is it?" Lily Dawn asked.

"I think someone is following me, or us, but something is definitely around."

"Why think that?" Panther was just staring at her with no opinion, as if thinking about what was just said.

"I have a feeling…"

"It might be your powers. Didn't you say that they grow with you? It is nearing the end of the year…" Lily Dawn offered. "It's probably nothing."

"Have you seen anything?" Panther asked.

"No, that's why I'm not sure who is following."

"And you're sensing it?"

"Yeah."

"It might be your powers. We've been around many Deities so you might have an increase in sensing things."

"You're right. It's probably just that." Ceres knew that it wasn't but she didn't let them know that. "We should head back in."

As they walked back in, Panther leaned closer to her, "But normally you're not wrong about these things so keep an eye out and tell me if it's something I can fight."

"Ok." Ceres smiled, though figured she only said that to make her feel better.

The brothers appeared in their classroom. "Where's Kari?" Karu asked.

"She's staying with TK and Ken. She needs to recover still." Nereida said.

"What about Don and Neon?" Shikyo asked.

"They're staying at our house."

"Will they come to school?" Fuhai asked.

"No since they have other things to do."

"Where were you guys yesterday?" Karu lowered his voice as they got closer to the group.

"We were in the Digital World because the old enemies of the Digidestined wanted their land back. We were there to watch them." Ryan answered.

"Glad that you're all safe… Everyone is safe, right?"

"Everyone is safe, but most are experiencing the side effects of the Jewels." Damon answered.

"I hope they're all okay. Megamon wanted to kill all of them." Shikyo said.

"We learned that." Panther said.

"See ya later." Fuhai said as they left.

[TK

We went to Kari's place first. Tai and Sora were still out and Biyomon was the only one that was taking care of them. Sora was doing a lot better than Tai since she was awake where Tai was still asleep.

"Kari, it would be best if you stay with TK for a while." Sora said as Kari was seeing if they needed anything.

"I was going to do that. See ya later then. Call my cell when you need to contact me."

"TK?" She looked at me, "Is Matt coming back soon?"

"Yeah, he should be back by tomorrow or something." I was happy that he was coming back as well. I knew that Panther was extremely happy by the way she looked this morning. "We have a few other places to stop so we'll see you later."

"Bye." We left and got into the car. Stan was with us since he wanted to see if there were any messages for them at his house. Tim was taking us around and he also promised to tell Neon and Don's folks that they will be staying with them for the day.

"TK, do you want me to do a blood test when we get back?" Tim asked as we were waiting for Stan to get back.

"Let's see how the day goes, though I am willing to have my blood tested."

Stan came back into the car, "Do you guys know who Apollo is?"

"We do, why?" Kari asked.

"He called asking her to call him back. Why haven't I met him?" Tim was already driving away.

"That question is one that she would have to tell you." I said.

I went into my house to see what messages were left. My machine was flashing so I went over to it. One message was from my manga manager telling me that I could take a break for a week or something. I already got something done for them so whenever I got a chance to send it to them, I will. Another was from my publisher saying that I can take a break as well. Ken's mother called, saying that he could stay with me as long as he needs. The last one was from Seto Kaiba. It said that I needed to come to his office as soon as I can. I changed my message for the machine to allow people to know that they have to call my cell to reach either me or Ken.

"Tim, we need to go over to Kaiba-san's place." I said as I got in.

"Why?" He asked.

"He called to tell me that I have to head over there. He might've been able to find something within the books."

"Okay, we'll head over." Tim turned on the car and went off to Kaiba's building.

[Ceres

They were told by their homeroom teacher that they won't have long classes and once they got through this day, they would have to go to their other teachers to get their things. She wasn't teaching anything. She was just giving them the things they needed that they would've gotten if they had class. Ceres was the only one that didn't get something for someone. Panther is going to get TK's work; Lily Dawn was going to get Kari's; Damon was going to get Neon's; Nereida was going to get Ken's; and finally Ryan was going to get Don's.

They had to go to their math class. Mackenzie-san was there early.

"Mackenzie-san, I would need to get TK's stuff." Panther said as they went up to the desk.

"Where is he?" She gave Panther and Ceres a carrier tombstone.

"They're staying at Tim's house for a while." Ceres answered.

"Who else isn't here?"

"TK, Kari, Ken, Neon and Don."

"Tell me more before you leave today." She had to start class so they went to their seats.

Ceres was as far as possible from the windows. Panther knew that Ceres had to be worried since she normally likes the freedom of looking out of the window.

"Ceres, are you okay?" Mackenzie-san asked as she handed Panther the papers she needed for TK.

"Yeah, of course. There's nothing wrong with me." She smiled like her normal self.

"Why were you far from the window today?"

"I didn't want to be near it today. It's nothing big."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, there's nothing wrong. We better get going." Ceres walked out of the room and Panther followed.

"Ceres, why are you edgy?" Panther asked as they were heading over to their history class.

"I still feel it. I can't shake it." She rubbed her arms as she walk.

"You don't seem to like this feeling."

"I don't." She walked into the room.

She wasn't calm at all throughout the period. They were able to have lunch during this period, not meeting up with anyone. Ceres's eyes were watching everything around them. The teachers were lying off Panther. It was like they were ignoring her.

[TK

We got to the building and Tim was just going to drop me off since Kari was getting tired. I went up to the main desk person and asked where Kaiba was. She said that he was in his office and that someone was about to come to get me. I didn't have to wait long for one of his guards to come by. I followed him to an upper room where Kaiba and Mokuba were.

"You called?" I asked.

"I managed to translate a lot of the books. I thought the torn pages would interest you more." He held up a pile of papers in his hands.

I walked over and took it before sitting down. It was a story about a sea serpent, fire-breathing Digimon that was the only castle-dwelling Digimon that could leave and travel the outer world. Since she was also able to travel on land, she brought back tales that are told in the Outside lands. There weren't any tales in here, so they were probably in the other book. When the war broke out, there were many reports that she gave about the Outsiders movements. The author puts in that she never gave this information to anyone. Then there were the powers that this Digimon had. It had the power to unite or destroy groups, which there were examples of many in these pages, as well as understand and see many sides to one issue or one world. I knew that the Digimon is Fiterimon and I have finally known the name of Ceres's Crest. It was Unity.

"Thanks Kaiba-san, this is going to help a lot." I got up, "Is there anything else?"

"There seems to be a pattern in the structure of this book." He tapped the history book. "The beginning of it had to do with certain Digimon without names and their abilities. After all the information on them and the Power they hold, it goes into a well written history it seems."

"I thought you said you didn't get all of it translated."

"I got through this one since there wasn't any poetry within it. It was just telling everything as it is."

"Is there any hints of opinion in it?"

"There didn't seem to be, but I wouldn't be able to tell. What was supposed to be in the book?"

"It was supposed to have the history of the Digital World. What about the picture with all Crest together?"

"It's just a picture to show them all together."

"Is there anything else that you want to tell me?"

"Is there something about Ceres that I need to know about?"

"Why are you asking?"

"Some people were around here asking about her."

"I know that she's running from some organization."

"Have her be careful."

"I'll be sure to tell her." I placed the pages back on his desk, "Unless you want me to keep these, I'm going to wait until you get the other book translated. And thanks for all you've done for us."

"I think Seto actually enjoys it." Mokuba said with a smile.

"I'm glad that he does." I smiled as I took out my cell.

"Do you need a ride somewhere?" Kaiba asked.

"Yeah, to a friend's house that I'm staying at for a bit."

"Shouldn't you be getting ready for Matt's arrival?" Mokuba asked as we were heading down the hallway.

"We were going to do that tomorrow since he isn't going to come back until around ten, eleven." They sent me a letter that told me this and near the location that he was going to land. It gave the proximate time that he would be back. "Would you like to be near when he lands?"

"Is there any particular reason we should be?" Kaiba asked.

"They don't hand out when he's going to land. I just threw it out there incase you're interested." I can't really tell what level their friendship, or acquaintanceship, is at since they only known each other for a short while and he doesn't seem the kind that would admit to many things.

It was silent the rest of the way.

[Ceres

Their teacher let them loose early because he didn't have anything for them to do and nothing to give them. Students were gathering their art projects that they were working on before the snow. Depending on the project whether there was any damaged to it. Ryan, Panther or Ceres hadn't had any projects that were damaged. Ceres did have a clay project, but it was ready for its firing after it's been glazed.

"Have you gotten any word from that art contest?" Panther asked as they were heading out of the room.

"Yeah! I called my dad to see if anything was given to me and he said that they called. So it's going to be broadcast soon."

"That's right. The people that did that interview said that it was only going to be shown in Tokyo so you wouldn't be disqualified." Ceres said, seeming for a moment to forget whatever was making her nervous.

"Yeah, and I was hoping that she isn't here so this one will get her for sure."

"We better hope for the best." Panther said. "See ya later. Oh, we're going to be in Mackenzie-san's room a bit. She wants to talk to us about the people who aren't here."

"Okay, I'll let the others know." Ryan said before they departed.

They went around to the other classes for themselves and for TK. Ceres wasn't resting her nerves.

"So what happened?" Mackenzie-san asked as they entered her room.

"We had to go to the Digital World yesterday. Neon and Don didn't go, but she was a bit in pain this morning so they were going to stay." Panther said.

"Ken and Kari used their Jewels so Ken needs to get his muscles back to usable and Kari is still blind." Ceres finished their report.

"Is everyone alright?"

"No one was seriously hurt, but the older Digidestined used their Jewels and some are still weak from that." They had given them the load down of the terms they used, that included to the brothers. "Have any of the brothers come in today?"

"Fuhai has come by. Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering… It has nothing of great importance."

"You seem stress though."

"I'm fine, really." Ceres tried to smile it off.

"I might not have the ability to see pain, but I still am able to read people. We got that from our Grandfather."

Ceres took a deep breath to calm herself, "Something isn't right, but I don't know what it is."

Mackenzie-san wrote down a number, "Call if you need me. Thank you for telling me."

They got up and walked out. Ceres gave the note to Panther, "You'll need this more than me."

"I'll keep it for a later use." Panther smiled, "She didn't hand it to me." She placed it in her pocket.

[TK

We got to the house and their Grandmother told me that they already left. Good thing that Seto was waiting so I was able to ask him if he wanted to give me a ride there. He didn't seem to mind, probably because he wanted to know who was in our group. Mokuba was now talking up a storm with me. I did talk to him and it was amusing on some levels.

[Ceres

They were all waiting in the café for TK to come. Tim said that he asked their Grandmother to tell TK where they were when he came. Neon was feeling better and Ken was as well. He still wasn't able to talk, but he could move more easily. They were also doing their work so they wouldn't have to worry about it over their break.

"Hi guys!" TK said as he walked in. Kaiba and his brother walked in with him.

"What are you doing here?" Kaiba asked, looking at Damon.

"Me?" Damon asked, pointing to himself.

Kaiba blinked before ignoring him, "This is where you study?" He looked around. Everyone was looking at him.

"Want to join us?" Kari offered.

"I have to be getting back." He turned around and walked out.

"Thanks for the ride." TK said before they were out the door. TK walked over to the group, "So what's going on?"

"We don't have to go to school tomorrow and we all have lots of work to do." Panther reported before handing him a stack of papers.

"Before I get on that, Kaiba found out the missing Crest name."

"What is it?" Ceres asked.

"It's called Unity." Ceres looked at her amulet that she has had for all her life. Ever since she could remember, she had always had this around her neck. She doesn't even take it off, like her jewels, because she has placed so much power into it, though no one knew that.

"I like the name." Ceres smiled.

"Also, the book that's the history goes through a cycle with the Crest before going into the history. I can't remember what that cycle was, but I do know that the author leaves out the name of the Digimon she describes for each Crest. The only one I read was Unity. Kaiba-san believes that it's a really accurate account because there isn't any hint of bias that he could pick up."

"Wow! I want to read it now!" Ceres said with her normal excitement.

"What about the other one?" Ryan asked.

"He hasn't gotten that one fully translated because of the poetry she uses. She must've been very skilled at what she wrote to be able to write in both styles. I can only imagine her being the first orator." TK said.

"Why was Kaiba-san looking at me?" Damon asked.

"I don't really know." It was odd that Kaiba sounded annoyed with someone he has never met before, though there was a hint that he thought Damon was someone else. "Maybe you look like someone he knew and thought you were that person."

"I didn't know I could look like someone else."

A burst of energy spread throughout the café. It flew a few of the tables and chairs over and it had everyone in shock as to what happened. Ceres was standing up and looking around as if searching for something.

"Why the hell did you do that for?" Panther whispered when she got up.

"Something dangerous was within the air. Couldn't you feel it?" Ceres looked at her.

"I didn't sense anything." Panther didn't lighten her tone.

"I also didn't read anything dangerous within anyone's mind." Lily Dawn said as they were gathering their scatter papers.

"I also didn't sense anything." Kari said, though she seemed to be the only one that wasn't affect other than Ceres.

Ceres sat down, "Sorry, I guess I'm nervous or excited." Her eyes were telling a different story.

"Kari, Ken, Neon, are you guys okay?" TK asked as they were placing everything back.

"Yeah." Neon and Kari said. Ken nodded.

"Ceres, may I speak to you outside?"

She got up and walked out. TK followed her and they walked a bit away so no one else would be able to hear them. "Sorry." Ceres said in not a so sorrowful tone.

"Kaiba-san warned me to tell you to be careful. Some people were asking him questions about you."

Ceres wrapped herself with her arms and looked very alarmed, "They're coming for me…"

"Don't worry." TK placed his hand on her shoulder, "We'll be here to stop them."

"You don't understand," horror was within her eyes, "They're ruthless. They kill anyone who gets in their way. Many people were killed because of me."

"Then it's a good thing that you know many famous people." TK smiled, "They'll have to move slowly around them."

"The only thing they can't do is kill the people. They'll do everything else they can think of to get me away from them."

"Matt is coming back."

"That's probably why they're trying so hard. They're probably the ones that are around." Ceres looked at the café. "I don't know what to do."

"Stay around, there's no reason to run."

"Right." They walked back to the café and continued with their studying.

[Lily Dawn

I was worried about Ceres, but Panther was with her. Apollo was really glad that I was back.

"Hey, do you think it's a good time for me to show myself to your brother?" Apollo asked as he was wrapping himself around me.

"The day after Matt gets back. The house will be free by then."

"Okay." We kissed to seal the deal.

[Ceres

Ceres jerked up, eyes wide opened and breathing hard. She was shaking all over; the horror of that dream was overwhelming for her. She went into her bag quietly and wrote down what she saw. She looked over to Panther to see that she was asleep. Ele was asleep and Fiterimon was asleep. She didn't want to wake anyone for this so she went back to sleep.

[Panther

I heard Ceres breathing and I could tell that she was a bit scared. I didn't understand why she didn't wake me. She went back to sleep so I looked over at her. She was still thinking about that nightmare she had, though she, out of anyone that I know, would take it as an omen. According to her, she barely dreams unless being told something. Maybe the dream was too confusing for her so she was still thinking about it to get it straight before telling anyone. _Yeah, that has to be it. _So I went back to sleep as well.

[Ceres

In the morning, they all went over to Matt's house to clean it up. Ceres was waiting for a good moment when TK would be alone. Panther and she were putting their things back into their rooms and he was fixing up Matt's room.

[TK

I got on the computer to place an ending on chapter twenty that sounded like I did it right then, cut out a lot of useless information that happened while we were still at the cabin, and to add an opening to chapter twenty-one. I cut up the spot where this chapter begins and where the last one ends, since it is important but it doesn't need to be in the same chapter. I got the names of the other chapters fast, but I couldn't think up one for this one. I had a feeling that it has to do with Ceres, but I wasn't sure how. I put "Unity" in the title space but I left it like that since I wasn't sure what else to place.

I went back to the first chapter that had her and I changed the name to "The last one, Wild Unity". She did appear to be very wild to us when she first came into our lives. I printed the last two chapters so I could read them later. So as they were printing I helped Patamon clean the room, though there wasn't much to do (I just need to comment once before Matt gets back. Okay, for some reason, Matt's house does need the cleaning like any other home, but it normally takes a few months for the heavy dust to settle in the house. It hasn't reached that time yet).

[Ceres

Ceres was really surprised that she didn't have to clean much, though she thought she smelt something. She couldn't really pinpoint what it was, but she thought that it was something they were using downstairs. She went to Matt's room and knocked on the door. "TK?"

(Happy days are over… oh well… It's actually fun to see the words form on the screen and you know that's actually taking place) It took TK a bit before he came to the door. Ceres noticed that the computer was on. "Yeah?"

"I need to tell you something." She looked around to make sure that no one else was around. "May I step inside?"

TK stepped to the side, "What do you need to talk about?"

Ceres got inside and TK closed the door. Ceres pulled out the paper that she wrote on last night and opened it, "Last night, I had a nightmare. It was so real that I knew it meant something."

"Does it involve me in some way?"

"No."

"Okay, continue."

She looked down at the paper, "Ilpalo is my boyfriend's name. He died while fighting the organization that is out to get me. In my dream, I was running to him. When we touched, he exploded. But it didn't end there. It repeated itself over and over and over. I tried to stop myself from touching him; I didn't want to see him die again by me. But I couldn't stop the events." Ceres was shaking again.

TK took one step toward her before stopping, "Is that way Ele and Yi-Yamon aren't with you?"

Ceres was really glad that he understood what she was trying to say without having her say it. "I can't stay near anyone I care about."

"You're not going to run, are you?"

Ceres walked pass him and into the hallway. She didn't know what she was going to do. She didn't want to leave, but she didn't know what else to do. The scent of burning lilac was within the air. She walked downstairs, smelling that the source was there.

"Does anyone smell something burning?" Ceres looked at her friends.

"No, why do you ask?" Tim asked.

"No reason." Ceres smiled it off, but walked to the kitchen.

The smell was in here, she could tell. She looked around to see if she could find it. She realized that she saw no smoke nor sensed any heat. The placed was unusually cold, she noticed, and that it was getting darker too. Ceres realized that this was a spell! She turned around, seeing that she hasn't fallen all the way through, "Gue…" Her voice froze.

[TK

I ran down the stairs and to the kitchen. I couldn't see anything through the blackness nor could I enter.

"What's wrong?" Neon asked.

"Something is trying to take Ceres. Ceres! Can you hear me?!" I read what she was thinking. I could now smell the burning scent of some kind of flower around me.

"Does anyone else smell that?" Kari asked.

When I banged my hand against the shield, the kitchen became clear again. A European lady was standing there with an unconscious Ceres in her arms. She was dressed in ancient style clothing from there, but one that was to attract attention.

"She belongs to me now." Her voice was alluring, but wicked at the same time. Her smile was both captivating and nefarious. She disappeared with Ceres into a vortex that looked to be one that is used to get to the Digital World.

"Who was that?" Panther asked. The shield was taken down and the scent was really strong around here.

"I think it was a Deity Digimon." I said as I walked inside. I couldn't really sense anything.

"But she wasn't dressed like the others." Tim said, "It looked like she came from Europe or something."

I looked back out to them, "They had deities too."

"No they didn't. They didn't have any religion until the Romans took over. They adopted their Deities and then later Christianity." Tim sounded like he wanted to be a human history book.

"Every land had their own Deities. The ones in mainland Europe were mainly known as Celtics. I believe that the Germans are the same, but I can't really remember."

"Thanks for the history lesson, but we need to go get Ceres back." Panther said.

"Well, our best bet is the Digital World." Lily Dawn said. "And I know how to get into the Deities' lair." She said with a smile.

"Kari, Ken, do you want to come?" TK asked.

"We're coming." Kari said. Ken nodded his head to agree.

"We're coming too." Neon said.

"Okay." Panther opened the portal and we all went through.

[Ceres

It was dark, there was no light. Ceres was curled tight, feeling like she was floating within this abyss. She was chained, easing her fear of leaving everything behind. No one was around, she could feel. She wondered where they were. She wondered where she was. She was afraid to open her eyes.

She could hear voices. They were talking to each other, coming to her. She opened her eyes, wanting to know who it was. It was her friends, but they didn't seem worried about her.

"Guys?" She called to them.

They looked at her before walking over to her in silence.

"Guys? Why are you silent?"

They stopped just out of reached if she wanted to touch them. "You know that we don't talk to you." Kari said really coldly.

Ceres looked at her with a bit of fear in her eyes, "What are you talking about?"

"You're a coward and there's no room for cowards here."

Ceres could feel their hate. It was shown in their eyes. "I'm not a coward!"

"But you are. You run from everything. The scared little girl." Neon said.

"You damage the world." Don said.

"You're a freak." Tim said.

"You're not human." Damon said.

"You're alone, always alone." Nereida said.

"You're a horrible being, using others for your own need." Lily Dawn said.

"Everyone regrets meeting you." Ryan said.

"No one cares about you." TK said.

"You kill everyone. No one is safe when you're around. You are the bringer of destruction." Panther said.

They were saying what she knew. She curled up more, trying not to see them. "Why are you saying that?"

"We want you to leave. We hate you." Panther said.

" You killed me, Ceres. " A new, but knowing, voice said.

Ceres slowly looked up to see that it was Ilpalo. He was glaring with the un-kindest eyes. She has never seen him like that and it made her scared more than his words. " Ilpalo, why are you looking at me like that? "

" You killed me, Ceres. " Blood started to appear on him. They seemed random, but they were appearing like bullet holes.

They were all repeating what they said. Ceres looked at them, knowing what they were saying, knowing the truth behind their words.

"+STOP!!+" Ceres yelled at the top of her lungs. They were still talking, not stopping. She rocked back and forth, wanting them to stop.

A hand touched her face and she moved away from it. The two hands now kept her face there.

"Let me go!" Ceres tried to thrash but it didn't work.

"I care about you." A sweet voice soothed.

Her friends were still talking, "You have to get away! I'm no good."

"Is that what you believe? I know you're a good person."

She nodded her head, hearing her friends. "They're right… I am a bringer of destruction. Everything dies with my touch."

"I'm not dying."

"It's slow. You have to get away."

"You want me to leave you here?"

"I deserve this." Tears were coming out. "I can't stand it, but I must."

She brought Ceres's head on her lap, "You don't have to bear anything. I will get rid of them. You don't have to bear them."

Ceres buried her head in her lap. They weren't stopping. She was thinking about leaving, it's what she's good at. Now, Yi-Yamon was talking bad about her, what was true. Did they have to point her flaws? Did they have to keep telling her what she already knew?

"Make them stop! They don't care! I don't care! Make them stop, please!" The tears were flowing.

They disappeared. Ceres was really glad. "Ceres, my dear, I am the only one that loves you. But you must protect me."

"Do you need it?" She was tired, wanting to rest.

"Yes, I do. People want to hurt me here. I need to get away. We can leave together."

"How?"

"I am not sure, but people will try to stop me. I don't have any power to stop them. You have to help me."

"I will." She fell asleep.

[Panther

We got to the entrance of the Underworld. I remember it from when they got me out. Lily Dawn was leading us there. I was holding onto Ceres's bag, Ele and Yi-Yamon. I was really worried about her. We've gotten closer since Matt has been away.

A ferryman came up on the vanished river with Persephone in the boat. "Why are you all here? It's dangerous for you to come in a big group."

"One of our members was taken by a Digimon that wore something from the ancient Celtics." I said.

"Celtics, you say? I can't think how you can get there without being noticed. They're pretty far from our territory."

"Who are they close to?" Lily Dawn asked.

"They're near the other Northern nations, but on the opposite side of our area. We're one end and they're the other."

"There has to be a way for us to get there without anyone else noticing us." TK said.

"There might be." She looked at the ferryman and gave him some coins, "Four more can fit into the boat."

Ken, Kari, Neon and Don got into the boat. Patamon went to Pegasusmon, Shendramon grew a bit, and Gatomon went Nefertimon for Lily Dawn and Ryan. Everyone took off once the ferryman was a good distance from us.

"We'll get her back." TK said to me.

"But she's a runner. She runs from her problems, this might be the same thing."

"I don't think so. She was thinking about running, but if she wanted to run, she would've."

"I'm still worried… What if the goddess is using her fear?"

"Then we have to encourage her."

It still didn't ease my worry and I know that it wasn't doing anything for her Digimon partner and Ele. "She'll come back." I whispered to them, though it was also to convince me.

[Ceres

Imagines were flashing through her mind. She was remembering with tears still wet of how she ran and ran from those American agents. She had thought that running to another state would get them away. She tried another country. Nothing worked against them. They told her that they can go anywhere they want and they have a lot of power so they don't have to worry about other nations' sovereignty. They never told her why they wanted her, but ever since she was first caught and brought back to her okasan, she never trusted the cops. She believed they're all out to get her.

That's why she went to the underworld of every country. She figured that they could protect her because they were willing to go against them. Though she has been fortunate that she hid herself enough so no one could identify her, she has worked in law enforcements before. She hated them, but she's a master con. She worked in them to gain their knowledge and to keep up with the forensic knowledge that was out there. She never wanted to be caught again.

So far, she has kept that up while running. She has always been able to be learn whatever she wanted before leaving, being blessed by fast-learning, photographic memory, and able to absorb information. She didn't need to stay long anywhere to know how to do something or to know something.

Because of them and this, she didn't have too many friends. The few she had were mostly other travelers because since they were moving, she didn't have to worry about them being found by the agency. She was always worried about them. She only rested once on that fear. When she did, she was in bliss because she thought that peace would follow.

Ceres came up to a village, more like a tribe, of orphans in Spain. They were located in the hills of Spain. The sun was normally warm and Ceres was enjoying the company of the orphans. Ilpalo wasn't the first guy to tell her that he liked her. Many had before, so this wasn't new. But there was something about him that brought her closer and closer to him. It was he that made her stay and she decided to be his girlfriend. It would be the longest time that she stayed anywhere, minus her earlier years. She had lost the agency a long while ago, so she thought that she could change her lifestyle and they would never brother her again. She wanted to stay there forever.

But they came and killed everyone. She was the only survivor of the carnage they brought. She knew then that they would forever hunt her. There was nowhere on Earth she could be that she would be safe from them. To be their prey until her life ends, never knowing why they were hunting her. As Ceres saw the head of her beloved tossing toward her, she knew that her life will be dark and alone. That if she ever stayed anywhere for a long time, they would all be killed. She would bring them death.

Her running was more urgent after that. It took her a while before she was able to sleep normally as she could get. She was awake a lot more because she never knew where they were. Her dealings were a lot more secretive, everything she did she kept it low-key. This was also during the time that she started to kill people for a career. She was angry, she was sad, she felt helpless against them. It was her way of getting back at them. That she would kill as many people as they had killed, but in reality she had killed more. They were all different, all in different countries, all for different reasons. Ele was the only one that could comfort her.

When she came back to Japan, she was surprised to be treated warmly by strangers. She could tell that they were different from each other. They included her into their plans without much of a second thought. They allowed her to spend the night, without really asking much about herself. Matt opened his house to her, allowing her to stay as long as she wanted. They offered her a home, a thing that she was longing for, but remembered the last time she stayed for too long.

She didn't know why she stayed. It didn't matter that they promised to protect her. It didn't even matter that she told them about the organization, putting them in more danger. She was always ready to run, but she found fun again. Ceres was now regretting her faith in them. She didn't want them around her anymore. They knew the truth, the truth she wanted to keep from them. She realized how foolish she was to believe that everything would be better with them around.

Now this person is promising protection, protection from her friends and life. All she asked was protection, something that Ceres could give to her. She was going to give it to her. If those agents come after her again, she would allow them to end her life. She was growing tired of running. She was still able to run, probably something that she will always do. Her okasan loved her, but she knew that Ceres was meant for something greater. Ceres always wrote to her, she even did so now. Since she has magic on her side, she was able to send them to her without anyone knowing it.

This lady was still with Ceres, allowing her to rest on her. Her ex-friends are gone now; she must've sent them away. There was a scent in the air, but Ceres couldn't pick it up. "What's your name?" Ceres finally asked.

"It's Maeve. I don't believe I had the chance to ask yours." She spoke in a way of high position in the old times or old fashion. Her Japanese accent was one that was mixed with English, and one that only recently got Japanese down.

" Ceres. "

" Oh, you know English? " Now her speech was more fluent and clear. It was one of her natural tongues.

" I know many languages. Why do you want to help me? "

"I can see that you're suffering. You now know that no one else cares about you. They all hate you."

"I deserve it though. I'm a horrible person." She knew that Panther probably killed people. She softly amused herself with the thought that she should compare their kills.

"That is what they want you to believe. They only got close to you because they wanted something from you."

She did remember Panther saying something about that. That she feels she uses people for her own good, "You're probably right."

"But I will never do that to you."

Ceres wanted to believe, but her trust in others was now shot. She had believed in her friends with a lot of her own heart. It wasn't as deep as the wound she got when Ilpalo appeared, repeating the fact that she killed him. There was no way she could heal from that. "Are you sure?"

"Of course, all I want is for you to be happy with me." She was stroking her face. "You're a very special girl."

"I might run." Ceres wanted to see what she would say to that.

"I'll chase after you." She whispered so light and soft on her face. Ceres was a bit worried her intentions right then, but she brushed it aside.

"You won't find me."

"I'm sure I will." She stroked some more, "You have pretty jewelry."

"I've had them for a long time." This allowed Maeve to turn Ceres on her back side and have her soft, graceful hand to lightly touch her stomach. That made her slightly uneasy.

"You've kept them well polished. You can open your eyes."

Ceres slowly opened them to see a beautiful but un-pure face and eyes. Ceres could tell that they weren't like human eyes. The place was still dark. "Where are we?"

"You have beautiful eyes as well. You must be a killer to all the guys." She still stroked her stomach.

"You're not answering me."

"You're in my place."

"You live in the darkness?"

"Yes, I do."

Ceres thought that it must be a lonely life that no one would like to have. She kinda has it, Ceres believed. Whether anyone agreed with her or not, she had it as well. "No one should be alone."

"But you're fine with it, right?" Maeve smiled.

"I thought I wouldn't be alone…" She wondered where Ele was. "She probably left me too."

"I am the only one that loves you."

Ceres wanted to believe her. She noticed that some of her memories were fading.

[Lily Dawn

She docked near her throne room. "Don't touch the water and wait here for me." She walked into it. I figured she was going to see those three headed Digimon with one eye among them. Everyone that was within the air was staying there.

"Does anyone know what she's doing?" Nereida asked.

"She might be getting whatever we need to get by everyone." I said. "There's a Digimon in there that I think can make something up for us." I hope.

She came back out, "There's a passage way that you can take. Once you pass through it, we can no longer help you."

"How dangerous is it over there?" Neon asked.

"They have a tighter pack than we do. They also have many magicks on their side that they can use."

"Does this passage way lead to all the other Deities' Underworld?" Don asked.

"It does."

"How will we know when we reached the right one?" Kari asked.

"It's a trial."

"Can we have one that isn't a trial?" Damon asked.

"Is there anything you can give us that will help?" Ryan asked.

"You will have to use your hidden talents and unknowing fates to guide you through."

"Tell us," Panther said, "Who is the Digimon that kidnapped Ceres and why her?"

"Reports say that Maevemon is the one that went into the Real World to kidnap a power that would give them more power than us. Zeus is apparently worried about this, but no one has any idea what she got."

"She believes that Ceres has more power than me?" I asked.

"And me?" Panther added.

"We weren't told of her destiny, but we at least know it's big. They must know more about her powers than we do."

"Thanks."

"Please show us the way." Kari said.

She got back on the boat and he floated down the river.

"Is there anything you can tell us about her destiny?" Panther asked.

"It seems that she's able to control a lot of things. As far as we know, she can control the elements and able to harness the power. She has gathered many items and knowledge, but we have no idea where she keeps them."

It might be in her bag, "So is she after her ability to use great power?"

"We're not really sure. They have kept their findings to themselves."

"I thought that the other Deities listen to what the Greeks said." TK said.

"They do, but they also are able to hold information back. We're not allowed to invade into their territory without having an appointment. It's all to keep the peace."

"So the power struggle hasn't stopped, just being postponed for a while." I summarized.

"That's correct. It's still in our minds the possibility that a war can break out. No one has alliances so everyone is still safe."

"Wait… so in order to beat the others, one would have to rally up the others. How many other nations do you need to beat the others?" TK asked.

"We would like to believe that it's lies in the power that you gather. The Egyptians care nothing for this antebellum conspiracy that is spreading through the minds. The Native Americans, Hindu and the Japanese still have a home in their regions so they only lend whenever asked. Some other American Deities are gaining back their ground, but only in knowledge and not practice."

"So what's the number?"

"Who would you like to see beaten?" She looked at TK.

"I'm just wondering. Who would everyone go after if given the ability to?"

"They would go after us. Titanmon was the only one safe because he bore an Egyptian son. That's where our loyalty starts and if we don't play our cards right, it could end very soon."

"How many groups would be needed to take you guys out?"

"Since we know more about the others than they know about us, and we have a better understanding of our new powers as Digimon, it would take everyone to defeat us."

"Why aren't you worried about it then?" I asked.

"Because there's no way any one group can bring the others together long enough to defeats us."

"Are you guys united? Is that what makes you strong too?" TK asked.

"Yes, we are united even though we have different views. We don't go against Zeus very often and when we do, it's in the smallest degree. Why are you asking?"

"Are the Celtics mad at you? I mean really mad at you."

"They are because Zeus took the ravens of Thought and Memory to use for his own uses. They practical called it stealing and breaking the laws we had set. Zeus claimed that since he rules over all their land that he should be able to use whatever from the other cultures. Some of us didn't agree with that logic, but none voiced it."

"We better get Ceres back before any war breaks out here." TK looked at everyone, "Not only for her own safety, but for everyone. I don't remember if I told you guys this, but she has the power to unite or break up any group she wishes."

We all knew what that meant. The Celtics could use Ceres to break up the Greeks' unity and unite the other nations behind them. If they were able to keep her longer, they might even be able to convince everyone that they should be the one to rule over the others. If war broke out, who knows how long it would take. Many Digital lives would be killed, and it could possibly enter our world as well. Once that happens, it's really hard to think of the all the different paths that could be taken.

"Ceres would never allow herself to be used like puppet!" Panther defended her. "She's stronger than that so don't you ever think that Ceres can't handle herself." I was really surprised to see her yelling at TK.

"I believe in her, Panther. I really do. I have very confident that she can escape her kidnappers, but even she can get tired."

"Don't start thinking about a big war then."

"I was just stating their motive for taking her." TK smiled, calming Panther back down. I could finally see that Panther cared a lot about Ceres, just like she cared about Matt. These strangers have impacted and moved her more than I had ever realized. She's not the same person she was when her family died. She had gained a new family with them. They had filled in the holes that were vacant for so long, the holes that we couldn't fill and ones that Killer tried.

We stopped at a dark cave entrance. It wasn't something that was really inviting, but if this is where we needed to be to get Ceres back, that's where we'll head.

"This is as far as I can take you. I wish you luck on your journey." The ferryman started to take her back.

"Thanks for all your help."

"We wish for you to bring peace to this land, Neo Digidestined."

Hearing the name that Ceres thought up for us gave us all the more reason to head down this cave. She was more than a stranger; she was more than a member. She was our friend and a dearest one at that; bringing us all a smile and showing that there's more out there that we might not know. She brought the world to us, and we'll fight with everything and more to bring her back.

[Ceres

"Something is pulling me." Ceres said. She was now feeling a tug somewhere. She knew that it was really important, but she couldn't remember why.

"You must cut it. It will do you no good. It's only trying to confuse you." Maeve urged.

Ceres agreed, thinking that it was just a trick to make her come back. She never went to the same places too often since she didn't want people to recognize her. Travelers knew her as the Asian traveler, wearing things to show it. She was searching for something while out in the world. It wasn't something grand or exciting, she knew that. "Maeve, I'm searching for something… but I don't remember what it is…"

"It's nothing. You're with me now. That's all you need."

Ceres knew that wasn't it, but she couldn't remember anything else. She was a slave, an outcast with her former friends. They couldn't give her anything anyway. Maybe she had always been looking for Maeve. Her heart was yearning for something that she couldn't find and so far nothing filled it.

[Ryan

We were walking for a while and we still had no clue on how to get out of here and get to the area where Ceres was being held. Don was lighting the way for us, but there weren't any doors or other caves. We were, or at least I was, beginning to worry that we would have to walk a long way before getting to the other end. We couldn't waste the time doing that.

"We better come up with a new plan. I don't think this one will help us much." I said and everyone stopped.

"We don't have any other choice. We don't know how this place works." Tim said. "And we can't fly there because there isn't enough space for them to fly."

"Don, can you melt the rocks ahead so we can?" I looked at him.

"My heating storage is normally low in the winter because the sun doesn't give as much heat." He placed his hand on the wall, "And this place is too cold. I won't be able to extract any heat from them."

"And having me allow them to go through the walls so they can fly is a bad idea as well because I can only keep it up for so long." Tim answered my next question.

"Persephone said that we have to use our hidden talents and fates." TK reminded before pondering on it himself. "That must mean that you guys all have something that separates you from former holders."

"How do we know what we got?" Tim asked.

"I guess just feel. We know that there should be a lot of magic around since that's probably the only thing strong enough to mess with Ceres."

"But she's the only one that can use magic."

"I can see if I can sense her somewhere." Kari offered.

"Lily Dawn, why don't both of you give it a try?" TK looked at her.

"Right." Both were concentrating on finding Ceres. They seemed to be able to pick up something, but only they knew what they were getting. They made us move, heading a few more feet before stopping. "I lost it. Something is blocking me from reaching her." Lily Dawn reported.

"The same goes for me." Kari added.

"But at least we know that it's down this way." Panther said.

"But we don't know how far it is."

Tim started to walk ahead of Don, "I think I'm getting something down this way."

"What do you mean "getting something"?" Damon asked.

"I don't really know, but I know to go down this way." Tim walked without waiting for us.

We all followed. After all, any guess is better than none at this moment.

[Ceres

Ceres was remembering when she first learn she could do magic. As she was studying with her okasan after she was returned, she thought it would be cool if she could control the wind as she was playing with the fan in her hand. As she was playing some more, imagining how the wind would obey her movements, the wind did move to her rhymes. Her okasan was a bit worried, but allowed Ceres to see what else she could do as a game. She learned that she could control the elements and plants and the other things.

Once she was done with her basic learning from her okasan, her okasan got her books to read about magic. She brought her to a fortune-teller that tells her the names of her other daughters. This fortune-teller taught Ceres her art and Ceres found that she liked this side of her better. She was much more skilled at it than her teacher and her sensei allowed her to show it.

Her mother was able to get her books about other nation's magic and religions. That's how she picked her own name. Ceres, the Roman Goddess of the harvest. Ceres didn't really like the earth too much, but her story interested her. As she traveled, she kept up her study of magicks. She knows the past and present of all the magicks in the world. She's really proud of that.

She's the only one that can actually go against demons and other mystical creatures and beings. Not many can without the use of guns or limited knowledge on how to beat them. She could go up to any and defeat them without knowing anything about them. Her powers increase very year, a spell that she placed on herself and a natural occurrence.

Not only can she summon the elements at her command, she knows many spells, incantations, potions, formations and curses; all from different countries, all having different uses from each other, all in different languages. She uses this knowledge for multiple usages. Now remembering, Maeve sounded familiar to her.

"Maeve, where does your name come from?" Ceres asked.

"It comes from Ireland."

"Are we still in the Digital World?"

"Yes, we are. Why ask?"

"So that means that your name is Maevemon…"

"I'm trapped here."

"Oh." Ceres hasn't been trapped before, other than by the organization. By staying in the Digital World, she could be safe.

[Tim

I was following something that wasn't able to be explained by logic. It was telling me where Ceres was. I don't know how though, I think I was receiving it through my hands. I started to notice that we were moving uphill. I'm not sure what it meant, but it had to mean something. "Is everyone okay?" I remembered about Neon's condition.

"Yeah. Are we getting any closer?" TK asked. Pegasusmon was there with Ken and Neon on him. He wasn't flying, just walking with the rest of us.

I looked ahead and sense that we were, "I believe so."

"What are you using Tim?" Nereida asked.

"I'm not sure. But I'm not going to argue against at this moment." I stopped and looked above my head. I jumped to see if I could go through, but couldn't. I could feel that Ceres was behind the barrier. "Ceres is behind here. Now we have to figure out a way to get there."

"Why don't you try to go through it?" Neon suggested.

I jumped back up but I tried my power and it worked. I grabbed onto something on the other side. This was something that I haven't tried before and I'm glad that it worked. "There is another side and it's not that thick."

"Are you okay?" Damon asked.

"Yeah. How are we going through here?"

"Ele, does Ceres have a rope?" Panther asked. Ele crawled into the bag and brought out some rope. Panther tied it into a loop and tossed it to me. "You know what to do."

I caught it. "Right, Shendramon, stay with them for a moment."

He nodded and flew to Nereida. I climbed up and found myself in a land that was a big meadow and forest. There was a large pillar made out of wood off in the distant as well. I stopped sight-seeing and put the rope around a rock, making sure that it was secure enough.

"Climb up the rope. That's where I'm placing my powers." I said with my head poking through. I went back through and placed my hands on the rope. I moved it to allow them to know that they can climb up now. The first one to come was Neon. She was helping me hold the rope until Don came through. Everyone got through safely.

"So where are we?" Damon asked.

"I think we're land of the Celtics." Lightningmon said.

"We have to be, and this is where we'll find Ceres." Yi-Yamon said.

"We better not waste any more time then." Kari said and we all walked in the direction of the pillar.

[Ceres

Ceres sensed that Maeve became alert. "Maeve, what is it?"

"There's someone here. You have to stay here for a while."

"Okay." She doesn't like to beg to anyone. If she never came back, she would leave as well.

Maeve sat her head down on the ground before leaving. Ceres watched her leave before looking at the darkness above.

[Nereida

As we were walking up to the pillar, a big gust of wind came which made us stop. The lady that appeared in the kitchen earlier day was now before us. She didn't seem happy that we were there. " I'm guessing that you're all the Neo Digidestined. "

I understood all that because Tim made sure that we knew English like we knew Japanese, but some of the others weren't so confident in what they heard.

"+Can you repeat that?+" Don asked.

"+Are you the Neo Digidestined?+" She sounded annoyed that her speech will now have to sound low and not perfect.

"+We are. Where is Ceres?!+" Panther asked.

"She's with me and no one is going to take her away. No one can take her away now." She smiled so wickedly that it was almost evil.

"What are you talking about?" Yi-Yamon asked.

"I have convinced her that no one cares about her. You all are going away in her mind. Her memories are fading into small history."

"Why are you doing that?" I asked. I figured if she wanted to change her then she still feared her power.

"Because we will need her to become one of us so we can gain some power here." _TK was correct._ "The Greeks have their Semi-goddess and their search of their power. The Egyptians actually got one of their Pharaohs back a few years ago so they're able to come back into play. Not to mention that some of their own members are appearing back into the world because they claim that some are going to be able to have host soon and they don't want their host to hate them." She was really bitter about the topic. "Some other Deities are lucky enough to have others still believe in them. We have that as well, but that's not good enough for me."

"Sounds like you're making her think we're you." TK said. "Is that all you want her for? For more power here?"

"Power here? Hun, I'm talking about all over. I have learned of her abilities and I'm not about to let the Greeks have her."

"She's not an item that you can use and toss away!" Panther yelled.

"Anyone foolish enough to toss her away will be conquered." She started to chant and the ground was moving around her. Skeletons appeared all around her, some human, some horses. They all had armor on and she did as well when they were done. "Now, my dead soldiers, attack!"

They gave a death-defining scream before launching at us. The ones that could Digievolve did. Gloomon, Flarmon, Angemon, Angewomon, and Stingmon were fighting along side Huskimon, Lightningmon, Shendramon, and AeroDinomon. Rootmon and Gladiolusmon were staying behind. We were fighting as well, but I stayed with Rootmon, Ele, Yi-Yamon, Gladiolusmon, Ken, Kari and Neon to make sure that they are okay.

[Ceres

They needed help, Ceres sensed. She didn't know why and she didn't care. She now can't remember who 'they' are anymore. They were out of her head. Her mind was being filled with nothing. Names, faces, places were all fleeing from her mind. Maeve was still in her mind. The knowledge was still within her mind. She was glad that it was. She was fighting something more now. She couldn't tell what she was fighting, but it was something that she didn't want.

" Ceres? " Someone called to her. It was a male voice that much she could tell. She opened her eyes to see Ilpalo. She looked away, "Ceres, look at me. "

" Why? I killed you. You should be angry at me. "

" I'm not, Ceres. Look at me, Ceres. "

Tears came out from her eyes as she looked over. There were chains all around him. " Why are you chained? "

" I'm here because Maeve was using me to get to you. "

" What? No… She's protecting me… "

" Try to move. "

Ceres sat up and tried to move closer but couldn't. She was still chained to something, like when she entered here. She was chained the whole time Maeve was here. Why didn't she undo her chains? Couldn't she see them on her? " Who… "

" She did. She's the one that placed us here. She's placing something on you to make you forget everything. I don't know what she wants you for, but fight it, Ceres. "

Ceres tried to break out of the chains, but it didn't work. She could feel her strength leaving, telling her that she's not strong enough. " I can't. "

" I have never known you to be a dark horse. You have more power than you realize. You have to fight it. "

Ceres sat down, leaning on the pole that happened to be keeping her in place, " It doesn't matter. I can't go back to them. They know everything. "

" But I know everything about you too. Are you saying you can't return to me? " Ilpalo moved as far as he could go being chained. " Try to come to me. "

Ceres got up again. She at least wanted to say bye, something she couldn't do before running. She stopped a way before getting to him. " Ilpalo… " She wanted to reach him.

" Fight Ceres! You've always been a fighter. Don't give up. " Ceres struggled a little bit more. " That's it, Ceres. Come on, come to me. " She managed to break the chain but not the cuffs. She stumbled over to him and fell on his shoulder. She cried there.

" I missed you so much. None of you were buried so you're wondering around searching for rest. I'm so sorry. " Her Spanish was still perfect as she fell down. Ilpalo followed her, allowing her to cry on his shoulder.

" Ceres, it's okay. You were scared. I have never blamed you. Want me to tell you how I died? "

" Please. I hope you don't mind. "

They got in a more comfortable sitting position. " As you know, we were hearing of another group coming to take us down. So they sent a few scouts up ahead to see what was going on. Fighting started soon and one of the scouts came back to tell us that there were two people fighting and killing the others.

" When we got there, there were already comrades on the ground. They were looking at us with the most fiendish smiles I have ever seen. They killed off everyone around me without a second thought. They tortured me to make me tell them where you were. I never told them. I had also kept my mind blank and block so they couldn't find you. I died protecting you. "

Ceres smiled. They had probably killed him before cutting off his head. " Thanks, but you're more important than me. "

" I told you the day that I met you that I would protect you from anything no matter what form it came in. You still have a life you must lead. "

" What kind of life can I have without you? I killed people. I'm not the pure person you once knew. "

"_Es_/You are." Ceres looked at him. "_Es_/You are because _tuam scio_/I know you."

Ceres smiled, "_Gratias_/Thanks."

" No problem. Now, you have to break free. You are the one that can't be tame for long. "

" You were able to tame me. "

"That's because you allowed me to tame you. Just like you allowed them to tame you. By the way, how is your life with them? "

Ceres started to tell him all about the adventures they had before. She wasn't sure if this was her only chance to see him, but she was going to use this opportunity to tell him everything. She was also noticing that some of her memories were trying to leave her, but she was able to bring them back.

[Neon

We were able to gain some ground in the battle. I really regretted that I couldn't help since I was also a fighter. I always carry a weapon or two on me so I was keeping up my guard. I started to notice some flashes beside me so I looked to see that Kari's camera was floating in the air and taking pictures of its own.

"Kari?" I asked, not really sure how to finish my question.

"I'm doing this, don't worry. I thought since I'm not really doing anything I might as well take some shots. It's what I'm good at anyway."

"Okay, I was worried there for a moment."

She smiled and she kept on looking. I figured she was using her powers to take them since she can't see. Nereida was really focusing on the battle, making sure that none will come our way. Don was having fun, I could see. He always loved to fight. I only fought because I wanted to be in something that he liked. Plus, I was able to defend myself. I would still allow Don to do that, but I know that if he needed a hand, I would be able to protect him. Now, we both can protect our children. I wondered if they would want to learn how to fight. I know that I won't teach our daughter it, if we have one, because I don't want her to be like me. If we have a son, I wouldn't mind as much.

I went back to looking at the battle. Panther was fighting with aggression. She was also the farthest ahead, guessing wanting to get Maeve first. Her bond with Ceres has grown over a short period of time. I know that it took me a while to have that kind of bond with Don. It also is taking a bit for everyone to get use to the others. It's like Panther and Ceres know each other from some deeper level or something. I smiled at that thought because they're so opposite of each other that you would think they wouldn't get along.

Maeve was watching from the back. She was still giving orders to the dead army. I was wondering where she got the idea for this, but wasn't really interested. TK was amazing as well, for someone that hasn't fought a lot. He was able to hold on his own. As a matter of fact, he was up there with Panther in trying to get to Maeve. Even though TK trained with us, he was still on a different level. I considered it amazing.

[Ceres

Ceres was done; finishing with the fact that Matt was coming back that day. She told him everything that she learned about herself through her Crest. Even though that wasn't a lot, it was still more than she knew before.

" See Ceres, this is where you belong. You had always known that wherever that amulet finally led you that that's where you belong. "

She looked at her amulet, remember saying that. She had always felt that where this amulet told her to settle that that's where she would settle and stop running. But that was before they killed him. " I'm not safe anywhere. They're chasing me everywhere. There's no where I can hide but here. "

" Here is where you can't be. " Ilpalo said firmly.

She looked up at him, " Why not? Why can't I stay with you? Why can't I allow her to take me? I just want to be with you. " Tears were coming down from her eyes, but that wasn't lighting his look.

" She's using you. She wants your powers. She wants you so she can take over this world. She just wants power. "

" Then why are you here? "

" Because she saw how you were able to control everything. You used your powers when you say my head, whether you remember it or not. You killed those two agents as you turned, you destroyed the buildings as you ran, you shattered the Earth with your tears, the Sun burned with your rage and anger. You have a lot of hidden power, and she wants it. "

" That only proves that I can't be near anyone. I only bring on destruction. "

" Ceres, " He brought her face up to his, " It wasn't your fault. No one can blame you for something that happened when you were sad and depressed. But she also knows another secret about you as well and it has to deal with your Crest. "

" Before you tell me that, why are you here? "

" I was watching you as you ran and unleash the rawness of your powers. She knew that I was your beloved and she captured me. She figured that I would be useful in her plan, though she wasn't sure how then. I was supposed to be a second plan if the first one didn't work. "

" Did the first one work? "

" I think I'm getting you out of her spell. " He smiled.

Ceres thought that when this is all over, she would have to bring him somewhere safe. " Tell me the secret about my Crest. "

" Yours has the power to unite or destroy any group. That's also another reason she wants you. Since the Greeks are a tighter group, she was planning on using you to separate them. "

" What should I do… " Ceres didn't think she had enough energy for anything now. She didn't know what do. Something was overwhelming her.

" You have to fight. "

" I can't… I'm growing tired of it all. "

" Don't give up, Ceres! I believe in you. You can fight through this. You're stronger than her. "

" You're making it sound like I'm under a spell or something. " She had her eyes closed as she lay on his shoulder. She just wanted to stay here with him. Nothing else mattered.

" You are under a spell, Ceres. " She opened hers and looked at him. " She placed a spell on you last night to make you more willing to follow her. I'm not sure of the dream, but she told me it had worked. This darkness is nothing but an illusion she has placed to surround you with her magic. She figured that as long as your mind and emotions were weak that you could be taken much more easily. "

Ceres looked all around her. It was black everywhere, there was no light. She just realized that it was unnatural. She smelled the burning smell of lilac in the air. It was small, but it was growing as she began to notice it. She realized that it was the same smell before she came here. She got up and looked around. The darkness was going away, fading into a meadow that was beautiful and a force shield that was surrounding them. " We were here the whole time? "

" You can see it? That's great! " Ilpalo got up and smiled. " Now you can get out of here. "

Ceres looked at him, " What about you? "

" I want you to be safe. I'm staying here. "

" Why? " She knew that she couldn't resurrect him, but why couldn't she bring him with her?

" I'm trapped here. I'm her slave until she feels like losing me. "

Ceres broke her own chains and then broke his. " Not any more. You're coming with me. "

Ilpalo smiled, " Always the protectress. " He took her hand.

" Of course. " She concentrated and she broke through the wall that was there. They ran out and jumped. Ceres saw her friends fighting against an army of the dead with Maeve ordering them what to do. Ceres then remembered who she was! Her names had many different forms but her story was always the same. She was greedy for power and for wealth. In the end of the war, the prizes killed each other. No one won, except maybe her since she got to be the boss of her house. So Ceres now knew that she was greedy again, and that she was her prize.

She placed the spell that made her believe that her friends knew. Ceres was emotionally weakened, she knew. Maeve was able to trick her, making her believe that she should abandon them. But here they were, all there to get her back. Even when three shouldn't be here, they all were. Ceres was really grateful that they were her true friends. Maybe she does need to be here, that this is where she belonged. All along she tried to avoid Japan, but it was Japan that was her true home.

" Ceres, this world is your home. You live everywhere. This is just where you belong. " Ilpalo said, as if reading her mind.

She smiled, " You're right. The world is my home and this is where I belong. I belong here with my friends. "

Ceres's amulet started to glow four different colors of silver, green, red, and blue. The four colors merged together and shot at Yi-Yamon, making her glow.

"Yi-Yamon Digievolves to……………………………… Wirthimon!" Emerging from the light was a blue hamster with grey patches. Ilpalo and Ceres landed on the ground.

"+Get them!+" Ceres cried.

Wirthimon jumped into the air and white wings with cherry blossom on them sprang from her back. Soaring into the sky, Wirthimon raised the wings and yelled with a female voice, "Earth Wind Blades!" With the slash of the wings, a shock wave appeared heading towards the army. As it got closer to the ground, it was slowly turning into dirt and rock. It was able to take out a lot of the army with that attack so more followed.

" Ceres, they don't care about you. I'm the only one that does. " Maeve turned around to face her.

Everyone was able to hear her and they were all watching Ceres for an answer. Ceres smiled, " I know where I belong. I belong here with my true friends. " She squeezed Ilpalo's hand, " And I will not allow you to have my boyfriend! " A whirl wind appeared around them, making everyone else shield themselves against it. The next thing they knew Ceres and Ilpalo where on their side.

"+Glad to have you back, Ceres.+" Panther said with a smile.

"+It's good to be back.+" Ceres smiled, "+How did you guys get here?+"

"+We came through a tunnel that Persephone showed us. We know where it is so if you're ready to leave…+" Tim said.

Ceres nodded. "Wirthimon! Create us some cover!"

"Right!" She flapped her wings so hard that tornadoes formed. Maeve had to retreat back into the tower, allowing them to run over to the rock.

"You two go in first." Tim said as he touched the rope.

" Grab the rope and you can go through the rock. " Ceres said. Ilpalo grabbed the rope and slid down it. Ceres followed once Wirthimon was on her shoulder.

" Who's this? " Panther asked once everyone was through.

"+This is Ilpalo, my boyfriend.+"

" Do you only know Spanish? " Panther looked at him.

"+I know Japanese too.+" He smiled.

"+My name is Panther.+" Everyone else introduced themselves to him as they were walking down the tunnel. Ilpalo explained how he got there and what Maeve was planning on using Ceres for.

"I guess we definitely have to make sure that Ceres doesn't get kidnapped again." TK said when Ceres stopped.

"I don't think you have to worry about that for a while." Ilpalo said, "Ceres doesn't like hitting the same things twice." He smiled at her.

"Yeah, I now know what her magic smells like so I'll be able to notice when she's around." Ceres explained.

"I'm confused on what that means." Nereida stated.

"For the Celtics and other tribes around that region, they had a certain smell to their magic. I know that a few come in the smell of burning flowers, but I don't know if all of them do. It's normally very faint and I don't think you smell it right away. I actually smelt it in Matt's house, which is why I went into the kitchen to see what it was."

"That's kinda cool."

"Ceres, we are at the barrier to the Greeks' place, right?" Tim asked.

"We are." She chanted something and it opened. "I guess we do need to hurry."

They all walked through and Persephone, Charon and Killer were waiting on the boat. Killer got out and ran to Panther.

"Killer… You have flesh!" Panther said when he was done hugging her.

"We're allowing him to stay with us." Persephone said, "He's not a slave, but he's not able to go walking on his own either."

"They allowed me to be this way because of you."

Panther smiled, "And you still don't want me to come after you."

"Right." He smiled back.

"Persephone, can you do the same with Ilpalo?" Ceres asked.

"Of course, that's if he wants us to." She looked at him.

"Yes. If I'm under your ruling, Maeve can't use me against Ceres."

Persephone got out of the boat, "Then here is where you must part."

Ceres gave Ilpalo one finally hug and kiss, "I'll miss you."

"Live your life, Ceres."

"I will." She smiled before walking over to the boat.

"See ya Killer." Panther said before following her.

"Right."

Shendramon, Pegasusmon, and Nefertimon were carrying one again. Ceres was riding on Pegasusmon. Everyone noticed a flash as they sailed down the river.

"I took a picture of them." Kari said to Panther and Ceres.

"Thanks Kari." Panther said.

"Hope you're making doubles." Ceres said.

"I will."

Near the landing site, there was a crowd already forming. The fortunate thing was that all of them were allowed to go on the boat that would take them to the crew.

"I think we better stay back here," Neon said. "I'm getting a bit tired so I don't want to stay long."

"Yeah, you three should just go up and greet him. Let him know that the rest of us will be coming by later tomorrow to say hi." Tim said.

"Do you guys insist?" TK looked at everyone.

"**Ken would also like to go along with you guys.**" Shendramon translated.

"Okay. Then we'll see you guys tomorrow." TK smiled. As they were about to head over to the ship, two people dressed in mostly black blocked their path.

"We're here to talk to Ceres." The one on the left reported.

"You know, I think I like it here," Ceres said, looking at them, "So I think that it's your turn to run." Ceres sent the earth to surround them. She walked up to them and pushed them down deeper into the earth. "You're lucky that it's not going to rain for a while. Though I would be more worried about freezing." Ceres waved them bye before they continued on their way.

"Ceres, whatever happened to you in that tower was for the better." Panther said.

"Ilpalo made me realized that this is where I belong so no one is going to chase me away from it."

Panther placed her arm around her neck, "We're all glad to hear that."

Ceres smiled, "Yeah, I am too."

As they were sailing over, Ceres was imagining what she would say to her okasan. It would be something along the lines of that she's staying in Japan, but that was too plain.

"They said that he should be coming right now." TK said as he got back from the radio room. "They just lost contact with it a few seconds ago."

They all looked up at the sky, wondering when he'll be coming down. In seconds, they saw the spacecraft coming towards them at a very high speed. They were able to see that it was doing something really weird as it was descending.

"It's coming down too fast!" Ceres yelled, seeing the problem immediately.

"So that means they're fighting the pull of the Digital World…" Panther said quietly as they watched helplessly.

"This isn't the end of it." Ceres jumped to the top of the ship and looked to see where it would land. She noticed that the area had a portal of the Digital World. She teleported the others up to where she was, "You guys close the gate and I'll slow down the craft."

"Right." TK said and all three concentrated on closing the gate. Ceres faced the spacecraft and was concentrating on the air around it to make it harder so it would slow down enough to land safely in the water.

Ceres noticed that more beams were being aimed at the gate from land, knowing that the others were helping. She could also tell that Damon was helping her. They were able to slow it down to a safe descent so both were helping with the portal. With all of them working together, they were able to get rid of it right before he landed. Ceres teleported them down to the deck on the other side, making it seem that they were there the whole time.

"You think it worked?" Panther asked. No one was getting out of it.

"It did. I'm sure that someone was piloting it." Ceres said.

The door opened and Matt popped out and waved at them. Everyone cheered and the boat started to head towards him. He first got the unconscious crew on deck before getting on himself. They were taken to the medical room and they were hauling the spacecraft back to shore. When they were able to get to the other side the normal way, the media was already crowding him. He smiled his normal way, but they could tell that there was something not right about him.

When he spotted them, he left the media politely and walked over to them. "How have you guys been?" He smiled.

"We're okay. Everyone else had to head home so that's why they're not here." Panther said with the warmest smile.

"I see that you all have grown. Let's get something to eat." He walked into the ship and they all followed.

"Shouldn't you rest first?" TK asked, "You just fought…"

"Eating comes before resting, my dear brother." He looked back at him, "I need food more than I need sleep."

"You weren't eating while there?" Ceres asked.

"I was." They entered the dinning hall and no one was there and there weren't any food either. "Darn… Well, you guys can ask all the questions you like since no one is here." He turned to face them.

"Where is Gabumon?" Patamon asked.

"He's still in the craft. I ran out of dust today so it didn't last as long."

"What was going on as you were landing?" Ceres asked.

"All the controllers were going berserk and nothing was working. I recognized the portal as we were descending so I knew that I didn't fix the problem when I was up there, like I thought I did. The speed that we were going knocked out everyone else."

"Why didn't it affect you as well?"

"I don't know. It wasn't something I had time to think about."

Ken tapped TK on the shoulder and pointed to his face then to Matt. TK looked at his brother then back at Ken, "You're saying that Matt looks pale?"

He nodded his head.

"What's wrong with Ken?" Matt asked.

"He used his Kindness Powers." Panther said. "The same with all the others."

"Really? Are they all okay?"

"Yea, the last that we heard was that they were still resting up from it."

"Why couldn't Mimi or Yolie heal them quickly?"

"Joe and Cody both came down with illnesses so Mimi is helping Joe because she can't cure it and Yolie is either taking care of Cody or is working slowly with everyone else."

"I see."

"But Ken is right, you do look pale." TK said. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's probably from the heat that was in the cockpit." Ceres studied him for a bit. He seemed fine, minus the paleness. There was something about it that told her that it wasn't from the heat, but she couldn't think of any other explanation.

When they got to shore, they were being hounded by reporters. Matt told them that he will give a report about what happened as soon as he could, saying that he would have to talk to his supervisor. The others knew that Hota is a Deity Digimon. They just have to warn him about it.

Matt put on a disguise before they got on a bus, so that meant that they couldn't talk to him too much. Ceres noticed that Gabumon just appeared near him.

"There's something up with Matt." Ceres whispered to the others.

"I know, but what is it?" Panther asked.

"He might just need some food. But he is acting strange." TK agreed.

"Driver, can you stop here?" Matt requested. As he walked passed them he whispered, "I'll see you guys when I get home." He got off the bus and walked in some direction.

"He's heading to the office building." Panther said.

"I guess we don't have a choice but to wait for him." Ceres said.

"That's definitely something Matt would do if he's hiding something." TK pointed out.

"So that means that we have to interrogate him." Ceres said in an evil way.

"That's going to be fun." Panther said and they all sat back down.

That was really weird… Oh, letting you know that we're all waiting for Matt to come home. I'm not sure how to get this on him, so I'm not even going to try. I'm sure that Matt is hiding something, even though he gave us an explanation on why he looks pale. There's something about that story, now reading over what Ceres thought, that doesn't make it feel right. At least Ceres isn't going to run anymore and we're a strong group now. I'm pleased with that at least.

Author's Note from a friend: Vicky loves Neko!!!


	24. Chap 23 Big Suprise! They Splitting Up!

[Me

Hi! I have to tell you what's going on as I'm walking over to the building. I brought a probe with me when I went to space and messed with it so it can allow me to override my home computer. So I can now control my computer with my mind, scary no? Anyway, I'm allowing TK one more access to it before cutting him off. So this is basically the new intro for the chapter (and look! I can to side comments!!). I can check up on my computer with this as well, but I know that it's safest when I'm only with Gabumon. So yeah, I'm heading over to see Hota to give her a report as to what happened. And since I know that she doesn't like reporters, I'm going to tell her that I will make a public statement tomorrow. Meaning no sleep for me!! That might explain why I'm so hyper right now… Anyway… Wow… I'm just babbling here…

Oh look! We're here!! This is going to be very weird, so bare with me here.

We walked into her office and she greeted me (really us because Gabumon shrunk), "Matt! Welcome home!"

"It's good to be back on Earth. Oh, you don't have to worry about reporters because I'm going to be making a public statement tomorrow." Wow… it's taking everything I have to be calm right now (and look! I've kept my promise!!).

"Thank you. I'm sorry for putting you through that."

"I don't mind them at all." (Could it be that my concert and band-playing actually helped my confidence with the camera? Who knew!)

"Is there any report that you would like to give me know?"

"All the experiments done on the Moon and the station were all beneficial. You will get the other results later." (Look at me; I'm sounding all important and special)

"Good, glad to hear it. Oh, and Kaiba-san would like to see you before you return home. He said that it wasn't really urgent, but it is important. Something about a project you left your brother to attend to."

"Oh, okay. Thanks. Is that all for you?"

"Yes, and you don't have to worry about working since you could probably use the break."

"Thanks. So I'll see you around."

"Right."

I walked out of her office, glad to be able not to work for a while because I knew that I would need the sleep. Sleep is sounding so good right now. I took a bus to head over to Kaiba Corp.

It was a lot to keep myself awake. I was doing things to keep me awake since Gabumon was already asleep. It was a good thing that I had on a disguise (hat and sunglasses) so the driver didn't know who I was (he probably wouldn't know it was me even if I had a hat that said "I am Yamato Ishida, the famous astronaut"). I got off near the office and walked the rest of the way so I didn't tip off the driver (clever, huh?).

"Glad that you came as soon as possible." Seto said when I entered his famous office. "Hota called saying that you would be over. What's with the hat and sunglasses?"

Mokuba wasn't there (guess it's passed his bedtime). "My disguise." I smiled.

He raised an eyebrow before continuing, "First, what happened when you were descending?"

"I was being sucked into the Digital World. With the help of the others, I was able to escape the portal. All the other crewmates were knocked out by this time because we lost control within those seven seconds, even though we couldn't communicate after that because of the speed."

"At least everyone came out okay. Here is the first book that I made from the one with the history and pages taken out." Seto handed me a brand new book that looked a lot like the old one. I took it and opened it to see that everything was translated.

"Thanks a lot, Seto. I knew that you had the ability to do this." I smiled with anticipation of reading it.

"Why are you so pale?"

I looked at him, "Promise you won't tell the others? Have you seen the others in the group yet?"

"I have… I have a comment about one later."

"Okay, so promise that you won't tell them."

"Why?"

"Because I don't want them to over worry about me. I don't want them to know that I was in danger while I was up there."

"Do tell." He motioned me to sit down.

I pulled up a chair closer to his desk so I wouldn't feel comfortable. "Okay, I first have to explain something about what we discovered. They're known as the Jewels of the Crest." I brought mine out and handed both over to him so he could see it and touch it, "They each have their known power and side effect. Most of them are different from each other. The blue one is the Jewel of Friendship, the other is Jewel of Virtue. Friendship's power is the ability to use long rang weapons, but after use you can only do hand-to-hand combats. Virtue is the ability to use all the others' Crests, but with their side effects and is the ability to do rapid shooting, but lowering energy.

"This is important because I used these powers while up there. I had to use Friendship's power twice, which I found is the totally amount I can use it. TK was able to use his more than once so I thought that I could as well. The same with Ken and Kari so I know that Izzy and I are only able to use ours once because our Crest's powers are similar. So I am only able to fight with my bare hands, but I had to use Reliability's Power of defense to protect us from meteors that weren't coming towards Earth, but were in the path of the station. I started to decline in my health so I was using Courage's power of power ups to keep up my energy and health. I ran out of tea, not knowing that others were using it, so I had to fully use the power of Courage to keep up another barrier and used the power of Reliability. Then I ran out of powdered that hid Gabumon from the others so I had to use Kindness's power of camouflage to hide him, which is paralyzing me. The only reason I'm not yet is because of the power up that I'm using.

"So to sum it up, when I stop the power up, I'm going to be drained, paralyzed, unable to fight back in anyway, and can only do hand-to-hand, which I can't now. I can't fall asleep until I get a public statement out and find out what happened to the others when I was gone."

"Why is it important that you have tea?"

"I know that you might not believe this, but I have a dark being within me that if I lock up or drink too much then his evil side will come out. This evil side was willing to kill Panther, Ceres and TK, though more of TK than the others because he seems to have some lock on him. Tea is the first block for him to come out. I haven't drunk any sake, but I need at least two cups a day in order to keep that side away. I ran out about five days ago."

"And all of this is causing your paleness and ill look?"

"Yeah, but this doesn't go to anyone else. You can tell Mokuba if you want, though."

"You must get some rest soon." Seto sounded really concerned.

"I'm not going to make the public statement until noon so I have until then to get them to tell me as much as possible. Once I get home from the announcement, I'm going to bed so I won't be able to be contacted until I wake up."

"I understand. I'll tell TK anything I need you to know later."

"Thanks. I really do appreciate everything you're doing."

"Get everything done quickly. I will make a visit sometime later to check up on you. I'll cover it with something else though."

I smiled. "I'm looking forward to it." I got up, "I'll see you then."

He nodded and I took my leave. I was really glad that I have a friend like Seto. As soon as I got to his door, I collapsed for a moment. I covered my mouth as I coughed up blood. This isn't the first time either, but not even Gabumon knew this occurred. I was so glad that he wasn't awake right now.

"Matt?" Seto was right by me.

I tried to smile, but I coughed blood again. He called his guards and got me to walk into some vehicle. I was forcing myself to stay awake, but I wasn't really aware what was going on around me. I felt a breeze after a while, making me feel a bit better. When I realized that I couldn't feel my limbs, I knew this was a really bad. None of my other coughs were like this. I wish I could laugh it off, but it was too serious. I don't know how well my body will be able to handle this kind of stress, but it needed to last a bit longer. It was a lot of my own will power to keep myself going, so maintaining control over all the powers that I was using is really a strain. I can't do it for much longer.

"Matt?" I heard Seto's voice.

I found that I could speak again, "I… have to…"

"Just tell me when you're ready to go home."

I felt like I nodded, but I could never know. I concentrated on surpassing this so I could go back to what I had planned.

[Damon

I couldn't believe that Tim was sending me out so early in the morning to go get food because Heka was coming over for some fun. I understand why I have to go out, but I don't understand why this early. It's three-o-clock A.M.!! As I was coming back to the bus station, I saw Don and Neon talking to a guy that looked like bad news. Being the fighters as they are, I knew that they would fight if needed so I got closer to hear what was going on, but not to be seen by the two parties.

"Why do you need allies?" Don asked like it was a dumb question. "They're nothing but trouble." I was shocked to hear that, but I couldn't pull away.

"I thought that you would need allies to help you get ahead." The guy was proper in his politeness, probably meaning that he was younger or newer than them.

"Allies only slow you down in this world. The only way an ally is useful is when you're using them to get yourself ahead." Neon answered.

"Have you ever done so?"

"I do all the time, which is why I have fierce reputation." Don answered.

I had to leave right then. I now knew the truth of Don's and Neon's motives, something that Tim had always suspected. He never told Nereida about this, since she has fully involved herself with them and believed them and has taken up their styles. So it's up to us to make sure that she isn't used by them.

[Don

Ari smiled with my answer. "Thanks for giving me some pointers in this world of Internet Car Racing. Why haven't you been on for a while?"

"I've been taking care of other things. Don't worry. I'll get back on soon. I'm on the top so I don't have to worry for a while. Just do your best." People like him come find me everywhere. Unfortunately, for the site we have to give our photo and location at which we live. We didn't have to tell our exact location, but we do have to tell the truth.

"I will, thanks." He left with an unusual smile on his face.

"I don't trust him." Neon said. "There was something within his eyes."

"You know that people come to me all the time from there." I wrapped my arm around her, "Nothing from there could harm us. That's why you got me into that kind of racing than the racing I was in before you got babies within you." I smiled.

She smiled as she placed her hand on her stomach. "Which is good."

I kissed her on her forehead. "Let's get you home." And we walked towards her house.

[TK

We were all getting worried about Matt. It had been a few hours since he left us and he hasn't come back yet. He hasn't called at all, and we figured that he would. I went to his room to see if I could check up on the story, but something is keeping me out. We checked the news to see if there was going to be something that he needed to do and he is scheduled for a conference with the media at noon.

"What's taking him so long?" Panther asked with more worry than frustration. She was making us tea because we didn't get the chance to go shopping.

"Maybe he's taking his time? Or he's avoiding us so he doesn't have to answer any questions we have?" Ceres offered.

Ken pointed to his skin. "You think that whatever is making him pale is what is keeping him away?" I asked and he nodded.

"You were able to read all that?" Ceres asked.

"Yeah, couldn't you?" I looked at her.

"No, all I knew was that he was pointing to his own skin. I couldn't tell that he was thinking that."

I smiled, "I guess it's because we're close that I can understand it."

"That's really cool. Ken, that has made me determine to read your signs as well!!" I could tell in her eyes that she was serious. Even though Ken couldn't express it, it was making him somewhat nervous.

"Now you're making him nervous." I said with a smile.

"You can't really blame her." Panther said, "She does like to take on a challenge as well as being good in everything."

"That is true." I said.

There was a knock at the door. I got up and opened it to see Kari with Gatomon leading her, "Hi Kari and Gatomon."

"Everyone else is starting to do well. Yolie has been going to the others once a day so they've been healing slowly. She's with Mimi right now to heal up Joe so Mimi can help with Cody."

"That's great. Come on in. We're still waiting for Matt to come back." I took her hand and led her inside.

"Why isn't he here?"

"He left us on the bus so we're not really sure where he went." Panther answered.

"But we know where he's going to be at noon." Ceres added.

"Oh." Kari sat down. "Maybe we should wait for Lily Dawn to get here before I start looking. I was just getting a headache from all the voices I was hearing."

"Don't worry." Ceres said, "We're worried but not that worried." However untrue that was because I knew them better. I also knew that Kari could tell that they're just covering their own worry.

[Lily Dawn

"Stan, Apollo is going to come sometime in the afternoon." I said as I was getting ready.

"Really? So you really think that he's the one?"

I smiled to myself, not knowing that much, "I can hope, but he is also looking forward to meeting you."

"He better be ready for some questions then."

"I'll warn him and I'll tell Panther that you say hi."

"Have her come over as well." His eyes widened with the idea.

"She might want to stay home to make sure that Matt is okay and all. She's really attached to him."

"So that means that I have to go through him?"

"I don't know." I smiled, "Knowing him, he would have Panther decide." I got up, "See you later!"

"Right." He smiled as I left the house.

[Damon

Tim had listened to my words carefully and made a decision. Our Digimon were trying to find some way against it, but he wouldn't see it and either would I. I was helping with the cleaning of the house, smiling at Nereida because I knew that she would hate us after this. Tim thought it would be better if she hated us then for her to know the truth. I wasn't really sure about that, but I couldn't argue it. Tim wouldn't be making an appearance at Matt's house, so it would have to up to me to tell Lily Dawn and Ryan about their treachery.

Tim had also decided that we were going to assume that Ceres and Panther were doing the same thing. His reason is that if fighters like them were doing it then a gangster and traveler are most likely to do it as well. I didn't really like that notion, but I couldn't disagree with it. Tim never said it, but I knew he wanted to say that they were using Matt to get what they want. It seemed that he always wanted this outcome since the beginning, which I hope that I'm wrong about it.

[Ryan

I arrived at Matt's place the same time that Lily Dawn did. It wasn't long until Neon and Don were there as well. Panther was getting really worried about Matt not being here. They told us that they haven't heard from him since he left them. So I knew that Panther was just doing things to keep her worry down. Ceres was being a lot quieter and calmer as well, probably meaning that she was also really worried about Matt. The only time that she wasn't really is when she was trying to guess what Ken was saying. TK was acting as host because he didn't want to worry everyone.

It got to be noon so we turned on the TV to watch his announcement. The reporters were saying that he hadn't arrived yet. Some were wondering if he was hiding again.

"Look! There's a red sports car coming this way!" Someone shouted and all the cameras were there.

"That's Kaiba-san's car!" TK said.

It pulled right behind the stage and Matt got out from the passenger. The cameras were flashing as he walked up to the microphones, but the driver never got out to confirm if TK was right.

"Hi, sorry I was so late. I got wrapped up in talking to an old friend that I lost track of time." He said with his usual smile. We were all able to see why they were so worried because his skin was really pale. The sun was taking some it away, by that I mean it hid the fact that he was so pale.

"How was the trip up there?" Someone asked.

"It was smooth. We were able to get there safely."

"What happened when you were coming back?" (Remember, different people)

"During the seven seconds lost of radio contact, all the controls shut down or overwritten. I can't be sure at this point, but it caused the craft to pick up speed really fast. It was enough to knock out the other crewmates, but I'm not sure how they're doing. It was really luck that we didn't crash."

"Did you have any success while there?"

"Yes, we had many tests that we had to run and I think we got some progress with them."

"Did you bring back anything from the moon?"

"We did and they were un-harm in the descent. They are being sent to the lab so other tests can be conducted."

Then they were asking many questions about the tests that were being done. He gave as much as he could, I guessed. It was during this that we heard a knock at the door.

"Come in." TK called and the door opened. Damon and Nereida came in but only Nereida was smiling.

"Hi guys!" Nereida said. She looked at the TV. "Wow, he doesn't look well at all."

"We know and he hasn't been home yet." Ceres said.

"I thought he went with you guys?"

"He left us on the bus home."

"Guys." Damon said in a serious tone. "We're not coming back."

Everyone was too shocked to say anything. Even Nereida was surprised.

"What… are you talking about… Damon?!" She walked closer to him.

"It's because some people are using us for their own game. They don't care what happens to us."

"Who are you talking about? No one is like that."

"Oh yea… Tell that to Neon and Don. They only use their allies to advance themselves!" We looked at them and they didn't say anything. "And unfortunately I'm sure that Panther and Ceres are the same."

"Panther isn't like that!" I defended. Sure she feels that way, but that's not her.

"You two better open your eyes," he looked at me and Lily Dawn, "They're all the same. I'm sure they had used people in the past and there's nothing really stopping them now. I already know that Don and Neon do since I heard them talking about it."

"When?" Don finally asked.

"Does it really matter? Come on Nereida." He started to turn around.

"No!" He looked at her, "I don't understand why you're saying this, but I'm not leaving them!"

"Damon, you have to talk this out." Lightningmon said.

He looked down for a moment before grabbing Nereida's arm, "We're leaving! That's the end of this!" He dragged her out and their Digimon followed behind them. "Ryan, Lily Dawn, I warn you to leave as well if you don't want to be used."

Nereida struggled to break free from Damon's grip and kept telling him to let her go.

"Why didn't you try to defend yourself?" I asked Don and Neon. I didn't think they would be silent, the same with Panther and Ceres.

"You do realize that Tim decided this for them? They have no say in it." Neon said.

"You think that Tim wants to leave? Why?" Lily Dawn asked.

"He hates us. He hates Ceres and Panther. We can't stop them." Don explained so plainly.

He was telling the truth, but we all had thought that he had gotten over that. "But that doesn't mean that you have to take it!" I said. "Ceres, why didn't you talk some sense into them? You have the power to unity groups."

She closed her eyes, "Sure, but I don't know how to use it."

"We should just allow them to cool down for a while." TK said. "They're probably just confuse or something."

"They didn't seem confused to me." Lily Dawn said.

I looked at the TV to see that Matt was still talking. I was remembering how cruel Lily Dawn and I were toward them. Though that was because of what we heard, we really didn't know them. But they haven't really changed from back then. They haven't tried to change their reputation and there are rumors that Don still fights whenever he could. I wondered if it could be possible that they are using us just to make sure they don't get kicked out. I had always wondered why Neon's mother allowed her to get in trouble for fighting.

Don got up and the same with Neon. "I think it would be better if we left as well."

"Why?" Kari asked with sadness.

"It seems that there's doubt here." Neon said. "If everyone doesn't believe in us then we shouldn't be here." They walked out.

"It seems that there were doubts within our minds that brought this forward. I just wished that it was at a better time." Ceres said.

"Are you giving up?" I asked.

"Stubborn minds are the hardest to change."

I couldn't believe that she wasn't even going to try, "Fine, if you guys aren't going to try then I might as well quit too!"

"Ryan!" Lily Dawn called after me when I walked to the door.

"Do you really mean that?" Breomon asked.

"I have other things to worry about so they can take care of themselves!"

[Lily Dawn

I couldn't believe that everything was ending this way. We were a team. We weren't supposed to fall like this. I looked at the door, wanting Ryan to come back. I knew that Don and Neon were at least talking about me because I was remembering how they were and how they haven't changed their reputation. It has only gotten worst since they've been with us, and I hadn't been able to figure out why. They made me an outcast with my own friends. They're all afraid of me because they know that I know them. Panther has done the same, but I can forgive her.

"Are we really going to let him go too?" I asked.

"It is best to let them calm down. We can't force them to change and they're heated with anger right now so we have to let that settle." Ceres answered with such a superior voice. I hate for her taking Panther away from us. She just shows up and enters our lives, forcing her way into Panther's life. Panther used to tell us everything, good and bad, but now she has shut herself up, allowing only Ceres to come in.

And not just her, everyone else in this group. She trusts them more than us, her only friends when no one else would be. We were the only ones that believed in her. I looked over to the TV and Matt was still talking. They all meant well, but they pulled her away. "I'm sorry."

"Lily Dawn?" Panther asked.

"I have a dinner date with Apollo so I have to leave now."

"Have fun then. Tell him that I say hi too."

I looked at her and smiled a fake smile. "Right." I walked out of there without them knowing anything. I wasn't coming back, because this group is a place that Panther doesn't need me.

"Lily Dawn…" Bellimon said.

"Yea?"

"You're not coming back, are you? I know… that you still have time… before the date."

"Panther doesn't need me. She has everyone else to count on. Everyone there took her away from us so I only have hate for everyone there. Plus, Don and Neon have made me an outcast with my friends. I can't forgive them for that."

She fell silent for the rest of the way.

[Panther

I was glad that Lily Dawn wasn't leaving.

"Any last words before we end this?" A reporter asked.

"Yea, I'm glad that all my friends were at least with me the entire way I was there. Without them, I believe I couldn't be here now. They have become stronger as a group and I'm really proud of them."

I looked away since I couldn't face Matt's face right now. I had failed him. I couldn't keep the team together for him. I should've done something when Damon was making his claims, but I did nothing.

"Wouldn't he be surprise when he gets home…" TK said that with more sadness than humor. "He's going to be really disappointed."

"Teams break up all the time. We'll get back together." Ceres said.

"Matt had feared this for a long time." I stated. "We were all too different from each other for it not to come through at some point."

"I wonder how the Shunis are going to handle this." Kari said, "They are going to have disaster within their home. Nereida is really mad at them."

"Kinda reminds you of the past, huh?" Rootmon stated.

"Let's hope it doesn't end like the past." I said.

"It won't." Ceres got up, "because I won't allow it to go that far."

"None of us will, Ceres." TK said. He looked at Ken and smiled, "Yep, none."

[Damon

Nereida wasn't talking to me as we were going home. She stopped struggling when we got to the bus station. I wanted to tell her that it was for the best, that it was all done to protect her, but Lightningmon wasn't allowing me to get close to her. Could I really blame them? I was harsh on her.

"It was for the best." Tim said when I came to tell him what happened.

"But it's not right to do this to her without giving her some reason." I was really worried since she was in the pond that Grandma remade. Grandma was gone for the moment because she was playing mahjong with friends.

"Just leave her alone. She'll get over it." Tim went back to work.

"Do you not care anymore?" I hated how he does this.

"What do you mean?" He looked at me.

"All you do is work and work. It's me who has to take care of Nereida. All you do is give orders!" I got up, "Well I'm done with it." I left his room. I got to the first floor before there was a knock at the door. I answered it to see Heka.

"Hi Damon!" She said with a smile.

"Hi…" I couldn't feel the same way.

"Is there something wrong?"

I looked down at the ground.

"Heka," Nereida grabbed her arm and pulled her away, "Don't let him talk you into leaving me." And they disappeared around the corner.

I sighed; I just had to let Heka calm her down before I could talk to her. "Huskimon, I'm not made to be a brother." I said as I went to the TV room.

"Of course you are!" Huskimon was trying to encourage me.

"Yeah right." I turned on the TV and started watching something.

[Heka

"Nereida, what's going on?" I asked when we stopped at the garden pond. Lightningmon was here as well.

"I hate them." She said with anger. It was real anger, not mad, not disappointed. "They just claim that I can't see our group anymore."

"Why?" _Weren't they a team, the group that holds some great hope for us all? _

"I don't know. Damon never really explained why. He claims that Neon and Don are just using us, the same with Ceres and Panther. I don't understand why."

"So… something has broken you apart? I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

"I believe that you guys will be together again." I wanted her to believe because I knew that believing is a strong power for mortals.

She looked at me and smiled. "Thanks Heka."

I smiled back, "That's what I'm here for."

"Let's go eat something! We were preparing something great."

"Okay. Then later we'll head to that lake? You said it's really something in winter."

"Yeah!"

"Maybe you should bring your brothers along, to ease some of the tension."

She smiled, "Sure, since you insist."

[Me

"Thanks Seto for getting me there." I still wasn't feeling well, but it was better than when I was coughing up blood.

"I'm just glad that I didn't come out and that no one asked who got you here."

"Yea, that way you wouldn't be found out to have a friend, right?" I smiled.

"Something like that. How are you anyway?"

"Better than in your office. Everyone is probably worried about me since I haven't been seen since midnight."

"I'm getting you home."

"By the way, you said that you had a comment about the group?" I hope it was a good one.

"One of your friends looks like someone that I unfortunately knew."

"Oh…" I wasn't sure how to answer that.

"He's a friend of Yugi."

"Oh, you mean the one that should've told me about Duel Monsters?"

"Yeah, him."

"You know, I feel a lot calmer than before I went up. I had time to think and ponder as well as have fun. I think I got in touch with a side I lost a long time ago. I believe that this year has been good." I smiled.

"Don't tell me that you're going to be annoying now."

I laughed. He said that with so much seriousness that I couldn't help it, "I might. Don't worry; I know that I'm an adult. But that doesn't mean that I can't have some fun, right?"

He was quiet for a while. I smiled and looked out the window. I was grateful of Seto because even though we're different, he believes in what I say and is willing to help. That's why I wanted TK to tell him the truth and do anything he had asked. But I have to believe in my old friends as well. They're going down some path that will lead to unhappiness.

"Thinking about your other friends?"

I looked at Seto. I was impressed that he was able to see that, "Yeah."

"What are you going to do about them?"

"I'm not sure. When I have some sleep, I'll come up with something." I was getting really sleepy again. "Man, I really need some tea. I guess I better not see what happened when I was gone."

"You're almost home."

I smiled, fighting to stay awake. He stopped suddenly, "Are we there?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks again." I smiled before getting out. Before I got to the door, "Seto," I looked at him, "Come by some time to get away from all that paper work. I know that it can be really annoying."

"I'll think about it." He drove away. I looked up at the sky, seeing that it was some hours passed noon and that it was getting closer to evening. I turned around and opened the door, "Hi everyone!" I looked to see that not everyone was here.

"Where were you!?" Panther yelled, "We were worried sick about you!"

"I was with Seto. Sorry for not giving a call. Where are the others anyway? I at least thought they would stay to say hi." They all fell silent, not a good sign. "What happened?"

Panther looked away from my gaze and the same with TK. I knew then that I wouldn't want to hear what was coming next. "I'm sorry Matt. We failed to…"

"Just tell me how it started." I didn't want Panther to finish it.

"Damon started to say that Don and Neon were just using us for their own gain. He then claimed that Panther and I were doing the same. He warned Lily Dawn and Ryan not to trust them before leaving with Nereida by force. Don and Neon left because they could tell that Lily Dawn and Ryan were thinking about it and might believe it. Ryan got upset that we weren't doing anything. Lily Dawn was the only one that left peacefully, but there was something about her manner that told me that she might not come back either." Ceres stated so coldly, like she didn't care.

"Lily Dawn will come back." Panther said, almost in a disbelief state.

"Believe in it if you want to, but when things get this bad I tend to get realistic. Unless something happens among us, we are the only ones still unified."

"Please tell me why you stated all that so coldly?" I asked. I had to know.

She looked at me, "Because what Damon said is true about me. I am using everyone." She closed her eyes, "But that's not all that I'm doing to everyone. I know what I'm doing to everyone. I know what I don't want you to know. I had to face it yesterday, so it's still all clear within my mind. I have traveled to many places and had many passed their own judgment on me, but I never cared what they had to say or think about me. I'm sorry Matt if I sound cold, but I hate how Tim is controlling them and they think they can't do anything about it." She looked at me, "We're giving them time to cool down so we can talk to them with reason. I'm not going to let history repeat itself."

"History?"

"We were told that in the past there was a great war that was fought and our Digimon were major players within that. The Shunis' Digimon were the leaders for the rebel army and when they got into an argument over something and split up, they failed and lost the war. I'm not going to allow that to happen."

I smiled, seeing that it is important that I hear what happened. "Please tell me what happened when I was away. It seems that it's important that I know." I walked over to the table.

"You weren't going to know before?" TK asked.

"I was after I took a nap, but I think that can wait." _I'm sorry Seto. I know I told you that I'll get some rest first._ "Can someone get me some tea though?"

"Sorry, we used up the last bit of it." Panther said. "We didn't have time to go shopping for some."

"It's okay." _Damn it! Now I have to stay awake._

"There's so much to tell." TK said, "It's going to take a while to get it all straighten out."

"Start when I left. If anything overlaps with the others, let me know as well."

"I want to start by telling you that everyone has made it to their Ultimate stage." Panther said.

"That's good."

Then TK started to give me the tales of what happened.

[Lily Dawn

Ryan wasn't answering anything. I gave up after a while to start making dinner.

"So you guys have finally split up?" Stan said.

"Yeah." I responded.

Stan took the spoon out of my hand, "Foods are sensitive to how you feel. You don't want it to taste bad for Apollo, right?"

"Whatever." I sat down in the chair.

"Who are you mad at, really?"

"Everyone but Panther and Ryan."

"Why?" He was making the food.

"Everyone else took Panther away from us."

"You really believe that?"

"Of course, I've seen it with my own eyes. She has more trust in Ceres than she does us."

"You might want to ask Apollo about what you should do. You all seemed really strong so it's hard to image you guys not to be together."

I don't want to dump all of my problems on him. Stan had a point though, that I should see what else I should be doing. Being angry at everyone won't help, but I'm too mad at them to tell them sorry. "Why can't I ask you?"

"You might think me bias." He smiled.

I smiled, knowing why he said that.

[Nereida

I took them to the lake like I promised. Damon and Tim were behind us the whole time and they weren't saying a word to each other.

"Your brothers are really quiet." Heka whispered.

"I know. I hope that everything is okay."

"I'm sure that everything is okay." She smiled away my worry.

I smiled back. All of our Digimon were with us because they have never seen the lake either. So this was going to be interesting for everyone.

"By the way," she whispered so only Lightningmon and I could hear, "Did you know that Apollo is having a dinner date over at Lily Dawn's house?"

"Nah, we left before they said anything about their plan… they didn't even have a chance to say their plans." I was still mad at my brothers, but I will have to let it go sometime.

"Oh, well Apollo told us that he is finally going to reveal to Lily Dawn who he is. He believes that she's the one for him, a true and real one."

"Is that really a big deal?" Lightningmon asked.

"It is when he has been used a lot by women and he moves from one to another. Lily Dawn has been the only stable one so far."

"Is this his only time to our world since you were turned?" I asked.

"He has been here many times with his sister. Artemis isn't as interested in looking for someone as Apollo is, but she stays by his side for his support. Also Hecate has come with them. This is my first."

"I'm glad that we're friends then. I am your first Japanese friend, right?" I was covering up as much as I could incase they could hear us.

"Yep." She smiled.

I smiled back, "We're here!" I said loudly so my brothers would know. We walked up to tree and looked down at the frozen lake. The water is so clean that the ice that comes looks like diamonds. So it is known during the winter months as the Diamond Lake and during the summer months as the Sky Lake.

"I have never seen a lake so shiny before." Heka said as she stared down to it. "It's like crystals are glittering the bottom."

"That's why it's right now known as Diamond Lake." I stated.

"The water is so high up that it doesn't have to worry about pollutants from the city. Also no one comes here, but animals." Tim stated.

"Grandmother told us that in the winter months, this lake is wishing to be a star and in the summer, a cloud. That's why it reflects so much." Damon said and I knew right then that he was mad at Tim. He normally doesn't add things that Grandmother says unless he is.

"Both are right." I said to Heka and the Digimon, also letting them know that I'm not angry with them.

"No offense Tim, but I like the story one better. Where is your Grandmother anyway? I just noticed that I haven't seen her."

"She's playing mahjong with some friends of hers." Tim answered.

"Does this lake look even more beautiful when there's snow on the trees?"

"It does because the snows on the lake become ice themselves." I answered.

"Wow… that just adds to the fact of the story."

"She does have a point." I looked at Tim.

"The snow melts just enough to become liquid before freezing over." He answered with an unemotional tone.

"You don't like to admit when you're wrong, do ya?" Heka smiled.

"Science is never wrong." He said in his high and mighty voice.

"Sure." She looked back at the lake, "You have to bring me back when it snows. I would love to see it then." She looked at me.

"Of course and maybe Grandmother would be here so she could tell you the story. We've never bother to learn it."

"I thought that this house was going to be passed down to either you or Damon?"

"It is." He answered.

"Then you two should at least know all the stories that surround this house so you can tell your kids and grandkids."

"I guess you do have a point. It would be sad not to let them know the tales that we've heard." I stated.

"Then you can add another story to that list." We all turned around to see this beautiful Greek lady standing behind us. Her hair was golden color, with the others being brown. "Of how Hebe comes back to us with the others to give us what she knows about you and to kill you." She said that with a happy smile. That made me sick.

"Who are you?" Tim demanded.

"I am Aphroditemon." She looked in my direction, "Hebemon, come over here dear."

We all looked at her, who I now know her true name. She was just staring at her with no expression on her face, "Who are you calling?" She smiled with an attitude of Panther's, "My name is Heka."

"O very funny, my dear."

"I'm not joking." I knew that she was, but I didn't know why she was doing this. Was she trying to hide her identity from my brothers? Or was she trying to protect us?

That made Aphrodite mad, "Oh really? So you're not the cupbearer for the Gods. The one that got kicked out because you couldn't handle you job. Because Zeusmon found someone better that he could have some fun with." As she said that, she was walking toward Heka. "And you ran away because you couldn't handle the humiliation." She was inches away from her now, meaning that she was a few from my side.

"Nope. I'm a normal human living out a normal life." I really admired Heka right there for her courage.

Aphrodite took a step back before grabbing me by my arm and pulled me into her. I couldn't break free from her hold on me, which she pulled my arm behind me. "If you don't admit who you are right now, I will take her for my _personal_ slave."

Heka's eyes widen with the word 'personal'. She closed her eyes, "I am Hebemon, the cupbearer of the Greek Gods and Goddesses of the Digital World. I pour the immortal honey that they drink to keep themselves youthful and immortal." She opened her eyes, "And only if my Lord Zeus commands will I return to our world."

"He does command it. He has sent me here to have you return to our world so his plans may begin. We have known that you have had regular contact with the Neo Digidestined," she tugged on my arm, making me wince, "and that will be some useful information."

"I will go peacefully, just don't harm her or her brothers."

She threw me to the ground. "Then follow me." I turned around to see Aphrodite opening a portal and she stepping through it. Heka was following behind.

"Heka! Don't go!" I cried.

She looked back at me, at us, "I'm sorry." Then she continued to walk through.

"Heka!" I cried again before it closed. I couldn't stop my tears, she was my best friend.

"Nereida…" Lightningmon said as she was picking me up and held me.

"You knew she was a Deity Digimon?!" I looked at Tim, surprised to see him angry with me.

"I knew."

"How much does she know about us?" Damon asked with hate as well.

"Why are you angry with me?"

"Answer the question." Tim ordered.

"… She knew a lot because I talked to her when I was having problems." I talked to her most of the times on the phone. I also wrote letters to her because I got the address when I went over to their house. Though I always addressed to Artemis since she owned the house and I never put my own name on it.

"Do you know how much danger the group is in now?!" Tim yelled. "You just gave us away to them!"

"It's not like it matters anymore!" I yelled back, "We're not going back there, remember!! WE'RE NO LONGER APART OF THAT GROUP!!"

"It does matter! You told her things when we were! They will think that we _are_ apart of them! Now we have to live with the fear that Digimon will come and attack us!"

"Is that all you wanted?! To live a normal life? Tim, how much of an idiot can you be? We have powers! We can never live a normal life!"

"We can get pretty darn close."

"I hate you both!" I broke from Lightningmon's hold and I ran as fast as I could. I didn't care where I ended up, just as long as it was far from them.

[Damon

"Did you know about her true identity, Lightningmon?" Tim asked before she ran after Nereida.

"I did." She answered.

"Why didn't you stop her? Why didn't you warn her?"

"I watched her and she never did anything wrong." Lightningmon was turned around and was about to go after Nereida but Tim stopped her again.

"Don't go after her." He ordered.

She looked at him with hate in her eyes, "I don't listen to you." And she went after her.

"Tim, we can't leave her out here. I don't care if she did do something wrong, we can't leaver her." I said.

"It was her choice to run. Let her freeze for the night for all I care."

"At least now I know what you really care about."

He looked at me, "What?"

"All you really care about is yourself and your studies. No wonder you can't trust anyone." I walked around him to go after Nereida.

"Don't go after her." He repeated.

"Rot in hell." I said before I continued to walk.

Tim grabbed me and made me face him, "We have to be ready for an attack," he said that with hardness in his voice, "Lightningmon will bring her back."

"Huskimon, if you want to bit him, go right ahead." Huskimon did and Tim pulled back his hand. Huskimon let go once he did and Tim's arm was bleeding, "I'm done with this family." I walked in a direct different direction then Nereida, going deeper into the woods.

[Tim

I couldn't believe that Damon would order Huskimon to do that. "Fine!" I yelled and headed home. Nereida's betrayal has broken up the family that I had kept together. They never appreciated what I did for them, all the sacrifices that I made for them. Grandmother never helped because she was too poor. I thought they knew that. That it was me who carried all the pressure of the family.

[Lily Dawn

There was a knock at the door. I went to go get it since Stan was setting the table for me. When I opened it, Apollo was standing there with a two small gifts. "What are these for?" I asked.

"I thought that I should bring something for you and your brother, to get on his good side if nothing else."

I smiled, "Okay. Come on in." I stepped aside to let him come in. He took off his jacket and shoes at the door.

"You have a lovely house." He commented as I led him to the table.

"Thanks. Stan and I are mainly the only ones that live here."

"Oh, where are your folks? I knew that I wasn't going to be meeting them."

"Dad is off doing something and Mom left us a long time ago." Stan answered. "I'm sorry, but Lily Dawn wasn't in a good mood earlier so I had to cook the food."

"That is okay." But I know that he is glad that Stan told him that before he made a mistake. "Hi, my name is Apollo." Apollo extended his hand.

"My name is Stan." Stan took it and they shook. "Sit down and enjoy."

Apollo did and we did as well. "Oh, do you want to give them now?" I asked.

"I'll save them for the end." He smiled.

"Okay."

So we started eating and it felt really comfortable for Apollo to be here. I could tell that Stan was studying him, but also enjoying his company. Apollo was able to see this, so he was more relax as well. Bellimon was with Stan so she can show herself to Apollo at a good moment. I didn't want to keep something from him when I love him so much.

"I guess it's time for desert." Stan said when we were done laughing at a joke that Apollo told.

"Allow me to help." Apollo offered.

"Okay." They walked into the kitchen and I piled all the plate so they would be out of the way.

"Stan seems to like him." Bellimon whispered.

"I know and I'm really glad." I whispered back.

"When should I appear?"

"Very soon… When they get back."

"Okay!" She went back to her position.

They walked out with three plates of cake. Apollo handed me mine and Stan kept his.

"Oh, Apollo, I remembered that I had a surprise for you." I said as they sat down.

"What is it?" He smiled.

Bellimon jumped onto the table, "I'm actually alive!"

Apollo just stared at her with wide eyes. "You're… alive? What.." He seemed to be in some semi-shock.

"My name is Bellimon and I am what is known as a Digimon, short for Digital Monster. I live in the cyber world."

Apollo continued to stare at her for a moment before smiling, "So that's why Lily Dawn carried you around everywhere. My apologizes if I had ever offended you." I was really glad that he took that well.

"Never had so don't worry about it." She smiled.

"There's a plate for you in the kitchen." Stan said.

Bellimon extended her vine and got the plate. Before any of us could take a bit, the door slammed opened. We turned around to see Aphrodite staying there. I was still scared of her and Dionysus, but even more for Apollo because they have some kind of hold over him.

"You were having a party and didn't invite me? That hurts." She said playfully.

"Get out!" I yelled. Bellimon got in front of us and got ready to fight.

"Oh, I didn't really see you there. Though I should've known that he would be with his girl."

"What do you want?" Apollo asked with hate in his voice.

"Your father wants you to return."

I looked at Apollo. _How does she know who his father is? Could he be their hold? _"What if I don't want to return?"

"You actually want to live like a mortal? I thought that would be too boring for you." She laughed.

"Apollo isn't like you!" I defended, having failed the last time I could.

"What are you talking about? He is one of us. He's true name is Apollomon, the God of the Medicine, Sun and Prophecy. You mean to tell me that you didn't tell her, Apollo? I'm really shock."

"What if I don't want to return?" He repeated.

She sighed as if this was annoying, "Look, gals don't really interest me, but if I must…"

"Who else is called back?" Apollo was a bit surprised to hear that.

"Hebemon."

He looked at the ground, "And my sister?"

"She was the easiest to get to come back."

"Apollo?" I looked at him.

He looked at me with the saddest eyes I have ever seen. "I wish that it didn't have to be this way. I am sorry to all of you and I will understand when your emotions turn to the fiery vengeance of rage." He walked passed Bellimon, "Let's go to the Digital World."

She smiled and they both left. We all just stood there, watching them walk away, watching him walk away. I looked at the gifts he brought. I went straight for mine. It was a cup with the words "Apollo, the God of Truth". There was also a note with it. It said in Japanese that he never meant to hurt me with not telling me and that he didn't start dating me because of who I was, though he knew something about it because he is able to prophesize things. But he has been hurt by mortal women before so he wanted to make sure that I wasn't going to be one of them. I tore it up into tiny pieces, wishing that I had never met him. When I was done, I fell and cried. Stan was right by me, hugging me my comfort. Why was this happening now?

[Me

"I'll be right back." I said as I got up. They were talking about what they learned about the past of the Digital World. I was glad that they were telling me everything, but I was going to read it from the book. I placed Gabumon on my bed, not really noticing that the trip took more out of him than I would've thought. I went into the bathroom to see how I looked, but I ended up having another coughing session. The coldness of the metal on my beating head was really refreshing when I was done. I was glad that I had locked the door when I walked in. I got up slowly and weakly. I looked in the sink to see that my right hand was covered with blood and the blood that got on the sink was shaped as a broken heart. I turned on the sink to wash out the blood from my hands mostly. It did get most of the blood on the sink, but I wasn't really concern with it.

I went back downstairs and smiled, "So where were you?"

[Hebe

It was only Artemis, Apollo and me that were in front of Zeus and Hera, with me being more forward. The brothers were held back with their mother and sister, who were in the stands watching us. The other Olympian Deities were in their seats, minus the Apollo and Artemis.

"We were told that you knew who the Neo Digidestined were." Zeus said in his high and mighty voice.

I lightly looked at Hades, with him shaking his head. That meant that I shouldn't tell Zeus that he knows who they are too. I didn't really want to be the only one that would be blamed, because I know that will happen, but I knew it was important for them to have a way to contact us. "Yes, I knew who they were." I spoke up before Apollo did.

"What about the others?"

"Artemismon had only heard things from me. Apollomon met one before knowing what her destiny was. I knew who all were from the start. They learned through me." I was wondering what Apollo's and Artemis's expressions were.

"But Apollomon didn't want me to hurt one of them and you said nothing about it." Dionysus mentioned.

"I said he met one of them. I knew all of them, though they never knew who I was." This was true enough because not even Nereida knew what my Deity name was.

"Why didn't you tell anyone about them?" Hera asked.

"Because I didn't think it was important enough for me to mention it."

"Okay, so tell us who they are now." Aphrodite ordered.

I closed my eyes. How much betrayal should I do? I didn't want to betray Nereida. I didn't want to betray her brothers. I didn't want to betray their group, which knew next to nothing about me. I didn't want to betray them. "I can't tell you." That hushed the whole room.

"What was that? I thought you said that you couldn't tell us." Aphrodite played with disbelief.

"You're not going deaf." And that silenced the room.

"And why aren't you going to tell us?" Demeter asked, though I already knew she knew what they should look like.

"Because they will not hurt us if we leave them alone. As long as we don't provoke them, they will not come after us."

"They went after one of the Celtics for no reason." Hestia said.

"What do you mean for no reason? They captured one of their friends." Nereida told me about it today before going to the lake.

"Are you telling us that the Gods have to listen and bow to mortals?" Poseidon asked.

"I am not saying that, but they are one group that protects the world we live in."

"And the protectors work for Gennai, who is our enemy." Ares stated.

"Gennai is their enemy too. They don't trust him like the other groups."

"And yet they work with the other groups that do." Hermes added.

"Because some members are apart of those groups. They feel like they have to help them, but they're not doing it for Gennai. They're doing it for their friends."

"But we are soon planning to war against them and Gennai, how can we trust them?" Hephaestus pointed out.

"All I can say is that we have to believe in them. Yes, they haven't gotten some good impressions from us, but they have learned to have patience with us." I remembered that Nereida once expressing to me that they had this feeling that it was going to be them against us, or at least them against the Super Levels, which included us. I told her that I would trust her with whatever decision they made, because I truly do believe them. "They are here for a reason and even they themselves have no clear idea on what their duties are."

"But we cannot change the fact that they can turn on us." Hestia said.

"It's not like we wouldn't do it to them first. Mortals are still loyal as they were when we ruled their lives."

"Loyal? HA!" Ares laughed, "They're as loyal as spiders. I was easily able to break that group up so how can you call them loyal?"

I stared at him with a blank face for a moment before anger came. How could he! "How DARE YOU do that to them?!" I stood up, "They were great friends toward each other! Sure, they had they're problems, but mortals have those! You broke up a family with your games!"

"Hebemon, SIT down now!" Hera ordered.

"No! I won't take it anymore! I could when I knew nothing about mortals but what you told at banquets. But I know now and I'm not about to let you insult my friend!"

"You befriended a mortal? No wonder you were so hesitated to leave. I would've given you a doll if you were that lonely." Aphrodite mocked.

I lost my control and threw my honey at her, stinging her eyes. As some where checking her, Hera slapped me hard across the face.

"How DARE you do that to one of us!"

"I dare because I have lost faith in you, mother."

She slapped harder, though it wasn't because of my unfaithfulness. It was because I called her 'mother'. Most don't like to hear that from their kids, only if it's not directly at them.

"I was already beaten by Demetermon and she did nothing to me. So nothing you can do will ever work on me." I boasted.

"Nothing, huh?" Aphrodite said with heated anger, "I will make sure that you pay for doing this to me." She looked fine. The honey added a nice touch to her eyes. I'm glad that it hurt before she could do something with it.

"Do your worst." I dared.

"I will. I'll make it so that they will never come back to Japan. Apollomon, how many are there?" She demanded.

He didn't speak for a moment, "There are twelve of them."

She disappeared through a portal with Ares following behind her.

"Hadesmon, my brother, do you still have that crystal that will show you what is happening at that moment?" Zeus asked.

"Yes, we do."

"Hebemon, I hereby banish you to Hadesmon's domain to watch as the events unfold."

The other Deities were talking amongst themselves as they were leaving.

"What about us, O great and lawful Zeusmon?" Artemis asked.

"You will forever never to return to the mortal realm unless invoked by a mortal for guidance."

"And the Titan brothers that were under our care? They have not finished their mortal schooling."

"You just said the key word as to why they need not finish it." Hera said.

"But what if they would like to finish? They have no where to stay." Apollo added.

"Hecatemon is still able to live there so they can stay with her if they wish."

"But she only has a one-room building. She doesn't have the space for more."

"Then she would just have to find a way to fix that." Hera said it in a way that made it final. She never really liked them two since they were born, so she would normally downplay their ideas.

"You even rule unkindly towards each other. No wonder we all desire secretively to return to the realm of mortals." I commented.

Hera slapped me again, "Ungrateful child!"

"I have opened my eyes, Hera."

I was struck by a thunderbolt this time. I noticed that I fell on the floor of marble and Zeus was telling me something. It was probably about how I didn't add 'mon' to her name. He wants us all to call each other by our new names. It just slipped from my mind for a moment. I felt someone carrying me somewhere. _Mortals can be killed by these and survive from these. Nereida… I never wanted to hurt you. Please know that I never wanted this._ I felt something wet on some part of my skin. I was still numb so I can't really know where it was.

[Me

Ceres suddenly stopped with what she was saying and stood up. Panther looked at her for a moment before doing the same.

"There's something not right." Kari said.

Ceres got to the window and looked out. As I stared over there, I could feel something as well. She opened the window, letting all the angry energy and cold winds seep into the room.

"Ken, are you feeling that?" TK asked. Ken nodded as he stared at the window.

"I'm feeling it too." Gatomon said.

All the other Digimon agreed before we heard something from the stairs. I looked to see that Gabumon was up.

"How do you feel?" I asked as I got up to help him since he looked kinda dazed.

"I'm fine. What is that energy?"

"Neo Digidestined!" A female voice yelled, "I am Aphroditemon, the Goddess of Love and Beauty. Right now, I'm having Aresmon, the God of War, cause fights among Digimon in different areas. If you don't come to stop us, we will destroy all life within the lower levels."

We all stood there with disbelief. I was hoping that she wasn't being serious about that. The phone rang and I went to go pick it up, "Hello?" I asked weakly from fear.

"Matt," it was Gennai and he sounded very worried, "You have to get to the Digital World and quickly! All the Digimon are fighting each other for no reason!"

I sat the phone down and waited for a moment. I grabbed my amulet and concentrated really hard on getting everyone, "Everyone, listen up! What she said is true. Gennai just contacted me saying that all the Digimon are fighting each other. Please! Don't let your angry get in the way of your duty." I let go for a moment before opening a portal. I looked at the ones that were with me, "Let's go."

"What about the others?" TK asked.

"I know they will come, but we got to do something now."

They all got up and went through the portal. I went in too once Gabumon was through.

[Nereida

I heard what Matt said and what Aphrodite said, but I didn't care. It was starting to snow. _We haven't had snow since early December._

"Nereida!" I looked to see Lightningmon running up to me.

"What is it?" I had given up running, being tired and all.

"Didn't you hear what that Deity said?" She wasn't even out of breath.

"And I heard what Matt said, but I don't care."

"What did Matt say?"

"Telling us that what she said was true and to get over to the Digital World."

"Then why aren't you?"

"Because I don't feel like it."

"But you promised to protect my world."

"I don't care anymore."

"… Heka knew that this was going to happen." I looked at her, and she was being serious, "She knew that there would be a day that they would call them back because someone told her so. She never told me who, but she feared that you wouldn't understand. You saw her. She tried to fight back, but you were in danger. She wanted you to know that she will never betray you."

"How do you know this?"

"She told me once when you were off doing something. She just didn't know when it would happen. What about Arsmon? What will you do when he has to be the bad guy because of what he's told to do?"

I told Heka and Lightningmon that I actually do like Arsmon. Heka told me that he was working for Collect Soulmon and he was like her second-in-command. I was prepared for him to betray me for his master, because he doesn't want me to get hurt. How is his future betrayal different from Heka? I'm sure that Heka will try to keep me safe as best as she could, plus she has help from the Underworld Deities. "You're right." I got up, "Let's go to the Digital World."

Lightningmon smiled as I opened up a portal and we went through.

[Damon

"Damon? Aren't you going?" Huskimon asked as we were walking.

"Why bother?" I noticed that it was starting to snow.

"Because you promise you would, that's a good enough reason."

Huskimon did have a point. No matter what feelings I had towards the group and to my family, I vowed that I would protect the Digital World. "You're right. It's my duty, like Matt said." I opened a portal and we went through.

[Tim

"**Tim?**" Shendramon asked.

I was standing by the window, not really looking for anything. I noticed that it was snowing. "Look, it finally snows normally."

"**Tim, what are you going to do? Matt is asking us to join them in the Digital World.**"

"I don't know. I don't really feel like doing anything right now."

"**But you swore that you would protect my home. Are you going to back out of your word?**"

"I'll send you through if you want."

"**I'm sure that Nereida and Damon will be there.**"

I looked at him, who was on my shoulder, "What makes you think I'm worrying about those two? They're old enough to take care of themselves." I looked back out, "They obviously don't need me around to take care of them."

"**But you love them so you do worry. Once this is all done, I'm sure they'll be ready to have a talk about everything.**"

I found myself wanting to believe that, "Fine, if only to keep you from worrying about them."

"**Thanks Tim.**" Shendramon giggled.

I opened a portal and went through.

[Ryan

I was drawing something when Matt gave out the news and I continued to draw afterwards.

"Ryan? Shouldn't we be in the Digital World?" Breomon asked.

"I'm sure they can handle it."

"Should that matter? Besides, these are the Deities; they might not be able to handle it."

"So, it's not really my problem."

"I thought that I agreed to help you since you agreed to protect the Digital World. Are you going back on that now? After all that has happened?"

I looked at my amulet, "Sorry Breomon." I set my stuff down, "I'm just angry at everyone, but Matt is right about not allowing that to affect our duty."

"Good."

I opened a portal and we went through.

[Lily Dawn

I was staring at nothing on the couch when I got the message. I did hear Aphrodite's threat, but I wasn't really sure if I cared. Stan was leaving me alone with Bellimon so he could do the dishes.

"Lily Dawn, what are you going to do?" She asked.

"I don't know." I stated coldly.

"Please choose to save the Digital World."

"But… he does live there…"

"And you know that they wouldn't allow damage upon their lands. You promised to protect the Digital World."

I knew that, but I also knew that the group would be there. The group that took Panther away from us, but I did vow with everyone else that I would protect the Digital World. "Okay, let's go." I grabbed a coat before opening a portal to make Stan think that I had gone outside. I figured that this shouldn't take long.

[Don

"What should we do?" Neon asked.

We had just found a place to get out of the snow. I was thinking about their messages as we were finding a place. "I don't know. I'm sure that Matt would've been able to settle all the angry that we were holding."

"But you promised to protect the Digital World, so what the others think shouldn't matter." AeroDinomon stated.

"I know, but they also vowed the same thing."

"Don, the sooner we forgive them, the sooner all of angry will leave." Neon said. "Besides, once we decide to protect something, we go at it full force."

I smiled, "We'll forgive them and when this is all over, I'm sure that Matt would like it if we all talked about what made this happen." I opened a portal, "So let's protect the world."

She smiled and we walked through.

[TK

We were able to find Aphrodite and Ares, by process of elimination, fairly easily. We didn't run into any warring Digimon, which I thought was odd.

"Where is the rest of your group?" Aphrodite asked. I noticed that she had something staining the skin around her eyes. It looked like it would've burned her or something. Both had something on them that was purple and Aresmon had a suit of armor on.

"They'll be there." Matt said.

"They're coming." Kari stated.

I looked behind me to see that all of them were here. Nereida and Lily Dawn looked the angriest at of them.

"O, I didn't know that you were a Neo Digidestined. Hebemon should've mentioned it."

"Dear Aphroditemon, there appears to be thirteen, more than what Apollomon told us." Aresmon stated.

"You're right. Why is that?" I noticed that they weren't even trying to hide their conversation.

"Because I'm not one of the members." I explained, "Where are the warring Digimon?"

They smiled. "They are fighting each other right now." Aresmon assured us.

"We're just in a part that they aren't." Aphroditemon added. "But thank you for walking right into our trap."

Everyone was surprised about this twist. Aphroditemon and Aresmon chanted something and a big portal opened above them. It was starting to pull them into it. I grabbed Ken and Kari, finding that I was able to stay stable. Everyone else was trying to keep someone else from going in, and it seemed to be working.

They chanted harder and faster than before, making the portal bigger. The pull was greater and all the Neo Digidestined were sucked into it. I was also flying towards it but they stopped it before I went through. I looked at them as they laughed.

"What did you do? Where are they?" I demanded as I got up.

"We just sent them around the world. They will never return to Japan ever again. And we placed a curse upon the way they got in here so they can never use that method again!" Aphroditemon said with pride. "That's what Hebemon gets for doing this to my face!"

"Now, off with you mortal." Aresmon added and I started to fall down some tunnel that appeared beneath me.

I noticed that Patamon was holding tight to my shirt so I turned around and landed on my stomach. When I looked up, I noticed that I landed in snow and that I was back in the Real World. I took out my cell phone and called Matt, but I couldn't get a signal. I tried everything I could to reach any of them, but nothing worked.

[Heka

"Hebe, she's done it." I heard Persephone said.

"What?" I was still numb from the thunderbolt.

"Aphrodite has cast them the farthest they can be from Japan. But luck was on their side and all have managed to land with three others."

"That's… good… What… about TK?"

"They left him alone, but they claim to have placed a spell on their portals to the Digital World and TK can't contact any of them."

I felt something drop to my shoulder. I figured that it was the cave until I felt more. I knew then that I was crying for TK and the others. I knew that Ceres would be able to figure it out, but I'm sure that they will have to be together before she could do that. How long will their journeys home be? _Be careful, everyone._


	25. Chap 24 World Tour! The American Tale!

[Ken

I was laying on something really soft. I could hear something in the distance, but I couldn't really make it out.

I thought I heard my name, but I couldn't be sure. I felt something on my shoulder. I didn't want to move, but I did anyway. I was blinded by the sun, which I knew to be odd. The Digital World couldn't be this bright, except maybe at the coastline, and Japan wouldn't be like this, unless more south.

"Ken?" I heard Ceres asked with concern.

I moved my hand, telling her that I'm okay.

"I'm glad that you're okay. Can you stand?"

I pushed myself up slowly to sit. I noticed that Wormmon was with her as well as a new girl. She looked to be an American, if not then at least a foreigner. I asked my question in the sand as best as I could.

"Nope, we're in Virginia Beach!" Ceres smiled.

" Ceres, do you think that there are others? " She asked.

" I don't really know. " Ceres extended her hand, "+Wormmon was the one that led us here. And she doesn't know Japanese.+" She smiled.

I wrote out 'how did we get here' before taking her hand.

"I think by that portal that we were sucked into. I don't know what we're going to do, but we can at least stay at her house for a while to think."

I nodded.

"+Ceres, Ken!+" We turned around to see Ryan and Tim walking our way with their Digimon with them.

" Are they your friends? " She asked.

" They are. +I'm glad that you guys are okay!+" She yelled as they came up.

"Where are we?" Tim asked.

"We're in Virginia."

"Where's that?" Ryan asked.

"In the United States."

"You got to be kidding me! We're half way around the world!"

"Just about. Do you guys want to chill at her house for a while? She's a friend of mine that only knows English."

"I guess we don't have many options left for us, uh?" Tim sighed.

"Nope. Liz, letting you know that we're crashing at your house for a while. I'm sorry that we're being so rude. "

" Nah, it's no trouble at all. You should come by more often. " She smiled. She led us back to her house.

"+Isn't it school with them?+" Tim asked.

"+Nope, they have off right now. It's warm around here because we're near the water.+"

"I know that. I just thought they had more school time than we did."

"They actually have less than us. They have three months for summer break and that break is the transition to the new school year. Depending on the level of schooling you're at, you either have a few weeks for breaks or about a month."

I smiled, seeing that Ceres was laying down fact upon fact on Tim that he didn't seem to know. I could see that he didn't like to be wrong, but Ceres didn't notice that she was being mean. Ryan wasn't really caring, since he was looking at everything that we were passing.

" Okay, we're here. Can your friends also speak English? "

" This one is mute right now, " she pointed to me, " but you can understand what we're saying, right? " She looked at me.

I nodded my yes.

" I can speak as well. I've been in the United States a few times. " Tim answered.

" And even though I'm still learning it, I am pretty good with the language. " Ryan said with a smile.

" I'm glad to hear it. My name is Elizabeth Hoover. "

" Ryan Kawako and this is Breo. " Ryan motioned to Breomon who was wagging his tail like a normal dog, even if he doesn't look like it. " I did that a while ago with some weird paint that Tim happened to create. "

" And I can't seem to find a way to reverse the affects. My name is Tim Shuni and our mute friend is Ken Ichijouji. "

" Is your mother home? " Ceres asked.

" She's shopping right now for food. " She smiled as she walked up to her house.

It looked to be an average house, like one for a middle class family. We followed her inside and everything was nice, but it could use some cleaning. Normally, according to TK… I tapped Ceres to get her attention. She looked at me. I pointed to each of us, showed that my head was pointing North, and pointing hard to my left hand. I remembered that TK was the only one that was able to stay stable longer in the first wave and that I was the last one to be sucked in and he was flying slowly the same way. He still had to be in Japan, so we had to return because he could also be in the Digital World.

"+We all need to head up with something within our left hand?+" She guessed.

I was now really glad that TK could understand me with only a few signals. I tried to speak, but it wasn't working.

" Sit down and I'll get you something to drink. " Elizabeth said before disappearing.

Ceres went over to the table that was within the room and sat down.

"+Is that how Ken is speaking?+" Ryan asked.

"+Yep! TK can read it really well. I can't yet, but I'm going to!+" Determination was within her eyes again.

"+Why don't we give him some paper so he could write everything down?+" Tim offered.

"+I guess we could, but where's the fun in that?+" Ceres smiled.

"+It's about efficiency, not how fun we can make it. We're all scattered. We don't even know if we're the only ones here.+" Tim was getting angry at Ceres and Ceres went cold again.

"+Oh, I'm sorry that you're worried. Do you really think that we're not? AH! That's what you were saying!+" She looked at me, "+You were saying that we all have to head back to Japan!+"

I nodded.

"+I think we all got that, genius.+" Ryan said, showing that he was angry too.

"+Well, Ken does have a point. Even if we don't know where the others are, they'll all think of the same thing and head back to Japan once they know where they are.+"

"+But we have to make sure that we know we're the only ones here. If we all were just sent to America, then we better look.+" Tim argued.

"We can't search for a needle in a haystack."

"What?"

"It's a saying in America. It means that it's pointless to look for something so small in an area so big."

"But people do it all the time."

"If they're here, then they'll have a better chance of getting back to Japan. So, that means we should just head West. We'll eventually meet up with them."

"But there are many murderers and people like that here."

"I guess that's why they have a Digimon." Ceres smiled wickedly.

Tim stood up but couldn't move any further. He sat down quickly, but it didn't really look like it was him doing it. "What the hell are you doing to me?"

"I've learned that when I'm really pissed off I can access more of my power. I'm controlling your body so you don't embarrass yourself in someone else's house. You're Japanese. You should know something about respect."

" I got you something to drink. " She got us all Coke. " This is all we have. "

" Thanks. " Ceres said with a smile as she took one from her arm and passed it to Tim, " Here you go. "

Tim grabbed it from her, regaining control, " Thanks. "

Ceres smiled and gave another one to Ryan and me before taking one herself. " Thanks Liz. "

"No problem. Are you traveling with these guys?"

"Yep, I will be. We all decided to do something sightseeing over here."

"But I thought you've seen everything in the US."

"I have, that's why I'm their tour guide."

"I thought you didn't do that for anyone. I asked you once before."

"As you can see, I can't really leave them here by themselves."

"Okay."

"Dear, I'm home." Another female voice called.

"Mom, Ceres is here."

"Oh," she came in and she looked pretty. She must've been about late thirties or something, "I'm glad that you came to visit us, Ceres. Are these your friends?"

"Glad that I'm welcome here. This is Ryan, Tim and Ken. Ken is mute, but he can understand English."

"Oh, okay. It's nice to meet you all. I'll start with lunch then." She walked into the kitchen.

"It's that early?" Ryan asked.

"A different Time Zone does that." Ceres said.

"It just never really hit me."

"But wouldn't you have to travel to get here so you would know about the different Time Zones?" Elizabeth asked.

"I placed a hood over my head. So I forgot what time it was." Ryan said with a smile.

"Oh. I'll go help my mom with lunch now." She got up and went into the kitchen.

"+They're nice people, really nice people, but they can be really noisy.+" Ceres said.

"+You were controlling her?+" Tim asked.

"+No, I was giving her suggestions that she could do through her mind. She just picked one that made the most sense to do. Lily Dawn and Kari can do that mind controlling thing better than I can.+"

"+Wouldn't she have realized that we were laying on a beach?+" Ryan asked.

"+I was keeping that from being processed. I considered that a safe way to keeping oneself safe.+"

"+So I was right.+" Tim stated.

"Shouldn't you be proud?" Ceres mocked.

"I'm only staying here because I need to get home."

"You heard what she said, I don't like playing tour guide."

"I'm not asking you to."

"But you're telling me to get you from here to there, I don't like to do that either."

"Are you just making this up to make a point?"

"Nope. I've traveled all the time, making friends in a lot of countries. I have to set up a policy at some point."

"So this is your policy? Then why not leave us? You must be a lot happier out in the world."

I moved my arms, getting their attention, but they weren't able to see what I was trying to say.

"The food is ready!" Elizabeth announced as she and her mother came in. They set down the food and we all ate. It was really tense around us, but Ceres was making it less obvious since she was talking to them.

"What are we going to do now?" Ryan asked as we all were hanging outside of the house.

"We could have an adventure right here." Ceres said with an evil smile.

Tim got up and grabbed his amulet. It glowed for a moment before it stopped. Everyone looked surprised.

"That's not a good sign." Ryan said. He grabbed his and his did the same thing. Ceres and I did the same, but it didn't work. It felt like there was a block on its power source or something.

"It seems that we can't use these to enter the Digital World." Ceres said as she let go of hers. "So the only thing we can do is travel there."

"And we don't have the money to take an airplane back." Ryan commented.

Tim took out his wallet, showing that he didn't bring any money with him. I checked mine, seeing that I wouldn't have enough to make a dollar. Ryan checked too and he had nothing.

"It seems like I'm the only one that has some money." Ceres said, though she didn't show it to us. "And I would also be the only one that would know how to get a job that we wouldn't have to work for a long time."

"Looks like we're dependent on her." Ryan commented then yawed.

Tim didn't look to please with that. "I need to get home." He said so firmly that I knew he wanted to patch things up with his siblings. He was so worried about them that he couldn't help worrying over them. I just have to believe that they all were able to find the others in some way and all are thinking about going home. TK is waiting for us there, and we have to get back to him. Are the others thinking the same as me? I have to believe they are.

"We're going to get home." Ceres said. She was looking at the sky, "I may not have a home to really call my own, but I do have a home in Japan that I can always count on whenever I need something." She looked at us, "Since we can't go through the Digital World, we just have to get there the old fashion way."

"What's that?" Tim asked.

"We travel by land." She smiled. "There are many railroads that we can take to get to the Mississippi River. Once there, we can take many travel routes."

"And we're able to get jobs along the way? That way we don't have to solely rely on you for some cash." Ryan asked.

"Yep, I'm sure that I can find something." She looked at the sky again, "If you guys would like to rest before our journey, we can stay here for a few hours."

"Why do we need to rest?" Tim asked as he yawed.

"For that reason, we're in a different time zone than the one that we're used to. Traveling won't be easy on you, since we have to travel through many time zones before returning home. So you might as well rest now before you come too exhausted to walk."

"What about you?"

"I'm used to traveling so the time doesn't really affect me as much. I'm going to keep track of the time that we rest so we can get a head start as soon as possible."

"Okay. Then please ask your friend if we can impose on their hospitality once again."

"Sure." She smiled and walked inside. We were soon taking a nap in her house, since we were all very tired, no matter how much we were fighting it.

[Ryan

"Guys, hurry up!" Ceres whispered. It was late, it was cold, and she just expects us to have the consciousness to run!

We ran quicker to where Ceres was and jumped into the open boxcar. Ceres got in and closed the door just enough to make sure we could see out. She was watching out for something for a while. Once the train started to move, she became more relaxed.

"What's with the late night ride?" Tim asked before yawning.

"This is the best train that would take us to the Mississippi River." She made herself comfortable.

"Really? That's a good thing." I said.

"Yep. It should take a few days since we have to go through the Appalachian Mountain. Is it okay if we take my way of travel?"

"What's that?" Tim asked.

"Well, we're going to be going to different towns since I happen to know many people and we're going to be taking a few days to work. It's how I get places."

"Can we really take that long?" I asked.

"It's normally a few days of travel to get from one ocean to the other. So this way it'll be a lot more fun."

"Do we need fun?" Breomon asked.

"Oh yea, why travel if it's all about business?"

"Because you travel for business?" Tim offered.

"That's really boring. You should enjoy the place you're going to so you can get a full experience."

I was really surprised that Tim wasn't getting annoyed by Ceres, but I guess he sees things a lot more realistically than most people. He closed his eyes and fell asleep really easily. I looked over to where Ken was and he was also sleeping.

"Ceres, how do you travel so much with so little money?" I finally asked, since she wasn't about to go to sleep.

"I do work along the way. It's really easy if you do that, which is what we'll be doing."

"Do you think that it's going to be easy?"

"We'll find out. I have a feeling that everyone is at least okay. It would probably be best for that stubborn boy anyway to have a vacation." She looked over to Tim.

"I hope that everyone is okay."

"Why?" I looked at her, "You wanted to leave the group so why would it matter?"

I looked down at Breomon, who had also fallen asleep. I petted him, getting him to move happily. "Because I still care about Panther and Lily Dawn… and I can never repay the kindness that TK has given to me… Besides those, Matt's right about the duty that we're bearing. We promised these guys that we will protect their homeland. If you think about it in this sense, then our bond with our Digimon is merely a contract that needs to be fulfilled."

"You can't believe that that's all it is. You must believe that it was destiny that brought everyone together."

I looked at her, "I know that we could sense out our own Digimon, but we did make a promise to them. Breomon, Plantmon, and Bellimon were all enslaved before they came to us. They may not know a lot about many of the Super Levels like Wirthimon, but they do know something since everyone of them was enslaved. We all promised them that we would protect their world. That's probably why all of us went to the Digital World when Matt called. He reminded us that it was our pledge to our Digimon, as well as to the Digital World, that brought us all together. Our goal was what united us from all different backgrounds."

"So if he never said duty and just said something else, you guys would've stayed where you were?"

"I'm sure that Neon and Don would've gone… maybe Damon and Nereida, but I know that I probably wouldn't. Breomon also had to talk me into going as well."

"So you're telling me that this group is just a collection of promises to the Digimon? Is that what you consider your duty to be? To be something that is promised?"

"I guess I do in some sense. I never really had to be responsible for anyone more than myself. All I had to worry about was me."

"What about this sister that you have that you want to find so badly?"

"I didn't have to take care of her. I want to see her since I haven't in so long, and I want to know how she's doing, but I never really had to take care of her."

"What will you do when all your promises are fulfilled? When the Digital World is protected, when the Super Levels are at least kept contain enough not to be a threat? Is that all that the word duty is mounting to?"

"I don't know what I'll do… What about you? What does the word duty mean to you?"

"It means that even though I might not want to do something, I have to do it. I have this amulet all my life and Don had his heat powers all of his. These Crests aren't like the others; they don't come every time the Digital World is in trouble like the Originals. There's something more to them than just a mere promise. These are our lives; these are what we were destined to do. We didn't merely have the qualities of our Crests, they are us. These aren't a promise."

"This group failed once, what makes you think that this isn't our end?"

"For one, I'm not going to allow it; and two, if this was truly our end then we wouldn't have found each other. We would all be off on our own trying individually to get back. This isn't our end."

"It's really hard to believe that…"

"Do you really hate this group?" I stared her with a confuse look, "I don't really believe that. Sure, I was told that you weren't too fond of Don and Neon at first, but then you got to know them and grew to like them. Tim had to put up with a lot of things I did, or some of our past, but he grew to accept that. We all know too much about the others to hate them for who they are. We understand each other. It might not be complete, but we at least know something that most others wouldn't."

"Like what?" I normally tell all my friends the same thing.

"Okay, I'll use you as an example. I know that you like to draw. I know that you have other friends. I know that you live with your father. I know that your mother left with your sister. I know that you like chocolate. I know that you don't care too much for veggies. I know that you're least favorite subject is science, more of like chemistry than any other but you transfer your dislike to all sciences. I know that you've been drawing ever since you could remember. I know that you want to be famous in the world of art, whether it be drawing or sculpting but you prefer it being drawing since that's where your talents really shine. I know that you like how free our art class is. I know that you have multiple sets of every art supply you have: one for school, one for home, one for your art class after school, and a few extras now incase some get destroyed. I know that you can lie, but you normally don't. I know that the way you lie is by holding back information, which isn't really lying in some sense. I know that you were friends with Lily Dawn and Panther for a long time. I know that you know what Panther's real name is. I know that you three have a special bond that still exist even if you guys don't use very often. I know that you know about Panther's and Lily Dawn's family lives. I know that you were one of two that stayed in touch with Panther when she lost her family. I know that you don't know everything about Panther's life while she was in the gang since she didn't want to scare you guys away. I know that you haven't found any girl that you would like to date since you're currently not interested in dating. I know that you can turn invisible. I know that when you were young, you went invisible for a whole hour before gaining back your form because you were really scared of something. I know that you learned how to control that power while Panther was in the gang. I know that you're not very good at fighting. I know that you much prefer to help others than to engage in actual combat. I know that your greatest fear is disappearing forever, never to be known by anyone."

I was okay at the beginning, understanding how she knew the things in the middle, and creep out by her last sentence. I knew that Lily Dawn knew my fear, but I didn't have any chance of telling Panther. I was also surprised at how much she knew about me, considering I don't tell her many things about me. "Did Panther tell you a lot of those?"

"She didn't tell me everything. I'm a good listener and a good observer."

"What are the other's fears?" I could only confirm Lily Dawn's and maybe Panther's, but I was just too curious not to ask.

"Don's fear is not really heights; it's actually not being strong enough to protect Neon. Neon's fear is probably being lost in time. I don't know about Tim's since he hasn't really demonstrated what his is…"

"We're shown what our fears are?" I was a bit surprised.

"Yeah. I'm sure that Tim, Damon, and TK have all shown what they really fear at one point, but I either didn't catch it or see it."

"So you know everyone else's… including yours?"

"I know mine really well. It wasn't that long ago since I faced it down. It's still a fear, even now, but it's really none of your business as to what it is."

"So you're allowed to point out my flaws, but I can't know yours?"

"If you pay attention to emotion or behavioral detail, then you might know." She smiled. "Anyway, it's late and you should be getting some sleep."

"Tell you what, if you can prove to me that this group isn't a contract, that starting it like a contract was just to get something across, then I'll come back to the group."

"Are you unwilling to look?"

"I can't see anything pass that. I know that this has grown and what it was in the past, but that doesn't really matter to me."

"So I have to show you that this group is nothing like the past group and that this group has more weight to it than a mere agreement between humans and Digimon?"

"Right."

"Okay, sounds like fun. I'll do that." Her smile was one of pride than of joy.

"Okay then. Night." I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

[Tim

It was the third day of our travel and the train had stopped in some town in some state. I wasn't really paying attention to what it was when Ceres said it, but I least remember that it was just about a day to the Mississippi River. The people were staying at a local tavern and it was throwing a party. Ceres was really into it, with us guys sitting around and watching.

"I didn't know that Americans can celebrate New Years like this." Ryan commented.

"Is it really New Years Eve?" I looked at him.

"Yea, I noticed the date when we were staying at Elizabeth's house."

I took another look at the people, now understanding why they were partying and why we were going to stay here for the night.

"You guys should join in on the fun." Ceres said as she came back. She had a bottle of something in her hands and she smelt of alcohol.

"What are you drinking? I know there's a drinking age and you're not there yet." I stated.

"Then don't go tellin' the world." She winked. "Anyway, this is always how I celebrate the new year! Find some wild party and join in." She was a bit tipsy, so either she didn't drink too much or she has a high tolerance.

"Well, I spend my New Years with my family. We have a nice dinner and once midnight pass, Nereida puts on a performance for us." I was wondering what she was planning on this time. I wished that I knew, but I was too busy with doing my homework since we're not allowed to do our homework for the holiday, Grandmother's orders.

"I normally spend it with my dad," Ryan said, "He invites all his business people and we have an art auction. It's a lot of fun and it always gets me to do my best. I even got them done early this year…" He looked down at the floor, regretting that he won't be there for it.

"Ken, what do you do?" Ceres asked, looking over at him.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Oh yea… you're mute… sorry… It's too big for you to sign?"

He nodded his head.

"Is it anything like ours?"

He pointed to Ceres then moved his hand sideways.

"So like mine but not really… Huh?"

"I think he means that it's a lot calmer than any of the ones that you went to." Ryan summarized.

"Oh… do you guys want to join anyway? It'll take your mind off of thinking."

"I might as well." Ryan got up.

"Be careful." I said.

"Don't worry about me." And they went into the crowd.

I was really missing Nereida and Damon, more so than I thought I would. I guess I got myself so involved with their lives that I'm just not the same without them. I'm beginning to care about what happens to these others. Ceres was giving Ryan something to drink that was in a plastic cup. I knew that it was some alcoholic beverage, but I didn't want to leave Ken here by himself. He looked like he was watching the other people as well. I guessed that not being able to talk has given him a lot of time to think. I can't really tell what's going on his mind.

"Ken," he looked at me, "Did you spend this day with the other Digidestined?"

He nodded.

"I'm betting that it was a lot of fun."

He nodded again and this time with a sensing smile.

"It was always fun at my house too… I never allowed them to know this but… it was my favorite time since I was able to be close to my family without having some excuse to be. Nereida is so talented in acting… I'm really missing it in a way that I thought I wouldn't be."

He placed his hand on my shoulder and had that same sensing smile. Somehow, I know that he was telling me that it was okay. And even if he wasn't, that's what I'm going to have him say since it was making me feel better. I smiled.

"Too bad that you can't talk since some words would help."

He pointed to where Ceres and Ryan were, which Ryan was now drunk. I got what he was saying. He was saying that I should talk to them if I needed words.

"Maybe at another time… Talking to drunken fools doesn't really appeal to me."

He looked like he wanted to laugh. I was really wondering how the others were doing. Did my siblings missed this day as much as I?

"Ow!" Ryan said as we were inside the boxcar again. The train hadn't taken off yet since the conductors were talking to the local people.

"That's what a hangover is, dear." Ceres said, since Ryan was holding onto his head. Ceres was making something to help him out.

"I didn't think they hurt this much." He complained.

"Why are you fine?" I asked, looking at Ceres.

"I've been drinking since I was fifteen so I'm used to a lot of alcohol."

"Is that when you start to celebrate like this?"

"Yep."

"What did you do before?"

She just smiled at me, "Here you go, Ryan." She handed him some kind of drink that smelt bad.

Ryan took it, held his nose, and drank. By his expression, it wasn't tasty either, "Thanks… I think."

"You should be fine in a few hours."

"You haven't answered my question. What did you do before you were fifteen?"

"Is that really something you should be asking? Did you always do the same thing for every New Years?"

"Ever since Nereida wanted to be an actress, yes we have. And for your information, she dreamt about it since she was three."

"What about when your parents were here and you had no siblings?"

"We just didn't have the lovely show after midnight."

"I don't want to talk about it." She looked away.

I think I knew why now, "Do you party to hide your pain?"

She looked at me with the weirdest look.

"I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when we get there." Ryan said and fell asleep. I noticed that Ken was doing the same. Our Digimon were also sleeping, since they were up just as late as we were, which they're not really used to.

"What do you mean "hide my pain"? I have nothing that hurts me." I could see that I was breaking down something. She was really good at hiding her true feelings.

"You told us that you were an orphan for all your life. Since you have no where that you can really call home, it would be logical to conclude that you also had no place to celebrate any holiday that comes up. I bet that if you got lucky you would spend it with a friend that you made, but that doesn't happen often, did it?"

She was staring at me so emotionlessly that I was worrying if I went too far with my analysis. Then she laughed, but not too loudly, "Come on, I have a place I can stay in Japan that I call my home."

"How often did you go back for this day?"

"I normally go for the Chinese New Year." I could tell that she was lying.

"Speaking of which… I guess we can postpone all of our holiday celebration until then, huh?"

She looked at me, "Are ya sick or somethin'?"

"No."

"You actually want to celebrate something with us? I thought you left for good."

"I know that I have to be the first person to apologize to everyone else. I miss Damon and Nereida more than I ever thought I would be."

"That's good to hear. Hey, want to help me in something then?"

"What?"

"Ryan told me that I have to show him that this group isn't a contract between humans and Digimon, do you want to help?"

"Why does he think that?"

"Because we all promised that we would protect the Digital World to the Digimon."

"Oh… yeah… we did, didn't we…"

"What brought you to the Digital World?"

"I allowed my anger to get the better of me so Damon and Nereida were outside when Matt gave his message. Shendramon told me that they would be there, so I went."

"Do you like denying the fact that you love them?"

"I have never denied it."

"Then you don't like to openly admit it?"

"I'm not a very open person to begin with."

"It might help."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to try." And with that, the new year begins.

We had agreed to have someone stay up to make sure that we know when the train was stopping. I noticed that something was glowing. I reached into my back pocket, pulling out my jewel. I wondered what this meant.

"**Tim?**" Shendramon asked.

"I don't know…" Then the train stopped.

"Five more minutes." Ceres moaned.

I got up, opening the door slightly to see where we were. They were fueling up.

"Why are you looking outside?" I turned around to see that Ceres was looking at me.

"I thought you wanted five more minutes." I closed the door.

"You didn't answer me."

"They're fueling up."

"Oh… Why is your jewel glowing?"

"I don't know." Shendramon was holding it.

"**Maybe something is going on with your siblings.**" He offered.

"Well… the jewels normally glow when being used." Ceres commented.

"But I thought they needed the jewel for that." I said.

"Well, maybe it's different for yours."

I hope that they were okay. Ceres got up and opened the other side of the car to take a look outside. "What are you looking for?"

"We should get off. We're close to the Mississippi to walk there. It would be easier anyway."

I nodded and walked over to the others, "Yo, guys, wake up."

They both woke up, "Why?" Ryan asked.

"Ceres said that we should head out."

They picked up their sleepy partners as we all got off the train.

"We're going to be taking a boat to get to Texas." Ceres said.

"Why there?" Ryan asked.

"Because I have a friend there that we can stay with for a while."

"But we'll need a boat." I pointed out.

"So it's a good thing that I know someone that owns a boat. I just need to call them."

We were at a port place. We three guys were in a café, not having anything. The hostess was like a mother, not your girlfriend. I didn't really know that it was like that, since I never went to a local café before, but I've heard of that from other people. Ryan was drawing something as we were waiting for Ceres to get off the phone. I looked over at Ken, seeing that he was watching outside. Breomon was able to stay in view because Breomon was able to be called a dog. Shendramon and Wirthimon were hiding. Wormmon was still, as if lifeless.

"Guys! I got us a ride!" Ceres said with great happiness.

"Took you long enough." Ryan said.

"Oh, I was just talking to my friend. It'll take her a bit to find a map she can use to help us but I know that she will. Why didn't you get anything?" She sat down with Ken. Ryan was sitting with me.

"We don't have any money." I pointed out.

"Oh.. oh yeah.. I forgot about that." She looked over to the hostess, " Miss, can we have a menu please? We're going to be here for a while. "

" Coming right up. " She got a menu and brought it over us. " Here you go, sweetie. "

" Thanks. " Ceres smiled and she opened the menu. "+Oo… they have some good stuff here.+"

"Well, read them off." Ryan said.

Ceres started reading off lunch meals that were common and local. Both Ryan and Ken weren't too thrilled in having greasy food, but I didn't mind too much. They got some salad and I got a cheeseburger. Ceres got something I didn't know what it was, but it sounded local.

"Oh, how's your jewel?" She asked, looking at me.

I took it out and noticed that it wasn't glowing. "I guess they're done."

"What was up with your jewel?" Ryan asked.

"It was glowing before."

"Were you using it?"

"No, but we think that one of my family members had."

"That can't be a good thing."

"Probably not, but there's nothing I can do about it." _Not from here anyway._

The food came and we started to eat what we got. Ken wrote something down and showed it to Ceres.

"Oh, you want me to tell you guys more about my friend that's going to give us a ride?" She repeated for us to know. He nodded his head. "Okay! Well, I met her when I was young girl. She's older than me, incase you were wondering, and she allowed me to stay with her for a mouth or two. Her family had always lived near the Mississippi and they had always had been sailors. So they were kind enough to teach me how to travel through it. I know this river really well, and it also helped me when I went to other places that had long rivers. Sure, every river is different from one another, but they have more similarities than most people know."

"And what about this friend in Texas?" Ryan asked. I guess we never realize how interesting Ceres's life could be.

"Oh, he's a storm chaser. He's favorite storm is tornados. He taught me about them and how to tell when they're about to come. He's a bit old and he has done this for a long time, so his instincts are really sharp when it comes to them. He doesn't have any kids and he isn't married."

"Sounds like you know a lot of interesting people." I pointed out.

"Yeah! I know a lot of people from around the world. So if the others are somewhere out there, they can probably find someone that I knew."

"That's great news. But how will they be able to help?"

"Well, they either normally help travelers or will be inclined to help them because of me. I might not have some good points to my past, but I have met good people who are very caring. They would give them food, shelter, and information about how to get home. And if they had the money to spare, they would give it to them to help with cost and all. The world isn't a place that is evil. It's full of helpful people that love to find people that are trusting."

"Did we ever give the impression that we thought the world was evil?" Ryan asked.

"Kinda, but it's not something that you gave. It's more like something I felt."

" There you are! " A girl squealed.

We looked over to see a blonde girl with a boyish attitude to her at the door. Ceres got up and ran to her, hugging her as if they were sisters. " What took you so long? " Ceres asked.

" Hey, I'm not the one that wants to go to Texas. Why don't you stay with us for a day or two before heading out? "

" Sorry, " She looked at us before looking back at her, " I have friends that need to get home. Plus, I now have a home. "

The girl smiled big and gave Ceres a tender hug, " I'm so glad. "

"Okay, let me introduce you to my friends." Ceres brought her over. Somehow, hearing her acknowledging us as her friends and that Japan was her home was somehow comforting, which I thought was odd for me to feel.

"Karin, this is Tim Shuni, Ryan Kawako and Ken Ichijouji. Guys, this is Karin Miller." We all bowed to her.

"So, they're Japanese too." Karin asked.

"They're good with English too." Ceres smiled.

"Oh.. Hi, nice to meet yawl." She smiled at us.

"It's nice to meet you too." I said.

Her eyes seemed to glitter.

"You've got no chance with him, Karin. He's all about study. Y'now, all work and no play." Ceres said.

"Really?" She looked at Ceres with a disappointed look.

"Yep."

"Darn.. Okay, are yawl done with yer meal?"

We looked to see that we were. Ceres went over to the lady and paid for our meals. "Thanks a bunch, miss." Ceres said with a sweet smile.

"Anytime, hun."

We got up and followed them outside. Ceres was talking to Karin as if they were sisters. I wondered how close they were, though they must not be too close since she didn't know about her living in Japan. I began to wonder if she was close to anyone, letting anyone to know where she was and what she was doing.

There was a small boat docked that we were heading to. It seemed like a traveling boat, one that was made to bring people, not things or to fish. We got on and Karin showed us where we were going to sleep and all. She also showed us the map so we know what route we were going to take. She said that she could get us there in a few days, nothing more than that.

I stayed up on the deck, enjoying the break that I was given. Shendramon was enjoying it with me, sitting in my lap. Even though I was surrounded by nature back home, I never let it affect me as I was allowing it now. It gives one a sense of peace that I didn't know could exist. I started to wish that I spent more time enjoying this with my family. I really had missed a lot staying in my room and study constantly. But I couldn't give it up, because I had to carry the problems of the family. I had to make sure that Damon and Nereida get the best that they could. No one else was going to help us.

I started to remember when I was young, before my siblings were born. My parents always allowed me to play outside. I even remember what I played with. There were always fairies and pixies that came by during the spring and summer months. They came to make our home more beautiful. When they died, I chased them away. I can't even tell if our home had the same beauty as it did back then. During the winter months and fall, the forest spirits came to our home to seek shelter and warmth. I chase them away too. I was able to see them, and even now I can. I try to block them from my sights. I also know that Damon and Nereida can't see them, which I was thankful for. I can hear them pleading to me to let them back inside. Grandmother can't hear them or see them. I'm the only one, so I can make sure that they don't come back inside.

I also used to play with ghost. I learned so much about our country's history because of them, but I chase them away too. They still try to come to me, but I know of ways to get them away. Shendramon has even been around when they come, but he can't see them either.

As I looked at the forest, I could see the spirits that were there. They all looked at me, whispering to each other. They had their own language that I could understand. I learned how to write that before I learned how to write Japanese. Sometimes, I write in that when I take notes. They were too far away for me to hear them clearly.

"+Enjoying the view?+" Ceres asked as she stood beside me.

"+Yeah… Ceres, I have a question.+" I looked at her.

"What?"

"Look at the forest and tell me what you see." I hear their tiny voice gasped. They didn't hide, because they had the greatest curiosity that I have ever seen. They would come over, but they were unsure.

She looked over to it, seemingly studying it. "I see trees."

"Do you see any forest spirits over there?" I was taking a big risk saying this.

She looked at me, "You can see those?"

"Just answer me." I wanted to know if I was alone.

"Sorry, I can't unless they show themselves to me."

"Okay.. What about ghost?"

"Not really… I can tell when they're around."

"Okay." I went back to looking at them. They were trying to decide if they should come over.

"Why were you asking?" She sat down in front of me.

"No reason." I wanted to ignore her now.

"C'mon, you can tell me."

I sighed. I knew it was a big risk asking her. Her curiosity knew no bounds, it seemed, and she was willing to stick it out to find what she was looking for. "I can see them."

"Really? Awesome! How so?"

"They don't have to appear, like un-hide themselves. I see them as they are."

"Wow! That's so cool! Why didn't you say so before?"

"My own siblings don't know about it… back home, I chase them away so I didn't have to see them…"

"Oh… Why?"

"Because I didn't want to believe in them anymore, even though I knew they were real." They all looked so sad to hear that. "The same with ghost, though the ghosts are harder to chase away."

" Ceres, take a look at that! " Karin said. We looked to where she was pointing to see that it was an old house.

" What about it? " Ceres asked.

_Come… find me…_ I heard a female voice call. I looked around, seeing that none of the spirits were calling me. _Come… find me…_

"I h'er it's a haunted house. I don't know the story behind it, though."

"Tim, want to go check it out?" Ceres looked at me.

"If it's a haunted house, then yeah!" Ryan said. Ken was with him too.

"Why?" I asked. I would rather avoid places like that.

"Because I always wanted to paint a haunted place, but never could find a good place in Japan. Plus, Ken wants to find out the story. You know, improve on his detective skills." Ken nodded in agreement.

I sighed, "Fine, let's go then."

Karin docked at a good spot and we all got off. She grabbed some flashlights and a map of the area to help find our way back. It wasn't that late in the day, but I figured we should be safe now than be sorry later.

"Don't go that way." The spirits started saying in their language.

"It's dangerous that way." Others echoed.

"Guys, go on ahead." I said.

They all looked at me, "Why?" Ryan asked.

"Don't worry. I'll catch up."

"Well, adventure isn't going to come to us." Ceres said, walking ahead. The others followed.

"**What's up?**" Shendramon asked.

I looked at the spirits, "What's so dangerous up ahead?" I rather not talk to them, but I also didn't want to in danger the others.

"There's a scary woman that walks that house." One came over to us. "She's the lady that died in the house years ago."

"Why is she scary?"

"She enjoys killing people. Others are her prisoners." Another came over. "You mustn't go there."

"The place can no longer be healed." Another informed.

"Thank you." I said as I ran after the others. When they say it can't be healed, that means it's really evil. My parents died in a place like that. They warned me back then, I even told them, but they thought it could be healed. Places like that can never be purified.

"Guys! We shouldn't go inside!" I yelled as I saw them waiting outside. Her haunting voice was calling again.

"What? After we're this close?" Ryan asked.

"Why?" Karin asked.

"Because it's really evil. If we go in there, we could be trapped inside forever."

"+Look, just because you don't want to believe in the mystical world doesn't mean you have to spoil our fun.+" Ryan said in Japanese.

"+That's not the point!+ Karin, what have you heard about this place? "

" Well, many people have come here, but I don't know if any returned. I thought it would be cool, since Ceres never seen it before. "

"Tim, should we really not go inside?" Ceres asked. I was really surprised by her. I thought she would reveal my secret, but she was using that as a hidden way of knowing. My attitude towards her was really changing.

"Yeah, we shouldn't go inside."

"Well, I didn't come all this way for nothing." Ryan said as he ran inside.

"Ryan!" I yelled. "Everyone, stay outside!" I ran in after him.

He was standing in the main hall, looking around with his flashlight. Her voice was echoing throughout the walls. She probably had the power to use the walls as a way of travel. I grabbed Ryan's arm, "We're going."

"What's gotten into you?" He pulled away. "I'm not one of your siblings so I don't have to listen to you." Breomon was with him, I noticed right then.

"I don't care if you were or not. I know that this place is dangerous so let's get out of here before something happens." I turned my head towards the door that looked like it would open to a closet. I was hearing moans; painful, sorrowful, agonizing moans. I knew what they were, the imprisoned souls that she had collected; the souls of the foolish brave.

[Ryan

"Tim?" I asked as he started to walk to some closet door. He seemed to be in a daze, something unlike him. I had to admit that the place was really creepy, but it was what I was looking for. I really wanted to check out the other rooms, but I was more curious as to why Tim was heading over there. "Tim, why are you going over to the closet?"

[Tim

I snapped out of it when I heard Ryan ask his question. I backed away from it, knowing that she was trying to pull me in. My mother was killed that way. "Ryan!" I yelled, turning to look at him, "We're leaving." I grabbed his arm again, but he managed to pull out of it. I realized that I was shaking too badly to hold him down firmly.

"I told you! I'm not your family so don't order me around." He then ran up the stairs.

"Dumbass! Don't go deeper into the house!" I ran after him. Her laughter was getting on my nerves. She was now going to toy with us.

"**I'll stop him.**" Shendramon grew a bit more before flying after Ryan and Breomon.

[Ryan

"Maybe we should listen to him." Breomon said as we were running.

I looked to see Shendramon coming after us. "We can out run him. Attack him with something."

"You want to attack our friends?" Breomon seemed confused.

"It doesn't have to be powerful."

"Alright. Black Wolf!" He cried as a shadowy form of a wolf pulled from his body and launched at Shendramon.

[Tim

I couldn't believe at how childish Ryan was acting. Shendramon used his Stone Wing attack to act as a shield. "**Rock Crusher!**"

[Ryan

Rocks started to fall around us. It was a surprised that he could even do that in just a closed space. I grabbed Breomon, seeing that he was trying to block us. I made us go to dust and floated through the cracks before they were closed.

[Tim

Ryan used his powers to get through the rocks. "Two can play that game!" I jumped onto Shendramon's back and we went through the rocks that he created. Ryan had gone back to being solid when we got through, so it wasn't hard to follow him.

[Ken

"What the hell are they doing?" Ceres asked. We were hearing crashes from inside. It sounded like they were fighting each other, though one was probably running since it was moving.

[Ryan

"Leave me alone!" I yelled as our Digimon were fighting each other. Breomon was trying to get them off our tail and Shendramon was trying to stop us.

"Not until we get out of here!" Tim yelled back. Suddenly, I hit the floor and Tim was pinning me down. He had just a firm grip that if I turned invisible, he would as well. "Now listen, this place is too dangerous. We have to get out now while we still can. If we stay in here, we're going to die."

I looked to see that Shendramon was holding Breomon back. "Fine."

Tim got off of me, extending his hand to help me up. I got up on my own as Shendramon let Breomon go. He went back to his comfortable size so he could sit on Tim's shoulders. I looked around to see where we were. "Um… where are we?"

[Tim

I looked around too. I was too busy with trying to catch him to notice where we were. I looked behind me, "Let's head back. We didn't take any turns." I just wanted to believe that it was part of the design of the house. Ryan nodded and we headed back.

I only noticed then that her laughter had stopped. I stopped as well, trying hard to hear her evil laugh.

"I thought you wanted to leave." Ryan pointed out.

"I think we're in trouble." I went to the window, seeing that we had entered another realm, the realm that she ruled. Her captured souls were working in her fields, whatever they were.

"Yeah, it's a forest. So what?" Ryan asked.

I looked at him, wondering why I could only see it. We were in her world so shouldn't he see it too? "We're not in the forest anymore."

"What are you talking about? You were just looking at it."

I looked back out, seeing the same thing as before. I figured that it was her powers, the one that hides her from normal eyes. "We're inside her now." I started walking. We had to find a way to escape.

"Inside who?" Ryan asked as he followed.

"Inside her. There was a lady that died here and her ghost haunts the place. Apparently, any foolish soul that enters never leaves because she takes them prisoner."

"Where did you learn all of this? Not even Karin knew that much."

"Spirits told me."

"I thought you didn't believe in those."

"I try not to, but it's kinda hard when I can see them."

"**It's true. When we stayed behind, he was talking in another language. I had to go into his mind to understand what he was saying. I also went into his eyes to see who he was talking to. Just now, outside the windows are dreadful people who look like they never had a break from their laborious task.**" Shendramon informed them.

"Oh… Then why didn't you say so before?"

I turned to look at him, "I don't want to see them."

"But they're useful, right?"

"That doesn't mean anything! Stop asking questions. We've wasted enough time as it is." I turned back around and started walking again.

"Why don't we just go through the walls? I'm sure that her powers only extend to this house." Ryan offered.

"We'll end up in that field." I knew that it was a good thought, but we have to get to a safe point first.

"If we need to get to a place fast then I suggest that we hurry." Breomon said.

Shendramon got off my shoulder and grew to a size that could hold both Ryan and me. We got on and Shendramon took off with Breomon following on the ground. I kept looking out of the window, knowing that it would be my best clue to know when we were safe. I started to hear her voice again.

Shendramon suddenly stopped. I looked ahead to see her standing there. The windows behind her told me that she was trying to make sure that we didn't leave.

"Is that her?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah.. We have to get around her."

" You will never leave! " She said as other spirits started to appear around us. They were really powerful because we couldn't move at all. I was seeing my parents' death again. I couldn't end up like them. I had to watch over Damon and Nereida, not only them, but Shendramon, Ryan and Breomon. I wasn't about to let them die here. I took out my jewel, knowing fully well that it might not work fully since I didn't have the others here but it was worth a shot. I looked at her and started to concentrate on her powers lessening.

She was laughing as the other spirits were attacking, but then she started to scream. The others disappeared and there was a bright light shining outside. I didn't stop what I was doing, knowing that it was me who was causing this. I started to feel something as well, but I still didn't stop. I knew fully well that I couldn't take away all her power, since it was mathematically impossible, but I could get it pretty close. I remembered then about the side effect so I stopped, "Shendramon, go!"

He and Breomon took off. The house started to shake violently so we knew that her hold over the place was weak. When we got to the main hall, Ryan and I got off and ran out of the house. As we did, the house collapsed.

" Are you guys okay? " Karin asked.

" Yeah. " Ryan answered as I collapsed to the ground.

" Tim! " Everyone came over to make sure that I was okay. I couldn't move, but I wasn't breathing hard or anything. Ceres picked me up and carried me back to the boat.

"**Tim, are you okay?**" Shendramon asked.

_Just drained of energy. I'm fine though._

"**Did you use your jewel?**"

_Yep. Let the others know so they don't have to worry so much._

"**Okay.**"

"+Ryan is right now telling Ken about what happen in there.+" Ceres said as she was keeping me some company.

"+Okay.+"

"So, how are you feeling?"

"I'll probably need to stay down here for a while. Maybe through the whole trip."

"Okay. Someone will bring you your food."

"Thanks.. Ceres, letting you know that what I just did is something that my parents used to do for a living. They go to place to try to purify them."

"But you didn't do that, you destroyed the place." She smiled.

"That's because I'm no fool. That place couldn't be purified."

She placed her hand on my arm, "I know. Sometimes, even if you want to save it, not everything can be saved."

I nodded, glad that I didn't have to say much for her to understand.

"Okay, I'm going to let you rest now." She got up and went back to the deck.

One of the forest spirits came in when she did. "I'm glad that you are all right."

I smiled at her, petting Shendramon who was asleep. "What happened to her?"

"She's gone and all those she took are now freed. We can now clean the place of her evil."

I nodded, "Good luck with that."

She nodded, "We have you to thank." She bowed and left since Ceres didn't close the door.

I closed my eyes, wondering if I would ever tell Damon and Nereida about this.

[Ryan

After a day of traveling on the boat, we docked off somewhere. Ken was still mute, though he seemed to be able to do more things physically. Tim is healing slowly and still can't move. I don't know why, but Ceres seems to be the one that gives him the most company. I mean, before this Tim hated Ceres. I'm also surprised that he hasn't asked for anything to read or something to keep his mind off things. I never took him to be the kind of person that could ever just sit around and do nothing.

So, since Ceres was helping Tim with Ken, I helped Karin with the boat. It was quite fun doing so, I have to admit. Once that was done, I helped with getting Tim off the boat.

" Thanks Karin for getting us here. "

" No prob. When will he get here? "

" I called him not too long ago so he should be here shortly. "

" Okay, good luck with your trip. I hope you get home safely. " She got back on her boat and started to head back.

"+Why didn't she ask you to call her when we did get home?+" I asked as I looked at Ceres.

"+Because they all know that I won't do that.+" She smiled before moving Tim into some shade. That's when I noticed that it was relatively warm around here. As we waited, I started drawing. I normally can sit around and relax, but I couldn't seem to find some peace with the area so I just drew whatever came to my mind.

We then started to hear something coming our way. Ceres got up from her spot, waving her arms wide to get the person's attention. It didn't take long for the truck to come up to us. A nearly heavy set guy came out of it, " Ceres! Long time no see, eh? " He said with a smile.

Ceres went up to him and hugged him as if he was her uncle, " I know. I should come back to America more often, huh? "

" Oh, now if you were to do that, you'll never get to see the world. Are these the friends you mention? " He looked over to us.

"Yep!" She smiled as she moved beside him. "Guys, this here is Joe Williams. Joe, these are Ryan Kawako, Ken Ichijouji, and Tim Shuni." She pointed to each of us.

"Welcome all to America. Well, I bet y'all like to get out of this heat, so let's get going."

Ken and I helped Tim get into the truck before Ceres got in. Once in, he turned on his truck and started to head off somewhere. He and Ceres started talking about what they've been up to. I was kinda glad that his accent wasn't too thick, since I could understand him. He did speak a bit slowly, but that helped with understanding him.

His house wasn't anything big or fancy. He cooked up something and served it to us. I could tell that none of us wanted to appear rude, so we ate it. It had an interesting taste, but it wasn't bad.

"So, how long are you going to stay here?" Joe asked.

"I'm not really sure. We might stay for at least a day. Tim got very weak during the boat ride." Ceres looked at Tim, "How long do you want to stay?"

"Where are we heading to next?"

"Wow! I was thinking that they would have an accent, but you spoke that perfectly." Joe commented.

"I've traveled over here many times so I just picked it up."

"Joe, do you still have those horses?" Ceres asked.

"Yeah, but there isn't enough for all of yers and Tim might not be up for riding."

"We can take care of that problem. I'll bring them over to the Indian Reservation."

"Oh, I see. Sure then, but make sure that you guys don't over do it."

"Have I ever?"

"You can be reckless." Joe laughed.

I then noticed a painting that was hanging up on his wall. "What's that about?" I asked. It had things on it that seemed to make it represent lost or confusion or mystery.

"Oh, this?" He got up and went over to the painting. "It's to remind me that there are things in this world that can simply disappear and that if you don't have human contact, you'll be forgotten."

"It shows when some people found an Indian tribe, but there was no trace of people ever being there. There's also another site like that on the East coast where a colony just simply vanished. I mean, the site itself didn't vanish, but the people that were there did." Ceres explained.

I looked at the painting again, before looking at Joe, "Is it an original or a copy?"

"Copy, of course."

We then started to hear chiming. Joe and Ceres looked at each other before getting up. We all got up as well and followed them outside. They were looking at a tornado coming towards us.

"How can this be?" Joe asked.

Ceres started to run towards it.

"Ceres, what are you doing?!" Tim asked.

[Ceres

"Ele!" Ceres called. Ele was on her head so she jumped off and ran towards the tornado. Ceres stopped and smiled as Ele entered the tornado. After a while, it completely stopped and Ele was standing on top of a coyote.

This is when the others came up to her. Ele went back to Ceres before there was a puff of smoke where the coyote was.

"Ow! Ele, you're vicious." A guy that looked to be Native American said. He was wearing the traditional clothes that one would normally assume them to wear, but he didn't wear any make-up.

Ceres laughed, "That's what you get for giving us a scare."

"I couldn't help it." He whined before smiling. "Hi Joe!" He smiled at him.

"Akba, it's been a long time." Joe smiled, "Come on in. It must've been a long journey for you."

He shrugged, "What's a few days among friends?"

"Oh, guys," Ceres looked at her friends with a big smile on her face, "This there is Akba. He's like my brother in a lot a ways." She knew that they didn't see him come out of the tornado, by the look in their eyes and, of course, they didn't know what to make of it since it seemed real.

"Oh," Akba pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her chin up with his other hand, "If I weren't, you would certainly be my type." Ele slapped him. He rubbed the spot before looking at her, "You need some manners, lady." Ele stuck her tongue out.

Ceres took his arm and pulled him inside, "I'm getting tired of this heat and Tim needs to sit down."

Once inside, they were talking up a storm. From what they were hearing, it seemed like Akba had been an old friend of Ceres. He was the one that took her in when she first came to America. He also came to see her when she ever came to the west, so that's how Joe knows about him.

"Oh, say Akba, how about you go with Ceres? I do worry about her being out there all by herself."

"Maybe." He shrugged. "Where are you going?" He looked at Ceres.

"To the Zuni village."

"Wow… that's kinda far."

"I know, but we need to drop off his horses somewhere, right?"

"Oh, I see… I guess I'll see you there then. Can I stay for the night, though?" He asked.

"Of course! I might as well get the rooms ready." He got up and went upstairs.

[Ryan

I couldn't believe how talkative this guy could be, though being a friend of Ceres' made it less surprising. Though, I have to honestly say that I don't think that I've ever seen Ceres quite at ease before now.

"Oh, by the way, you can…" Ceres said but then Akba interrupted.

"You can all share a room and allow us siblings have some alone time." Akba said as he hugged her. "After all, I don't get to spend that much time with her and you three get her all to yourselves." He pouted.

"Akba, you can't be jealous." She said as if it was impossible.

"My dear, darling, lovable sister, I worry about you. You haven't written to me in so long."

"I wrote to you the day before I left on this trip, which means that it's been a week."

"And that's long. Why can't you write to me like you do to Mother?"

"Because I don't."

"The rooms are ready. Akba, who would you like to stay with?" Joe asked.

"I'll stay with Ceres." He smiled.

"Okay, Ceres, you have your normal room. I'll be making your breakfast."

"Thanks Joe." She smiled before moving to help Tim up. We all got up and headed to the room that Ceres was moving Tim in. There were three beds in there for us. "Joe has a lot of people stay at his house when it's tornado season." She explained.

"+If you're happy here then why not stay here?+" Tim asked.

She smiled as she placed him down on a bed. "+I'm happy everywhere I go. Good night everyone.+" She then went into another room.

I jumped onto a bed and Ken took the last one. "+I surely didn't take her to trust people that easily. I mean, according to what Panther told me, it seemed like it took a lot for her to trust them.+"

"+I know what you mean. It always seemed like there was some front with her. Don't you agree, Ken?+" Tim looked over at him.

"**He says that he didn't think that, but he can now see how you guys got that impression.**" Shendramon translated.

"Yeah, but she definitely likes her secrets, uh?" I rolled over.

"Is there something wrong with that? Everyone does it." Tim commented.

"Yes, even Ken can attest to that." Wormmon added.

I sighed, "It's just that if she wants us to accept her then she has to open up and be honest to us, right? We can't trust her front because we know that it isn't really her."

"I guess you do have a point there." Tim thought to himself about it. "I guess we'll talk about that when we're heading over to the Zuni tribe."

"**Ken wants to know if you know anything about them.**"

"Well, I kinda do. I know that they're a Native American tribe in the west and I know the relative location of where most are living, but I don't know much about their culture or language. Nereida was a bit more interested in that than I was so she and Damon probably know more than I do."

"Where are they located?" I turned to look at him.

"Near the border of Arizona and New Mexico, but a bit closer to the northern part of it and on the New Mexico side."

I got up, "But we're in Texas!"

"It's going to be a long journey. It's not like we can do anything about it because she's leading us. She knows how to get back home better than we do. Sure, we would do fine on our own, but not as well if we didn't have her help."

I rolled back over, "I wish we would just get home already."

Breomon jumped into the bed with me and we both fell asleep.

[Ceres

"So, how have you been handling them?" Akba asked as he took a seat next to Ceres.

Ceres placed her head on his shoulder. "Okay. It hasn't been easy, though."

"I can tell. By the way, where's your Digimon?"

Ceres opened her bag, "Wirthimon, you can come out." She popped out her head, blinking at Akba.

"Hi, I'm Akba, but you can also call me…"

"A Digimon." She said plainly. "I'm sharper when it comes to knowing the Super Levels than the others are. Why are you here?"

"… You may know me as the Coyote, the Trickster and Hero of the Native American tales." He smiled.

"Oh… so you're a God.. How do you know Ceres?"

"When I first came to America, he was the one that found me and took me in." Ceres smiled. "I write to him, but not as often as I do with my mother."

"I see… Do the others know?"

"Why didn't you want them to know?" Ceres looked at him.

"I wanted it to be a surprise. I can correct it if you want me to."

"It's fine." She smiled.

He sighed, before lying on the bed, "Letting you know that your friends are all scattered across the Earth, but they have also found three others to be with them. TK was left unharmed and is still in Japan."

"Thanks." Ceres smiled. "Do you know how Matt is doing?" She asked shyly.

He looked at her, "I can't get that information, though there seems to be someone who is looking around for people to help them along their journey."

"Why think that?" Wirthimon asked as she got out of the bag and onto Ceres' shoulder.

"Well, there were secret rumors going around this country that someone wanted to know who would be most likely to be able to be sent here to do harm and who would most likely be willing to help the ones that are going to be harmed. Of course, it never got clearer than that. I can only figure that someone wants to help you secretively, but I can't figure out whom."

Ceres smiled, "I'll let you know when we're leaving."

"Why only then?"

"Because it's going to be how I reveal you."

He got up, "Then let's go to bed." He smiled.

She smiled back, "Okay. Good night!" She gathered Wirthimon and Ele in her arms before getting under the covers. Akba got under as well.

"What are you doing?" Wirthimon asked.

"Seems like I need to keep up my guard tonight." He smiled.

Wirthimon looked at Ele before nodding and returned to Akba, "You're damn right." She curled up near Ceres before falling asleep. Akba watched the ladies fall asleep before smiling at Ceres. He lightly toughed her face before going to sleep himself.

In the morning, Ceres woke up to see that Akba wasn't there with her. She quickly got out of the bed and ran downstairs. She saw that Joe was making breakfast and that her friends weren't there.

" Oh, good morning Ceres. " He smiled kindly at her. " What's the rush? "

" Where's Akba? "

"He left early this morning to get something for your friend, Tim."

She let out a sigh, "Okay, thanks. Need any help?" She smiled at him.

"You can start on the bacon as soon as you change."

"Right!" She went back upstairs, getting Wirthimon and Ele before heading back down.

[Ken

I woke up before the others and took a shower. By the time I got downstairs Ceres and Joe were talking and cooking breakfast. I didn't see Akba anywhere, though. Ceres looked behind her before noticing that I was there, "Oh, good morning Ken." She smiled at me. "Go ahead and have a seat."

I shook my head. Wormmon was on my shoulder so I could cook. I made that notion, since my voice still wasn't working.

She watched me carefully, "You… want to move something around?" I motioned that she was nearly right. "You want to… make something by moving it around?" I nodded, since that is what cooking is. "Okay… What?" I hit my head, thinking that she got it.

"He wants to cook. Can you not speak?" Joe looked at me and I nodded. "Okay, you can come over and help me out."

I went over and started to make what he was showing. I started to notice that he didn't have to teach me much, somehow knowing how to make it with only him mentioning what I was going to make. I also noticed that Ceres seemed impressed and also worried about something as she watched me.

"Wow.. I didn't know that you were great cook! Did Matt teach you because that looked like his style?" She asked as I was now cooking nearly everything that Joe was planning on making since I was able to cook everything really fast.

I shrugged. I mean, TK was able to do the same thing, so maybe we did.

"+Wow, that's a lot of food.+" Ryan commented as he was helping Tim down the stairs.

" Yeah, we normally like to make a lot of food. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. " Ceres said with a smile. " Okay! Let's eat! "

" Where's Akba? " Tim asked as he sat down.

"He's out for the moment. He made himself something before leaving so he's fine." She smiled and I knew that it was a lie. She was worrying about him, though I couldn't tell why. I kept it to myself since Shendramon couldn't tell the others for me.

We all sat down and had breakfast together. It was interesting to see her worrying greatly over someone. It was a lot like when she was sure that someone was watching her. She was edgy, but didn't show it. It was something that you just had to sense with her. I noticed that if you weren't constantly looking at her that you could miss her hidden messages that she sends out. She gives out a lot of them, and I guess since I can only listen that I'm starting to pick them up. I'm also able to pick them up on others as well.

Like when she said her lie about Akba, Joe gave off that he knew that it wasn't true but played it like it was. He seemed to understand that Ceres was worried about something involving him, but he wasn't giving it away with his words, expression, tone, or anything that you can see or hear. The same goes for Ceres. I also can see it in the other people that we've met. They all wanted to talk to Ceres about something serious, but they never did since we were here. They all have this underlining worry about her, as if she was really something that you had to constantly worry about.

I don't know if we just pushed it off that she can handle her own issues or not, but it seems like these people don't do that. They worry about her, happy when she's around them and keep her company. I mean, Joe even said that he would prefer if Akba came along with us because he's worried about her. He didn't even think that we could keep her safe, or think that we would be able to keep her company. I can't really figure out Akba yet, since he seems to be just like Ceres. Though I'm sure that it was Ceres that got all her cleverness from him.

After breakfast, we all helped with the cleaning. Ryan and I offered to clean the rest of the house, though it didn't really need it. Joe instead showed us the horses, saying that they could use some grooming before their trip. They were beautiful horses and they seemed to be okay with us being near them. I also noticed that there were only three of them here.

"+Wow, these are gorgeous horses. I wished that we could keep them.+" Ryan said with a laugh. "+We have to stopped by a western town as we're heading over. I always wanted to see one.+"

I smiled at him. He was trying to enjoy the most of this trip, just like Ceres. Though, ever since he mentioned the painting yesterday, he seemed to be a bit edgy. It wasn't anything big, though, but he was worried. Tim seemed to be a lot calmer after the haunted house. I was beginning to worry that I was the only one not changing.

[Tim

I was getting a lot of information from Joe about tornadoes and the weather system in this country. Sure, I've been here before, but it was always around the same time so I never really understood the climate. It wasn't like Japan so I wanted to get a better understanding of it. Though, he also liked the Indian lure to the whole weather pattern and all, so I had to listen to all that stuff too. Knowing that they are in the Digital World, I didn't think that it was possible for them to still be controlling the weather in this world. But since he didn't know anything about Digimon, I didn't mention anything about it and just kept on listening.

Around noon is when Akba came back. Ceres was sitting with us, joining and adding things that she knew because she's traveled all over this planet. "What did you get?" She asked and just stared at him.

He came over to me, "These are some herbs that might help with getting your strength back. You'll need it on your journey."

I took some out, noticing that it was something that I wasn't familiar with. I looked at Ceres, who gave me a nodded, "Thanks." I said to Akba.

"Not a problem. I'll just go make some energy drinks with these. I'm sure they'll come in very handy." He smiled.

"Why not just make something for him now and give me the bag so we can use it later?" Ceres asked.

"I guess that would be wise… I'll make sure to bring some more when I meet up with you guys again." He took some out and started to make some kind of drink with it. Knowing how medicine is made from plants, thanks to my Grandmother, I knew that he was making the drink nearly the same way since Joe didn't have a blender.

"Oh, welcome back." Ryan said as he and Ken returned from taking care of the horses. "What are you making?"

"Just an energy drink so Tim can have some strength back." He smiled. "What were you two doing?"

"We were grooming the horse. They're really beautiful." He looked at Joe.

"Thanks." He smiled with joy.

After a while, Akba was done so he handed me the drink. It didn't have a bad taste to it at all, but it was kinda hard to swallow.

Ken helped with lunch and dinner, glad to see that he was doing something. I was also beginning to worry about him not having his voice back. It had been a long while since he lost it so he should've gotten it back by now. That was making me wonder how Kari was doing, since she was in the same boat as Ken with the longevity.

Even though they were talking, we didn't get any new information about any one of them. So that night, we all went to bed without much to talk about.

When I woke up, I noticed that a lot of my strength had returned. Since it was by thirds that I lost it, it seemed like the major of those thirds had return. Ken was helping with the cooking again as Ryan and I got to the kitchen. Ceres and Akba were talking to each other mostly, though, which I could see that Ryan wasn't too happy about for some reason. After breakfast, Joe led us to the horses that were all ready to go for our trip. He gave us some cash and some more food that we can easily make while out there. Once he was done, he said his goodbye to Ceres before heading back inside. I was with Ken since I needed to ride Shendramon later.

"Oh, and Akba, if you want to help us out, you need to go see Hades about it." She smiled. We all looked at her, wondering why she was mentioning that.

"Ceres, you know I don't like it when you mention other culture's deities and that's… OH! I get it!" He started laughing, "I thought you were telling me to go to hell."

"Why would I send a God there?"

"Very well, I'll go talk to him." He smiled at her, "But just this once since I'm worried about you guys."

"The cultural hero is reborn. Bye!" She waved before taking off. We all followed after her.

I looked back for a moment to see Akba turning into a coyote and disappeared.

"You knew he was a Digimon?" Ryan asked.

"Well, yeah. Once I learned that all Deities were now Digimon, it wasn't that hard to figure out."

"Did you always know he was a God?"

"Yeah, but he never told me that he was a Digimon. He probably figured that I wouldn't need to know that so he never mentioned it."

"When did you first come over here?" I was normally curious about this, but never really wanted to know.

"When I was really young… like maybe five. He found me not doing so well on my own so he took me in and raised me a bit. He also taught me some of his techniques and also of the magic that the earth and the elements had. I knew that I was special, but he gave me a name for it. So, I also write to him because I want him to know what's going on in my life."

"But we never see you writing a letter and Panther had never mentioned you ever doing so." Ryan pointed out.

"It's something that I do with my magic since I sent it out that way as well. It's so that I can't be tracked down by the people who are after me."

After a while, Shendramon came out and I went on his back. It was a lot smoother than riding on a horse and a lot cooler too. Shendramon didn't stay too close to the ground, but he didn't go up too high either.

[Ken

When we stopped for the night three days after we left, Ceres got a fire created and I was cooking. I don't know why it felt so familiar that I was the only one cooking, but it did. Like being on a trip and making sure that I was the only one cooking was something I did before. Though, I did notice that no matter how familiar it was, there was this hole that needed to be filled, like I needed TK here to be cooking with me for it to feel complete. I wondered how he was doing. He never allowed himself to admit that he really needed people around him. I know that if the others were doing okay and being supportive that he would cling to them right now. He would probably cling to Cody and Izzy more than the others, but he would need them all. If they weren't going to do that for him, I don't know how he would handle himself. I only know this because of the times that Matt needed to go into space and how he clung to me like I was Matt. He needs people, no matter how much he thinks he doesn't.

"Oh… we need to hurry this trip along." Ceres said. I looked at her, seeing her looking at the sky. I looked up too, seeing the moon up there.

"That's right!" Ryan said. "The legend! How much time do we have?" We looked at Ceres.

"We should be able to get back before that. I can promise that, but I'm not sure of the others. They probably don't realize that yet and I know that Matt doesn't know about it."

"I'm wondering why he hasn't talked to us through our jewels. He was able to contact all of us through it before."

I pointed to my skin, hoping that Ceres would remember the other time that I did what I meant by it.

"Ken's right. He wasn't well when we left and traveling probably didn't make it any better." Ceres said. I was glad that she got it.

"I hope that he gets better before Panther sees him again." Ryan said as he lay down.

"I hope so too." Ceres admitted.

"That's something that I didn't think you would admit to." Tim smiled.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She narrowed her eyes.

"My siblings and I all figured that you cared a lot for Matt, but you admit it like Panther does." He smiled.

"She never came out and said it either."

"But her getting sick during school because of him does prove it."

"Yeah, we all can see it." Ryan said. "Trust me; she never cared about her own family like she does for him."

"That's because of how safe he makes us feel." She smiled a bit, "He just opened his arms for us and allow us to rest our heads. That's how I feel when he was here. Panther and I were both on edge when he wasn't here."

"I do have to say that even though I had always admired him, I know what you mean." Tim said. "His ability to just welcome people is amazing. He's faith in people seem to be his greatest strength."

"Yeah, and he's always willing to trust people… He trusted Panther even when she didn't give a very good impression. He even helped Killer and Panther… I know that if Panther wanted me to help her get out, like she had asked Matt, I probably couldn't do it." Ryan admitted.

"Why?" Ceres asked.

"Because I would then want to learn what the other attorney knew. Panther told us that he wanted her to be placed on trial for the crimes that they knew that she did but didn't have any proof. I would want to know that before making my decision, but Matt didn't want to know. Even now, he doesn't want to know it. It's not like he doesn't want to know, but he wants her to tell him… I think I know why Lily Dawn was mad."

"Why?" Tim asked.

He got up, "Because before we were the only ones that believed in her like that. But now, we're like the others even though we want to go back to having that complete faith in her. We just don't have that anymore, even though our trust in her never wavered." He looked at me, "And we saw how complete their faith was in her when they knew next to nothing about her. She probably got jealous." He looked at Ceres, "And she was always much closer to Panther than I was, but since they were a lot more boyish, I was included."

"And she's still closer to Panther." Ceres said.

"No, Panther is much closer to you now. We both see it."

"But I know that you two are still close to her. When we learned about Matt through Nereida, she was the only one that could bring her out of it. I tried, but nothing worked." I figured that's when she was in the Dark Ocean.

"Nereida probably didn't see it, like she claims." Tim said, having some dread in his voice.

"Huh? Why think that?" Ryan asked.

"Because Heka is actually called Hebemon."

"Did she know?" Ceres asked.

"I'm sure from day one. And she told her a lot about the group because I know that they talk a lot."

"I can ask Akba when he comes back." Ceres offered, meaning if she is not aiding the enemy.

The thought of Kitty came into my mind. After all, she was inside a Deity's body. I wanted to say so much, but I couldn't. I somehow knew that Heka wouldn't give anything up. She seems like a good friend and someone that Nereida could count on. I somehow knew that Heka was given the choice of being a spy, but she denied it because of Nereida.

"Yeah, that would be a good idea. And if he doesn't know, then he can find out, right?" Tim asked.

"I'm sure he could." She smiled.

"Well, better get some sleep." Ryan said as he got under the covers that Joe gave to Ceres for us. Breomon was with him. Tim did the same thing. I didn't feel like sleeping.

"Something up?" I looked at Ceres, figuring that she would go to sleep since I would keep watch. "You're showing more emotion on your face." She smiled.

I nodded, but it's not like I could talk about it. I was worried about TK, and now hearing them talk about faith has got me worrying over my two Crests again. The one that Kitty gave me and the other one that was solely mine.

"I hope you do understand that I want to talk to you about it." I nodded. "Okay, and don't feel like you can't add something to the conversation. I'm sure that Shendramon wouldn't mind." She smiled.

I nodded again, though I didn't want him hearing my other thoughts as well.

"Good night." She got under the covers.

Wormmon was asleep, not being too good with cold. I was looking at the fire, wondering about my Crest. I wanted to open the Mental of Kindness, but I need Kindness back. I didn't even know that I had lost it. I was wondering when I did lose it and why I started to lose it. I wasn't any different from when I joined the others way back. I wondered if it was back when the jewels were created. I don't know why I jumped that far back, but I have a feeling that it was somewhere in the memory lapse that I had a great amount of it. When I was talking to Date-san back at the cabin, I felt like I was gaining something back. That as he talked to me like I've known him to do with TK, I left like something was returning. I don't even know why I was even jealous of TK for having him to talk to, but I was.

I wondered if Date-san could give TK that safe feeling. I know that TK is attached to him, much like me for some reason, but would TK allow his true feelings to get him the comfort he needs? That I didn't know. I don't know if TK would allow Date-san to comfort him. TK can be stubborn sometimes, and it seems like that stubbornness has been growing. It seems like there's something inside him that's growing and it's been growing since he started to lose trust in the others. I also don't know why, but for some reason I want him to trust them again. It's like if he doesn't, then they can't be saved.

But TK isn't that special. He's only human, right? If those Digimon that worked for Megamon called him a Saiyan, whatever that means, then that means that Matt has to be one as well, right? And since Kari is also another one, then that means that Tai is one as well, right? And what's with the God of Life for Cody. It seems like the first group has some secret destinies that we haven't even known or realized. Maybe that has something to do with the memory lapse. Or what if they come from parallel world and think we're the same people that they were created from? I laughed with no sound coming from my voice because that's something that TK would think up.

"I didn't think that anything involving you could be laughed at." I became frozen with his voice. I turned around to see the Digimon version of me, with my Crest of Kindness on him and his Digimon next to him. "Cat got your tongue?"

I couldn't believe how I didn't sense him before this. If the others weren't awake by now, then they probably did something to them.

"You didn't even realize that we were watching you all this time." I heard Sora's voice say. I looked over to where Ceres was, seeing her back in her Junior High uniform with her Crest of Love on her.

"And that the sun that you were traveling under was my Crest." I looked over to Ryan, seeing Tai there in the same uniform with his Crest of Courage on them.

"We can't expect them to put up much of a fight." Kenmon said.

I'm facing down four Digimon since the others didn't have theirs with them and I was alone. I couldn't believe that no one sensed it and now there isn't a way for me to warn them.

"Though I heard from Megamon that Ken's supposed to be a good fighter." Taimon said, "And now he's becoming a disappointment."

"What can you expect a human to do, Taimon?" Soramon said.

"So, these must be the Neo Digidestined." Izzy's voice said. I looked over to Kenmon to see Izzy in the same uniform as Taimon and Soramon walking over. That was five Digimon, but then G Stingmon left, making it go back to four. Without them knowing it, I was waiting to use my Faith power on them, but I was still looking worried to fool them, seeing that they consider me no threat. "Funny how Megamon knows nothing about them."

"Does that really matter?" Taimon asked. "After all, those Ancient Digimon know about their Digimon, so that's enough that we need to know."

"Yeah, but since he's from the future, you would think that they would know a lot about them." That parallel world theory is sounding a lot more likely to be true.

"Enough with the theorizing." Matt's voice said from over where Tim was. "Let's just get rid of them now." That made it back to five.

"Mattmon, I need Ken." I was thinking that Kenmon was in charge of everything, with how everything was structured before, but that just now made it seem like Mattmon was.

"Then hurry up with it. Looking at the others is starting to disgust me." I looked over at him, forgetting for a brief moment that he wasn't Matt. When I was looking at him, he smiled as if seeing this. "Where is my beloved other, anyway? Oh, wait, you can't talk." He was walking over to Tim, "I'll ask this fellow then before I kill him."

"Mattmon," He stopped when Izzymon ordered. "Gather them up. I want to learn as much as I can before we do."

He seemed annoyed, "Fine. Oh, can't forget this." He was behind me and I blocked the blow that would've knocked me out. "Seems like you have some fight in you after all." He seemed please with this.

"Mattmon, I'll take him on." Taimon in a demanding voice.

Mattmon looked at him, "And why should I give you all the fun?"

"Because I'm the better fighter than you."

Mattmon narrowed his eyes before looking at Izzymon, "Well?"

"Let him."

Mattmon jumped over to Ceres and was about to pick her up but I somehow kicked him away. I then brought out my Jewel of Faith, concentrating on making it work, but nothing was working. I stared at it for a moment, wondering briefly if I had lost my faith as well before being knocked out.

"Ken!" I heard TK yelling. I only opened my eyes because there was a lot of concern in his voice to tell me that it wasn't TKmon. He wasn't in his clothes from when they came into the Digital World to fight me and he smiled gratefully as he was looking at me, "I'm so glad that you're okay." Tears were being shed, tears that I had always hoped would be for some reason. I placed my hand on his and smiled at him. He smiled back and helped me to sit up. I noticed that it was black all around us. "I don't know where we are either."

I wondered if we were inside someone's mind, "Maybe…"

"You can talk?" TK sounded surprise and happy.

"I guess…" I moved my arm, "I don't feel numb or anything… TK, I'm sorry."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"I can't seem to uphold any Crest… The power of Faith didn't activate." I looked at the blackness, "Maybe I should just return."

"Don't you dare start thinking that way!" TK yelled, tears coming out again. "You don't belong here! Ken, you've suffered enough for what you did. You don't need to suffer anymore."

"Look around! Why would I be here if I didn't belong here?"

"Because you only became the Digimon Emperor because you lost your brother and because of the Dark Spore. It had nothing to do with your own will. You were lost and easily swayed." His tears didn't stop, "But you're not alone anymore. You have a new older brother that does care about you."

I was taken back by that, "Who… are you talking about?"

"Matt." He smiled, "He's your older brother now."

"But I've lost both Crests…"

"You'll get them back. Maybe you just placed a lock on them because you're afraid."

"Afraid?"

"Yeah, afraid that your torment is finally over. Maybe you just don't need to show kindness and faith to others, but to yourself as well. That somehow seems the hardest to do."

"But how?" I doubt that I could do something like that.

"Because you have everyone else and they believe in you. Besides, if you can believe in yourself, then you're even better than Kitty. She didn't have faith in herself and neither did Diana."

"You.."

"No, but I looked up more about them. Please, give it a try just once."

I don't know why I nodded, but somehow knowing that TK believed in me and encouraging me somehow made me feel a lot better. He somehow could bring the best out in others, as if he could see through them to their deepest wish that they wanted to achieve and make them believe that they could.

He smiled as he hugged me, "Good. Oh, where are you guys?"

"We're in New Mexico."

"Who's with you?" He looked at me.

"Ceres, Ryan and Tim." I didn't fear that this was some trick that Kenmon was doing, since it didn't feel like it was. This was TK, somehow being able to talk to me through our minds.

"Okay, thanks. Have you heard about the others?"

"No, but Ceres has someone checking on that for us. We should know when we get to the Zuni tribe."

"Okay."

"I better get back to my body, though."

"Why?"

"We were being attacked by Kenmon and the other Digital Digidestined."

TK nodded and let go. "Show him that you're not his pawn." He smiled.

I nodded and was somehow pulled back into my body. I opened my eyes again, seeing that I was back to being mute. I looked to see that I was being held down to something and that Yoliemon and Kenmon were looking over something. Kenmon looked at me, "Oh, you're awake. Good, now I can run my experiments."

I wondered what they were.

"We learned that we're not you." Yoliemon said. _Shouldn't that be obvious?_ "And we learned that most of you have some powers outside of the Crest. We want that power."

I wondered what power they were talking about.

"You see." Kenmon came up to me, "We learned that most of you are something called Saiyan, an alien race that has a lot of power. There are only a few that aren't, and you happen to be one of them. But, we learned that you are somehow equaled to TK, who is the third strongest. So, by orders of Izzymon, I need to see if we can merge so that we can have that power."

I now wanted to know why they wanted it. I was also getting mad, since he made me face myself when I was still recovering. I looked around, wondering where the others were since they weren't here.

"The others are being researched by Izzymon." Yoliemon informed. "They're not here."

"Now, let's get on with the experiments." Kenmon smiled as he walked back over to some controls.

I was thinking about Faith again. I needed to believe in myself, right? Well, I'm not sure how to yet, but I'll learn. I was thinking about Kitty, remembering that TK said that she didn't have a lot of faith in herself and neither did Diana, who held Virtue. I don't know if I was imagining the same face that TK has seen for her, but I somehow knew that it was right. She was smiling at me, as if telling me to believe. I needed to believe in myself so that I could save the others. If we can get rid of them as well, then we don't have to worry about them. If all they were are the Crest that we hold, then we have a lot more power than them. If these Crests are in fact more powerful than the old ones, then let this show that. I needed to believe in myself so that I know that Kitty's faith wasn't misplaced. I got something in my eye right then. It was a grid of an area with dots beeping. I moved a bit, seeing that they were the locations of some of the Digital Digidestined. Seeing that two were close to the center, I locked on those and fired. Above my arms shot two triangles at them. They dodged it, but they did hit the control panel. That was frying the thing and it somehow got me out of the bondage that I as in. I started to run over to where the other beeps were, figuring that that's where the others were.

I burst into the room to see that Izzymon and Mattmon were there. TKmon and Karimon were also there. I just then noticed that Wormmon was with the others.

"Looks like Kenmon failed." TKmon said. I then knew that it was TK that could give us hope. These copies were probably the dark side of our Crests, the ones that are stained with the blood of the Outside Digimon (YAY!! Ken's becoming a poet!). "Looks like I have to take care of this." He smiled evilly.

"Why should you get the pleasure?" Karimon asked. I would think that they would be more united, like we were, but I guess not. _Oh well, I can't think about that right now._ I locked on all of them and fired the smaller triangles at them.

As I thought, they all dodged them, but that gave me enough time to grab some part of them and started to run.

"OW!! KEN! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU… Why are you running?" Ceres asked calmly as she helped me carried the others.

"Because he's running from us." TKmon said with that evil smile.

" Aw, TK was cute back then. " Ceres commented (I wonder which cute she means).

"If you want, when I take control of TK's mind I'll make sure that he merges with me." He winked. That, for some reason, disgusted me.

I locked on him again and fired more than once. He was able to dodge them all, before coming back around. I grabbed his kick and held on as I swung him to the wall. That knocked him out as we ran again. Once we were in a good hiding place, I motioned to Ceres to use her Crest Power so that we could get out of here. It was giving me hope that she was paying attention so closely.

"You want me to make my amulet bigger?" She lifted an eyebrow (like he said, it was giving him hope. That is funny, though).

I shook my head. I pointed to my amulet again, but then just held it. Ceres had seen a lot of things, maybe reading lips was the way that I needed to go. English is a lot easier to mouth than Japanese so I mouthed, 'Use your Crest Power to get us out of here'.

"Oh, okay. Why didn't you just say so? But I'm not sure how it works." She didn't have a lot of faith in herself.

I placed my hand on her shoulder and smiled, 'I know that you can.' I moved the others so that they were touching each other as I held onto Wormmon. I also made sure that one of them was touching my leg as well before I took her hand, 'You got Faith on your side'.

She smiled as she held onto her amulet. At first, she started to glow but then we all were. Right then, Taimon found us but I shot rapidly at him to make sure that he didn't follow as we disappeared. I could now see that we were traveling through something similar to the tunnels that our amulets create. Then we all landed in the Real World, still in America since we were near a tribe. It was still night.

"YAY!! I did it! I did it! I did it!" Ceres cheered.

Somehow, it didn't bother me that we weren't back in Japan. I felt like this was okay. That we needed this.

"Oh… I guess I should've thought up Japan instead, huh?" Ceres looked at me, just now realizing it.

'It's okay. We need this anyway. We just shouldn't tell them.' They were still knocked out. I figured that Taimon had made the sun that we were under and that he was giving them a power up, which drained them as they fell asleep. 'Are you still tired?'

"Not really. Should I be?"

'Taimon had used his Crest on you guys. I think that's why you didn't notice that they were around… He might've even been able to use his power-up on certain things because I didn't sense them in the area.'

"Maybe… Anyway, are you still going to talk in English? It's like the only way I can understand you."

'Yeah, I better. You're not too good at the game. Sorry, you failed.' I smiled.

She pouted, "No, never mind! Go back to the game! I'm not going to lose to TK!!"

I laughed, knowing that she couldn't win against him. 'What did you mean that TK was cute back then?'

"Oh, I mean that he was pretty good looking. Not like he isn't now, but somehow there isn't some underlining emotions that he bottled up. It looked like he was a lot more free back then and that made him more desirable to want."

I knew that TK does have emotions that he bottles up. I wondered if he didn't in the past. It would've been during that time that Kitty and Diana were still alive. Did they bring them some inner peace? Though, I know that TK loved Kari around the same time too, so it was problematic. 'Okay, just wondering.' I smiled. I went back to my signs, saying that we should get some food ready.

She was paying really close attention to it, "We should cook something?"

I nodded, since I used the same movement that I used at Joe's to mean cook.

"YES! Okay! I agree."

So she got the food out and I started to cook.

"We're this close to the tribe?" Ryan asked as we were traveling towards the tribe. Tim was on my horse as Ceres led the way. As I was cooking, Ceres summoned them to us. I wondered why she wanted to land at this place. I looked around, seeing how it could be remembered. It was a pretty place, and I bet that Ceres came this way more than once. Though, if she is very bright, she probably can remember things well enough to only need to see it once.

As soon as we came to the village, we were greeted warmly. Ceres was smiling big as she was talking to them. Some were talking in some kind of language, but most were talking in English so we understood what was being said. Akba appeared, acting apart of their village as he led us to one of the places that they were keeping them.

[Ryan

I didn't trust Akba one bit, but we didn't have a choice. So we didn't have to talk to him right away, I had Ceres show us around, since she knew the place. I was staying for a while, getting it down on paper as Tim was looking around with a scientist thought. Ken was just hanging around. He looked a lot different for some reason. I don't really know why, but he did.

We got an interesting lunch, though it wasn't too grand or anything. I was figuring like corn or things that I probably wouldn't want to have, but it didn't seem like that. It looked really modern. It was big, since they were greeting us, but that's it.

"Ceres, why didn't we have more traditional foods?" I asked as we were resting with Akba.

"Because they've become more modernized, much like most tribes. Anyway," She looked at Akba, "What did you find?"

"Matt, Lily Dawn, Nereida and Neon are in China with two Deities leading them across right now. Panther, Kari, Damon and Don are in a boat with two Australian Deities. Hades is helping you guys out and Ilpalo, Hebe and Killer are watching you guys. Hebe is getting them weapons made. You also trained that boy good." He smiled.

"How are the others doing?" Tim asked before I could.

"Nereida is fine, Neon is stressed, Lily Dawn might be a deity, Matt's worried about being a god of death. Kari is fine, Damon is fine, Don is depressed over something about his kids and Panther was purifying herself to clear her mind of something."

"Matt's a god?" Ceres asked.

"Apparently. According to Hebe, he's one of these ultimate deities."

"What are those?" I asked.

"There's a rumor that there exist creators that rule over the beyond, what you now called the universe. Now, we're never sure if the earth and sky were part of those rulers or an off-spring, but that doesn't really matter. The search for such beings was heated when Lily Dawn came to the Digital World. I don't know who was searching, but there was a search being done."

"Well, I know that Cody was called the God of Life."

"Really? That's kinda odd… But, then again, if he's one of those deities, then maybe it is possible."

"So they think that Lily Dawn is one of them?"

"I guess they do. I mean, the Greeks wanted her for something, right? And whatever they want, it must be important. It's not all peaceful there as it seems. It is, for the most part, but that's because of appearances."

"So it's the appearance that's keeping the peace." Tim stated.

"Yep."

"How is Hebe watching us?"

"Through a crystal ball. It also seems like Ilpalo and Killer watch along with her." He laughed, "For some reason, Hebe was holding Ilpalo to the ground with her feet as she was sitting on the chair there. It was kinda funny."

"She wasn't hurting him?" Ceres asked.

"Nah, I think they're friends. Anyway, you three should enjoy the village. This is your only chance of seeing something like this."

I was about to object when Ken got up and walked out. Tim and I looked at each other before following Ken. "Ken?" I asked.

He looked at us and smiled before walking away into the village.

"What the hell was that?" I looked at Tim.

"Well… I think it's Ken's way of saying that we should leave them alone." He pushed me forward, "So don't worry about it, okay. He's right, this is our only chance and you can get some good place for your drawings."

I pouted, looking at the place that Ceres was.

"She has Wirthimon with her." Breomon pointed out.

"I know, I know… Fine." I followed Tim and Ken as we explored more of the village.

[Ceres

"Why did you want them out?" Ceres asked when they all had left. She could tell from Ryan that he was about to object, for some reason. Ken seemed to understand, or something, which was why he left.

"I wanted to ask you something important."

"Yes, I love Ilpalo and no, I'm not going to sleep with you." She said quickly.

Akba laughed, "I wasn't going to ask that."

"Then what?"

"He told me that the only place you will call home is the place you can finally set down your bag without worry. Have you found that in Matt?"

Ceres looked at the ground, "Yes… At least… I think I have…"

"Why?" Akba brought her face to his, "What makes him able to give you a home? Something that we couldn't?"

Ceres looked at him, "I don't know… I mean… Since I was there, I was trusted. He trusted my judgment, without questioning it… I also noticed how he treated Panther. It was like they were a family. I guess it intrigued me so I stayed, but then he put himself in harm's way for me."

"There are others that intrigued you and others that have placed themselves in harm's way for you, what makes him so special?"

"He has a dark being inside of him. I guess I was worried about that, but when he left for space, I knew that that wasn't the reason why I wanted to stay…" She looked away, "Maybe all I wanted was for him to treat me like Panther. Maybe all I wanted from him was him to be like a father to me."

"But I can be a father to you."

She looked at him, "No, you can't. I care a lot about you, but you can't be a father to me."

"Why?"

"For starters, all of your sex comments." She pouted.

"What? Don't tell me he doesn't look at you too? He's a guy and you are hot."

"That's why you can't be my father, you pedophile." She smiled. "And no, he doesn't look at me like that."

"I'm impressed… I'm even more that these boys can be near you and not give in to their hormones."

Ceres laughed, "They have other things to worry about. Not all guys are bad, you know. Anyway, I also feel like Matt can really protect me from my past and the organization."

"You never felt like that before." He looked at her.

"I know… and I know it's also foolish to believe in that, but I feel like it's okay. That I can believe in this, and that it can come true."

Akba sighed, placing a hand on her head, "Okay, fine. I know when I'm beaten." He smiled.

Ceres hugged him, "You're still my brother, don't worry about that position, okay?"

Akba hugged her back, "Okay. But that means that when you get back to Japan, I'm going to see this Matt and Panther."

"Panther? Why her?"

"Well, you're worried about her too, so I thought I should find out why."

"You won't get near her. She's tough."

"Why would I?"

"Because she's also hot. Not only would Matt and Stan stop you, but she will make sure you won't walk for a while." She smiled.

"Oh, really? I don't think she's that tough. I'm a god after all."

"Trust me, she is."

"Fine, I'll test that when I see her. Don't give her fair warning, either."

Ceres laughed, "Okay, and you'll see that I'm right. Can you really come to Japan?"

"I told Hades that no matter what, I will protect you. I don't care about those Deities when I'm going over to protect you."

She smiled, "I better go check up on the boys. I don't want them to get lost."

"Have you ever noticed that Ryan has a friend complex?"

"That's a new one."

"I know, but that's what Killer said. And since they've been best friends for so long, you got to figure that he knows what he's talking about."

"I think Killer was brought in by Panther. So that's why he didn't like you before?"

"Yep."

"I've come to know weird people."

Akba laughed. Ceres got up and went outside. She didn't see them anywhere.

[Tim

The locals were showing us around when we asked. It was kinda interesting to learn about them, and Ryan seemed interested in some ruins not too far away and on our way. They were trying to get us a car that we can borrow, knowing that Ceres would return it to them.

"They sure do have a lot of faith in Ceres." Ryan commented as we were looking at the other horses that were there. He was drawing them.

"Yeah, though I guess that's a good thing. I never realized that there were people out there that did. I just kinda figured that we were the only ones."

"Then why didn't you?" Ryan looked up for a moment before looking down.

"I wanted my family back to normal."

"Messed up families can't go back to normal."

I looked at him, wondering what he meant by that.

"There you guys are." We looked behind us to see Ceres.

"No Akba?" Ryan asked.

She smiled, "He's still back over at his place." She came up to us, "Aren't they something?"

"They are amazing. I don't have any good references for horses so this is good for me."

"Your friends are getting something for us. They know of some place we can travel to." I informed her.

"Really? Where's that?" She blinked.

"They said that most people call it Mesa Verde de ."

"Really? Do you really want to go there?" She didn't seem too happy about that.

"Is there a reason we shouldn't go there?" Ryan asked.

"Well, that means that we'll have to head north and not west." She sighed, "What did you want to look at?"

"I wanted to see the sites there."

She nodded, "Tim?"

"For his enjoyment."

"Ken?" We looked at him to see that he shrugged. "Okay, so that means that we'll go tonight. We really shouldn't get off course."

"Is it far from here?" Ryan asked.

"Yep! It's in Colorado, and we're much closer to the border of Arizona than Colorado." She smiled, "But they know that we don't have a car."

"I think they're looking for something for us to use." I said.

"I see… I'll go ask them then." She went off somewhere. Ryan went back to drawing. I was wondering why Ceres didn't want to be taken off course. Though, of course, we don't have that much time to go site-seeing. It didn't take her long to get back. "Okay, we're heading there after dinner."

Ken pointed to her than to his amulet.

"No, I'm not taking your amulet. Why would I?"

"I think he's asking if you're going to use your amulet." I said, and he nodded.

"Oh.. yep! I figured it would be easier that way." She smiled.

"But that can only dimension hop, right? It doesn't do anything about travel." Ryan pointed out.

"Oh… good point… Then maybe we can get Akba to get us there faster."

"Why use him?"

She smiled, "Because he can travel long distances quickly and we need that. I figured that we go there at night when no one is there and come back when we're done."

"What if we get caught or something?"

"If we don't get caught, we won't get caught." She smiled, "Don't worry about it. Get yourselves ready since they're just filling up the car and getting it checked out. I'm going to let Akba know." She then took off again.

"We might as well as for food." I said, looking at Ryan, who looked mad for some reason. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing." He went back to drawing the horses.

I sighed, looking at Ken, "Want to come?"

He nodded and we headed out.

[Ken

We were on the rode for about an hour before we stopped. Akba was with us, though I figured it wasn't going to be for the whole trip. We were at a rest stop, which was interesting. There were a few people around, though, so I wondered how we were going to leave here. Ceres was getting us something to eat for dinner, with Akba joining us. Ryan didn't seem happy that he was with us, but no one really minded. I thought it was interesting, though.

"Okay, I'm going to do a ritual that will get you there." Akba said. "The way you're going to get back is by going to the same spot you land at."

"What if someone else goes to that spot?" Tim asked.

"I know the place so I'm making sure that that doesn't happen."

"Get on with it, then." Ryan said.

He nodded and started chanting something. A glow formed around us and before we knew it, we were somewhere completely different.

"If he could do this, then why not send us home?" Tim asked.

"He can only do it for short distances." She lied with a smile, "Okay, no one is around so go ahead and look."

Ryan and Tim nodded and moved away from the place as Ceres and I went somewhere else.

"Are you not interested in looking around?" She asked. "Oh!" She went fishing for something in her bag, "Here! Akba thought it would be useful." It was a whiteboard and markers and eraser. There was a string on the whiteboard, meaning that it was to go around my next. I took it and placed it there.

'Ryan wants to look at the ruins and Tim wants to study the place more. They're interested in knowing why the civilization disappeared.'

She laughed, "It didn't disappear."

'What happened to them then?'

"They just moved to another location. They were less nomadic than other tribes, but they can still go back to that." She laughed some more. "I guess I shouldn't spoil their fun yet."

"Finally, I found you." We turned around to see this lady in near revealing clothing appear behind us.

"Who are you?" Ceres asked as Wormmon got ready to fight.

"BeasMastmon. Look, I'm not interested in fighting you. I came here to deliver a message as a favor to one of the Deities."

"Which Deity?"

"Hebemon."

"What's that message?"

"That you need to look at some prophecy more closely. The group that attacked the Destiny Stones has a better understanding of that prophecy and is able to make it come true."

That got us. "Why would they want to?"

"I don't know. She didn't tell me and I didn't bother asking."

"Why are you helping? We're not this lucky." Ceres explained her question.

"She brought back to me someone precious to me so I owe her. Plus, she seems to be the only one that has any sense around there."

"How did you find us?"

"The Original Digidestined somehow create portals and that's how most Super Levels come through because we don't have a lot of power to create our own and live through it."

"Thanks for your help." Ceres smiled.

She nodded, "Also, letting you know that the Destiny Stones were in existence when I was created, so they've been around for a long time. That group might know why they were originally created and that's probably why they attacked it." She walked away.

"I thought they wanted to bring you guys in." Ceres looked at me.

'I thought the same thing. But she might have a point. I guess we better look into it when we can.'

"Right, but we probably should go looking for Tim and Ryan. Hebemon should've known about that prophecy, and since it's that group that Arsmon is involved with then we better come up with another way of looking at it."

'Let's look at it when we get back. Kaiba-sama is looking into that book right now so we can ask him for the translation.'

"Good point… Okay, but let's find them anyway. I don't like the feeling that I'm getting right now."

I nodded, getting a feeling too, like something was about to attack. We started to run so we could find them.

[Ryan

We were looking at one of the ruins. "I wondered why they just disappeared." I heard that they just disappeared, something that I feared.

"Things don't disappear without a reason. Let's get a closer look." He got over the ropes and started to climb down.

"What if they have sensors?" I looked at him.

"We'll just run." He smiled, "Does Breomon need up?"

I looked at him, "Do you?"

"Are we going down?" He looked at me.

"Yeah." I got over the ropes as well.

"I'll meet you down there then." He started to jump down the cliff.

"Be careful." I yelled to him before we headed down. It was even more amazing much closer. I touched the building, wishing I had more light to capture it. "Could disease do this to them?" I looked at Tim.

"I don't think so. There was nothing saying that they found mass graves anywhere." He looked at me.

"What could make them disappear then?"

"I don't really know…" He walked inside and we followed. It was really dusty, though considering everything I guess it's reasonable. "There seems to be some marks on the walls."

I went over to where he was, looking around and noticing them too. "Burn marks?"

"Maybe… or really interesting way of doing painting."

I touched it, "No, it's not paint… At least none that I'm familiar with."

"Wouldn't that be limited?"

"Nope, I study my art." I smiled.

"Maybe fire then?" Tim looked around when we heard an explosion. We looked at each other before running out. We started to climb back up when another one came and we lost our grip.

I opened my eyes, seeing that I was someplace that felt wet. I moved to see that I was floating. I sat up, as much as I could, and looked around. Our Digimon were floating in the some kind of bubble. I noticed Breomon, "Breomon!" I floated over to him. He looked like he was sleeping, just like all the others around us.

"They're all waiting."

I turned around to see this cat there with me. It kinda looked like Gatomon, with the ears and tail and gloves, but the claws on the gloves were much longer and slender, and a totally different color and fur design. I could tell that she was more of a four leg walker than standing on two legs, because Yi-Yamon's body was the same type.

"Waiting? What can they be waiting for?"

"For when they will be needed."

I looked at Breomon before looking at her, "They are needed. We're still here and we need them."

She shook her head, "They are waiting for the time when they are called to help the Digital World once again."

"I'm telling you! They're needed! Don't let them be like this! They don't deserve it."

"I'm waiting too. I am part of this group. We need to wait until the time is right to come back."

"They're needed. I'm telling you. Let them go so they can be with us."

"They need to wait."

"But why? Don't let them be like this. Don't let them be lost."

"They are not lost. They can't be found. They need to wait."

"Why can't they be found?" I didn't like that.

"They must not be harm before their time. If they are found, then they will be destroyed."

That sounded like Tim, for some reason. "They found us, though. We need them. They're our friends."

"Maybe they will be your friends, but they will not remember. Once they have fulfilled their duty, they will come back here. They will wait again for the time they will be needed."

"Why won't they remember?"

"It will affect their duty. If they were to remember their past, then they will always be affected by it and will be sad for what they can't have."

"But we gave them a home." When Breomon choose to come with me, it was hard at first. I wasn't used to taking care of someone that depended on me, so it was rough. But I got through it, and we became friends. I looked at Breomon, "They choose us. Let them stay with us."

"Destiny brought you together."

I looked at the cat, "They choose us."

"It is destiny."

"How can you know? What do you know?" I hated the fact that she was giving my partner my worst fear. He didn't deserve it, none of them did.

"I have known it before. I was there when they were first alive and I was there when they were dying."

I stared at the cat. "You're Thunmon?"

"Yes."

"Let them go! They're your friends, right? Let them be happy."

"Happiness can only be hold by those not of us. We suffer where the others are nearly spared."

"What? That's insane."

"Destiny might be fought, but not forever. It will come." She then disappeared.

I looked at Breomon. I couldn't believe that this would happen to him, to them. I touched his bubble lightly, wanting him to wake up to prove her wrong. According to her, we would disappear from their memories. We wouldn't be in their lives anymore. Is that what happened to those ancient Digidestined? Did they have to lose their friends in the end? Even though we were bonded by a promise, I didn't want him to forget about me.

"People leave all the time." I suddenly heard TK say. "No one can stay around forever. Even those you love will eventually have to go away from your sight."

"That doesn't mean that I have to like it. I don't want to disappear." I knew that it was pointless to talk.

"No one ever really dies. Because, even though they're not with you, you hold them in you. As long as you are remembered, you're alive for that moment. Even if there is no one around to remember you, your pillar will still be there. People leave all the time, but what makes them died or alive is how they impact others. No one can ever disappear."

I looked at Breomon. "Even with them? They won't forget about us?" I looked around me, seeing that all that were found were accounted for. There was even a new one here, a horse looking one. I looked back at Breomon. TK said that as long as we're in their hearts, we don't have anything to fear, right? I smiled to him, now realizing that I was just fooling myself. I never wanted our friendship to be promise, and it never was. "Breomon, I'll make sure that you have good memories with me." I then felt something pulling me away.

[Ceres

"I think they're over here." Ceres said as she pointed over to a direction. Ken stopped her and pulled her behind him as a blast was shot near them. "Ken?" Ceres asked once the smoke cleared.

Ken smiled and looked over to where it came from.

"I was hoping that you wouldn't notice." Karimon said with a robotic like Gatomon next to her. "I guess there is something worthy of you." She smiled evilly.

"That's why I need him in one piece." Kenmon said, with G Stingmon by him this time.

"We're not going to let you escape this time." Yoliemon said as a human form of Aquilamon appeared next to her.

The ground in front of them moved as Codimon and Armor Ankylomon appeared. "One exit blocked."

"And the other one block." They looked behind them to see Davismon and Steel V-mon.

Ceres felt something from Ken so looked to see that he didn't look so well. "Ken?"

'Side… affect.' He looked like he was fighting to stay awake. Ceres knew that this wasn't good.

[Tim

There was something that was leading me around. Normally, I wouldn't have bothered getting that close to the ruins, but something was pulling me that way. I could also tell that they were trying to warn me of some danger. I figured they were spirits or something, but I didn't really want to know if I was right.

As we were falling, they were able to soften our fall so we wouldn't die, but we were still knocked out. When I woke up, I was in a warm place. It was pretty cold where we were. I looked around, seeing me back in Japan. I got up and looked around. I remembered this place, a place that I didn't want to remember.

I started to run over to where my parents were. My dad was hunting a rogue spirit in this area and my mother was being used to host another spirit that knew this one. My dad died on the spot, while my mother died later. I got to the house before they did. I looked around, seeing the same spirits moving around. They were chanting what they had when we checked out the house before.

I walked among them, seeing that they didn't see me. I wondered what that meant, since I didn't look like a spirit or anything. I heard a sound so I looked to see my parents walking down the path that led to the house. They had brought me along so I was also with them.

"Mommy, don't go." I pleaded as they got closer. The spirits were surrounding me, telling me not to let them go. "Mommy, daddy, listen to me. You can't go."

My dad patted my head, "We have to." He smiled at me as we came to the door. My dad opened it up and we walked inside. Mom let go of my hand as she went to the center of the room, chanting to let the spirit know that it could use her as a medium to help them. Dad was watching, though only now I could see how steady he was looking around. I was showing my fear as I was near the door. It didn't take long for mom to host the spirit. It was around here that I started to go deaf, since I don't remember what I heard.

"Where's your wife?" Dad asked as he stepped closer.

"She's here… and here is where she'll remain!" Mom started to radiate with power.

The ghost of the wife appeared and dad went after her as mom struggled to keep the husband under control.

I ran over to my mom, but before I got to her side, she screamed as the wife went into her as well. My dad couldn't shot his gun, but had it aimed at my mom. "Yuiko! Get her out!" He ordered. Mom just kept on screaming until her body just dropped to the floor. It was around here that I called Grandmother.

The spirits came out of mom and my dad was shooting wildly. They merged together and went through him. He coughed up blood and fell to the ground. They looked me, who was still at the door of the place. There was fear on my face. This is all that I remembered, since I think I blanked out or something.

They came at me, making me wonder how I survived until I saw myself glowing. "Those who lost their way, be gone from this plane!" I yelled in the spiritual language and shot something from my hands at them. The thing hit them and sent them somewhere. This part, I remember. I ran over to my parents, who were still breathing when I got to them and passed out.

I was still in the house. After checking my parents, when this actually occurred, I remember waking up and having Grandmother tell me that they were died. I blamed her ever since, because she should've came faster to save them.

I walked over to their bodies, seeing that my father was dying a slow death. It looked like he was dying from internal injuries. I went through him as I tried to touch him. I gave up believing after this. Even though I could see them, I refused to believe that they were real.

"You know, it's easy to blame things when everything seems to go wrong." I heard TK's voice say. I looked around, not seeing him anywhere. "I know that when I was little, I blamed myself and my parents for the divorced." I remembered this. It was a conversation we had. It was one of those rare moments when we were just by ourselves. "I bet that's how Damon feels. He wants to blame something and the clearest thing he sees is you." This conversation took place some time after Damon told me about the governing their lives thing. "He seems to be like you in the fact that he cares a lot for Nereida and he has say in what she does when they're at school. So, seeing Nereida falling away from you two is worrying him just as much, but he can't blame the group because he understands them and stuff… I say don't let it get to you, because in the end, they'll always love you."

Was I doing the same thing with my Grandmother? Right then, my father died and my Grandmother came in. She was so horrified as she ran over to us. There were others with her, getting my mom and me; trying to save my father. My mother became conscious and was able to tell her what happened. On the way to the hospital, she died. For the woman I never saw shed a tear for them, she was crying her heart out now. I never realized how much it broke her. She then started to say to my sleeping body that she would be stronger for me and my siblings. She would make sure that we're happy and well. She said it with tears coming from her eyes.

I tried to touch her, going through her as well. It just now hit me that Shendramon wasn't with me at all. I looked around, wondering if those spirits send me here. Then the thought about Ryan and the explosions came to my mind as well.

"Tim," I looked at my grandmother even though she was talking to the sleeping me, "It's in your blood to protect others, whether it be strangers or loved ones. It's in your blood, so don't let this scare you."

That surprised me. Was I scared of protecting others? No, I've done it plenty of times, especially now. But, to help strangers is something that I wouldn't do. Maybe I was scared, because for Shendramon, I was worried throughout the whole time that I was getting him out of those chains. I was also worried about my siblings helping strangers. And then when we were told that we belonged to the group, I didn't want to have any part in it. She's right, I was scared. Well, I won't be anymore. I looked at my mother, nodding my head to confirm it.

I was then brought back to my body quickly.

"**Tim!**" Shendramon's voice said.

I opened my eyes to see him on my chest. I started to get up and looked over to see that Ryan is knocked out beside me.

"He's been out too." Breomon said.

"The explosions?"

Ryan then started to moan. I moved over as he then coughed. "Ryan?"

He looked at me, "What happened?"

Another explosion was heard. We got up quickly and climbed up the ledge. We didn't see anything when we got over the rope. Shendramon went into the air, "**Ken and Ceres are in trouble!**" He grew big and we got on him. We could see that the fake Digidestined were attacking them, but for some reason, Ceres was carrying Ken and Fiterimon was back.

We went into particles quickly before a blast flew over us. We got solid again as I looked to see a machine like Angemon in the sky with us with a TK looking person on him.

"I was wondering where you two were." He smiled evilly.

"How did they know where we were?" Ryan asked as Breomon attacked him with his Black Wolf attack. They moved quickly out of the way and made Shendramon crash down on the ground.

[Ryan

We landed hard in front of Ceres and Ken. Shendramon seemed to be hurt since he wasn't getting up.

"Is he okay?" Ceres asked as she brought Ken over.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"Ceres, check to see if we can use something below." Tim said in a low voice.

She nodded, quickly moving me over to Tim. He quickly made us go through the stone and we landed a few rooms down.

"Ryan, Breomon, help me with Shendramon."

We went over and helped him, running through the rooms and rock to get far away from this place.

"Ceres, did they get Ken?" Tim asked as we were resting for a moment.

"No, he had to use his Faith powers."

"When?" I asked.

"Against them."

"How were they able to find us?"

"They seemed to be watching us."

"Where is that portal?" Tim asked.

"We can't leave them here. If they don't find us, they might destroy this place to find us."

"But we shouldn't stay here. Can you carry Shendramon and Ken?"

"Not for that long of a time."

"Fiterimon, can you help me then? We'll detract them as Ken and Shendramon go through. Ryan and Breomon, help Ceres and then you guys come back so we can get them off our case and out of this place."

I nodded, "Okay." We placed Ken on Shendramon and Wormmon was making sure that we wouldn't be attacked from above. Breomon looked out of the door and then led the way.

[Tim

I watched them go before looking at Fiterimon, "You okay with this?"

She nodded, "Don't worry. I wouldn't agree with it if I wasn't."

"Thanks." I smiled, looking out. "Okay, let's go." We headed out and ran in obvious openings. We were trying to find them and also allowing them to find us.

"This is a good place to go up." Fiterimon said.

I felt something as I allowed Fiterimon on my back. I looked around before climbing up, feeling what they were saying. They were nearby.

They weren't near us when we got to the top. Fiterimon shrunk so she could be on my shoulder. I made sure that I wasn't near the structures so they wouldn't attack it. Something hit the ground next to us and the blast flew us a good distance. I looked to see that the TK one was smiling at us with his machine Angemon with him.

"Hide and seek is over." He smiled.

"Water Fire!" Fiterimon yelled and I was surprised that it was as big as it was.

The Angemon twirled his rod and blocked her attack. The TK laughed and jumped off as the other Digimon came after us. I made the attack go through us, if I could. Otherwise, Fiterimon blocked it with her attack. I was running so I could gather them all in one place. I figured that it was better this way, for some reason. I was getting worried when our commotion wasn't bringing the others along.

"Fiterimon, give us a cover."

"Water!" I noticed that the area started to get cold and damp. "They stopped." She reported. I ran over to a place where I could hide. I looked to see that she had created a mist like environment, and they were being cautious as they went along. When they passed us, I sighed and got in deeper into our hiding spot so we couldn't be spotted. "Why are we hiding?" She asked.

"I need to know why the others aren't following." I looked around, feeling that the spirits were near. "Can you talk?" I asked in their language. They were talking in a language I didn't know when they were around us. It wasn't the common language that everyone uses.

"Yes, we've just been communicating in the native language for a long time." Said a male voice.

"Do you not have a physical form anymore?" I was told about that, though I've never experienced it before.

"Yes. How do you know this language?"

"I can usually see you guys without you revealing yourselves. Where are the other invaders to this area?"

"They're still searching around."

"Did they notice?"

"Yes, they did."

"Okay. Where is the nearest one?"

"Over there." The wind blew to my right and looked that way, "Yep."

"Okay, thanks." I got up, "We could use your help. We're going to get them out of here."

"We'll help in anyway we can."

"Thanks." I looked at Fiterimon, "Okay, they did notice but it seems like they're not biting. So we have to make them bite."

"Who were you talking to?" Fiterimon asked.

"A spirit from this area. They're going to be helping as well."

She nodded, "Okay."

I ran the way I was told I would find the next person. It was the one that looked like Yolie, so I showed myself and began another chase. Luckily, for us, the TK one was mad so he soon came along.

[Ryan

When we heard the explosion, we made our move out into the open. We didn't run into any trouble, which was good. When we got to the area again, we moved them through.

"Why is it that there's only one person attacking?" Ceres asked after we got them through. Wormmon went with them as well.

"Don't know, but we better find Tim so we don't mess up his plans." We heard something from the portal so we looked to see Wormmon.

"Akba wants to say be careful and Ken was saying that you need to use your Crest to get them out of here." He looked at Ceres.

She nodded, "I'll try. Thanks." She smiled.

He went back through and we headed out. We ran over and listened since it was silent for the moment. Then we heard more blasting, and we headed in that direction. Then there was silence.

"What's Tim doing?" I asked. I was hoping that he wasn't caught.

"I don't know… It does seem weird." Ceres commented.

Then we heard other blasting, intensifying after a while.

"It sounds like he's gathering them all up." Breomon offered.

"Why think that?" Ceres asked.

"We used to do that. Lots of Digimon that were higher than us didn't know what hit them… Sorry." He said the first thing with pride.

I touched his head, "It kept you alive, right?" He nodded, "Then it's okay." I smiled. They three try not to be happy about what they did before they met us. We don't get mad at them, so I don't know why they think that we don't want them to talk about it. I mean, even Plantmon is like that, so it's kinda weird.

Breomon smiled back. "I'll lead us to Tim and Fiterimon." He said before heading out. We followed his lead.

"Everyone, quiet." We suddenly heard Tim say, making us get down as the TK, Yolie, and Kari ones passed by with their Digimon.

Tim sighed after a while, "Are they okay?" He looked at us as Fiterimon went over to Ceres.

"Akba is taking care of them." Ceres said. "What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to gather them up. I thought it would be easier that way."

"It would be. I can probably use my Crest to get them back into the Digital World."

"Okay. What we should do is get a spot and lure them to it."

"I know of a place… But you guys wouldn't…"

"Just go to the place. We'll get them there."

She nodded and headed out.

"How?" I asked.

"I have a plan." He smiled. He looked somewhere before nodding, "Okay, another is coming this way. We need to come up with something that won't make them think that they need to focus back on you and Ceres."

"I'll follow invisibly as they chase you. I could also get some over at the meeting spot."

"Find Ceres then, and lure the last two there."

"But you don't have a Digimon with you." Breomon said.

"I'm fine." There was something different about Tim right there. He wasn't cautious and he wasn't double thinking. It was creepier than anything else.

"Let's go, Breomon." I smiled at Tim, "Just don't get hurt."

Tim smiled, "I won't. You two be safe too."

I nodded before picking up Breomon and turning us into dust as Tim ran off. He ran into Codimon, got his attention before running. The others soon appeared and continued the chase. I went looking for Ceres and found her in a big open spot. She was practicing, it seemed. I went over to where Davismon was and appeared before him.

"Black Wolf!" Breomon yelled and got a hit. We started running around as well, able to run into Kenmon. As we were heading over to where Ceres was, since it would be easier for her to send a few at a time.

Tim's group was right behind us, which I thought was odd because there was no way that he would know about it. We got them in a good place, I guess because we were against one of the buildings and them.

"This is turning into a great plan." I commented to him.

"Ceres can't get it to work, for some reason." He said.

"How do you know?"

"… I can see and hear spirits, as you know, and they're everywhere so they've helping me right now. She told them that and they told me."

"So we're going to get blasted as she figures out how to make it work?"

"Apparently." He laughed lightly. I sighed as I looked at the Digimon that were powering up to kill us. My Crest started to glow right then in its light forest color.

"Breomon Warp Digievolves to……………………… Joltmon!" And a yellow dog with spikes on some parts of his fur appeared. That didn't seem to faze them and before they could launch, he launched one of his attacks, "Strike!" It came from his body and large amount of lightning shot at them. It affected them, surprisingly. Right then, a huge portal appeared underneath them and they all fell through.

Tim and I sighed as Espomon appeared again.

"What? Didn't believe me?" Ceres walked over to us.

"How do we know they're not coming back?" I asked as I picked up Espomon.

"Ken and I were told that Super Levels use portals to travel here. As long as they don't find one that belongs to Ken, we're good."

"They seem to find that easily, though." Tim said.

"It didn't seem so. I think they need to find it. Anyway, let's go before people start to come."

We nodded and we all headed over to place where we needed to get back to the car. Shendramon looked fine as we got into the car. Akba was in the driver's seat. We all just slept.

[Tim

When we got up, we were at the other side of Arizona and in California. It was already morning, though I wouldn't be able to say when until we got back to the car. We were in a Denny's, eating breakfast there.

"Okay, I'm sure that Ceres can get you the rest of the way. I'll take back the horses and the car." Akba said.

"How are we going to get to Los Angeles?" Ryan asked.

"Don't worry about that, Ryan." Ceres smiled. "Tell them thanks." She looked at Akba. I didn't like how this was going.

"I will. Have a safe trip over and I'll see you in Japan." He got up.

"You're going there?"

"Yep. I want to see the other people that I've heard so much about. I'll wait for a while, though, since I figured you don't want to see me that soon." He smiled, "Bye!" He then walked out.

"Why?" Ryan looked at Ceres.

"He wants to meet Matt and Panther." She smiled.

"Would he be allowed?" I asked.

"He'll sneak in, either way. He is like a brother to me, so I don't mind."

Ken sipped the tea that he ordered. He and Shendramon were a lot better. I was glad for that, petting Shendramon, who was on my lap. I was also glad that no one was asking me about my powers. "So, how are we getting there?" I asked.

"By car, it's the easiest way." She said.

"But didn't he just take the car we were using?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, and you're point?"

Ryan looked at me before looking at her, "You're not serious, are you?"

"Is it really that bad?"

"It's illegal for one thing."

"Don't have enough for a taxi?" I asked.

"I figured I should get you guys used to the idea, because we have to get on a plane to get back to Japan." Ceres answered. "Airplane tickets aren't cheap by any means."

"Tim, you're not going with this, are you?" Ryan asked.

I closed my eyes for a moment, thinking about it. "Ceres, how well do you know the law enforcement around here?"

"It'll take them days before they realize that they've been hit." She said with pride.

"Are you okay with it, Ken?" I looked at him, getting a nod. "Ryan?"

"What if we get caught?" Ryan asked.

"Didn't Panther get you and Lily Dawn to do things with her for the gang?" I figured she did, since they were all best friends.

"But what… Fine." Ryan said, "Yeah, I'm okay with it."

Ceres smiled, "Okay. Tim, you're coming with me. Ryan and Ken, look for a map."

"I thought you knew this country." Ryan asked.

"I do, but that doesn't mean anything about you guys. Besides, we'll need it later. Ken, you also need to find things to make another radio." He nodded.

"Why?" I asked.

"I know what stations they're on so it would make it easier for us to avoid them."

"We can always use one of our powers." I motioned to Ryan and me.

"It'll be about six more hours of driving and I figured that we should save up on that. We don't want to scare people and cause an accident."

"Good point."

"Okay, Ryan, can you make things invisible without yourself going too?" She looked at him.

"Yeah, done it plenty of times."

"That's what you'll need to do and make sure the barcodes particles are more apart. Ready, Tim?"

I nodded. We all got up, paid for the meal and headed out. I couldn't believe that I was going to do this, but oh well. Sometimes, you have to do what you have to do.

[Ken

We went to a shop that looked old enough. Ryan was talking to the owner as I looked around. I found parts that I could use to make another radio, but obviously one with lower frequencies since we don't need to reach over blocked airwaves. I was also very surprised at how I was able to take what I needed without causing suspension. When I walked up to the front, I shook my head, saying that I didn't find whatever Ryan was talking about with the old man. I know I didn't take anything too big, so I hoped that he would forgive or never notice.

" Thanks again. " Ryan said before we left. "+So you didn't find anything you could use?+"

Once we were far away, I shook my head. I showed him what I managed to get.

"Wow… I didn't know that you were a thief." He said then laughed, "But I guess we'll all be one by the end of this." We went to the meeting spot after we got a map and I started to work on the radio. It wasn't like the last one, but it was going to do for now.

[Ceres

Tim and Ceres reached a car lot, since there were tons around the area. Ceres was talking to the salesman, making him think that Ceres and Tim were married or lovers and they were planning on getting a car for themselves to see the world before settling down. Tim played along, but mostly letting Ceres take the lead. She got them a good deal on the Expedition that was white. Tim didn't sign his name, but as James Johnson, on all the documents. Ceres had given him a fake credit card that would appear to work. Tim was afraid that this wasn't going to work, but it did. They got the car and were out of the place in no time.

"Would it work on gas stations as well?" Tim asked as he drove towards the meeting spot.

"We have to be careful on those, though. Most have cameras nowadays." Ceres said as she stretched, "Why James Johnson?"

"A person I didn't like at the science conference that my siblings and I go to has that name. I figured that if nothing else, it's a fairly common name. At the most, it would all go back to him since I know where he lives."

She started to laugh and didn't stop until Tim pulled up to Ryan and Ken. Ken seemed to have finished with his radio, since there was one in his hand.

"This is a good car?" Ryan asked, "I was hoping for a sports one."

"We need one that can get us there with less gas stopping." Ceres said as she was taking deep breaths.

"What's wrong with you?"

"She was laughing at the fact that I was getting revenge on someone." Tim answered. "Ken, are you finished?"

He nodded.

"Good, okay, now we need to change a few things. Get in, and Tim, drive to a shopping place."

They got in and Tim drove over to a place called K-mart. He was driving slow, one for the people walking, and because Ceres was looking for a license plate that came from Utah. Once finding one, Tim parked as close to it as possible. Ceres went over to the car, looking around to make sure that there were no cameras and no one was heading their way. She then used her magic to get the bolts off and the frames. She used those bolts and license plates on the Expedition that they were using, taking off the paper that told everyone that it was a new bought car. Then they headed out.

Ceres was looking at the map as Ryan and Ken messed around with the radio. When they heard on the radio that an Expedition was stole, saying that it was work of con-artist, Ceres had them pull over to the side. She changed her hair color in an instant and also changed Tim's hair color and appearance.

"So now I'm supposed to look like a hippie?" Tim asked as he pulled back onto the road.

"Yep! Ryan, if anyone pulls us over, disappear you and Ken and Digimon." She looked at him.

"Want me to do that all the time?"

"No, because we need to make it seem like this isn't the car that they're looking for. Ken, hide your board too."

He wrote 'Why not change the color of the car too?'

"Because white is a pretty common color for cars. If we need to change it, I will."

"We're also taking the back roads to avoid them, right?" Tim asked.

"Yeah, why?" Ceres looked at him.

"Because our test is coming up."

Everyone looked ahead to see what he was talking about. The police were doing a block for some reason. Ceres hid her bag as Ken, the Digimon with them, and Ryan disappeared

" Let me see your license and registration. " The officer ordered.

Tim reached into his back pocket, pulling out a wallet as Ceres was getting the papers. Tim looked at the name of the fake Driver's License that Ceres made appeared before handing it over to the officer. The name was a Mark Wilson. He wrote it down before handing it back over to them, " Have a nice day. "

" You too, officer. " Tim said with a smile before driving off. " Mark? " Tim asked once they were far away and everyone in the back appeared.

"+What? There's nothing wrong with that name. Unless you like someone by that name.+" She looked at him as their hair changed back.

"Not particularly, but why Mark?"

"Needed something fast."

"Wouldn't they be able to tell that this car was the stole one when they look at the registration?" Ryan asked.

"Nope. I changed that information too."

"How did you get him a Driver's License?"

"I pulled out a hard card and Ceres changed that one to make it look like a Utah one." Tim answered. "Though, I haven't been able to figure out if you actually need something before changing it or if you can create it out of air."

"Both. It's much easier to change something than to create it since it takes less energy and less thinking."

"How does it take less thinking?" Ryan asked.

"Because you don't need to figure out what needs to be on the paper. I've seen Driver's Licenses enough times to know what needs to be on them, which is why I only needed a hard card from Tim's wallet to give it the feel of it."

"How did you know which one to use?" Tim asked.

"I know that you still had the credit card that I gave you and I knew where you placed it. I have a good memory for these things." She smiled.

"So you really are a con-artist." Ryan commented.

"I have been. I've also been cops, artists, bankers, robbers, masterminds, henchman, dealers of cards, dealers of drugs, dealers of guns, detectives, spies… I've just been so many things that I know how these things goes."

"How can you be all of those with only eighteen years behind you?" Tim asked.

"I've also made my age change, and alter my height with illusions. It's just as simple as changing our hair."

"Ken, I bet that if you study Ceres, you'll be able to be a great detective." Ryan said to him, "By the way, Ken's also a good thief."

"Really?" Ceres looked at him with a smile. He shrugged.

"I mean it, I was talking to the owner of the store, thinking that I would just let Ken look around to see what he needed before he came over to get me and I'd make those disappeared. But he just walked up to us, shook his head, and we went out. Only then did I found out that he got everything he needed."

"It's true!" Espomon said from Ryan's lap. "He did it so naturally too that even if you were watching you couldn't catch him."

"I'm sure you're exaggerating it." Wormmon defended his partner.

"Next we'll find out that Ryan is actually pretty good at telling lies." Fiterimon said in her cold tone. Everyone started to laugh.

"What did Tim do? Other than allowed all of this." Ryan asked.

"He was able to play it really cool and is quick with coming up with cover names and addresses." Ceres said with a smile. "That's why he asked about his name on his license, since it was a different name than the one he used for the car buying. I'm turning you all into criminals. I must be good."

"I would like to say that it's because we need to get home that we're willing to go along." Tim said.

"Come on, I know that you like this. It's new and exciting and right on the edge."

"Maybe, though I really do hope that it would take them days before they realize that they've been hit." Ryan said.

"Trust me. We'll be long gone before they realize it."

[Ryan

There were a few other traffic problems along the way, but nothing that needed us to change what we looked like or anything. Ceres was keeping a careful look outside whenever we were coming up to one, but otherwise everything was smooth. We only stopped once on the trip. I got out of the car so they wouldn't be able to identify Tim or Ceres if we were caught. Though, for added protection, Ceres made my face more rectangular than oval shape. The illusion worked as if you actually have that face. I was looking at myself in anything that was reflecting, and it really did feel rectangular than its normal oval.

Los Angeles was muggy and crowded as we entered it. Well, at least the highway was. Ceres got us an inn to stay in.

"Okay, we have to watch the airports for a while. I know someone here that could look up that information for us, so we'll head over there after we eat something."

"Then why are we renting this place?" Tim asked. It was only one room, with two beds.

"It won't take that long to find an airplane that will take us back to Tokyo. We also need to leave the car once we do."

"I think we all knew that." I commented, "But why not leave it as is so they know that it's us?"

"You really want to leave a calling card? No, we can't." She was thinking about it for a moment before totally dismissing the idea. "We can't risk the chance of that."

"But I thought.."

"That's for the police. We have to be careful around here because police isn't going to be the only group that will wanting to watch us."

"Who else?" Tim asked.

She sighed, "I don't know their name, but I do know that they're a huge organization that has a lot of control and hellish powers. They're not afraid to kill anyone that gets in their way and are willing to do everything they can to get their hands on me. Since Ken is well-known over in Japan, and not here, he's also in danger. Since you two are nobodies in their eyes, you're always in danger from them.. I know that they have a headquarters around here in the city, but I don't know where."

"Then how are you safe?" I asked.

"Matt, I guess. He's a famous astronaut and a well known cook. Plus, he knows Seto Kaiba personally… I guess they kinda protect me while I'm in Japan, but I only have myself when I'm anywhere else that they can't reach me."

Ken made a sound. He wrote 'You're always protected when you're with us. Don't forget, we're not ordinary and we all have Digimon who are willing to help.'

"Thanks, Ken." She smiled.

"Okay, let's get something to eat as we're heading over to your friend's place." Tim said.

We all nodded and headed out. The city had its good points, I must admit. After we got something from a Wendy's, Ceres was driving us over to her friend's. When we got near her apartment, it was heavy with traffic. Ceres pulled over to some parking lot when she could.

"That isn't normal. Let's go check it out." Ceres said as she turned off the car.

We all got out and followed her. When we got closer, it was becoming hard to move because of the people. Tim was almost willing to go through all of them so we could get to the front. The police had blocked off the about seven meters from the building. A body was lying on the ground, blood all over it and clothes cut up. It was a female, even if her breasts and face weren't there anymore.

" Ariel! " Ceres screamed and was about to run over before Tim held her back. " Ariel! Ariel!! " This was the first time that I think I saw Ceres cry.

" Miss, " A cop came up to her, " do you know her? "

Ceres calmed herself a bit before looking at the man, " I… I think so… Was there an ID? "

" There was. " He motioned for a bag with things in it over to him, " Ariel May is what it says. "

Ceres was about to fall, if she still wasn't being held by Tim. I saw how lost she looked, and how at fault she made herself feel. I looked over at the body, seeing that we were late in seeing her friend.

"Would you please come with us for a while?" He stretched his hand so it was on the tape that blocked everyone else.

"My friends are coming with me." She said before looking at him, "Otherwise, we're not going to the station."

He nodded, pulling the tape so we could go through. Ken and I went first so he knew that we were with her before her and Tim came through. Tim made sure that she didn't see any more of her body, for obvious reasons. I couldn't stand to look at it for much longer. We got into a car, able to fit in one car because his partner was going to stay behind. I sat in the front with him, since I figured that Ceres could use Tim with her right now.

The place wasn't as dirty or filthy as I had always imagined them to be. It was fairly clean and smelled it too. We were brought into a room with only a mirror, the famous mirror that everyone knows about. We sat down in the chairs, with Ceres gaining back some of her composure.

"What was she involved with?" Ceres asked.

"What makes you think that she was involved in anything?" The man asked.

"Because this is a high level section crime of the police force, which means that this wasn't a simple homicide or a simple rape and kill, this is something much bigger than that. So what was she working on that got her killed?"

He sighed, "We were having her follow this one guy that we believed was involved with another crime that we're investigating."

"Why did she agree?"

"She said that this guy was after a friend of hers and she wanted to get him off the streets for her. She never gave us a name of this friend."

"Was.. was her appearance his trade mark?" She seemed afraid to ask that.

"No. We're not even sure how it was done ourselves."

"Do you know Japanese?"

"I know a bit, why?"

"Give me a minute." She looked at us, "+I want this man to pay for what he did to her.+"

"+Was she talking about you?+" Tim asked.

"+Yes.+"

"+See if we can help. Once you have gained his trust, then tell him everything you know.+"

Ceres looked at the detective for a moment, " Tell me your name, please. "

" Vincent Revell. And yours? "

" Call me Ceres. This is Tim, Ryan and Ken. We can't talk here, though, but let me say that we're willing to help catch this murderer and to finish her case. "

He looked at her for a moment before nodding. " Where do you want to meet? "

" Four hours from now at the Starbucks near her house. "

" Okay, I'll be there. "

" You're partner? "

" Just me. "

" Did she know about her involvement? "

" Everyone knew that was on the case but I was the one that got all the information and knew where she lived. "

" Okay, thank you. We'll see you in four hours. " We got up and headed out.

[Ken

We were at that particular Starbucks within an hour or so. Ceres was silent the whole time, and I knew we all knew that this friend was killed by that organization that's after her. I even believe that we knew that the person she was stalking was also from that organization, maybe even someone that Ceres has run into before. TK had told me that Matt had adopted Ceres officially when some agents from that organization tried to take her. We sat there in a corner, but didn't order anything.

"+I guess you all knew what's going on, unless you need me to spell it out.+" Ceres said as she looked out the window.

"+Do you guys understand?+" Ryan asked the Digimon, which they gave a nod.

"+What do you think of him?+" Tim asked.

"He's a good person, most likely. Ariel trusted him, so he has to be good. I'll see more when we talk later. Don't expect him to give us everything."

"I think we figured that out. What can we do to help, though?" Ryan asked.

"We'll get that information when he comes."

"Tell us more about her." Tim said.

Ceres took a moment to reflect, "I didn't write to her or anything, but I would always let her know when I was in town, like Joe. I always made it a point to go see her and spend a few hours with her before heading out. She knows Akba, since he's been with me a few times when I was here. There were some crimes on the news that I poked out to her that were most likely them."

"What does the organization want?"

"I wish I knew. All I knew was that they were after me and were willing to kill and can pass all nation sovereignty."

"If they're willing to kill then why not kill Matt?" Ryan asked.

"That's why I'm protected when I'm near him, because he is famous." This is what she was hoping for, in either case. I don't know if the others could see it, but she could. They could also take it the wrong way, since now they could think that she's only staying to be free from them. I know that's not the case either.

After that, we weren't talking. I couldn't tell what they were thinking, which was a bit creepy to me. I had an idea on what they were thinking about, but no clear idea on what it really was. I was watching the other people in the place now. They looked like they were ignoring us pretty well. I was watching how they were interacting with each other. I found no real interest in doing this, but never the less, it was something to do when you can't do much.

When the Revell came in, he got something before coming over. " We still want to help. " Ceres said as he sat down. " I'm the friend that she was trying to protect by catching this guy. "

" Why? " He didn't seem to like the idea.

She looked around before leaning closer, "He's probably part of an organization that has been after me ever since I was five. I don't know much of their activities or the name of the organization, but they have been following me all over the place. She didn't know anymore than I did, but she knew what kinds of crimes I believe that they would be involved in. Probably seeing one, she volunteered herself so I didn't have to worry about them over here. She was killed in their fashion."

Revell listened closely, nodding a bit before being satisfied with what she gave. "That's correct. She had explained similar things to me as well. Okay, I'll get you a place where you can stay…"

"Don't worry about that. We'll get ourselves."

"Them too?" He looked at us.

"I told you, they're my friends."

"Is the organization after them too?"

"No."

"Then why get them involved?"

"Annoying habit? Anyway, what do you need to be done?"

He sighed, "It's highly dangerous, and on most occasions not legal."

She smiled, "Have she ever described me?"

"She said that you're a good person that's an expert in any field."

"What do you think that means?"

"That you're comfortable with this level of work and would be very good at it. Do you trust them with your life?" He looked at us with his eyes.

"Yep."

"Are you sure that you don't want a place I give you?"

"Low-key is something I would like, and you can't get that with someone providing."

"Okay, then we'll always agree to meet somewhere."

"Of course, though do realize that I recognize the necessary of disguises."

"How would I recognize you?"

"We'll come up with that later. Let's talk about tomorrow."

"Where do you want to meet?"

"At that park looking place next to BP Plaza at the inner pond facing S Hope Street at five in the morning."

He nodded and got up, "I'll bring as much as I can." And he left.

We were there way before the time. I was standing near her, sitting on one of the benches. Tim and Ryan were nearby, hiding to watch out for anything suspicious.

Ceres had been eerily quiet since yesterday. She was looking up at the sky, as if thinking. I wondered how useful I would be, since I couldn't talk. I looked at Ceres, seeing how serious she could really be. Her life has never been easy on her, and yet she can smile and have fun. TK was the same way, and I had always wondered if that way of thinking was useful.

"Ken." I looked at her since I was looking at where Ryan was. She looked at me, "I'm not using Matt, am I? Am I just staying in Japan because I can use people there to help me?"

I smiled as I placed my hand on her shoulder. I shook my head, mouthing 'Of course not. Matt cares about you and wants you to be happy.'

That put a smile on her face. "I felt for a moment that I was."

'Do you want to stay in Japan?'

"I don't really know. I don't think I would want to, but I sometimes don't know myself."

"_**He's coming.**_" Shendramon told us. We looked ahead of us to see him coming up.

" Where are you other friends? " He asked as he took a seat next to Ceres.

" They're making sure that you weren't tailed. " She went right back to who she always appears to be. I just noticed how unease Ceres really is. I wondered how her much she really trust others. It was like she was on guard all the time, even when she was all smiles. Was TK like that? Are those smiles just to hide what's really there? I never gave it much thought before. " So, what do you have? "

He opened up the briefcase and handed her a folder. "That's all we gathered on the man."

She opened it so that I could see as well. They were all photos of a man. He never changed his appearance, dressing in a black tux. The only thing that changed was whether or not he had sunglasses or not. When we got to his profile, we both scan through it. I noticed that they don't have much on his health, but he was a high professional in major companies over here. Some of them were even leaking to the world. As we were going through it more, I could see that he had his hands in a lot of stuff. I noticed that he even had ties to the police, and I poked it out to Ceres.

"Should we trust those around you?" Ceres asked, looking at him, "According to this, he has his hands in you guys."

He looked to confirm that. "You can trust me at the very least."

She looked at me. I don't know what she wanted me to do, but I looked at the Revell. I could feel something when I was, though I wasn't sure what it was. I looked at Ceres and nodded. She then looked at him, "Okay, Ken is going to stay with you. What assignments do you have for us?"

"I wouldn't since I have people on those positions already. I mean, my partner and I are the main ones working on this project and we report to our boss."

I tapped on Ceres's shoulder. 'I have an idea.'

"Hold on for a moment." She said to Revell before looking back at me.

'I'll stay with Revell and his partner in the office. Tim and I will switch Digimon so he can have someone to protect him and I have a way of contacting you guys. Revell will get Ryan into the photography and sketching parts and Tim into the lab stuff.'

"+And me?+" She asked, though with no fun or excitement that I thought I would get.

'I figure that you can be someone that does the undercover work. Of course, when you're not, you can be with me and when you are, one of us will be with you.'

"_**They're okay with that.**_" Shendramon informed us.

Ceres looked at Revell, " Okay, this is what's going to happen. My two other friends need to get into the labs and witness/crime scene things. We're going to be hanging around you guys and I'm going to be doing most of the undercover things. "

"But they're after you."

"What makes you think I'm going in alone?" She smiled. "So, can you make that happen?"

"The lab we use is pretty tight. They know each other."

"Show me where it is then, and I'll get them in."

"Do you not trust the system?"

"I never trusted, but I'm also not about to let good spying post go to waste."

"There isn't much in those departments that we use though."

"We'll be flexible."

He sighed, "Follow me, then." We all got into his car, though we were making sure that Ceres was save from all sides. We were shown where those departments were and Ceres got them in at that moment. They started work immediately, all because of Ceres's magic. I could tell that she was determined about this.

When we got to the office, I just remembered that we could talk through our jewels. He allowed us his desk. I didn't take note of who his partner was, since I was making sure that the crime was implanted in my mind. She wasn't anything special, but she seemed to be a good person.

"What are they doing here?" She asked.

"They're going to be helping." He answered her as I was going through the other files.

"We volunteered ourselves, and we know what we're getting into." Ceres answered.

"The boss…"

"She was a friend of mine. I'm not going to stand by and let that happen to someone I know." Ceres cut her off. I never really knew how much of a traditionalist Ceres was. That was something that I understood that they probably didn't fully understand. I then saw something interesting with his schedule. I touched her shoulder, making her look at what I was pointing at. That made her smile, "Sounds like a lot of fun."

"What?" Revell asked.

"He goes to a night club. Have you guys checked it out?"

"Dozen of times."

"And what did you find?"

"Nothing."

"Have you ever had a undercover cop there?"

"Why would we have someone work there?" His partner asked.

I looked at Ceres and she looked at me, smiling before looking at them, "Then we will."

"But if he knows you…" Revell started.

"Come on, I'm no fool. And don't worry, you'll get what you want him for."

Though, I knew that we didn't have a clear idea on what that was. I was looking through it again as they were arguing with Ceres about this idea. I then knew what they wanted the guy for. He was a crime boss, though there was no clear evidence on this. I was wondering if Ceres could use her underground network to her advantage. I then started to notice that he had a lot of ties to New York. I would have to ask later on that. The autopsy hadn't arrived yet, so we couldn't get anything on the body itself. Though, if my memory serves me right, she looked like she was taken by surprise and then killed. Almost like a predator rather than a human. It was also really messy, looking at all the crimes that was said to be linked to him. I just then got the feeling that somehow, it wasn't him, but he was still involved. Without anyone noticing, I took some of the photos, being doubtful that they would let us keep them.

After interrupting them as they were talking about something, we were shown everything they had on file. I was searching through it, not hearing what they were talking about. I was seeing something, something that could lead us in the right direction. I was writing down all the places he goes to. I also started to notice that in some photos where it's not only him, the people around him were also in the same dress. I went back to the first profile, seeing that it didn't have his fingerprints. I looked at everything and nothing did. I then went for his name and it was Mr. B.

After that, I gathered everything up and brought them over to the interrogation room, spreading them out on the table as I looked at everything. I also was taking down notes because Ceres got me a pen and paper.

[Ceres

Ken was working hard on studying the cases on him. Revell and his partner, Wendy Harvill, had other cases that they also needed to work on, so they allowed Ceres and Ken to the files. Their boss didn't notice them, since they stayed mainly in the room that Ken was working in. Ceres smiled at him, glad to see that he was working so hard.

"Does he get like this often?" Ceres looked at Wormmon.

"Not usually. TK normally distracts him before he can get this serious."

"Including when he wasn't over at his house or hanging out with him?" Fiterimon asked.

He nodded, "He would call Ken, like he knew when Ken was about to get tune out everything else."

"Is it a bad thing that he's like this?" Ceres asked.

"I don't think so, but it does seem like he doesn't notice anything around him." Wormmon looked at him.

"Ceres," Fiterimon looked at her, "Are we still going to look for a plane?"

She sighed, "I know I shouldn't be selfish about this, but I really don't want to leave until we get this taken care of."

"By what I can tell, it would be impossible to take him down for all that he has done." Wormmon said.

"But we will take him pay." She said with hate in her voice. "No one kills someone I know and gets away with it."

Fiterimon looked at Wormmon and shrugged. Ceres was now in her own world too, seeing things that only Ele seemed to understand.

After a while of this silence, Ken tapped the table, getting the creatures but not the human. Ken looked at Wormmon and Fiterimon.

"We don't know either." She said.

Ken tapped on her arm, making her look at him, "Yes?"

He brought out his whiteboard, 'I have an idea on what we can do that's more beneficial.'

"Like what?"

'We have to meet back up again, so let's head back to the inn.'

She nodded, "Okay. Are you keeping all that?"

'Am I allow to?'

"Yeah, I convinced them to let us handle the case now."

"She did, no magic involved." Fiterimon said.

'That makes it easier on me, then.' He mouthed before gathered everything and they went over Revell to get a ride. They picked up Ryan and Tim before heading back over to the morning meeting spot. From there, they got in their stolen car and went back to the inn without much talking.

"What did you learn, before Ken starts?" Ceres asked once they all had something to eat.

"I found out that the people in the morgue were planning on doing a poor job of examining her body." Tim said, "I managed to do it myself when no one was around though."

"Have you ever done something like that before?" Ryan asked.

"No, but I've been learning over at the hospital were Joe and Rowen works."

"What did you find?" Ceres asked with a bit of fear in her voice.

"What killed her was quick hit to the ground on her head. Judging by… Do you really want to hear details?" Tim stopped himself.

Ceres looked down at the floor before shaking her head, "No, not really… just why she looked like that."

"Whatever attacked her, it wasn't human." That made Ceres looked at him, "It was a creature, it wasn't earthy either, and it was eating her."

Ceres buried her head in her knees, bringing them up, "Ryan?" She asked with no quiver in her voice. Ken placed his arm around her.

"I got the photos from the crime scene… and they were planning on burning them for some reason." He said softly.

"Shendramon…" Ceres started before he stopped her.

"**Okay, this is me speaking through Shendramon. Thanks, by the way. The man that is connected to this is called Mr. B. According to all that the police have on him, he has no past and no fingerprints. Let me first say what I need to say before you start to ask questions. He's been involved with a lot of the underground networks, it seems, having his hand in everything. That is probably why they were planning on destroying what they had of the crime. He also has a company that is planning on going global and its main headquarters is in New York. Now, with all this information, and all the crimes that are connected to him, it seems like he's not involved with them. He is connected to them, but maybe not as the head boss or master mind behind all. I think that with all the crimes he's involved with, he's more like a secret police force that protects in the shadows…**"

"How dare you even think that?!" Ceres moved away from him, glaring at Ken, "He just killed a friend of mine! He's one the people that's been after my life! He's part of the organization that killed my boyfriend! Don't you dare make them noble!"

"**Ceres**," he said calming, "**I understand, I really do, which is why I looked hard to find if I was just assuming things. He is connected to them, and his past is more than enough reason to question him, but something isn't adding up. All the crimes that are similar to the raw savagery of this one aren't the same and they're not the marks of someone that has had experience in 'wiping out' people.**"

"They showed me Ilpalo's head. They cut it off to show me what they could do. Don't you dare say that they can't do something far worst." She pushed Ken to the ground, showing her anger, "You had had an easily life. The only problem was that you became the Digimon Emperor. You became a genius and an athlete over night. You never had to struggle just to stay alive. You don't know what the Real World is like. You never know the feeling of being afraid, of being hunted down like a rabbit or deer, and never knowing why you are."

Tim pulled her off of Ken, making her looked at him, "Ceres, you think that we don't understand that about you? But, at the same time, that's all you are."

"What are you talking about?" She pulled away from him.

"We all know that you're strong, and we all know that you run and that you're afraid. We see all of that clearly."

"And sometimes, you make it seem like that makes you better than everyone else." Ryan added, "That because you're being hunted, and had had a rough life, that you're better than everyone else around you. Well, our lives might not have been as chaotic as yours, but I can say that some of us have tough lives too. You shouldn't feel proud that you suffer more than another person."

"Why the hell would I feel proud about this? Do you think I want to suffer?"

"You left Japan, didn't you? If you wanted an easy life, you should've just stayed. You were loved, right? You have a mom and Akba to keep you company through all your days. You have other people around you that care about you, and yet you leave them behind. We all care about you, but sometimes we would like you to get off your high horse. You're not perfect by any means."

"**Guys**," Ken was rubbing his shoulder that was held down by Ceres, "**Don't worry about it. I'm sorry for sounding like I was praising them or something. I was just giving what I found.**"

Ceres walked pass him, and got to the door before looking at them, "I'll be back." She opened the door and as she walked out, she made sure that the door slammed.

[Tim

"I thought she was afraid to go out on her own." Ryan commented. Ken got up quickly and opened the door, looking around. I went over, seeing that she was no where in sight.

"Ele," I looked at her, "Where would she go?" I then noticed that her bag was here. I remembered the first time she came to the Digital World, how she would never let that leave her side, bringing Ele with her. I went over, picking it up.

"She said that this is the second time she was left behind like this." Fiterimon said, "And she doesn't know. Last time, she didn't come back for a whole week."

Ken closed the door, coming back over to us. "**What I was going to say next was that we should split up to his normal hang out spots. There are a few of them, but we should at least figure out why he goes there. They're not normal hang out places, either, and he visits them regularly.**"

"What about Ceres?" Fiterimon asked. "We're not going to let her be like that, right? If you are…"

"Don't worry, Fiterimon." Ryan said with a smile, "We're not going to do this without her, right Ken?" He looked at him. Ken nodded.

"Then we'll work on this until we figure out what this guy is up to and who really killed her friend." I said. I was remembering her body, how her organs where missing. Her breasts were cut up so that it could clean out the body. I don't know why her face was gone, but it was cut in a way that made it seem like a mask. The more I think about it, the more I'm starting to notice how it seemed like the body was being cleaned out for some reason, but wasn't able to finish. "Let's go try to find her."

Fiterimon smiled, getting on my shoulder that Shendramon didn't have. Ken allowed Ele on him and Ryan was carrying her bag. Once we cleaned up, we headed out. We figured that we should have a better look at the crime scene before tracking her down. Fiterimon suggested it as we were heading over there, so we could just get right to work when we found her and not bring her here again.

[Ceres

Ceres found herself at a bar in downtown. She never made it a habit to drink, but it was a dark place where she could hide. She was holding herself, not knowing what to say. When they were saying that she shouldn't compare her sufferings to others, that she wasn't perfect, that her pains aren't all that special, it hit her harder than she thought it would. What really surprised her, when she had to face her fear with Maeve; they had said everything she didn't want to hear. Now, they say they can see and understand, but that they have suffered too. It might not be big as running for your life, and they weren't telling her that she should just place her sufferings as nothing; they were just telling her that her superiority about it wasn't needed. That it no longer impacted them and it was actually getting on their nerves.

But how could they truly understand? She knew that she was capable of doing the same thing as them, what they did to Ariel. She had done the same thing before. Ken was calling it noble, how the hell could he do that? It was nothing to be boosting about.

Ceres remembered how he looked as she was yelling at him. He was calm about it, taking it all, including the Digimon Emperor comment. She was trying to strike at him like he had her, but it didn't work. It was like that didn't matter anymore. Didn't he hurt many Digimon? Doesn't he feel remorse or regret? She felt connected to Ken in that way, the way that they had been evil once and came back to the light but never could let go what happen. Was she now alone in that part?

She hated how everyone with her had gotten better. It wasn't that she didn't want them to, because she wanted the group back together. She wanted to be the one, not Panther, that brought the group together. She never knew how jealous she was of Panther. While Matt was gone, she was taking charge, making everything run smoothly. She was also the only one that had met Styxmon and was the one that Matt counted on the most. She also hated how Panther had a good life after she got let out of the gang. Matt was hers. She got all the attention, and Matt trusted her with everything. As she was living with them in the beginning, she saw that. She saw that everyone had their claim on Matt, but she never did. Whatever she tried, someone else already had. Even though she had her right to being serious when they mentioned that they had failed to keep the group together, she hid how much it hurt her when he spoke to her. It was like she was right then someone that wasn't apart of the group.

"_Ceres._" She suddenly heard TK say. She looked up, noticing that he was standing near a girl, a beautiful one at that. She had silver hair and it was up in a bun. She was smiling in a way that seemed supernatural. Ceres looked around her, seeing that she wasn't in the bar anymore.

"Where am I?"

TK smiled at her, "I think we're in your mind."

"Who's that?" Ceres looked over at her, shying away a bit at her gentle smile.

"This is Diana."

"Diana?"

He nodded, "I'll give you more when you guys get back. Oh, are you guys still traveling in America?"

"… Why?"

"Kaiba-sama is looking for everyone so I want to know how fast he can get you guys."

In the moment that Ceres was going to tell a lie, she looked at Diana. She held this sad expression on her face. Ceres was getting a bit annoyed that she was affected by this. "We're in Los Angeles, but we're doing something so I don't want to head back just yet."

"Okay. Oh, the reason I'm here is to help you."

"I don't need any help." Ceres looked away.

"Everyone needs it. As a matter of fact, you're the last one I need to get."

"I'm fine, TK. Take your noble act somewhere else."

"I don't think it's possible for a rain check, so sorry." He smiled, "I'm sorry I can't get anything about… Well, I don't remember any dialogue that Matt had, but I'll explain him after Panther."

"Why would I care about those two?"

"You do." He smiled. "Okay, these ones with Panther are when we went to go get you back." He pointed over to where an image was forming. TK and Panther were on Pegasusmon, Shendramon carried the Shuni family, Nefertimon carried Lily Dawn and Ryan, and the boat with Persephone and Charon with everyone else. Ceres remembered when she saw them all when she was falling with Ilpalo. She was happy to see them all again, glad to know that they all came. What was important that she needed to know?

"_We better get Ceres back before any war breaks out here." _TK looked at everyone, _"Not only for her own safety, but for everyone. I don't remember if I told you guys this, but she has the power to unite or break up any group she wishes."_

They all had some thought in their minds; that some end was going to come if she had stayed with Maeve. Though, it wasn't them that made her go back, since she was slowly forgetting about them, it was because Ilpalo wanted her to go back. They could've been waiting back home for her, and as long as Ilpalo had wanted her to go, she would've. So, whatever they were thinking of, the reasons they needed her on their side, it didn't matter in the end.

"_Ceres would never allow herself to be used like puppet!"_ Panther yelled at TK. _"She's stronger than that so don't you ever think that Ceres can't handle herself."_ Ceres looked at Panther, seeing how angry she got. It wasn't like a friend kind of defense; it was like a best friend one. Ceres was moved, for some reason.

"_I believe in her, Panther. I really do. I have every confidence that she can escape her kidnappers, but even she can get tired."_ TK was right about that. She was getting tired. For some reason, she was getting tired of running.

"_Don't start thinking about a big war then."_ Big war? Why would a war be started over her?

"_I was just stating their motive for taking her."_ TK smiled, calming Panther a bit. That's when she noticed that Panther had Ele and Yi-Yamon and her bag with her. She remembered when she first left them behind, like she did now. It wasn't that she abandoned Ele, but she needed some time alone, some real alone time. She doesn't mind that Ele is with her, but it was something that she needed. Ceres smiled, seeing that Panther was willing to take care of them for her like Ilpalo did before.

They stopped at the entrance to some dark cave. Most looked like they didn't really want to go through there, if it wasn't for the fact that it was needed to get to her.

"_This is as far as I can take you. I wish you luck on your journey."_ Persephone said to them as Charon started to take her back.

"_Thanks for all your help."_ TK said.

"_We wish for you to bring peace to this land, Neo Digidestined."_ Ceres looked at everyone, surprised to seem them more resolved. She didn't understand why, though. They looked like this was more than a duty or a mission; it was something that they were going to do because someone they care about needed them. It was like they had to rescue a love one. Did they really think of her like that?

"This next one is when we were fighting Maeve." TK said.

They were in the meadow where they were fighting the army, but now the army wasn't there. It was just Maeve and them. Ceres had always wondered if maybe she wanted her for something noble, for something that could bring her back to being good again. She had watched her throughout her life since Ilpalo died, so maybe she understood her desire to be good again.

"_Power here? Hun, I'm talking about all over. I have learned of her abilities and I'm not about to let the Greeks have her."_ Ceres's heart sank. She then knew that she was sought because of her powers, the powers that Ilpalo described to her. Was she nothing more than a tool to everyone?

"_She's not an item that you can use and toss away!"_ Panther yelled, showing her disgust at the thought that someone could think of Ceres that way.

"And now for Matt." TK looked at her, "He wouldn't have gotten you into the school and given you a home if for a moment he didn't want you apart of his life." TK smiled, "You felt like you didn't get the same feelings that Panther got from him because you allowed yourself to be closed off from them. He cares about you just like he cares about Panther."

"He's the same to everyone though." Ceres pointed out.

"No, because not everyone needs that. He's kind to everyone, but he's not the same towards everyone. You'll see when you guys come back that I'm right."

Ceres looked at Panther, seeing the fight now. She was trying so hard to get to Maeve. She wanted to take her down, to make her pay for what she said.

"Another thing too." TK said, making Ceres look at him, "Panther has also gotten a lot closer to you now. Lily Dawn is quite jealous of you."

"What?"

"Yep, Panther tells you things that are on her mind, but she doesn't tell Lily Dawn or Ryan like she used to in the past. So you're not rejected by them in any means."

"But that doesn't say much about the group." Ceres pointed out.

"True.. Well, Lily Dawn's anger isn't a group related thing, and it doesn't really affect the group on the whole."

"Whatever, it's not like they would care."

Diana came over to her, placing her hand on shoulder, "Ceres," Her voice was smoothing and full of everything Ceres wasn't. "Didn't they all come to get you?"

"They probably…"

"No, you saw it in their eyes. They consider you their friend, and a dear one. Do not fear them, and don't close them off. You need them as well, maybe now more than ever."

"I've been alone my whole life…"

"But you found happiness once, and you want that again."

"I'm not allowed to have it anymore. I'm a murderer and everything else that's bad."

"Ceres," TK said, making her look over to him, "Panther was in a gang. She was known as the toughest gangster around, and look where she is now. What makes you think you can't have the same thing?"

"Ceres," Diana looked at her, "You deserve so much more, not because of you suffer more or less, because you're a human being, and human beings always deserve more than what they have. It's their character that tells them which end they should get." She smiled, "And we all know that your heart is pure and noble and just, so you don't need the negative end."

"How would you know what's me?" Ceres didn't know why her words were affecting her more than TK's. Ceres had never taken people's opinion of her high, since she always thought that they didn't have a clue what they were talking about. But, she, Diana, was different in so many ways that it's hard to describe.

"I know a good heart when I see one." She smiled. "And you still have that good heart. That's why you're hurting so much."

Ceres looked down at nothing. In that moment, she was pulled into Diana. Ceres felt this overwhelming calm and love and everything that was them and more. That's when Ceres was resting her head on Diana's shoulder, allowing the feeling to fill her.

"You and I are the same, Ceres." Diana said.

"Huh?"

"I was the holder of Virtue."

Ceres looked at her, "How does that make us alike?"

She smiled, "It's one way, but there are other things. Virtue is complete, but unity is the ultimate oneness. I bring the others into the bigger circle, and you are the center of that circle." She opened her hand, bringing out a tri-ring ornament. Ceres was looking at it with awe. "Before I died, I completed this. This one," she touched the ring that had kanji for different virtues that were considered noble for a samurai, along with two symbols that connected that ring to Virtue, "was given to me by my father. He told me that this is my destiny." She pointed to the one that had all the Digidestined Crest, with Miracle and Destiny connecting that ring to the virtue that was already there, "And this one was when I learned about my deeper connection to everyone. And the last ring connects me to you guys." That ring made it seem like it was imperfect, but Ceres noticed that she made Peace touch where Light was, as if not allowing it to be by itself, even though it clearly was.

"It's beautiful. But why did you remake it?"

"I wanted something physical to remind me where I belong." She smiled sadly. She handed it out to Ceres, "But now, I know where I belong, so I'll give this to you so you can always remember."

Ceres looked at it before looking at her, "But it's important to you, right?"

"It won't do anyone any good if it stays with me. It would honor me if you did. You don't have to share it, because I'm only giving this to you."

Ceres looked at it once more before accepting it. "Thank you."

She smiled, "I'm always here. Call me as you sleep if you need it."

Ceres nodded, then she looked at TK, "Thanks."

He smiled at her, "I just wish I knew when it would be okay to get you guys."

"I think I have a way. Just tell Kaiba that he needs to keep his lines open for Pegasus and that the password will be 'Mon, mon Digimon, Digi-mon, mon'."

"Pegasus?"

"He knows."

TK nodded, "Okay. I'll see you when you guys get back then."

"I have to take TK back." Diana said as he was fading. "But I do mean that I'll always be there for you when you need me."

"How can you do this?"

"I have lots of power, just like you." She smiled, "Until you call me again." She then disappeared.

Ceres opened her eyes to see that she was still at the bar. She looked in her hand, seeing the tri-ring ornament in her hands. She smiled to herself as she got herself out of the place.

"Ceres!" She turned around when she heard Ryan. They were running over to her, with each having something of hers.

"How did you find me?" Ceres looked at them.

"I was feeling for you again." Tim smiled, letting Fiterimon go to her.

"Again?" Ceres was getting her bag and Ele back as well, placing the ornament in her bag.

"I did the same thing for when we were looking for you when you were taken. Anyway, we've decided that either tonight or tomorrow, we hit all of his hang out areas."

"That doesn't sound like a solid plan." Ceres was petting Ele, who was rubbing her head on Ceres's cheek happily.

"We're leaving the real decision to you." Ryan said, "After all, we won't do this without you."

"Why?"

"Because this is your friend. And even though to us, it's a life of a person, it doesn't have the same impact as it does with you." Tim said.

"Then why are you helping?"

"**Because it matters to you, that's all we need to help out too.**" Ken said through Shendramon.

Ceres smiled, really glad to hear that. "Okay, we'll get our bearings tomorrow."

They nodded and headed back to the inn.

"Where did you go?" Fiterimon asked in a low voice.

"I went to the bar, but TK and some lady found me there… I guess I'm now healing like the others are." Though, she was going to wait until they got home to see whether everyone wanted her there. Just because a few do, doesn't mean that everyone does.

[Ken

Ceres had stayed up the whole night. I couldn't really blame her, since I'm sure she had a lot on her mind. But, I noticed that she had this aura around her now. It wasn't the same one that she always had. It was like, slowly, she was getting over herself. When she was talking to me, I noticed a mad look in her eyes, the eyes that I knew I could have back then, the look of revenge. Tim, Ryan, and the Digimon were asleep. Fiterimon and Ele were the only ones up with her. I couldn't fall asleep, seeing her looking out the window for nothing. She came out with an ornament, something that seemed like I should recognize for some reason. I decided to get up around one to have a talk with her, if nothing else.

"Couldn't sleep?" She asked as she continued to look outside. Ele was on her shoulder and Fiterimon was on her shoulder. "Sorry for what happened before."

'Don't worry about it.' I mouthed, since I didn't want to write this early. 'You seem a lot different than before.'

She looked at me before nodding, "Do you know anything about Diana?"

_Diana?_ 'I know some things about her, if my feeling that TK came to you is correct.'

"How would you know that?" She seemed surprised.

'TK came to me too, when they were attacking.' I touched Faith, smiling at the thought of Kitty. I couldn't explain it, but it was like I was coming closer to her, closer than I ever thought I would. 'He told me that I was probably not having enough faith in myself and kindness towards myself, which was making me unable to use those two properly.'

"Did he show you anything?"

'No, he just talked to me. Why do you want to know about Diana? How do you know who she is, anyway?' I'm nearly positive that we didn't mention anything about this to anyone, since Kitty is someone that TK cares a lot about.

"She was with him, and she was letting me know that I could count on her whenever I needed her. I'm not sure how to describe her, but she's someone that, I think, could be like a goddess, by her purity and goodness and all that stuff. She doesn't seem to have any fails to her."

'She's human, but she's probably hides it better than most.'

"What do you mean?"

'Because TK told me that both her and her sister, the one that first held Faith, had no faith in themselves, but they had faith in everyone else… And, I think that maybe she hid how she held for the good of others, making her pain into her new found strength. People who are perfect have things that make them human too, they just hide them better.' I smiled. If TK is right, and she was involved with Matt's life so heavily, and if she really did love him as his play says, then when Matt dated Sora, I wondered how crushed she really was. I wonder if she ever got angry at him for what he did. Or did she just smile at him, giving him her best? I guess, we'll never truly know. 'I don't know much about her, but she was heavily involved with Matt and TK's life. The same with her sister.'

"So what does that got to do with me?"

'What did she say?'

"That we were the same in so many ways. That she was pure and I was the ultimate oneness, that she brings people to me to be apart of that oneness. What was she talking about?"

'Well, when all the virtues are gathered in one place, they create a force so strong that nothing can break it. But, that only happens when the virtues have no doubt and no fear. I guess, maybe, that for the first two groups, we needed to have Virtue and Faith apart of our lives, so we could get to that stage, to be able to have that strength to defeat those that we needed to defeat. But, with that strength, we get closer to what is really out there, which are the Neo Crest. Maybe she was supposed to bring us to this group so that we can all be stronger.'

"But Matt isn't doing that."

'He tried. He had told the first group about this group, and only three people were left out because of how they viewed Panther. Now, TK is having doubts about the first group, because of how they're now treating everyone, and none of us want you guys to feel like you have to bow down to them because of how much more experienced and how close we are to them.'

"But we are causing trouble, nonetheless."

'I'll let you know right now that I have no problems leaving Yolie and Davis behind for this group. I can't say that Kari will do the same, because her brother is with them now.'

"So why can you leave?"

I looked at Wormmon, smiling at the memories of when TK was over at my house. I then remembered what he now told me, how I was with their family now. 'I would never abandon my family. And right now, TK and Matt are that family.'

"How so?"

'I'm not really sure how to explain it, but I can also feel it too. That we're connected in some way that makes us brothers, but at the same time, not really.'

"So you would follow them because you feel like they're your family now?"

I nodded, 'You'll feel it one day. I can kinda see that Matt is trying to get you to feel it already, to call his place your home, but because they're my family, my brothers, I want to stay with them. I don't want to lose them to anything so I want to stay nearby so I can make sure of that. I know that when I want some alone time, I go over to TK's house. And when he wants the same thing, he goes over to Matt's house. Even though I know that Matt is like a brother to me, I was only allowed to go near him if TK was around. TK can be really jealous of people that get close to Matt for any reason.'

"Including Styxmon and Sora?"

'This didn't happen while they were dating. It happened when their folks died. As for Styxmon, I don't think that TK ever felt jealous of her, but he was weary of her because he happened to see her a bunch of times before she ever met Matt. He didn't let him know that, though, and he never told me what she did that made him distrust her so much. Anyway, you'll know where you home is, even if it takes you a long time to realize it. It's a hard thing to miss.'

"Many places I've called home. I want to stay with everyone, but something is telling me that there's still something out there. Something that I must do before I have a home."

'Then just make Japan your safe haven.'

"It already is."

'Then maybe you're looking for a place that isn't your safe haven. Maybe you're looking for a place that needs you and a person that loves you and believes in you, someone that can carry on the name Unity.' I smiled.

"Why would I want to give up my Crest?"

'So that the person you care about can have something to remember you by. It's not for the memories, but for the feelings and the emotions that you left behind… I'm starting to sound like TK…'

She started to laugh, and the same with Fiterimon since she was the other one that was up. "Fiterimon, do you feel that way?"

She nodded, "I do. I would be happy just to stay by your side forever." She smiled.

'I think all the Digimon feel the same way.' I looked at Wormmon, 'The good or bad that we've done, the moments when we were our true selves, and the moments when we weren't, they care about us through it all. But, do remember that you guys should stay with us but also have a different mind than us. Wormmon saved me from myself, and without him, I doubt I would've ever saw the error that I was doing.'

"I'll make sure that Ceres is in line always." Fiterimon smiled.

"I don't need a bodyguard." She laughed. "But why are you mentioning that? We all know that the Digimon don't have to have the same opinion that we do. We also realize that there's a possibility that they can even leave us. At least, that's how Ryan views it."

I shook my head, 'He might think that way, but he knows that it isn't true. Because the bond that is created isn't one that can be broken. Wormmon stayed with me, through all my cruelty, and he died to save me from myself. And I'm mentioning it because the other Digimon look like they were slowly losing themselves to something. I remember Kenmon and G Stingmon, and it was almost like my relation with Wormmon.'

"Why almost?" Fiterimon asked.

'Because the thought that maybe it wasn't a partnership, but an agreement is now popping into my head. I don't know which one it is, but I'm also positive that it's a stronger bond than what they have with each other.'

They nodded, "We all have a deep connection to our Digimon too." Ceres said.

I smiled, 'I know.'

[Ryan

We separated ourselves into two teams. Tim and I were going to head to the places that didn't require Ceres in some way. So, Ken got to go to a strip club and prostitution house. We got to go to a night club and an abandon building. I don't know which group was more luck.

The night club wasn't really open by the time we were there, but Tim managed to make it sound like we were there for something business like, so we were allowed in. Tim was talking to the manager, talking like they were making some kind of deal. I was looking around the place, with hardly anyone watching me. I noticed that this place had cameras all over the place. I wondered if we could use that.

"+Ryan+" Tim called. I looked over to see him standing up. I walked over to him before we left. "+Apparently, the guy doesn't know who the guy is, but he will allow us in for free.+"

"How didn't you manage that? Why would we need to get in?"

"Because even though he doesn't know him, he knows what he looks like. He watches the cameras and he comes in after every mysterious murder in the area. So he's curious as to why. He hasn't come in yet, so we have to check out tonight."

"Okay, so can Ken and Ceres come as well?"

"Yep." He smiled.

[Ceres

They went to the strip club first. Ken was not only acting like her main boss, but also her bodyguard. The owner was eyeing her funny, but not in anything sexual. It was more like disbelief and a bit of fear.

" So, do we have a deal? " Ceres asked.

" Before I make that, I want to know your origin. "

Ceres looked at Ken before looking at the man, "My origin?"

"Yes, where are you from?"

"Is that really important? If you think I'm a cop…"

"I have no doubt that you're not a cop. I don't think that any one of you guys could ever be a cop."

"What are you talking about?"

He stared at her for another moment, "You don't realize what you are, do you?"

"I know what I am."

"Who are you following?"

"What makes you think that we're following anyone?"

"Because of this freelancing I'm about to let you do. Do you even know the name of the person you're following?"

Ken tapped her shoulder, making her look at him. He mouthed 'Tell him the truth.' Ceres had this look in her eyes. She sighed before looking at the man that they were trying to get the deal from. "Mr. B."

His eyes widened a bit with that name. "Why are you… it's because of that girl, isn't it?"

"Can we really trust you? He comes in here all the time."

He looked around, "I'll be right back." He got up and went somewhere.

"Ken?" Ceres looked at him. He placed his hand on her shoulder and she sighed again. He came back and sat down, "I know that Mr. B comes here all the time, but he also not someone that we welcome with open arms. We have to open the doors to him to have any business."

"What is he? What are they?"

He sighed, "I'm glad that you are innocent of them, though sad that you were their target."

Ceres looked at Ken before looking back at him, "How?"

"It's not hard to see it. I've known many, but they knew who was chasing them. So, I will help you. What positions do you need me to give you? Where else are you heading?"

"Can we…" Ceres looked at Ken since he tapped his fingers on her shoulder. He held up two fingers. She looked at the guy, "We have two friends heading over to an abandon warehouse and they were at Wings night club. We're also heading to a prostitution house after this."

He looked at Ken for a moment before looking back at Ceres, "Have your friends come here later. Don't go anywhere else. It's not too dangerous, but dangerous if you want to watch him."

She looked at Ken before looking at him, "Okay." They got up and left. "+Are you sure?+"

Ken nodded as they headed out.

[Tim

We weren't seeing anything at the warehouse and we've been watching it for a good hour. The spirits that once lived here have long since moved on, or many died. Once cities still have them, but most human populated ones don't.

"Should we go in?" Ryan asked.

"I don't think so. People like to hide things in there. If we somehow got it wrong, I don't want to get messed up in something better than what we're already chasing."

"**Ceres is trying to call us.**" Shendramon said.

"But her through." I said.

_Yay! Thank you Shendramon!_ Ceres said. _Okay, come meet us at.. Where are you guys?_

_We're at the warehouse right now. _Ryan said.

_Oh, okay, so then meet us at the closest restaurant and we'll be there in a minute to let the other team know what's going on._

_Okay, Shendramon will contact you when we do._ I said.

_Right, over and out!_ And then she was gone.

We went over to the closest restaurant that wasn't really high class, but not McDonalds either. Shendramon sent over how to find us. They came walking in calmly, shown where we were and came over.

"So what's up?" Ryan asked. We were in a Chinese place, because we wanted tea and get snacks.

"We don't have to worry about going anywhere else. The guy at the strip club would allow us to go to him only. I think he's shady, but Ken wants us to trust him." Ceres said.

"Why?" I asked.

"**Not that I really trust him, but I'm sure that he's telling the truth. Now, whether or not he will tell him anything while we're not there or while we're working is another story, but at least for now he's not lying.**"

"So what was he saying?" Ryan asked.

"He knows the reason I'm being chased and he knew that I was being chased. He knew about Ariel and he knows about Mr. B. For some reason, even though he doesn't like to welcome Mr. B, they have to for business." Ceres said, taking some tea. "I'm nervous though, if he knows about me, then I'm nervous about what else he knows."

"If he knows why, why not ask him?"

"I probably will try."

"So, are we going there?" I asked.

Ceres nodded, "After we get something to eat."

We ordered the small dishes. Once we were done, we went over to the strip club. The guy was weird looking, as if his skin was kinda not his. He seemed okay, though I guess if Ceres is worried about him, then we should be as well.

"So these are your friends?" His voice was normal sounding. I looked around, noticing that none of the sprits were around here either. I've heard them in the city before, but they're not everywhere.

"Yes. This is Tim and this is Ryan." Ceres introduced us.

"What are you guys good in? Ceres is going to be a dancer and Ken was going to be a guard." He looked at us.

"+What are you good in, Tim?+" Ryan asked in Japanese.

" What do you need? " I asked the manager.

" A bartender will always be good and I can always use more guards. "

"Then I'll be a bartender and Ryan will be a guard."

"Are you any good at being a bartender?"

"Ryan isn't very good at speaking English as I am. I know that bartenders are people that others like to talk to." Besides that, I wanted to have a clearer view of everything so I can have Shendramon inform everyone with any updates.

"That is important. So, I guess I better get you familiar with what we have. I'll let you three roam around to get familiar with the area. Mr. B hasn't come here yet so I'm sure he would come by any night now. Are you going to be staying here?"

"We'll see." Ceres said as they headed out.

I went over to where the bar was, learning about the drinks that were there. I was also studying what it was made out of. I hardly drink; sake at most on special occasions, but that's about it. Unknown to everyone, I once had a friend that knew a bit about wine and liquor. Sometimes, my self-acquired remembering habits are a curse. So, at this testing, I was pretty good at what he was telling me.

[Ryan

Ceres was showing us the dressing room. We were carefully looking around the place, wondering what was so special about the place. Once we were satisfy with that room, we looked around the place. We even went upstairs, seeing that he also had showers and beds.

"Should we stay here instead?" I asked.

"I don't think so." Ceres looked at Ken, "What do you think?"

He held his amulet, closing his eyes for a moment. I really wondered what he was doing. He looked at Ceres with a smile. He pointed to the floor, then pointing to Wormmon.

"You want Wormmon on the floor?" Ceres asked.

"He's saying that we should stay so that we can be another set of eyes." Wormmon said.

"How can you get that?" Ceres asked.

"I'm also good at this game." Ken started to laugh as Ceres was pouting.

"Did you get that?" She looked at Espomon and me.

"Nope." We both said.

"They're not playing the game." Wormmon said with a chuckle.

"Fiterimon, Ele?" She asked, though, it became obvious that they didn't even see it as they popped their heads out of her bag.

"What?" Fiterimon asked.

"… Nothing."

"You call us out and then say it was nothing?"

"I was going to ask about understanding Ken, but since you weren't out, it's pointless."

"Oh, okay." They went back down.

"Well, we better let the guy know that we're staying here. What's his name anyway?" I asked.

"Meriv." Ceres said as we went down. Tim was still being taught, so we hung out at one of the tables before Ceres started to dance on the stage. She wasn't anything like Lily Dawn, though I don't know if she could, or would, do the kind of dancing that Ceres was doing.

"Nice, very nice. I see that you're a natural at this." Meriv said as he and Tim were walking over. "But what you need is to hide what you are."

"What am I, exactly?" Ceres got off the stage.

"You're a very powerful and war-like race. Your race was known to be very dangerous while they were living on their home planet…"

"What you saying that she's an alien?" Tim asked, though in a serious manner.

"Yes."

We all looked at Ceres, and she herself was puzzled. She didn't really know what to make of that.

"Go on." I said, since I figured that Ceres would like to hear more. "Why don't we all sit down so that we can all hear it?"

They all moved to the table that we were using, with Tim and Meriv having to pull up a chair. "I know a bit about this race, since I'm interested in everything that is extinct. Before you ask me any questions, let me tell you what I know. As I was saying before, this race is a very powerful and war-like race. Ever since they were born, they were trained to be fierce warriors. There are three periods that are major in their history on their home planet, Vegeta. They had kings and royalty, but only after they were able to obtain their planet. The planet wasn't always known as Vegeta, and there was another, more advance and peaceful race, that also lived there. The warrior race over powered them, leaving no one alive. They took over their technology and were soon putting that into their own usage.

"This is when the first period began. It is known as the First Generation. There have been rumors that with the technology that they gained, a few families had actually left the planet. No one really knows why this happened, and it's told only in myths. The myth goes like this. An heir to the thrown, loyal relatives, their most trusted guards and a peasant all left the planet in reach for something greater, for a better planet for them to conquer and rule. They brought within their blood the secrets of their race, and to this day no one else has been able to unlock the full mysteries of their blood.

"The second period is known as the Second Generation. Leaving the planet was something that commoners did that didn't have enough fighting skills within them. But, this is also a time that most aliens know because they were then captured by another alien race, forcing them into slavery. The slavery lasted many, many years and the original royal blood line was lost. A new leader was able to rally them up and fought against their captors, renewing their warrior race.

"The third period is known as the Third Generation. This is during the time that warriors were going out and actually conquering other worlds, something that didn't really happen before. This caught the eye of a powerful being, third in power compare to his father and brother. He took them under his wing when the last king was ruling. In a promise to serve and be loyal to only him, this being allowed them more opportunities to fight and get stronger. But, soon they realized that it was slavery all over again so they tried to rebel and were annihilated completely. But, there were four that managed to escape the annihilation. That was the prince, a comrade of his, and the sons of a lowly soldier. The prince, his comrade, and one of the sons stayed under this being's rule. The other son was sent to Earth, where they all eventually came. Now, there are only two full blooded people from this race left, and they are the son that was sent here and the prince."

We were all silent for a moment. He smiled at the effect that he was creating, since we all wanted him to continue.

"Now, Mr. B and his organization are interested in this race because the race that had enslaved them is still around and would like them back under their control. They are very powerful politically in the universe and they have the means to back it up. So, they have asked the Men In Black, aka MIB, to send them any that they find. The only ones that they can't take is the son and the prince and their descendents, since they've saved the Earth a bunch of times. So, that means that any other rogue person is sent to them, as long as they show that they are not hostile or can be proven that they are part of the Second Generation. If they are known to be part of the Third Generation, then they will try to annihilate them as well.

"I know, I said that only four lived, but there was a group of warriors that were given the blood of the race, turning them into the race. They were loyal to the king and his cause. The being that they were fighting managed to steal their powers one day and sent them back to where they came. No one knows for sure where that is, but there have been a report that one was spotted in Europe not too long ago. So, they are also looking for them.

"Now, the MIB's are not stupid. They know that because of the heavy migration during the Second Generation probably landed some on Earth. But, unfortunately for them, they have no clear idea on when this had occurred. The time of Vegeta has changed over the generations, and they never kept a clear time record. The race that had enslaved them did keep a record, but it was about the middle of the generation, and even that is uncertain.

"And that is why they are chasing you. They had discovered your bloodline and they are either going to try to kill you or capture you for the purpose of sending you to that other race to be their slave."

"What is my race called?" Ceres asked after a moment, probably thinking which one it was going to be.

"You are known as a Saiyan."

We all looked at each other before Tim looked back at Meriv, "What do the MIB's do normally?"

"They maintain and defend the Earth from aliens."

"We're planning on staying here." I said, so that he knows that we will be needing rooms.

"I was hoping so. Now, let me show you how to better hide yourself." He got up and we all followed. He walked into a closed off room, searching through it before bringing out a box. He handed it to Ceres. "Mr. B isn't a fool, but I've been experimenting with this and I have found that it works. It will help with your disguise."

Ceres took it and opened it to reveal a make-up kit. She smiled, "Thanks. And thank you for telling me."

"You're welcome. Now, whatever you want Mr. B for is your business. I'm sure that I can explain it to you, but I'll let you discover it on your own."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because, it might be better that way. Who knows? If it turns out that it's the wrong move, then I'll correct it."

Ceres turned to us, "Let's get ready for night." She smiled, "Is there anything else I'll need?"

"The make-up is all that you need to apply before even heading down to the dressing room. I have other aliens here."

She nodded and we followed him to the rooms that we'll be using. Ken and I were given the uniform for the guards and Tim was given a bartender outfit. We were all getting changed as Ceres was applying the make-up.

[Ceres

She was looking through everything that was within the box. They didn't seem to be anything special. They also seemed to be store bought. She picked up some blush, one that wouldn't really match her skin tone, and brushed some on. The cheek instantly became that shade, looking very natural. She went looking around more, thinking about changing the shape of her face, but then thought better of that. She started to mix some colors together as she was applying it on her face.

"Wow, how are you doing that?" She turned around to see that they were all back from changing. Ryan came up to her, looking at the effect she had created.

"Make-up is another form of art, you know." She smiled, turning back around to finish it up.

"Though, I would like to know how that's going to keep you from being spotted." Tim said, taking a seat on the bed.

"**Maybe there's a special formula that mask her alien blood?**" Ken offered. "**Though, you'll probably be able to see the effect, Tim, once she gets out on the stage. I'm sure he won't put her on until he shows anyway.**"

"I could walk around, so doing a show isn't really an issue."

"Are you comfortable with this?" Ryan asked, watching her.

"Yeah, I've done it before when I needed quick money. I've been a prostitute before, though it was for a police operation."

"Never done it for money?"

"Nope." She winked, "I'm proud to say that I'm a virgin."

"That is impressive." Tim said without realizing what he had said. "Oh.."

Ceres started to laugh, "It's okay. I know, I don't seem the kind that would be able to hold on to it."

"I have to admit, that is true. I would've thought that you at least had done it with your boyfriend."

"Nope. I wasn't ready to give him that much of me."

"I guess we really do need to wait and see. I'm not seeing anything special yet." Ryan said.

"Neither am I, but I guess I'll wait. Where are you guys going to be stationed?" Ceres looked at Ryan and Ken.

"**I know that I'm going to be outside being a bouncer. I guess we can keep Ryan somewhere on the inside so that you have more security.**" Ken said.

"I'm okay with that. Plus, watching the girls will give me some interesting scenes to draw." Ryan said.

"Do you have a good memory?" Ceres asked.

"Not really."

"Ele, Fiterimon, I'll need to send you two on a mission." She looked over to them.

"Yes?" Fiterimon asked, with Ele on her head. The Digimon were hanging out on the beds as they were changing.

"I need you two to go get Ryan a camera. That way, he can get the images he wants."

"What time is this going to start?"

"Around ten."

"We'll be back." They left through the window.

"**Wormmon, go with them.**" Ken said and Wormmon did so.

"Why? I'm sure they can handle it?" Ceres asked.

"**His Silk Thread attack is able to pick up stuff, so I thought that he could use that.**"

"Oh, okay." She smiled.

They were then just talking. The Digimon came back around seven and Ceres fixed it up so that it wouldn't flash, but take pictures as if the flash was on.

At eight, Meriv came to get the boys. "Beautiful. Simply beautiful!" He said as he looked at Ceres. "Go ahead and pick what outfit you want to wear. You'll be working the floor, but I'll have you go on the stage once Mr. B comes."

"Why?" Ceres asked.

"Because the showgirl is who he likes to know best once he's done talking to me." He looked over at Tim, "And we normally talk at the bar."

Tim nodded, "Okay."

Meriv headed out.

"I guess that means we won't be able to identify him?" Ryan asked.

"**I know what he looks like, so I'll be able to contact everyone when I see him. Though, he might not come through the way I'm guarding.**"

"We'll just wait and see." Ceres said and they headed down.

[Tim

I was cleaning up the bar area, as part of my job. Ryan was stationed inside and Ken was stationed outside. Ceres was in the dressing room right now, with Fiterimon with her. Ele, Espomon, and Wormmon were the only ones that were that were still in the room. Shendramon was with me and was keeping a close connection to Ken for information. He was also going to be his voice when he needed it. Around nine, another bartender came in.

"Oh, you must be new. Hi, I'm Jason." He greeted when he came towards.

"Hi, my name is John." I smiled, shaking his hand, "And I am new."

"Is this your first job?" He started to help me with the cleaning.

"As a bartender. I knew enough for him to hire me. I have friends who love to drink so I know what is what, but not too familiar with the mixing."

"Oh, that's stuff easy. I'll help you with that if you want."

"Thanks. Are you the only one that worked here before?"

"Oh, no, there are other bartenders. I just work tonight. Normally he only needs one, but I guess we can always use two. How many nights are you working?"

"He's testing me out right now, so I have to work every night for a while."

"Oh, I see. That is what he seems to do with green people. Well, I'm glad that we're working together." He smiled.

"Same here." I smiled back.

He then proceeded to show me how to mix the drinks. And to add to the oddly of me working at a bar, I was finding it fun mixing everything. I guess since it reminded me of science that it was a lot easier for me to do so.

[Ceres

Ceres had already gotten something on. Since she was just working the floor, she didn't get any of the costumes. She took her time getting picking one, and when she finally chose one, other girls were coming in.

"Oh, are you new?" An Asian girl asked.

"Yeah, I've been working at other strip clubs and I wanted to check this one out. So, what can you tell me about it?" Ceres started to take off her clothes.

"Oh, it's a lot of fun. You probably know that most guys are rude and what not, but the men here aren't like that at all. Are you going to be a showgirl or a floor gal?"

"I'm working on the floor for a while. I don't know if I'll be on the stage."

"Oh, I see. Well, you'll find that the guys are nice. We do get the occasional jackass, but rarely do we ever have problems."

"That's good to hear. I've been to a few where it was nothing but bastards. They couldn't even hold their liquor and they tried so hard to be the big man in the place."

"Oh, tell me about it. I've been to a few of those places too."

"What's your name, by the way?"

"Oh, I'm Tiff, but my name out there is Asian Lily."

"Nice to meet you, my name is Ceres and out there it's Naze." Meriv told them about the stage name, even for the ones that are on the floor. She was allowed to pick what she wanted to be called, the other girls were given the names.

"Naze?" She seemed confused.

"Yep."

"What's that?"

"It means, why, in Japanese."

"Why did he give you that name?"

"He wanted to try something out with my name, so that's why he picked it."

"That's interesting. Well, I'm glad that we can work together."

"Same here." Ceres smiled.

[Ryan

The men started to come in around late nine. They first got something at the bar before coming over to the tables. At ten is when the girls started to come out. The stage wasn't light up, but there were a few lights on the floor for everyone to see. A few more guards came in, though I'm sure there are lots more that I didn't see where they were being posted. Unlike with Tim, no one came to greet me. That was cool, but I thought it would be interesting. I even heard Tim giving out a false name, for some reason.

At ten thirty is when the showgirls came on. Meriv was introducing them and then they performed. After the first gal did her show, and I must admit that it was very attracting, another guy was introduced the next girl. I watched the floor, spotting Ceres out of them. She was doing a lap dance with some guy, and he was obviously liking it. I was near the rooms that they could go into. I was really glad that I wasn't hearing what was going on inside since I don't think I wanted to know.

So far, everything was nice and smooth. I was please with that, at least. I kept getting some Coke so that I could stay awake. I made it seem like I didn't know Tim, though he was the one that got me it every time. Then, Ceres came walking towards with me a man following her. I didn't notice any nervousness as she opened the door and let them go inside together. Though, considering that she won't even let her boyfriend do her, I knew I didn't have to worry about that. Still I stayed near that door just incase I needed to come in. I looked over to Tim, and he nodded. I guess that meant that Shendramon was also keeping his mind on her as well.

For another hour or so, they were in that room. They weren't see-through, but I could make out what was basically going on. They were talking for the most part, though I wondered if they were also drinking anything. I went back to watching the girl perform when Shendramon came into my mind, "**Go inside.**"

I opened the door since they weren't locked. I saw that the guy wasn't human at all and he managed to pin Ceres down. Something was oozing from his mouth as he went to remove what little she had on. He looked over towards me before roaring some monstrous sound. I removed him from Ceres, "Get out of here." I said with courage that I didn't really have. Ceres looked scared, maybe the reason why she didn't do anything. He roared at me again before putting back on his skin and left. "Are you okay?" I looked at Ceres.

"Yeah… Thanks.." She smiled, "Man, I wasn't prepared for that." She rested her head in her hands.

I went over to her, hugging her, "Don't worry, we got your back."

"I know.. Why weren't you scared? I was so scared that I couldn't move." She hugged me back.

"Oh, I was, but you were in trouble and I had to show that I knew."

She laughed, "Thanks."

"Oh, yeah, I just remembered, you don't have to worry about convincing me. I was convinced a while ago."

"I actually forgot about that. What did?"

"I want Espomon to have good memories of me and I realized that I never really believed what I said."

"Good memories?"

"Apparently, our Digimon are going to be locked up for the next time that they're needed. When that happens, they'll forget about us."

She was silent for a moment, "I'll do the same. What about Wormmon and Gatomon and Gabumon?"

"I think they're spared. I didn't see them."

"Okay.. we'll give them the best memories of their lives." She rested her head on my shoulder for a moment before removing it. "I better get back on the floor."

"Okay." I smiled. We got up and walked out. I then closed the door as she went back to what she was doing.

[Ken

The place didn't close down until three in the morning. Mr. B didn't come in, and Shendramon didn't say that he had appeared. So, when it was done, we all just went to sleep. I wished I had a jacket since it would made being outside a whole lot easier.

Around one in the afternoon, we got up. The room that we were in had a kitchen and a bathroom, where a shower was located. So as we were getting ready, letting Ceres take a shower first, Wormmon and I were making the meal. Meriv gave us things to make, and we also invited him to come if he wanted, so we were using what we were given to make it, so it was nothing like a Japanese meal.

"So what was going on in the room?" Tim asked as we were all sitting around eating at three.

"Something was attempting to rape me." Ceres said without emotion or concern.

"Something?" Espomon asked.

"It was some kind of alien." Ryan stated. "We can probably assume that this place is crawling with aliens, with only a few humans here."

"How was it?" Espomon looked at everyone, since Wormmon and he were the only ones that had to stay behind.

"It was actually fun." Tim said. "The guy I was working with, Jason, was fun. He knew a lot of the costumers, so I have to assume that most people were regulars since they also were inquiring my name and talking to me quite a bit."

"The girls were relatively friendly." Ceres said, "The showgirls were the ones that considered themselves better than anyone else. The only problem I ran into was the attempted rape, and it won't be a problem for the next time since I'm not going into rooms anymore."

"That's good to hear." Fiterimon said. Ceres smiled at her partner.

There was a knock at the door. Tim got the door to see that Meriv was back, " Are you guys doing okay? " He asked as he entered the room.

" Yeah, I have a question though. " Ryan said. " What kind of costumers come here? "

"Mainly aliens looking for something good to have at, but we also get humans. Most of my workers are aliens, but I do have humans, which is why everyone is required to wear their disguises."

"Do the customers know who are aliens and who are human?" Ceres asked.

"Most do, but some don't care."

"What do they do when they get a human?" Tim asked.

"Depends on their kind. They could let them go or they could do her or they can eat her."

"And you allow that?" Ryan asked. "Can I stop that from happening?"

"They know to listen to my guards, though some might want to take issue and could attack so I wouldn't advise being a hero."

"I'm not about to let humans be used as snack foods."

"And what about being raped?"

He looked at Ceres, "You have a better understanding of this kind of place."

"Not all girls here are looking for sex. Most are doing this for the money and it's the easiest way for them to get it or they do it for the thrill of the atmosphere."

He looked at Meriv, "Then if they're rejecting it, I'm going to step in."

Meriv smiled. It wasn't evil or saying that it was impossible. He was smiling with a happy and grateful expression, "Remember that they're my costumers and they pay for going into the room."

"What's with that anyway?" Ceres asked. "I was told that if you're brought into the room that the price is much higher than the entrance fee."

"It's all for that Russian roulette chance that the girls are getting. They're not always of their right mind and some can't tell one alien from another."

"And they allow this?" Tim asked.

"We don't find out until the end of the night. That's why we do a head count of who showed up and who ends up at the end of their shift." He looked over to Ceres.

"Then that's not going to happen while we're around." Ryan said, "And when we leave, you should get better security."

He smiled, and one that said that he was grateful for the input, "I can only have the guarding positions that I have you two on right now. What you're doing is against regulations."

"What?!" They all said with disbelief as I watched him, though feeling the same way.

"Mr. B and the MIBs are the ones that set that up as a way to keep down the hostilities they might otherwise cause."

We all looked at each other, all nodding in agreement that we would make sure that they know that we disapprove of that when we talk to him.

Afterwards, Wormmon and I went outside to do some shopping. Meriv gave me some money for another suit for Tim, since he didn't have one on stock but he had a friend who would give it to him if I handed him a note. It was written in another language, reminding me about books. I wondered how far Kaiba-sama got in them. I was also getting more food for tomorrow. I couldn't explain it, but somehow, cooking for everyone and not really allowing them to help was very, very familiar to me and Wormmon. Though, even though it's familiar, we also know that there's something missing. Like all I had to do before was looking across from me to have it there and to make it feel complete. Sometimes, I wonder if it's TK that's supposed to be there.

So anyway, we got the suit for Tim, with the guy making rude comments left and right about Meriv, though I'm sure it's from their long friendship. At least, that's what I'm hoping for anyway. I then went to get the food, which I didn't get that much since I didn't want to cook too much for lunch tomorrow. We get to eat while we're working, so I don't have to worry about dinner. Wormmon was being my voice as I was ordering, which I thought was amusing because of his accent. The Digimon do know other languages fluently, though, so that at least helped out here.

When I got back, I handed Tim his suit and went to set everything in their proper place in the kitchen, which was also very familiar.

"Ken," I looked to see Ryan walking up with Espomon, "want any help?"

I handed him something and he helped me put it away.

"Oh, we also decided that the Digimon would be with us this time." He said once we were done.

I nodded, thinking that would be good.

[Tim

Another guy name George was working tonight. He wasn't as interested in talking to me as Jason, but that was okay. I recognize some of the people that came in yesterday as well. Shendramon was keeping an eye on the rooms, since it's now Ryan's job to make sure that nothing happens to the girls. Ken was still outside and Ceres was on the floor. I was amazed at how comfortable she was with this, though my thoughts soon went to Nereida as I watched Ceres. I knew that Nereida was pretty free-spirited, and that I had confined that in her. She expressed that side of her in her acting, but otherwise she was rather tame. She never got into fights, and even though Damon tried to hide it, I knew of all the times he was involved in one. I just never did anything, since no one was hurt and he never started it.

I actually think that her rebellion started when Lightningmon came into her life, which is probably why I linked it with the group. After all, Lightningmon was with her night and day and she told her everything. So, probably Lightningmon gave her someone that she could be her true self and she was then trying out what the other girls had.

And I now know that I was really harsh on her. She had just lost her best friend, which even I could tell Heka was, and I was just thinking about us. I didn't try to give her comfort like the brother I should've been. Damon only got mad at me for how I handled the situation, so it's only right that I apologize to her first. I also think that I should tell them what happened to our parents, and of my ability to hear and talk to spirits. Maybe, if they realize that we all have supernatural powers that are connected to the spiritual world that maybe they won't turn out like me. I know that they were about to, before we joined the Neo Digidestined.

I looked at Ceres, the one that solidified our group. I don't know whether she knows it or not, but she really did help out a lot. Yes, I was annoyed with her the most, but it was because I thought she would take Nereida under her wing and Nereida would never come back to me. But, in reality, she guided us through our troubles and tried to be our friend. I don't think she had ever really tried as hard as she did, and yet still be true to herself. She never lost who she was, and even though her past is still a mystery to us all, I know that one day we'll know it and understand her better. I've already seen a different side of her while on this trip. I know that she has good friends and she considers us her friends as well. Now, whether we're like all the others in that she can leave us without a goodbye would be an interesting one to find out.

I could also sense that Ryan had changed as well. There was this detachment that he held for a long while, way before we split up, and I think it had now finally passed. It was probably the issue that Ceres wanted my help on, but Ryan got to a conclusion all on his own, and is much happier for it.

Ken is probably growing more and more with every passing second. I know that he's a good person and someone that will listen to you, but now that he can't talk back, he's someone that can be there for you in body and spirit more than just words. Not only that, he's gaining a lot more calmness inside himself. It's like he found something or someone to think about that can put a smile on his face and a skip in his step and can sooth his soul. He now normally holds onto his amulet, as if needing it to connect to this thing or person. And as he holds onto it, a lot of his own worries and doubt seem to go away, helping us since he gets ours to go away too.

[Ryan

Nothing too much happened in the rooms. There were a few times when a girl needed the save, but nothing that I needed Espomon for. Which, I guess in a way, it's a good thing, but at the same time, who knows how long we're going to be here. I mean, this only last for as long as we're here, and then it's back to the way it was. Not that I want to be the hero of the story, but I want to at least let it be known to the women that they should warn their co-workers of the danger that could occur in these rooms. Though, they might also ignore the dangers and go in because of the money that's involved. I had Ceres tell me what the amount was, and it was quite a lot. I had to stop a fight at the bar, but that wasn't too much trouble since he does have other guards posted inside. Ken is the only one that is posted outside.

[Ceres

When they all returned for the night, Ceres decided that she should see if she could contact Diana. It wasn't like she needed to talk to her. She just wanted to find out how to do so. Plus, she felt this draw to her as well, and she didn't know why. Ceres also knew that Diana looked really familiar to her, and maybe she knew the answers as to why. Plus, she was connected to Matt, and she wanted to learn more about Matt.

When they all went to sleep from their long night, Ceres opened her mind to finding her.

"Diana?" She called, making sure that no wondering spirits came in.

Immediately, she appeared before her in a supernatural glow of an unworldly being. She smiled her righteous expression as she walked over to Ceres, "Yes?"

Her sudden appearance took Ceres a moment before she could speak, something so uncommon for her, "I just wanted to know how I could call you." She said humbly. What was with this girl that made Ceres become nearly a child before her, a child that has done something wrong to the person they absolutely love. "And I would like to know more about you."

"Do you want to stay in your mind or come to a place that I now dwell?" She offered.

"Where are you dwelling?" This caught Ceres's attention.

She smiled softly, "It's the place that Matt used to go to when he saw Styxmon… When our souls were still one… I'm not really sure where it is, but all I know is that I have more freedom in where I can roam than she can, even though we're still not completely separated."

Ceres thought about it for a moment. Panther once described it to her, since she asked Matt about the place before. It didn't seem like a normal place, since it didn't sound like anything Greek. "Let's stay here, if you don't mind."

Diana sat down, with Ceres finally noticing that she wasn't all proper since she was sitting like a teen would, "Okay."

Ceres sat down too. "How are you connected to Matt? Other than through Styxmon."

"It's more like Styxmon is connected to Matt through me." She smiled with joy. "And I'm connected to him through our childhood. Our parents were goods friends with each other, and our mothers delivered us together and at the same time. They were saying that Matt didn't have long to live because of something causing his tiny body to expand like a balloon. I wasn't in the same situation, but I was also being rushed out to be checked up on since I had too much power within me that my tiny body couldn't hold. So, as we were heading out, I looked over and touched Matt, giving him some of my powers. It saved both our lives." She paused for a moment.

"So you're the one with the powers of light and darkness originally?" Ceres asked, since it would've fit with what she already knew about Matt's dark powers.

She nodded, "Yes, but I didn't know what is what it was until years later. But, in either case, since then we were always with each other. Then, our siblings were born and we couldn't be happier. And even though we loved each other, we didn't really try to make it positive with everyone else around us. Our families were the ones that knew that we were in love, but unless you looked carefully, you couldn't see it on the outside." She said sadly.

"You're talking about when he went with Sora?"

"Yeah," She sighed, "But she did something to him, I now know that… Anyway, our parents got divorced at the same time too. I went with my dad, now knowing that he wanted to spare me the hardships that my sister was going to be subjected to."

"What was that?"

"TK told the whole world about it through his play." She smiled.

"Huh?" Ceres tilted her head.

"Rini was torturing Kitty in various ways, thinking that Kitty was her slave. I was never subjected to that and probably would've fought back if I had lived there from the start."

Ceres just remembered that in the play that TK wrote. So that's what she was talking about. "So that's your past?"

"Not really, it's an ideal world that TK would have liked to have happened."

"Why is it ideal?"

"Kitty and I are no longer of the living, and it would've been when we were all alive and living in peace."

Ceres nodded, "Please, go on."

"One day, my dad went up into space to do the same thing that Matt did. But, unlike Matt, there was an accident that occurred after take off and the spacecraft exploded in space, and my dad was the only one that didn't make it back. After that day, I lived with the Ishida's."

"Did you go to the Digital World?"

"I did, but I didn't meet my Digimon until the end of our first adventure as she was saying her goodbyes to her friends that had turned evil. I was also with Matt when he went into the cave of darkness, though I wasn't being affected like him, I was being choked of my voice since I also had my own share of sadness."

"The most virtuous ones do." Ceres admitted.

Diana smiled, "So, after that adventure, I had our Crest forged into chokers for our Digimon when we saw them again. I helped Matt with his band, being sort of like their manager. It was a lot of fun to see Matt having a blast up there. I knew during those days, going into space was the farthest thing from his mind. Then we were able to go back into the Digital World, and we followed. My Crest happened to have a Digimental as well, so I was able to join the battles, but only when they really needed it, and TK allowed me to know when that was. Kitty also came over more often during this time since TK had moved closer. She and I stayed in Japan when everyone had to travel, talking to each other and hanging out."

"Were they mad at Matt?" Ceres remembered that during that time, the others say that kids with a desire to be like Ken were brought together for the purpose of opening a gate to the Digital World. She wondered if they tried to stop them.

"TK and Kitty?" Ceres nodded. "Yes, they were. Kitty was also angry at me for just allowing it without a fight. After that adventure ended, I learned that my father was actually alive. I went with everyone to go see if it was true, and ended up fighting with my Digimon against some enemy of people that were friends with my mom and dad. After defeating this person, we had to send our friends through portals so they could forget about us and we could be trapped." She didn't seem too happy about this. "So, I went to the same school as Kitty, fighting the system so strongly that it surprised even me… But anyway, that's how I'm connected to Matt. We have a deep history together and when I died, my soul was taken up by Styxmon and my desire to see him again brought her to this world to see him."

"Wow, that must've been really deep. Is that the same for your sister?"

"Her desire is deep for TK, but at the same time, she longs to see another. She loves TK, and she will never stop loving him, but TK fell in love with Kari and Kitty doesn't want to ruin that for them."

"Who is she looking for now?"

"She wants to see if Ken still loves her. And from what I've seen recently, he still does."

"Really?"

Diana nodded, "It's her face that's now getting him to have more faith within himself."

"That's so cool. Can I tell him that?"

She shook her head, "Right now, it wouldn't do any good since the Digimon that is hosting her is after TK. Besides that, they might know that there's a deep bond we all share, but they don't know how deep it really goes and don't yet remember what it really means. Only when they remember will it be okay for them to know everything afterwards."

"Why?"

"Because they can't feel our pain and they wouldn't be able to mourn for us until they remember."

"Why do you look so familiar to me, anyway?"

Diana smiled softly, "Because you have a sharp memory."

"I know I do. Have I seen you before?"

She nodded, "Though, it's hard to explain since it's also not really me that you saw in person."

"Wait… you mean before my okaasan found me? You were the voice I heard?"

She nodded, "When Styxmon and I were in one body."

"What.. does that mean? How do you know that?"

"Because I happened to look. After Panther had painted that painting of hers, I was curious."

"You're in the painting too?"

"Yep, as the glowing figure."

"What are you to us? Are you connected to Panther too?"

With her nod, Ceres felt like she was losing someone else to Panther, someone that she thought she could rely on. "Though, I wonder if it's too early to tell you who I am."

"Just tell me what the painting means. I'm a smart person." She said kinda coldly, like a child that had lost her favorite toy and couldn't do anything about it.

Suddenly, arms wrapped around Ceres, making her look to see that Diana was hugging her, a way that a mother would for her child. Was this her personality? "The painting is showing the past of you two." Ceres looked at her, who didn't let go of her embrace, "Matt and Styxmon are there, and I'm showing Matt that I was also with him. I also told them that they would need to send you two back into the past because Megamon had come back here as well and the other groups would've needed your help with them. Both of them agreed to do it, sending you two into the past. I don't know how you two ended up being separated, though."

Ceres stayed in this position for a while, remembering the painting, remembering her past, and taking in what she was saying now. "Panther and I are sisters?"

"Yes, and I think Matt sensed that you two are his daughters."

"Sisters…" She thought about it, knowing how well they work together, how similar they are to each other. But, it takes much more than that to prove that you're related. "I doubt that. We're probably really good friends."

"Well, there's always one way of seeing if it's true." She smiled in her words.

"What?"

"Have the a few jewels placed in the amulets and see who can pull them out. TK already knows the main two who can, but he doesn't know that you and Panther can as well."

"And what good will it do for us to realize this?"

"For starters, you'll finally know where you come from. You would know where your origin lies and have a better understanding of yourself."

"Wait, if I'm a Saiyan, that means that Panther is too, so why was I the only one that they're going after?" Ceres moved, looking at Diana.

She held a sad expression, calming Ceres down a bit since she was concern for Diana, "I don't really know why they don't go into Japan often. Maybe because the two families that have sanctions live here so they don't want to chance meeting them. Plus, all aliens that come to Japan are handled by someone from Japan. You weren't being chased until you got here."

"So you're saying that I should've stayed home, is that it?"

"Of course not. If you had, who knows what information you wouldn't have. I'm sure there were good moments in your past."

There was, but that wasn't really the point. The point was that her boyfriend died, as well as other people, because of her. "Some days, I really do think that I don't deserve to live for what I've done."

She placed a hand on Ceres, then smiled, "Every live has meaning, and you're alive so that you can still accomplish something before your time is up."

"But you're died and you're doing things still."

"That's because I was put into another being that is connected to the dead. Who knows if you'll be that lucky. When you have the chance, talk to Sage or his sisters. They're really good at pointing you in the right direction and, apparently, giving you that home feeling."

"Sage?" Ceres wondered who that was. There was a Sage in TK's play, but she didn't know who that was in real life.

She blinked for a moment before thinking to herself. "His sister is Mina."

"Oh, you mean Date-san."

"Why aren't you calling him Sage?"

"Is that his first name?" Ceres asked excitedly.

"Yeah… Didn't you know that?"

"YAY!!!!" Ceres said with joy. Finally, she had something that Panther had. "And no, we only knew him as Date-san because he wanted his first name to be a secret for some reason. Panther got to know his first name though, but she didn't tell anyone what it was. His friends call him Sensei, as well as his sisters since he now teaches kendo at a dojo."

"Oh… That's really weird…"

"What is? How do you know about them?"

"Sage and his sisters were there when I found my father and Mina is the one that had to stay with us since she was part of the group that had to watch over other groups. Lita also had to stay with us. Layla and Sage went back. Though, what's weird is that no one is supposed to remember that part of their past."

"And how does… Wait… that means that you were the ones that made TK and Matt forget?"

"As well as the others, but it was Thunmon that actually did it, I just directed her where to aim."

"Why?"

"We didn't want everyone to mourn for us, even though we knew that we caused so much joy. That's why it's so hard for them to remember us."

"If you want them to remember now, why ever do something like that?"

"Never thought we would meet again and that they would try to remember us. We kinda thought that they would be fine with just keeping things the way they are."

"But you gave him powers that are dark, so Matt should've known about that. Because he didn't know, he was taken over by it twice. They don't know themselves without those memories. And just because their minds don't remember, their hearts do."

"I'm realizing that now. So, in the end, we ended up trying to do the same thing that Mina and Lita tried to do with more success. So, I'm trying to let them remember."

"Maybe you didn't get everyone, which is why they were still able to hold on."

She thought about it for a moment, "That could be it… Ask Sage for me when you go see him."

Ceres nodded, "I will. So, you're my mom. Which one is a Saiyan?"

"Both. I gave him some of my blood, and Kitty did the same thing for TK. So, they're also part cat."

"Cat?"

She nodded, "Our parents were cats that could also change into human form. My father was the Saiyan, having been given the blood of it when he and his friends went to the planet."

"When?"

"I think before its destruction, but I don't really know. I was never interested enough to ask. You can always ask Mina or Lita, since they were part of the group."

Ceres nodded, thinking that she will. She wanted answers, and maybe she will be able to get some. "Okay, I will. Thank you for your help."

She smiled softly, "I guess it's a hard idea to get around."

"I just need to look at it some more. I have a feeling that it's true, though." She held her chest, knowing it in her heart that it was true. It's been obvious from the start that they had a connection, "Will you go to Panther's mind as well?"

"She draws more strength from Matt, but if she wants to talk to me as well, I'll go talk to her."

"Okay… how are they doing anyway?" Ceres wondered if she knew.

"Matt is teaching one of the girls with him how to steal. The other two are trying to find a way to contact someone that Matt knows in Japan that's connected to the business world. Matt is a lot more at ease than before, though I don't really know why. Panther had used her jewel so she's glowing brightly. Everyone else with her is doing fine."

"Why did she have to use her jewel?"

"They were being attacked by some Digimon that's a deity. They're in the ocean right now too."

"And Matt?"

"In Shanghai."

"Oh, okay… TK?" She just realized that no one had told her anything about him.

"He's staying with Sage. Something has gotten into our friends, and I don't know what it is." She seemed really considered.

"Will it affect this group?"

"I don't know. I wasn't really thinking about it in that light. I'm just worried because they're not themselves and they also never got their memories returned the first time. I just hope that it's because of that that they're acting the way they are."

Ceres wondered if Matt still had an attachment to the other group. She knew that Ken and Kari did, and TK was losing his. And even though Diana hasn't seen them in a long time, she still considers them her friends even though they don't like the members of the group that she supposed to lead. "Have they done something to TK?"

"Sage wasn't TK's first choice when it came with people to stay with." She said with a sad expression, "The others scared him away, but I don't want you to think about avenging what they did, because it's not needed."

"I'll decide what I'm going to do with them once I know what Matt thinks." Ceres said in a firm voice. "After all, I don't know them that well and I could care less what they thought about me, but TK is a friend of mine, the same with Kari and Ken, and if they all agree that some separation time is needed, I'm all for that. Those four are more important to me than the rest are, even though I know that they're all very good friends."

Diana placed her hand on Ceres's shoulder, making her look at her, "I hope that one day you'll find out that you need to care for more than those closest to you. Sure, they are your most precious beloved, but you can't forget about the world around you. People grow in places where they can freely be involved with the people around them." She smiled. "That's why I never stopped Yamato or pleaded with him to stop seeing Sora because she was part of the outer world that he could be involved with."

Ceres smiled at her, "I can see how it's easy to see you as a strong person. Is it okay if I still call my foster mother my mother as well?"

A soft smile came across her face, "Of course. After all, you can still hold onto her, and I'll always be here for you."

Ceres nodded, "I should get some sleep. Where are you going?"

"I'll be watching TK, to make sure that everything is okay with him. It's also kinda funny, since I had to do the same thing once when we first came to the Digital World." She said with a bit of a laugh in her voice.

"Tell me all about it when we get back to Japan." Ceres wanted to hear about it. She wanted to hear the true version, not the one that they gave them so they would be happy without them. She wondered how different it will be.

Diana nodded, "Of course. Good night, and stay safe, Ceres."

"Night, mom." Ceres waved as Diana left in the same light that she entered. Ceres then let herself rest her mind for the rest of the time.

[Ryan

When we all woke up, Ceres seemed a lot more at ease and a lot more happy than she normally is. I mean, she can have her weird, overly joy moments, but this wasn't it. She was genuinely happy about something.

"Have you guys noticed how happy Ceres is?" I asked in a whisper as she was taking a shower.

"Yeah, now that you've mentioned it." Tim agreed.

"What's so weird about that? She's normally happy." Espomon pointed out.

"**But it's not like this.**" Shendramon said.

"You've noticed it too, right Ken?" I looked at him.

He nodded, "Even I've noticed it." Wormmon added.

"Why can't I see it?" Espomon asked with a pout.

"Should we ask?" I looked at Tim.

He closed his eyes, thinking about it.

"Is there a 'no girls' meeting that I should know about?" We all looked behind Ken to see Ceres standing there with her hands on her hips. Ele and Fiterimon both had the same look on their faces, saying that it better not be.

"**We were wondering what made this a particularly good afternoon for you.**" Shendramon asked.

She stared at us for a moment, as if unable to believe that we were able to see that. She started to laugh out of no where. We all looked at each other, and even Fiterimon had a puzzled look on her face. Ele seemed to be laughing as well, though somehow I got the feeling that it was for some other reason than what Ceres was laughing at.

"Are you okay?" Fiterimon asked as she was calming down.

"Yeah… yeah I'm okay…" She was taking in deep breathes.

"So what's so funny?"

"I never realized that I've become so easy to read." She said with a smile, "Good job on being the first." She gave us thumbs up.

"So, can we know the reason?" I asked, like a dog wanting a treat.

She came over to the table, having on this face that said that she was going to tell us everything, "It's a secret!" She said in a happy voice.

We all started to laugh. "Why does it have to be?" Tim asked once we calmed down, knowing this side a bit better.

"Because I want to get my facts straight and what not before I make an announcement about it. It's pretty big and it does involve the group, so I don't want to have an error in my report. But, I can at least say that it affects my life and Panther's life in a positive way." She said with a smile.

"Panther's too?" I asked, though really glad that it was something positive, since she hardly gets that.

Ceres nodded, "Yep, but like I said, I want to make sure that I have everything right and correct before I say anything on it."

"**That's okay. I'm glad that it makes you happy, though.**" Ken said through Shendramon.

Ceres smiled.

[Tim

It was going smoothly when it opened. I was having fun with the customers, though I knew that we weren't going to stay long, I don't think I would've minded staying here. Ceres was having fun showing off and moving her body in ways that she normally couldn't, it seemed. She was captivating her on lookers, nearly stealing the show without even being on stage. I don't know if it was my enjoyment of watching performances because of Nereida or my guy instincts, but I wondered what she would be like on the stage. I was betting that she would have the whole place in the palm of her hand.

[Ryan

I was taking care of the girls in the rooms sometime after midnight. There were a lot of them that were trying to eat the girls, and not just scaring them to death. The only reason I knew this was because of the position that they were in and I'm sure I was able to see it in their eyes. I kept it down that this is what I was doing, getting the girls to the back of the stage and calming them down.

"I think they're from the same race." Espomon said when I came back from my latest run.

"Can you smell that?" I asked.

He nodded, "Digimon run on the same thing. I can tell who evolves into what by their smells."

"The same thing with Super Levels?" I was curious.

He nodded, "I think so. I'll have to be around them longer to find out which one they belong to and how they get there."

"So, these aliens are from the same place… I should probably tell Ceres this…"

"Tell me what?" I looked behind to see her there.

"I've been running into the rooms for a good while, and Espomon knows that they're from the same race. The ones that want to eat the girls are from the same place, anyway."

Her face went stone cold, as if not wanting to show what she really felt about it since she needed to keep her cool. It reminded me of Panther. "I'll go inform Meriv about it." She said before leaving.

"**Guys, he's coming.**" Ken said, making Ceres stop. We all looked at the door, seeing Mr. B walking inside with a calm atmosphere around him.

I touched Ceres's shoulder, giving her a moment before she turned towards me. "I can take care of the girls. We'll let him know about that later." I smiled. "And don't worry about him. You're not alone when you go up there. We're always going to have your back."

That put a smile on her face, "Thanks." She took in a deep breath before heading over to the dressing room.

I looked at Mr. B. He took a seat near the stage, watching the performance that was going on there. Meriv came over to him immediately, talking to him. I looked at Tim and he nodded.

"**Ken said that he's coming inside. He got someone else to cover his place.**" Shendramon said as Ken walked inside quietly. He came over to me.

"Good, keep an eye on him when I need to go into the rooms." I said to Ken. He gave me his nod.

There was another girl that performed after the other girl was done. I was running back into the room, making sure that Mr. B didn't notice what I was doing. I was now taking note of the aliens, and Espomon was right. They seemed to be of the same race, at least the ones that were willing to eat the girl they brought in, and that was increasing. I was beginning to think that I was a fool not to notice what they did after they left the room, but I figured that the girls would appreciate it more that I helped them. It wasn't until it was near closing when Ceres perform. It was a good thing that there wasn't any more attacks, since I kinda wanted to watch her in action.

When she came out, her back was towards everyone and you couldn't make her out too well. When the lights hit her with the first beat, she turned her face towards us, showing that her make-up was animal like. I'm sure that it was a mix of cat furs that she painted on herself, probably explaining why it took her so long. She looked exotic.

By the second beat, words appeared and she was dancing to a dance mix of English songs. She was striping to another beat though, but it was going well with it. I was impressed, since I understood how beats worked because of Lily Dawn. She was striping to the base notes, but her body was moving to the melody and her dancing was matching to the words and the notes that most people dance to. Before high school, we wanted to learn more about dancing, so Panther got us into dance clubs so we could watch the people. That's how I know so much about this as well.

I was also impressed at how good Ceres was at bringing all of this to harmony, but making it also entrancing enough so you couldn't take your eyes away from her. I looked around, to see that she did get the whole place. I smiled, finding pride in this for some reason.

The last song is the only one that I recognized. She was nearly bare by this point, using the poles rarely and just using the beauty of her perfect form to gather us in. I never realized how near goddess like she actually was. I knew that Panther is the same way, but she hides it a lot under men style clothes. I don't think she's ashamed of it, or anything, I just think that she doesn't like the tightness the girl's ones can bring. Anyway, the song was called Headstrong, and I could see that she was telling Mr. B that she wasn't going to be afraid of them. I figured that as she was getting ready, she was also getting this ready. At the last beat, she was right at his face, letting her pose and the artwork of her painting to suggest the omen that was going to come.

The place was in an uproar as she got up and walked back to where she came. Meriv got up from his spot, heading to the back as Mr. B came over to us.

" Meriv said that you'll lead the way. " He said to me. His voice had a particular coldness to them.

He nodded, " This way. " I said as I headed to one of the farther rooms. I didn't want him to have a chance to leave us so easily. Plus, Ceres was right. Her pack will come to prey upon him. " Let me guess, you're going to see that new girl? " I asked, wanting to make sure.

"She's something, isn't she? How long has she been working here?"

"The boss has good eyes. Obviously, he can spy talent with just a glance." I said with a smile. I was laughing at myself, holding onto to my amulet, thinking of an honest way of lying. "Today was her first time on the stage, but she's been working the floor for a good while."

"Really? He must've been saving her up just for me. I can't wait." He said with some pleasure in his voice.

I didn't look at him, not wanting to know what was there. If I saw it, I probably would've punched him. I stopped at the door, turning to him, "For the special girl, how about some advance payment? If she's good on stage, she'll definitely be good at entertaining you." I said, remembering what Panther said about girls like that, though I knew fully well that Ceres wasn't like the others.

He didn't think it over much, giving the full amount and then some into the box, "She'll get more when I'm done."

I nodded, hiding my smile as I let him go inside. I closed the door once he was inside, waiting for Ceres.

She came by with Meriv, Ken and Tim with her. She was still wearing her make-up and the thong she had one when she left the stage. "He's in there." I announced.

Meriv then left, leaving us four here.

"+I'll entertain him for a while before you guys come in. Shendramon will let you know when that is.+" Ceres said, handing Fiterimon and Ele over to us as well as her bag.

"+You have us watching you.+" Tim said. Ken nodded. She smiled at them before looking at me.

I smiled to her, "I'll punch his lights out if he tries anything, okay?"

"Thanks." She closed her eyes, holding onto her amulet, making me notice that she didn't have her jewels on her.

"Where are your jewels?" Panther said that she never took them off.

She looked at me before smiling, "I'm entrusting you with them. I hope you boys can handle that."

I looked at them, seeing the same shock in their eyes that should be in mine. "Are you sure?" Tim asked.

She hit his chest. "If you all got my back, then I have nothing to worry about, right?"

We all smiled, "You can trust us with them." Tim said for us all.

"Great." She held onto her amulet again, closing her eyes. I could see that she was praying, but to whom, I don't know. I was glad that she kept her amulet on, showing off who her friends are and showing off her strength. She did bring us all together. When she opened her eyes, I opened the door, allowing her to enter.

[Ceres

She walked in, taking over the atmosphere of the place immediately. Ryan let the door close slowly, as she thought he would do. She stood before her enemy, her mother's spirit beside her. She needed her strength, the strength to face that which you don't want to, the power to stare at that which you hate with love and kindness. She also called upon a goddess that they have not met, a powerful goddess of prostitutes from the first civilized nation. She stood there: ready to partake in this game they were weaving.

" What's your name? " Mr. B patted the space next to him. She had her hands behind her, so she summoned up some drinks for him, as she was taught by her foster mother.

" Ishtar. " She smiled as she took a seat, pouring artfully the drink into the cup. Ceres offered it to him, " I hear you're a good customer. I'm happy that you choose me, since I was the last one and you had many more to pick from. "

He took the drink, "But you were more interesting. So, tell me, why did you do that to yourself?"

"It was my first time on the stage, so I wanted to show my stuff. Doing this was a way to take some of the nervousness away." Ceres was always good at adding truth with her lies, making them all believable. It also makes her truths lies when the lies are found out. "Do you like it?"

"Yes, it gives you an extra something. I should recommend that everyone do the same thing."

"You run the place?" Ceres asked, moving closer.

"Why, yes." He was playing off this idea, moving closer to Ceres.

She poured him more, since he was half way done, "That's impressive. I thought that ugly guy was just the lap dog. So, what do you do that keeps you from seeing your girls?"

"I have other jobs that need my attention more, but this place is owned by me." He took a bigger gulp. "So, tell me more about yourself. What brings you here?"

"I love excitement and I love the wild side of this place. I heard that this is the more dangerous place to work at, so I wanted to hit here first. I also want some extra cash and lots of it at once, if you get me." Ceres lay across, showing off her body more to him. "I may be young, but I know quite a lot."

"I noticed by the way you were dancing that you were knowledgeable." He placed his hand on her thigh. She kept looking at him, showing that she didn't mind. He moved it up and down.

She closed her eyes, making it look like something else as she was touching her mother and her guardian. She opened her eyes before he moved his body, "Before I go farther, I want to know what you're going to pay me. This'll be just between us, so you don't have to worry about that ugly jerk finding out and wanting a cut."

He grabbed her breast, making her gasp. He was holding it kinda hard as well. She winced a bit, but she was still looking at him. "I'll decide that when I find out how good you are." He pushed her down, making her drop her jug and the door fly open. Ryan was the first one there, giving a surprisingly good upper cut to Mr. B. He landed away from Ceres on his back. Ken came in; grabbing his arms and holding him down as Wormmon wrapped him with his silk. Tim closed the door.

"+Are you okay?+" Ryan asked, looking at Ceres as Espomon was growling at Mr. B, who was recovering from the blow.

Ceres blinked but then smiled as she stood up, giving him a hug. "+What took you?+" She asked with a laugh.

"We weren't sure if you were still in control." Tim answered, handing her his jacket.

She smiled at him, placing it around her shoulders and buttoning it so that her chest was covered. "Thank you."

" Now, " Tim looked at Mr. B, who was pinned against the couch, though unsure as to what is going on. " What's your connection to the murder of the girl that happened a few days ago?" He walked over to him, "Because we know that you're connected to her death, but we want to know whether you're a hero or a villain. "

" Who are you? " He asked, unfazed by what was going on.

"That's not important. We want to know what you know about that murder. We happen to know that you're working for an alien capturing organization." Ryan said, standing in front of Ceres.

"You were using that girl and this place to find me?" He asked with an angry voice.

"Of course." Tim said, "That's why we wouldn't let you go far with her. We don't want you, who could be an alien, hurt an innocent. So, tell us what you know."

"What is it to you?"

"+Ryan, you feel comfortable using your powers?+" Tim looked at him.

Ryan looked worried about it for a moment before Ken placed his hand on his shoulder. Ryan looked at him and Ken gave him a nod. Ryan smiled, "+Yeah, we better get the answers out of him.+" He brought out his jewel, walking over to him, " So, you think you're a tough guy, huh? Think that you can avoid our questions? "

" What is that girl to you? " He seemed to be jealous of Ryan. It was seen in his eyes.

"She's one of my girls." He smiled, making his jewel glow.

[Ryan

Once I felt that I was ready, I looked at him, "Who kill that girl?"

"A human."

"Is the alien race big and crude?" I was able to physically see what the real answer was.

He looked shocked, because I was describing the race that he was looking for. "How do you know?"

"Why was she killed?" He paused for a moment, debating in his mind as I saw the reason. "Was it because this creature was hungry and she was just at the wrong place at the wrong time?" I wondered what Ceres looked like as I was asking this.

"How could you know that?"

"And are you not going to do anything about? Is this race under some secret treaty with just you that allows them to do what they want without penalty?" I was seeing him signing something, with his face looking more stressed than the alien's.

"It wasn't like that at all!" He yelled before realizing it.

"Then what was it?"

"It was because they were going to destroy the earth." I looked to see that he was fooled.

"And how were they going to do that? By giving our children gum?" I asked with humor.

"They had weapons, powerful weapons. They were going to turn them on earth."

"So you're just going to let them run freely around this part of the earth. Why didn't they go to your headquarters to demand this?"

That thought never came to his mind before.

"So, what you're saying that you allowed her, and who knows how many others, to die by them because you were too stupid to see that they were fooling you to give them food?"

"What do you know?" He got defensive, meaning that I was right.

"I know that you're a fool. Those aliens have been coming here, knowing that a free meal was certain and were taking average of your iron rule of this part. Maybe you should have some trust in others so that you don't abuse your powers. Are you sure you're not one of those alien scums?"

"I'm a human being!" He yelled.

"But you're feeding your own kind to them. You can't possibly be human."

"Humans are…"

"Are what? Useless? They're already destroying each other? We need more room on the planet? Some just need to be gotten rid of?" He was thinking all of those things. I looked at Ceres, Ken and Tim. Ceres winked at me and I turned around to him, "No matter what we're doing to ourselves or our state of mind, every life has value and meaning. Just because they're not always at the best they could be, that's what reincarnation for, idiot." I then saw something else, since he was hiding it from us with his silence. "And even every alien race has a right to live as they choose. If you don't want our mistakes to become universal, I suggest that you stop your slave trade." He was not only trying to collect Saiyans, which he hasn't gotten any, but also other races to be given to various races. Among those enslaved are humans. "And you called yourself human, you who hands over your own kind to others for slavery."

There was a sudden shame on his face, but hiding it under anger. "I do what I do to keep my planet alive."

"No, you do it because you're getting paid." I stated, "You're no better than all those you consider yourself above."

Ceres came over, standing to my right. She was holding back her tears as she stared at him. She slapped him hard across his face, using her nails as well to get him to bleed. "How dare you! She was my friend and you let her die because you were greedy!" Ceres was emotional, but keeping out how much she really was. I never realized how much of an act Ceres puts on, to fool everyone around her. She moved away, and went out of the door.

I turned off my jewel, putting it back into my pocket before looking at him. I gave him another hard punch, "That's for all the lives you've destroyed." I said before we headed out.

[Ken

Ceres was leaning against the wall, holding herself close to it. I placed my hand on her shoulder, making her look. The tears she refused to show him were coming out. She wrapped her arms around me, crying on my shoulder. I patted her head, giving her comfort as she actually cried. Fiterimon went to her shoulder, since she was with me, and rubbing her nose against Ceres's cheek. When Ele came to her, she pulled herself together after a few more minutes, "We better get ready to leave. It's going to be a few hours of a flight and we need to head somewhere."

I nodded, and we all walked up to the room. Meriv left us our pay, which was nice of him, and a note saying that he had called the police to come get him. Ceres placed on clothes that covered her body, though she didn't wash off the paint.

"Don't have time?" Tim asked.

"I just want to keep it on for a bit longer." She admitted as she placed on a hat and sunglasses. She looked like a rich lady or something. "Let's go. We're going to need another car."

We all nodded, heading out and finding one easily enough. Tim took off the plates, switching it with something else before we all got in. Ceres drove us to a building that I recognized. It belongs to a man called Maximillion Pegasus. I heard that this company tried to take over Kaiba-sama's once upon a time, but they're now on healthy relationships. Pegasus-sama doesn't run the company, but an adopted son. I was wondering why we were here.

" Do you have any IDs? " The guard asked.

Ceres looked at him, "Mon, mon, Digimon, digi, mon, mon."

He nodded, opening the gate and allowed us through.

"+What the hell was that?+" Fiterimon asked as we were heading to the garage.

"A secret code that Pegasus was waiting for." She said with a smile.

"When did he know it existed?" Wormmon asked.

"A while ago."

When we parked the car, an escort was waiting for us. He led us to an aging man, but I could tell that this was Pegasus-sama. " Welcome! " He greeted.

" Thank you for taking us back to Japan. " Ceres said with a bow.

He blinked before smiling, " Ceres, do you need this disguise? "

We all looked at her. She smiled back, "Not really, but I need to hide for a while from other people."

He nodded, "Follow me to your ride." He started walking.

I tapped Ceres's shoulder, 'You know Pegasus-sama?'

"Yep. I was in a tournament that he held a long time ago. I was one of his prospectors for the tournament, so that's how he knows me." She smiled.

"And she was splendidly grand." He interrupted. "I heard that you even got yourself into the Battle City. I was surprised that you didn't make it to the top." He looked at her.

"Well, I was only there for the fun. You know that I don't like the spot light." She smiled. "Oh, these are friends of mine. This is Tim, Ryan, and Ken."

"Ken Ichijouji, correct?" I nodded with shock. "I've kept up with the Japanese news. You were quite the genius back in your day."

I felt the pulse of the dark spore, hiding the feeling of it from everyone. I nodded.

"Has Kaiba-san told you anything about Matt Ishida?" Ceres asked before he could ask why I wasn't talking.

"He's the famous Japanese astronaut? I hear that NASA is looking at him, but Kaiba-boy hasn't told me anything about him."

"Oh, well, he has a connection to a world that isn't part of the world that the monsters are from, and we're all connected to that as well. We're also given powers from that world, but they come at a cost. Ken becomes paralyze when he uses his, so that's why he can't speak." I was kinda surprised at how open she was with him.

"Oh, I see. I think I would like to meet this Ishida-san, then. It has been a while since I've been to Japan." He was commenting to himself.

"Would Kaiba-san greet you warmly?" Tim asked.

"Does he ever greet someone warmly?" He asked, as if that should answer it. Though, he wasn't there for when he was questioning Matt's boss to make her admit what she did. Also, I believe TK when he said that he was the one that got Matt to his press conference.

"Yep, he never greets anyone warmly. Not even Matt." Ryan said before covering his mouth.

"Oh, Ryan's cost is that he tells lies for a whole day." Ceres explained, "And he's the most honest one out of us all."

"I see. So, Kaiba-boy actually cares about someone other than his brother?"

"I guess he does care about Matt…" Ceres thought about it.

"And it wouldn't be because Matt beat him in a card game." Ryan said, wincing from his words.

"Oh yeah, Matt did beat him in Duel Monsters." Ceres clarified.

"I should duel him then." And as he said that, someone handed him a suitcase. He opened the door and an airplane was waiting for us there. We all got in and it took off a few minutes later.

"+Ken.+" I looked beside me to see Ceres. Everyone else was sleeping, including the Digimon. I was too excited to sleep. The plane was pretty small, and it only had two rows and one aisle. "+I have a question.+" She sat down, "+Do you think that I stand a chance against Panther for Matt's attention? Not in any sexual way.+"

I thought about it for a moment, 'I say that you would have to worry more about TK. He can be quite jealous of anyone trying to take Matt away from him. I say that he's your major competition.'

"Really?" She blinked.

I nodded, 'He was mad at me for a long time because he thought that I was taking Matt away from him.'

"Wow… Okay, thanks." She smiled.

'Why were you curious?'

"… You'll know whenever you remember. It's kinda important to you, in a way."

I blinked, 'How?'

She smiled, "I can't tell you yet, but just keeping believing that you'll remember and fight for it."

I nodded, though wondering if I could do that. I looked outside to see something below us. I watched carefully, seeing that it was our Digital clones. I looked at Ceres, 'Get Tim up. I'll take care of these guys.'

"Who?"

'My clone… I need to do this alone.'

She nodded, getting up and getting Tim. I got Wormmon up and we went over to them. Ryan and Espomon were up as well, making me wonder if they were asleep before.

"Good luck, Ken." Tim said. I could see that Ryan wanted to say something, but nothing came out since he didn't want to say a lie. "Shendramon will stay out so that you guys can get back inside."

I nodded, taking hold of him as Tim pushed us outside. I let go of Shendramon and free fall with Wormmon on my back. He Digievolved to Stingmon and made quick work of Davismon and Yoliemon and their Digimon. Stingmon quickly came back for me since I was free falling. Kenmon, TKmon, and Karimon, with their Digimon, surrounded us at that moment.

"You think you can defeat us?" Kenmon asked. "You're the weakest of them all! You can't even use Kindness."

"Ken," I looked over at TKmon. He extended his hand to me, smiling in a way that reminded me of TK. "You belong with us." When he said that, my Dark Spore pulsed.

I grabbed Faith, now realizing that I've been doing that a lot lately. I took in a deep breath as I was looking at them. Kenmon might be right. He might be right that I can't use Kindness, but I knew that one day I will be able to. I've been mean and cruel for a while, having that side of me never really going away. I need a lot of amending to do, but one day Kindness will come back to me. I had faith in that.

'Sorry, but I don't think so.' I said in English, having Kenmon and TKmon understand me since they were facing me. With the shock and anger on their face, Stingmon brought out his laser sword and first attacked Karimon since she was behind him. Her machine Gatomon moved out of the way, allowing us to get out of their trap.

TKmon tried to get us with his speed, but we were able to move quicker than him and his machine Angemon. Stingmon focused on the Angemon and I focused on TKmon.

"You're never going to beat us, you know that, right?" TKmon asked. "We tried to be nice, tried to offer you a chance, now you will feel our wrath!" He started to attack harder. I was kinda glad that at that moment, all the human clones were attacking me and all the Digimon were attacking Stingmon. I didn't want them to go after the plane, and with all the fighting I was doing, I was able to stay in the air without Stingmon's help.

Though, with them all attacking, it was much harder to actually attack back. I was defending most of the time, getting back some of the numbness that I had gotten rid of over the trip. When I happen to look up to see where the plane was, it was long gone from my sight. I kinda felt at a lost for a moment before realizing that I'm not alone at all. I started to feel something rising within. It was very odd, since I'm not sure where it was coming from. I knew it was above my organs, but below my skin, and not in the muscles. There seemed to be this space that surrounds it that this energy was able to find and was taking hold of that for itself. I almost didn't want to allow it to do so, but then I thought that it might be better for me that it did. It was like I understood what was happening, though never experiencing it.

At that moment, a power surge came over me. It was gathering in my palms. I looked down to see that they were glowing slightly. I looked over at Kenmon, somehow knowing that I could quickly gather the energy between my palms and launch it at him. He was taken by surprise, but was able to dodge it by leaning back. He didn't look too please with what I did, but I still had lots left so I was keeping it up at all of them. Soon, their Digimon came to get them.

"This isn't over!" Kenmon proclaimed as they flew away. I looked below me, seeing that I was able to fly.

"How are you able to do that?" Stingmon asked me.

'I don't know…' I said, 'Do you want me to take us back?'

"I better if you don't know." He gathered me up and I felt that urge passing over, letting my muscles lax again. I felt like jell-o as we headed back, but I'm sure it was because of the numbness and not what I did. Shendramon was waiting for us, staying underneath the plane. I took hold of him and Stingmon so that Stingmon could go back to Wormmon and we could go inside.

"Are you okay?" Ceres asked as we came inside.

I nodded, 'They're not deleted, but I found out something interesting.' I wrote on the whiteboard this time so that everyone could understand me.

"What?" Tim asked, petting Shendramon on his head.

'I can bring out a massive amount of energy from within and use it in attacks.'

"Describe it." Ryan said.

'I felt it in my palms, and it came out in a semi-solid form. It was whitish in color and it was glowing. I was able to shoot it in a form of a ball.'

"Can you show us?" Tim asked.

Wormmon got on my shoulder as I closed my eyes. I was trying to find it again, and noticed that it wasn't buried like I thought it was. It was just floating around, as if waiting for me to notice it and use it. I brought out a little bit to my palms this time, finding that I know how to control it fairly well. When I felt the light hitting me, I opened my eyes to see that it was back in my palms. They were looking at it with amazement.

"The Dark Being used that before." Ceres enlightened us.

"Lily Dawn didn't say that TK used the same thing when they were fighting Skull Devimon." Ryan said. That meant that she did.

"So, does that mean that you're a Saiyan too?" Ceres asked more to herself.

"That's not solid proof." Tim said, "We don't know what causes it, and since TK hasn't used it since and we don't know the status of the Dark Being, we can't assume that it's connected to Saiyans alone. After all, I'm sure that the Dark Being himself isn't a Saiyan."

"He could've known that it existed in Matt's body and he used the one in Matt's body."

I looked at it before pulling it away. I smiled to myself, glad that there was one more thing that connected me to them. I remembered what Kenmon told me about the first two groups. That most were Saiyans, but I was one that wasn't, but I was equaled to TK. I wondered if that was known to us before our memory lost. I really hoped that TK meant what he said about Matt was true, though. That I could go to Matt as if he was my brother and think of TK as my brother as well. I really hoped he remembers what he said to me so that I don't have to hide my hurt again like all the other times.

"We should probably get some sleep. How many more hours is it going to be?" Ryan asked.

Ceres looked out the window, before looking at Tim, "Or can you ask someone about it?"

Tim blinked before sighing. He looked at the window, staring at it before placing his hand on it. He then started to speak in another language for a while before placing his hand back on the window. "Seven more hours."

"Can you stay up for that much?" Ceres asked.

Ryan narrowed his eyes for some reason, "No, I can't."

"Do we need to take the opposite of that?"

He nodded, "I thought it was that short."

"Oh, okay. But that is pretty short, in a way." She smiled, "Okay, we'll play games for the time." She brought out cards and we started to play random games with them. The Digimon joined in too since Pegasus was in another part of the plane.


	26. Chap 25 World Tour! Cold Death Mountain!

[Neon

"Neon, Neon!" A voice called to me. It was so tiny and innocent that I thought I was hearing one of my future children. I looked to see that it was only Gladiolusmon, "Neon! You're awake! I'm so glad." Tears were about to come out but I smiled them away.

"Where are we?" I started to get up slowly, feeling a great numbness. I noticed that I was lying in snow, really glad that I had fallen on my back. That meant that my children were safe.

"I don't know, but this isn't Japan." Gladiolusmon shivered so I gathered her up and placed her in her spot on my shoulder. It was much, much colder than in Japan. We were in the forest that held trees that weren't located in Japan. These trees were meant to survive in the harsh, cold winters of the north. _Where the hell are we? Are we still in the Digital World?_

I started walking, really glad that I had on winter clothing and protection so I wasn't too affected by the cold. I soon found Nereida and Lightningmon, both unconscious. It was dangerous to stay asleep in the cold so I ran to them, "Nereida! Lightningmon! Wake up!" I yelled as I made my way toward them.

I got right by Nereida's side and shook her, "Nereida! Nereida!"

She finally moaned, meaning that she was okay. "Nereida, are you okay?"

She blinked back her memory before sitting up, "Yeah, I think so. What happened?"

"Wake up Lightningmon first."

Nereida looked over to see Lightningmon by her side, "Lightningmon." She shook her shoulder and she moaned as well. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She pushed herself up.

"I'm not really sure what happened, but I know that we're somewhere else other than Japan and the Digital World." I was also glad that they were both dressed for the winter.

"What about everyone else?" Lightningmon asked.

"We only found you two so far."

Both of them got up. "We better start searching for something that will help us." Nereida said.

I nodded and got up carefully myself. "Let's go."

We walked for a while longer before we heard our names being called. We stopped and turned around to see Lily Dawn and Matt and their Digimon running towards us.

"I'm so glad that you're okay." Matt said. He looked like he could blend with the snow and he wasn't dressed right for winter.

"Are you okay Matt? You're really pale." I said.

"Don't worry about me."

"Lily Dawn, are there anyone else here?" Nereida asked.

"Not that I can tell."

"Do you guys know where we are?" Lightningmon asked.

"I do know that we're much more north than before so that leaves us with Russia or Canada." Matt answered. "We'll be able to cover more ground if Garurumon was here to carry some of you." Matt brought out his jewel and it started to glow.

"Gabumon Digievolves to……………………… Garurumon!"

I noticed that Matt got shaky after he evolved, but it wasn't that obvious. He helped Nereida, Lily Dawn, and me up onto Garurumon. Lily Dawn and mine Digimon were the only ones that could come with us since they were so small. Lightningmon and Matt were running along with Garurumon in some direction. Nereida was in front of me and Lily Dawn was behind me. Bellimon was making sure that we were all standing on Garurumon.

We were able to get to a clearing in the forest to see an old looking monastery that was covered with snow, which was the only way to know that it was there. It wasn't too big and there was fence. I didn't like the feeling that I was getting from it, but it was a good place to stop and rest. It was snowing while we were running, and it was coming down heavy as well.

Matt collapsed as he was coughing. It sounded like he coughed up something, and I heard the familiar sound of blood hitting the ground. I got down and went over to him since he wasn't facing us.

"Matt?" I got to a place where I could see if I was right and I unfortunately was. "Matt! What's wrong?" I got right by his side, alarming the others.

He tried to smile or say something, but he began coughing again, allowing the blood to come to his hand.

"What's happening to him?" Garurumon asked.

"I don' know. I know that his lungs have to be damaged in some way in order to have this happen." Why was he playing his sickness? Doesn't he know that this could be really serious if not treated? "We have to get him to that monastery. It's our only hope to help him."

Lily Dawn placed the arm that Matt was using to hold himself up around her neck and they began walking.

"Lightningmon, Garurumon, you two stay here for the moment until we know it's safe." Nereida said.

"Wouldn't Lightningmon freeze?" I asked.

"I'm able to handle it. My body isn't like yours." She answered.

I nodded and we went after Lily Dawn and Matt.

[Lily Dawn

"Hey! Can anyone hear me in there! We need some help!" I yelled as loud as I could. Matt had finally stopped coughing blood, but he was so dazed that he couldn't focus and he was a lot paler than before. "HEY! Is there anyone in here! We need some help!"

A tall, Western man came out from the door. He looked too cold-hearted to be holy. He asked something in a language I didn't know.

" Please! My friend, help! " I wasn't able to remember all the words needed in English, but he was able to understand what I was getting at. He ushered us inside as well as Nereida and Neon since they were right behind us. He led us to a room that faced the forest where we were. We got Matt into a bed, but he still wasn't resting. He didn't look well at all, but anyone could see that he was fighting something with everything he got. I wondered if the demon wasn't trying to come out.

" What are your names and where do you come from? " The man asked. He sounded like he could switch from soft to hard with one occurrence.

" We come from Japan and my name is Nereida. This is Neon, Lily Dawn and Matt. " Nereida answered in perfect English like his was.

" What are you doing here? "

" Where are we? "

" You're in Russia. How could you not know that? "

" We were traveling in a unique way. Can we stay here for a while? We won't be any trouble. "

" Of course you can stay. What's wrong with your friend? "

" We're not sure ourselves. " That was the truth.

" Stay for as long as you need. I'll get some rooms ready. " He went out of the room.

"+Matt?+" I asked when he was out. He opened his eyes and smiled very, very weakly. I knew that if Panther saw him like this, she would be very, very, very concern. _I promise you, Panther, I won't leave his side. _"+Can you talk?+"

He shook his head. I knew that we were all very worried about him now. " I got rooms prepared for all of you. " The man said when he came back.

" I'm staying. " I said, looking at him.

" Very well. And you two? "

"+Neon, you have to get a room.+" Nereida said.

"I know. We might as well share since we need to get Lightningmon with us."

" Neon and I will be sharing a room. "

" Very well. "

" You never gave us your name. "

He stopped at the door to face us again, " My name is Boris. "

" Thanks. " I said.

He nodded before leaving once more.

"+Matt, you should get some rest.+" Neon said. He shook his head. "+Why? You were coughing up blood not too long ago! You need to get better!+"

He smiled again, fighting to stay awake. He knew he was like this and yet he's still wants to stay awake? I knew that we couldn't convince him otherwise right now.

Boris came back in, " Neon, Nereida, please follow my associates to your room. "

" Okay. " Nereida said and they followed other people who were dressed like him, a black robe and a black hat thing but theirs were a cone shaped and covered their eyes. There were some blue on it, but not much.

" How is your friend fairing? " He asked.

" Not too fine, I fear. " I was a lot calmer than before so the words were coming to me easier.

"+Lily Dawn,+" Matt finally spoke, but it was so weak, "+What country are we in?+"

"+We're in Russia.+"

Matt looked at Boris and started to speak in a language that I didn't know. Boris seemed impressed as well as listening to what Matt was saying. He answered him before leaving the room.

"+What did you ask him?+" I looked at Matt.

"I need some tea so he's going to be kind and bring me some." Matt smiled.

"You need more than tea!"

"Trust me, tea is the only thing I really need right now."

Boris came back with a hot pot of tea and a cup. He said something to Matt in his native tongue and Matt nodded. I got Matt up as he brought over the tea. I was the one serving him, not really trusting Boris yet. I noticed that he was looking out the window too often for my liking.

"+Neon and Nereida went into town to see what they can find to get us home.+" Matt said once he had two cups. He was looking a lot better than a second ago. Most of the paleness was going away.

"+Are they going to be okay? It's still snowing.+" I looked out of the window to see that it hadn't lightened.

"+They'll be fine. I'm glad to see that Ceres was wrong about you leaving.+" He smiled.

I looked down at the floor, "I am."

Matt didn't say anything immediately. "Why?"

"Because everyone has taken Panther away from us. She used to come to Ryan and me for everything. Now, she doesn't."

"I think you're kidding yourself for saying that she came to you for everything." I looked at him, "I'm not sure what she had to do to gain the title "toughest gangster", but it probably was something not very kind or innocent."

I looked away from him again, remembering that Panther once told us that she had killed people, something that we didn't know about. But we still accepted her, more than what others have done. But Ken, TK, and Kari just accepted that fact and moved on, that was more than what we had done. I looked at Boris, seeing him smiling as he continued his watch outside. " Something interesting? " I asked.

He looked at me as if I had interrupted his thought, " Oh, nothing. Just admiring the snow. "

I knew right then that he was weird. I noticed that Matt was finished his cup so I poured him another.

"+Are you so unwilling to travel with us? Or are you going to put up with it because you know that it's the only way to get home?+" Matt asked in a way that I never thought would be directed at one of us.

"+It's not just you guys now.+"

"+What happened?+" He was really concerned about it.

I giggled, "Shouldn't you be worried about yourself? After all, I wasn't the one that collapsed from coughing."

"But I wasn't the one that got hurt emotionally."

I looked at him, wondering why he cared so much about us all. Other than that Styxmon was the one that had sent him on this journey, why else was this group so important to him? We weren't anything special.

"I just don't want to return to the Digital World." I didn't want a chance to run into Apollo. I hated for what he did to me. He probably had led the others to me, since he couldn't get to me himself. Everything had to be a plan to get me to talk about the group, to betray them.

"I hope it wasn't because the Deities kidnapped you, because you already know that we would go straight into their territory to bring you back. They've done it twice already."

"I know, but I don't want to see someone there. He was just using me to get to the others." The worst part is that I still might love him, even after all he has done to me.

"Apollo is a Deity Digimon?" _He was able to read that quick._

"… Yeah…"

"I'm really sorry that you feel that way, but the Deities have to hide themselves from their others so they don't hurt the one they care about." I had forgotten that he was a victim of something similar too.

"But her family accepted you."

"Not really, she was trained to kill everyone and that included me. But she couldn't bring herself to do so. She ran away many times and got beaten for not completing the training that was meant to kill us all."

I never knew that about Styxmon. I thought that her family and friends were fine with the fact that she loved Matt and wanted them to grow. They all have helped us out a lot, so I guessed I just assumed something that wasn't always true. "So what are you saying?"

"I don't know how he left until you tell me, but I'm sure he left so you wouldn't get hurt."

I wasn't so sure so I just stayed quiet the rest of the time.

[Neon

Not many people were out, but we did learn that it was nearing nine. Back home, it was nearing eight but we sure didn't feel like it was nine.

"Man, all of this walking is taken a lot out of me." I commented as we were on the pathway back to the abbey, as we now know it to be.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I hope that Matt is okay now."

"Well, we need to come up with a plan anyway."

"He might ask how come you guys left." Lightningmon stated.

That silenced us, since we know that that might be true. What would we explain if he did? Nereida had a lot more to explain than I did, but I knew that I would have to talk as well. I wondered where Don was and hoped that he was okay.

"Oh, I'm glad to see that you two are back. It was getting heavier out there." Matt said with a lot of his health restored. I noticed that he had a cup within his hand and that Boris was here as well.

" Can we have some time to ourselves? " Nereida asked nicely.

" Of course. Please call me for anything you need. "

" Thank you. " She bowed and he left. I didn't like how he was staring outside this window whole time. Garurumon wanted to stay outside since he wanted to be ready to leave at any minute.

"+Where's Gabumon?+" Matt asked.

"He wanted to stay outside." I replied as I took a seat on the bed.

"Why? He can shrink himself so he won't be seen."

"He wants to be ready for when we leave." Nereida answered.

Matt smiled softly for one that was so sick not too long ago. "How are you holding up?" I asked.

"I'm getting a lot better. So, mind telling me what happened?"

I looked at Nereida, who was looking out of the window. She didn't seem to want to say anything, "Don and I left because we could see that not everyone believed in us. We could see it in Ryan and Lily Dawn's eyes. Damon had accused us of using everyone to gain something for ourselves."

"Have you?"

"There have been times when we've used people, but that was when we were training to manipulate others. Actually, Don was a lot better at it than I was. Now, he only does so for a game that he's really into."

"What game is that?" Lily Dawn asked.

"It's an Internet Racing game. He's the best one on it."

"He likes cars?" Matt asked.

"You wouldn't think so, but he does. He's a lot better on a motorcycle though." I covered my mouth, remembering that they didn't know that he knew how to drive both already.

"He can drive?" Nereida asked.

I sighed and nodded my head.

"So he raced?" Lily Dawn asked. I nodded and she smiled, "Panther used to race too. As a matter of fact, she was good at that. She never picked up the habit of liking cars though, but she was really good with any car she entered with. I know that Killer was good too, but not as good as her."

"Yeah, Don is the best now. Can I guess that her street name is the Bad Luck Death Cat?"

"It is." She smiled. "Does Don want to challenge her?"

"He's not allowed to race on the street anymore." I placed my hand on my children, who were silent for the moment.

"So Tim was wrong." Nereida said coldly. "So he really did want to leave this group and he wants to drag us down with him. I hate how he wants to control us."

"He did a good job until now." Matt said.

"That's because we believed in his words. We thought they were the only truth out there."

"Or maybe he thought it was his duty to keep you guys safe. I know that with TK, I thought it was my only purpose in life to protect him. He might've never had the chance like I did so early to realize that you don't need him there all the time. I'm sure that everything he does he does it with the best intentions. I'm sure that he thinks about your wellbeing all the time."

"How can he when he's up in his room all the time? All he does is study and study."

"How long did you allow this habit to occur? All your lives, right?" She nodded. "Then why should he think he would need to change anything? I know that everyone is fine with the others because otherwise you wouldn't have come to help when I called."

"It was because you said it was their duty to protect the Digital World. Otherwise, they wouldn't have come." Lightningmon said.

"Yeah, it really was because of the duty thing." I added

Lily Dawn nodded, "Even though we're mad at each other, the Digital World shouldn't suffer because we hate each other."

He chuckled a bit, "Well, at least I said the right word that got you there."

"But I don't want to go back to my house." Nereida said so coldly that it was surprising.

"Why?" Lily Dawn asked.

"I hate my brothers. Tim fears everything about us and nothing for everyone else."

"What is he fearing? That Panther or they coming over and trashing your house?" Lily Dawn asked as a joke.

"No… that the Deity Digimon would come and attack when we broke away."

"Why would he fear that?" I asked.

"Heka… is really a Deity Digimon." That shocked us all. "And I had known about her identity since I met her the second time. That's why she knew Apollo so well." She looked at Lily Dawn, "I already figured that you know about his true identity because Aphrodite took them back to their realm, though he's lucky because you didn't reveal anything about the group. I told her just about everything there is about our group. She knows our Crest names, powers, what we look like, who our Digimon are, just about anything I know about everyone."

"Do you know things about her? Anything she revealed to you? I'm not asking for you to tell us, but I am curious." Matt asked.

"She has. I know a few things about the other Deities and realms. She has also helped me with my fortune-telling skills."

"Did you feel like she had betrayed you?"

"I don't anymore. I know that what she did, she did it so we wouldn't get hurt. Aphrodite was threatening to do something to me if she didn't proclaim who she was."

"So you were the one that she faintly mentioned." Lily Dawn commented.

"If she was threatening you as well, then probably yea."

"I think you need to tell your brothers how you feel. Tim probably thinks that we stole you away from his protection, which is why he was probably so willing to leave than you are. The same could probably be said about Damon." I suggested.

She looked out the window, "I don't want to leave. I don't want to leave either group. Tim can be really stubborn when he has mind set on it."

"He has never told me what happened when your parents died, but I do know that that's when he turned into the person he is today. Maybe all that is really needed of Tim is for everyone to understand where he comes from. Or at least have someone understand his thought, not just follow it." Matt said.

"That could be true. No one has even told Damon or me what happened to them."

"Now that we got that out of the way, I don't want to leave Garurumon out there so we might as well leave soon."

"Could we rest? I can't handle too much travel." I said.

"Sure, then Nereida, could you call him in?"

She opened the window, allowing the cold air and snow in, "Garurumon! Matt would like you to come inside! We're going to be staying for the night!" She moved to the side and a small version of Garurumon entered. He De-Digievolved to Gabumon and went to Matt.

"I'm glad that you're feeling better." He said.

"All I needed was tea." He smiled as Nereida closed the window.

"We might as well get some sleep." Nereida said.

"Alright. Night." Matt smiled.

"Night." I said as I got up. Nereida and I walked out of the room.

[Me

"Lily Dawn, aren't you going as well?" I asked.

"I know that Panther would never leave your side. Since she's not here, I'm taking that job."

I smiled, "Thanks." Gabumon shrunk and I placed him on my shoulder. "How will you sleep?"

She laid her upper body on the bed, "Like this." She smiled. She looked really tired as her white hair fell over her eyes.

I smiled, "Okay, night." I laid back down, glad that I had some tea in my system. I wouldn't be able to sleep too soundly since I needed to keep up Courage for a while longer. I at least now know that it was really the lack of tea that was causing me to be so pale.

The next morning, Boris brought us something to eat for breakfast. They were all eating in the room that I was using.

"The easiest way to get across the mountains is to either take a train or plane." Nereida said, pointing to the mountains on a map that Boris is allowing us to use.

"I think we should just head down this way." I pointed a route that would take us to Caspian Sea. "We could then take a boat to go to Kazakhstan."

"Or if we don't want the trouble, we can always take a plane." Lily Dawn said.

"As much as I want to get home myself, it's going to take a while. We might as well see a few things while we're here. Besides, I didn't bring anything that would positively identify me as Matt Ishida or any money."

"And I'm sure that none of us brought anything either." Neon said.

"So we're going to have to depend on the kindness of others." Nereida said. "That's going to be tough."

"I'm sure we can get by. So we also have to be ready to work at any moment."

"I'm sorry guys." Neon said, placing her hand on her kids, "I won't be able to help out as much."

"That's okay." Nereida smiled, "We don't mind the work, right Lily Dawn?"

"Yeah! I'll get stronger muscles." She smiled.

"Thanks." Neon smiled.

"So, let's ask for a carriage to get us there." I said with a smile.

They all looked at me weird. "Why a carriage? Wouldn't a train be better?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Do we have money for a train ticket? Most likely no, so it's easier to get a carriage." Though truth is, I just wanted to ride in one and to get some sleep. It's going to be a long trip and I might as well be healed before reaching Japan. Plus, there wasn't any direct train route to the sea, it seemed. I was now wondering if TK was taken in as well.

"Fine. I'll see if Boris can help us. Neon, would you mind coming with me?" Nereida asked.

"Not at all." They got up and left.

"Wouldn't that be a long trip?" Lily Dawn asked.

"It might be."

[Nereida

" So you need a carriage. " Boris repeated my words.

" Yes, we would like to go here, " I pointed to it on the map, " We think that it will be a much easier route to take since we can take a boat. "

" I'll see what I can do. "

" Oh, we don't have much money either. "

" It's quite all right. We'll take care of it. "

" Thank you. " I said and bowed before we headed back.

"+I don't really trust that guy.+" Neon said out of the blue.

"+Why? He's done nothing but helped us.+"

"+Call it a feeling.+"

We entered the room, "Boris will be taking care of the carriage." I said.

"That's great. I hope we're not causing too much trouble for him." Matt said.

"I'm sure that we're fine." Neon sat on the bed, "I don't really trust him."

"Really?" Lily Dawn asked, "I don't either."

"Why?" I asked, "He has helped us all this time."

"I didn't like it how he was looking out of the window when Gabumon was out there."

"I didn't like it either." Neon added.

"Gabumon, was he looking at you?" Matt asked, looking at his shoulder.

"I wasn't sure if he could see me, but it did seem that he was looking at me."

"He probably was amazed, nothing more." I offered.

"Well, if he does do something, then we'll deal with it, but otherwise just smile." Matt said.

"Okay." Lily Dawn and Neon said.

"By the way, you never told us why you were coughing up blood." I said.

"Yes! Even I didn't know that you did!" Gabumon said.

He took a deep breath before looking defeated. "Fine, I'll tell you since it's one of the reasons I wanted to take a carriage." We were all looking at him, waiting in the silence. "When I was up in space, I had to use the Jewel of Friendship, Reliability, Courage and Kindness. I used Friendship twice, and if I didn't have Virtue I would only be able to use it once; Reliability: to protect us from meteors; Courage: because I was getting a bit sick; and Kindness: because I ran out of the dust that would make Gabumon invisible. And since I didn't have tea in me for five days, it was taking a toll on me, which is why I was coughing up blood. I'm still weak from it, even though I look fine, since I haven't stopped using Courage or Reliability yet."

"I thought you said you would have enough." Lily Dawn said.

"I thought I would too, but apparently I didn't."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Gabumon asked.

"I didn't want to worry you."

"I bet that you wouldn't have told anyone if it wasn't for this, right?" Neon asked.

"Nope. I have already told Seto Kaiba." He said with pride.

"Why him?" I asked.

"Because we're friends." He smiled.

There was a knock at the door. " Come in. " I said.

Boris came into the room, " I had found a carriage that will take you all the way. "

" Thank you very much. I hope we're not causing too much trouble. " Matt said.

" Not at all, it's been a pleasure. The carriage is waiting for you. " We all got up and followed Boris. Matt was able to walk on his own, showing that he was fine. The carriage was a troika, one that was pulled by three horses. We found that it could only fit four, because of Neon's size, so Lightningmon was willing to sit with the driver.

" About how long will it take us to get there? " I asked.

" About five days. "

" Thanks. " I got in and closed the door. The carriage then took off in some direction.

"+I'm going to sleep now. I probably won't wake up until I'm healed.+"

"+At least we know how the side effects work so take your time.+" Lily Dawn said.

He nodded and fell asleep really easily. It seemed like everything had just shut down, waiting to be rebooted.

"I'm glad that it isn't too rough." Neon commented.

"That is good." Lily Dawn said. The rest of the day, it was quiet.

[Neon

Two days passed since we left the abbey. We did have a few stops, since we need to eat and sleep and go to the bathroom. It was kinda like a taxi, but not at the same speed. It snowed off and on, making it dangerous to travel sometimes but he went through it all. Once, it stormed so hard that the carriage itself was threatening to tip over. Of course, all this rough movement wasn't good for my condition. My kids were complaining a lot as well, since they weren't getting feed the normal amount that they're used to, though everyone is making sure that I have more food than them.

"What do you guys do for New Years anyway?" Nereida asked. She was looking at us, since she was originally looking out of the window. "We always go all out since it's my Grandmothers favorite holiday. We're not allowed to do any homework during it since she believes that it's a time to reflect than doing work. We put on our best kimonos and have dinner together. After midnight, I always put on a short little play where I play all the characters. Then we go to a local shrine to sell charms and things since they know our family really well."

"Don and I always treat our folks to dinner at a bar or restaurant, or whatever is opened on that night and have a party. They really enjoy it since they get to relax for a night and allow all their worries to escape them. Don and I also pay for everything, so that's another plus for them."

"Stan and I just have dinner together. Sometimes he invites whatever girlfriend he has at the time, but that's normally rare around this time. Otherwise, it's nothing really special." Lily Dawn looked a lot sadder than what she was saying.

"Is there something that happened on that day?" I asked, knowing fully well that I was walking on a sensitive area.

She looked at me before looking at the floor, "……… My mother left on that day."

"Sorry to hear that. My father left us as well, but not on any special day. Do you know why she left? I don't know why my father left."

"I'm not really sure if I was told or not, but I don't really care right now."

"I wonder what Matt does for New Years." Nereida said.

We all looked at him, who was still sleeping He looked really at peace right now, so we assume that's a good thing. "I bet it's something big." I commented.

"And all his friends are there with him." Lily Dawn offered.

"Lots of food too!" Gladiolusmon said.

"And there has to be music." Gabumon added.

"I guess we just have to ask him when he wakes up." Nereida smiled.

[Lily Dawn

Two more days passed, making this the final day that we should be on the road. Neon didn't always look good, but she never complained. It was quiet most of the time. I believe that we were no longer angry at each other. I still was debating on whether to return since I still believed that they took Panther away from us.

The carriage shook and tipped over. Nereida made sure that Neon was okay and I did the same for Matt. The horses were screaming, as if in fear. I made sure that Matt was okay before getting up to open the door. I lifted myself up to see that there was smoke coming from the front of the carriage. "Lightningmon, is everything okay?" I asked as I helped Neon get out.

"I'm afraid not." Lightningmon walked around to us and helped Neon get down. Nereida lifted Matt up and I handed him to Lightningmon.

"What happened?" Nereida asked as she got out. We both jumped down.

"Some lightning bolt hit him. I was able to absorb afterwards so it wouldn't have gotten you guys."

"Is the ash still there?" Nereida asked.

"Yea, but it's on the ground now."

"We better move the carriage since it's our only transportation." I said as I made my way around.

"But what about him? Shouldn't we do something?" Nereida asked.

"Other than bury the ash, there's nothing else we can do."

"I hope you don't think that this was a natural lightning bolt." Neon stated.

"And that's why I want to get moving." I didn't want to have to face a Deity just now. Plus, thunderbolts normally means Zeus.

Nereida helped me get the carriage upright again. We both noticed the ashes on the ground. We buried the ashes here and gave our respects to him.

"I hope you aren't thinking about leaving now." We heard a male voice ask.

We looked ahead of us to see a Viking looking character. He was carrying a hammer.

"Who are you?" Neon bravely asked.

"My name is Thormon and I have been assigned the task of killing you."

"And who assigned this task to you?" Nereida asked.

"Aphroditemon."

"I thought that you other deities didn't like to listen to the Greeks, so why are you? What do you have to gain from killing us?" I was impressed that Nereida would speak so boldly to them. Even I wasn't that brave when I had to face them. I guess Heka had helped her face them as any other Digimon we might come across.

"It was first because I believe that you were going to be a nuisance, but now that we know you have a power that was sought since the beginning of time; we want to have that power."

I was wondering if they were talking about me since I apparently have some power within me. "Wouldn't the Greeks see that this is what you're after and would want it for themselves?" I asked.

"Whenever they do, we'll deal with them then." He raised his hammer to the air and had a lightning bolt strike the carriage, making it exploded. We knew that we were trapped now. "Now you can't run." He smiled.

Lightningmon charged at him first, "Spark!" She yelled as she released it from her palms. Thor hit it with his hammer and sent it flying off in some direction. They were now fighting each other. I was amazed that Lightningmon can hold her own against a Deity.

"Gabumon, can you Digievolve?" I asked.

"I think so, why?" He looked at me.

"We need you to Digievolve to Metal Garurumon so Neon and Matt have something to ride on."

"You're planning on running away?" Neon asked, "We should stay and fight."

I looked at her in disbelief, "Incase you've forgotten, you're pregnant. This god is willing to kill us so we don't have too many options left, huh?"

"Do you not believe that Lightningmon can handle it?"

"Gabumon, just do it." Right then, Lightningmon was pushed to the ground.

"Lightningmon!!" Nereida called.

Thor jumped into the air and was able to strike, but I pushed all my power into his mind, causing him pain.

"Sword Leaf Dance!" Gladiolusmon cried and I dropped to the ground. I had never used so much at one time that it was making me dizzy.

"Lily Dawn?" Nereida asked.

"I'm fine." I pushed her hand away. "Gabumon!"

"Gabumon Warp Digievolves to………………… Metal Garurumon!" I got myself up as I heard them getting on.

I looked at Thor, seeing that he was having some trouble with the leaves that were in the shapes of swords. They were surrounding him, making it difficult for him to move for some reason. I looked at Metal Garurumon to see that Neon and Matt were on him and that Gladiolusmon was concentrating very hard.

"Okay, get out of here!" Neon looked worried as Metal Garurumon took off at a good speed.

I looked back at Lightningmon to see that she was up. "How fast can Lightningmon go?" I looked at Nereida.

"With two people? I don't know."

Bellimon jumped out in front, "Petal Dance!" She cried and petals went flying at Thor. I noticed that the leaf swords were losing power so I understood what she was doing.

"Lightningmon, can you carry both of us?" I asked, knowing that we don't have much time.

"I can but it wouldn't be safe."

"Bellimon can make it safe."

"Okay." She came to us. I was on her back and Nereida was in her arms. Bellimon was using her veins to make sure that I stayed on and she took off really fast. It didn't take us that long to catch up to Metal Garurumon.

"Don't ever do something like that again!" Neon said when we were beside them. "I was really worried."

"But Lily Dawn was right. We had to make sure that you two were okay first." Nereida said with a smile.

"And you would've done the same." I added.

We heard this battle cry behind us and I knew that it wasn't good. I looked to see that Thor was coming after us with the aid of a cloud. It was thundering as loud as his scream. I didn't know what else to do. I just didn't know.

But suddenly he dropped from the sky and wasn't getting back up. We didn't stop to make sure that he was okay, because that would've been dumb on our part.

We were able to reach a city rather quickly. We were in a local inn that had someone that spoke some English. Neon was resting since the ride wasn't that good for her and Matt was in the same room. So their Digimon were with them.

"What happened back there?" I asked Nereida. I noticed that she wasn't looking so well.

"I used my Crest Power."

"What? Do you have the jewel?"

"No, Tim has it…"

"But then how were you able to access it?" I know that we somehow have the power within us, but I know that most of us have to use the Jewel to access it.

"I was really hoping that using my Crest would somehow access it. Though I think that it only works three folds if we're using the Jewel." She smiled weakly.

"We better let you rest too." I was about to pick her hand up to help her, but she moved it. "Why?"

"We need to know how far we're from that port."

"But only Matt and the driver knew where that was."

"I was hoping that you might as well." She got up, and walked outside.

I followed her as well as Lightningmon. She was looking off in the distance for some reason. The town wasn't that big, but it wasn't small either.

"Nereida?" Lightningmon asked.

"I'm going to try it." She looked at her hands.

"Nereida, you were told not to use it." Lightningmon seemed to know something.

She turned to face her Digital partner, "We need to get to that town."

"I thought you didn't want to go home?" I stated.

"Neon needs Don and I'm sure that he's heading back. Plus, you need Panther and Ryan, right?" She smiled weakly, "I can't be selfish."

"But Heka told you that you need her to help you. You shouldn't do this without her." Lightningmon seemed fearful of something.

"Heka… No, Nereida, don't do it." I grabbed her hand, "It can't be anything good."

She struggled against my grip, but she didn't have enough strength to break free from it. "Let me go!"

"I would advise the same thing." Nereida stopped struggling as we turned to see Arsmon looking at us. He was leaning on the building and he was smiling.

I got between Nereida and him, but I was wondering why Lightningmon wasn't, "What do you want?"

"I only wanted to tell you that this is the town before your destination so Nereida doesn't weaken herself more by using that technique."

"Thanks, but how do you know where we are?" Nereida didn't sound afraid, but please.

"I'm not stalking you, if you think that." His smile was one of joking, "But I do have ways of knowing. My Master told me that you guys were all scattered around the world so I thought it best if I kept an eye out for you."

"We're going to be fine so you can…" I picked up my amulet, wondering why no one thought of this sooner.

"That wouldn't work," I looked at him, "Aphrodite made it so you can't use that to enter the Digital World."

"And how do you know this?" I asked, dropping my amulet to its place.

"Hades told me. He may not like the fact that my Master can rule over him, but he at least knows that he can't beat her. When I heard what happened, I went to go ask him. Heka is doing fine, by the way."

"Really?" Nereida was glad to hear about her.

"Yep, but she has to stay with Hades and watch what's going on as her punishment for not revealing your names."

"But they knew who we were since they sent us here." I commented.

"Someone revealed to them the number of your group, but not the names."

"And Collect Soulsmon doesn't mind you helping us out like this?" Nereida asked.

"She doesn't. Oh, Hades told me that he's gathering others to aid you as you travel. Aphrodite has Seth after Panther's group, but she hasn't found one for Ceres's yet."

"I guess he can't ask you to watch us, huh?" I looked at Nereida, seeing her smiling.

"Nope, my Master unfortunately wouldn't want me to interfere with the Deities. She many be stronger than most of them, but I am not and I'm not like her others."

"What does that mean?" I asked, hating how this is turning out.

"You don't need to know that." He narrowed his eyes at me. "Nereida, I need to take my leave. Use this day to rest." He walked away, like he was a normal human.

I heard Nereida turned around and I followed her back inside. We went to our own room since the rooms can only fit two. Lightningmon was going to stay with Neon and Matt since they need more protection than us. I didn't understand her logic, since we need the same amount as them.

"Nereida, why was he friendly towards you and you to him?" I was looking at the bed, since I was curled up against one of the walls that mine touched.

"Does it matter? He's helping us."

"How can you trust him so completely? He's a Super Level Digimon that tried to kill you."

"You're sounding like Sora." She said angrily. "It's exactly what you're fearing, okay. So you don't have to go around it."

I looked at her, "How can you still believe in them?! They're going to betray you! Heka has already!"

"She hasn't!" She got up from laying down, "If she did, she wouldn't be with Hades. They're still going to help us! Apollo hasn't betrayed you either."

I looked at the bed before looking back at her, "You can't trust them."

She got off the bed, losing her balance for a moment, "I can trust whomever I want! I don't need to be hearing this from you." She walked out. I just went back staring at the bed. Bellimon curled up next to me.

[Neon

Nereida entered the room and she looked mad.

"Is something wrong?" Lightningmon asked.

"Lily Dawn." She went over to the window, where I could see that she was really tired.

"What did she do?"

"She was acting like Sora. I don't need to hear it from her."

"What happened?" I asked, since I wasn't catching what they were saying.

She looked at me then back out the window, "It's nothing."

"How did we escape anyway? Did you come up with any ideas?"

"I used my Crest Power, though it wasn't it full affect."

"You should be resting then." I wish I could give up my bed for her, but my back was in pain.

"I know… but Lily Dawn is acting weird."

"How so?"

"She's telling me not to trust the Super Levels that I know."

"She might still be recovering from her shock of Apollo. I think that what's filling her right now."

"Huh?" She looked at me.

"She was a lot more demanding and fearful when we were facing Thor. I think that she holds some fear of the Deities because of Apollo and she doesn't want to face any of them because of him."

Nereida came over to the bed, "But she doesn't need to act like there's a problem."

"There's something here that you don't want to tell me." I smiled as she looked away.

"… I… I…" Nereida was trying to tell me something but we heard a moan coming from Matt's bed.

"Matt?" Gabumon asked, getting closer to him.

"Gabumon?... Are we at the port?" He asked sleepily.

"Not yet." He smiled.

"I'll get Lily Dawn." Lightningmon said as she went out of the door.

"How do you feel?" Nereida asked.

"I'll answer that when Lily Dawn gets here so I don't have to repeat it." I could sense his smile.

The door open and Lily Dawn came in, "Matt? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Can someone ask if they have tea here? I should have some before doing anything else."

"I'll get it." Nereida said as she left with Lightningmon. I noticed that they didn't make eye contact with each other.

"Can you move?" Lily Dawn walked over to his bed.

"I don't know. I haven't tried yet. Where are we, anyway?"

"We're a town before the port so we shouldn't have a long trip."

"Then why don't we just go there, unless it's night."

"Nah.. I'm not really sure what time it is, but it's not night yet."

"Then if we have some daylight to kill, why not kill it?"

"We have to wait until you two feel better. The ride was a bit rough for Neon." I noticed that she was trying to hide the fact that we were attack by Thor.

"Matt, we were recently attacked by Thor and our driver is dead." I stated wanting them to stop with all this secrecy.

"What?" He tried to get up. "Is that why Nereida looked drained?"

"Yea, she used her Crest Power but she believes it wasn't its fullest."

"And hers takes a while before wearing off…"

"I got some tea." Nereida said as they came in. Lily Dawn moved out of the way as Nereida gave Matt the cup. Lightningmon was handing us the others that they brought. Matt drank it.

"Thanks."

"Here, you can have mine." Lily Dawn said.

"Are you still mad at me?" Nereida asked as Matt took it.

"Matt looked better after two cups the last time." Lily Dawn went to the window that Nereida was at, looking out from it as well.

"It is true. I need two cups a day so his evil side doesn't come out." Matt smiled.

"Oh, okay."

"Why are you two mad at each other?" Matt looked at them.

"Apparently Nereida has a Digital Admirer and she still believes in Heka." Lily Dawn stated.

"You like a Digimon?" Matt looked at her.

Nereida narrowed her eyes at Lily Dawn before looking down at the floor, "I didn't want anyone to really know about it… since he works for Collect Soulsmon…"

"Who's this?" I asked.

"Arsmon."

"The one that held you under the water?" I asked. We all gave reports of what happened to us that day as well as the other time we helped the elders out.

"Yeah…"

"Which is why it's wrong for you to be thinking about him." Lily Dawn stated. Now I knew I was right.

"Why can't she believe in it?" Matt asked. I had completely forgotten that he is innocent to the issue.

"Collect Soulsmon is the leader of the mysterious group. Arsmon is one of her underlings and they had tried to destroy the Destiny Stones. They only got one though, since we were there to make sure that nothing happened." I reported.

"Apparently there's more that I still needed to hear from them." Matt smiled, "Nereida, is this your first time in love?"

"… Yea…"

"Then that's great to hear."

"How can you say that! He'll just use her!" Lily Dawn yelled. "This isn't good for anyone!"

"Apollo would never use you! He loves you more than anyone else he has gone after."

She looked at Nereida, her eyes wide, "What do you mean by that?"

"He's a god, what do you think I mean?" Nereida stated.

"Not all Gods are the same." Matt stated.

"What do you mean?" Lily Dawn had never looked away from Nereida.

"You know that Zeus is a womanizer, right?" Lily Dawn nodded, "Apollo was known for the same thing."

Lily Dawn stared at her before calmly walking out the door and closing it. "Lily Dawn.." Bellimon called before the door finally closed.

Matt tried to get up, but apparently wasn't strong enough to. Even though my back was in pain, I got up and followed Lily Dawn outside, leaving Gladiolusmon with them.

I found her outside, in the cold. She was walking somewhere, though I knew that she had no real destination.

"Lily Dawn." I called to her as I tried to catch up.

She looked back, "Neon, you shouldn't be outside." She came over to me.

I hugged her, "It's okay. You don't have to be so strong."

"What are you talking about? I'm not strong at all. I'm weak as anything…" She rested her head on my shoulder. "I can't live without someone. My brother taught me to always have someone that you can place your arms around. I've dated many, many people…" She wrapped her arms around me and cried, as I knew she would. She wanted to believe in him so much. This is how much she loves him.

[Me

"Nereida, you have to be sensitive around Lily Dawn." I stated.

"Why? She has to be reminded that Apollo didn't betray her. They haven't betrayed us."

"But she still loves him." We looked over at Bellimon, "So it hurts her even more since she believes he has."

"If she still loves him then why does she believe so?"

"That what's going through her mind. I don't know why she believes it."

"So as we wait for them to return, why not tell me how Lily Dawn learned about Arsmon? Or anything about him?" I asked.

"Don't tell my brothers, okay?"

"Haven't you kept enough things from them?" Gladiolusmon asked. "They didn't know about Heka and now you don't want them to know about Arsmon. Do you think they really don't want to know?"

Nereida looked away.

"She can tell her brothers whatever she wants." Lightningmon defended her.

"I'm agreeing with Gladiolusmon. She should tell her brothers, that way there are no more secrets." Bellimon said.

"And how honest do you think they are?"

"They probably wouldn't keep something like this away from her."

"Gabumon," I whispered to him as they began to argue more.

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry that you won't be able to hear this, but I'll tell you later."

"Okay." Gabumon got off the bed, "All Digimon, follow me." He opened the door and walked out. They all followed, not really understanding why and neither did Nereida.

"Where are they going?" She looked at me.

"Don't know. I didn't request a specific place."

"Why did you want them to leave?"

"You don't want me to tell your brothers, okay. I won't tell them." I smiled.

She smiled back, "He works for Collect Soulsmon. I know that he's loyal to her and she knows that he likes me. He helped out when we were facing against Machine Etemon as well. Whenever you talk to Sora, you might hear about that. She warned me about liking him, but I've decided that I'm going to since he does care about me."

"But you don't know much else, uh?"

"Not really…"

"I hope that you can. Has he helped you like Heka?"

"Only in protecting me… He was the one that told us that we're a town away from the port. And that we can't use our amulets to go to the Digital World."

"Didn't even think of that… anything else?"

"Yea, Heka is staying with Hades as a punishment, but she's doing okay."

"I'm glad to hear it." I smiled.

"So why did you have the Digimon out of the room?"

"They seemed to have fun arguing over you that I thought they should do it somewhere else as we talked."

She smiled. "Do you think I'm keeping too much from my brothers?"

"You don't have to tell them everything. Everyone has their secrets."

"Do you?"

"Of course." _And I'm not going to reveal them just yet._

She smiled. "I'll get them now." She left.

When they returned, they were arguing with each other. Then Lily Dawn and Neon came back. "How are you feeling, Matt?" Lily Dawn asked.

"I'm fine. As long as I have someone helping, I'll be fine. My paralyze state seems to be gone and my energy is returning."

"But Ken has stayed paralyzed for a longer time." Neon stated.

"I don't have an explanation. My defenses are returning as well, but I think I can only fight close range."

"We still have a long time before we're back home so take your time in healing." Nereida said.

"Right." I smiled. I got up and Lily Dawn was helping me, "Now lets get going." Everyone nodded.

I got us to the port within the day and on a boat that would get us on the other side quickly. We would be arriving on the other side by tomorrow, but we were worried about having to show our passports since we don't have them with us. Plus, Neon and Lily Dawn never needed one.

"So, how are we going to be handling this?" Lily Dawn asked.

"As I was in space, I brought along some books to entertain me. One was on psychics and it said that you can bring up memory from the subconscious and bring it to the surface. I bet that you could do the same and manipulate what they remember."

"I don't know… I might be able to but I might not."

"It doesn't hurt to try." We had to do something and quick since it wasn't that long of a boat ride and we only have this time to prepare something. I wasn't going to steal someone else's if we could use another way of cheating.

"He's right, Lily Dawn. We have to do something so we don't have to worry about it." Neon agreed.

"Why don't you practice it for a while? That will give you an answer as to whether you're able to do something like that." I offered since I didn't want her to feel like she was obligated to do this. If she couldn't, I would find another way.

"Okay, I'll give it my best shot." She got up and walked away.

"I think she'll do fine." I commented with a smile.

Lily Dawn came back in a short time, "I don't know where to aim. The mind is much more vast than I thought it was."

"Come into my mind and I'll show you where you have to aim at." I said, since I was able to find out before the dark being and I merged together. I'll explain that later.

"Okay." She came in and lingered there. I led her through my mind, to the spot where she needed to implant thought and make it seem like they knew. "There."

She looked around, getting her bearings right before leaving, "Okay, thanks." She smiled and walked away again.

[Lily Dawn

I don't know why Matt wants me to do this. I know that I have to, so we can get home and all, but still. I don't really feel like it. I leaned against the railing on the deck, finding people that are standing around and tried it out on them. I at least know why Matt didn't want me to try it out on them, since the people I'm manipulating are speaking a different language than us. I could tell that I was doing something, but I wasn't sure what it was. It was like I did something to them, since I wasn't looking at their thoughts but hearing them, and it lasted for a while before wearing off. I could tell by the confusion they held on their faces.

Sometimes, I implanted happy thought phrases in that part of their mind. It made them happy for the time it lasted. For couples, I implanted thoughts that weren't so nice. I could tell that it was working, by the other's expression. When that wore off, the one I did it to had a hard time explaining themselves to their other.

I began to wonder if I can control what they said as well, so I picked on someone who was talking. I implanted Japanese in his mind, saying anything that came to mine.

"+I don't know why you're wearing that jacket with that hat. You should've gone with the green since that seem best to match your brown hair.+" The two gentlemen paused for a long time, confusion and puzzlement on their faces. They looked to be of high class or something, and it was killer to see how they were shocked.

A Japanese lady went up to the man, asking him about something in the town that we're heading towards. The only thing that the guy understood was the town, but nothing else. The lady felt embarrass and seemed to repeat it in his language. He was then relieved and answered her question. She seemed to thank him before moving along.

I went into her thoughts since I would be able to understand them. She was an investigator for the UN and he was some big time crime boss or something. I went back into his mind and looked instead of listen. She was right. The images that I was seeing could have only come from someone that dealt with the underground system. But I also found something interesting as I was looking through them, there was a small girl with him at one point. She was really skilled and smart for her age. But nearing the present, I noticed what he was after. He was going to Japan to find this girl, who had helped him on many other occasions but never during the same year. She helped him out, played her part in the actual crime and in the cover up, got her percent of the money and leave. She always came to him for a job, but it seems that this job needed her so he was going to find her. I don't know why he would be going to Japan, until I saw Ceres. She appeared in the same manner as the little girl, did everything that the girl did before leaving.

I went back to the other images, now seeing Ceres in them too. They had pink, frizzy hair with her silver jewel hair band to hold it up and her jewels and her amulet. I got out of his mind and turned around. I couldn't believe that Ceres would involve herself with people like him, even at an early age. The last thing she did for him was kill people.

I calmed myself down, before looking to see that the guy didn't even notice how I reacted, which was good. I wondered why he didn't seem bother that he was remembering so much about his past, since I never learned how to stop them from seeing the same thing.

I walked calmly passed them, heading back to Matt and the others.

"How did it go?" Matt asked as I sat down.

"I learned that Ceres is a criminal." I stated plainly.

"What? How would you know that?" Nereida asked.

"There's a crime boss that's wanted by the UN on board and he's heading over to Japan to find her since he needs her for a job."

"What job was it?" Matt asked, seemingly having no opinion.

"I didn't want to know, but the last thing that she did for him was kill people."

"She has worked for him before?" Neon asked.

"Yeah. Seems like we were wrong in trusting her." I didn't even look at Matt, since I didn't want to know how he was displaying his emotions right now. I know he cares a lot about all of us, so I didn't want to see.

"What did she do?" He didn't hint at anything in his voice.

"I didn't watch clearly since I didn't really want to know."

"If you didn't want to know then how can you be sure that we can't trust her?"

"Because he has done worst things and she can place herself so easily into that life. Those kinds of people can't be trusted."

"So just because she has done those things and is comfortable knowing those kinds of people means that she can't be trusted?" Neon asked.

"Yeah. If she has no problems killing, what else is she able to do?"

Neon got up. I looked at her to see anger in her eyes. "I see that you still have no faith in anyone." She walked away, leaving no room for me to counter.

"What was that about? Is that what separated everyone else? Because no one else believed in them?" Nereida asked.

"Nereida, can you make sure that Neon is alright?" Matt asked calmly. She got up, as well as Lightningmon, and they went after her. "Lily Dawn, you're repeating yourself. You know that Panther has killed before."

"Panther killed to protect her and Killer. Ceres killed for money. There is a difference." I still didn't look at him.

"You do know why Neon left, right? Because you were talking about Don and her."

"I wasn't talking about them. I was talking about Ceres."

"Is there something about Ceres that you hate? Do you think that she plays superiority games with you?"

I smiled, since I knew what he was talking about. In Japanese class, she showed off how talented she was with language once. Later, she said that she was showing off her superiority to another student in the class who thought they were great. "She doesn't play that game with us in anything."

"Then why do you hate her?" I was surprised to hear him say 'hate' since I wasn't giving the impression that I hated her. I might be giving off that I dislike her, but not hate.

"Why are you using hate?"

"I can tell in your eyes. You want to get rid of her." I looked up, wondering if that was really showing in my eyes. "You wish that she was never here, that she would just go away. It angers you that she's here, taking something that's yours."

I got up from the table, this time Bellimon was with me, and walked away. I didn't want to hear it. I just didn't want to hear the truth.

[Me

I knew that I scared Lily Dawn with my words, but I also know that it wasn't by her eyes that I knew.

"Matt," Gabumon whispered on my shoulder, "how did you know that? It wasn't in her eyes."

"It might have something to do with the dark powers." I looked at my hands, suddenly realizing that it was growing. It was feeding off of what Lily Dawn was feeling towards Ceres. "This isn't good."

"What?" Gabumon was very concerned.

"It's feeding off of Lily Dawn's emotions. It's like when she realized what I said was true, it took it into itself, making it stronger." I didn't want the evil to grow.

[Neon

I was staying inside, but on the upper level. The sea was calm and it was pretty clear day for winter. Gladiolusmon was with me, looking out too. I couldn't believe that Lily Dawn still believed that. She might not have meant it at us, but that included us. We didn't tell them everything we did, we didn't even tell our parents or Digimon.

"Neon, there you are." Nereida came up to us, with Lightningmon following her.

"Why are you here?" I went back to looking outside.

"Well… Matt asked me to go look for you. Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay. I just wasn't expecting to hear that again."

"I'm sure that not everyone feels that way. I know that I don't."

"That's because you have a kind heart that wants to believe in the good of the world."

"So what if Lily Dawn doesn't like you? Everyone else does."

"Not your brothers." I corrected.

"Forget them. They're not important."

"You can't just forget about them. I can forget about my father since he hasn't shown his face around, but you still have to live with your brothers."

"What makes you think I'm going back home?"

"Where else are you going to live? Out on the streets? Surviving it like Panther, Don and I did?" I looked at her, "You're not strong enough to handle it out there, so don't think you are."

"I could always…"

"Live in the Digital World? Yeah, that's smart. Being surrounded by your enemies night and day. You're not strong enough for that either."

"You're… saying that I'm weak…"

"I will always be by her side." Lightningmon added, saying that she would protect her from anything.

"Right, and what will happen to the baby when you die protecting her, huh?"

Nereida face held no expression before she bowed and walked away. Lightningmon narrowed her eyes before following.

"That was kinda harsh, Neon." Gladiolusmon said.

"It's the truth." I went back to looking out of the window.

[Nereida

I couldn't believe that Neon said that. I wanted to believe it was her pregnancy, but I wasn't sure.

"Nereida, I'm sure that Neon will apologize." Lightningmon said.

"Yeah… but it still hurts." I was outside on the deck. It was relaxing being here.

Lightningmon wasn't talking, probably didn't have anything to say. But that was okay, since there wasn't much to talk about anyway.

Hours later, Matt came up to us. "We're about to land. Do you happen to know where the others are?"

"The last that I know, Neon was still inside. I haven't seen Lily Dawn."

"Okay, I'll look for Lily Dawn. Let Neon know that we need to gather before we land."

"Okay." I smiled.

"You okay?"

"A little, Neon was being a bit harsh earlier."

"Oh, I see. Do you want me to look for them then?"

"Nah, I'll get Neon. Where do you want to meet?"

"At the gate. I want to be one of first people off this boat."

"Okay." We separated.

Lightningmon and I found Neon in the dining room. The food was free so it seemed like she was helping herself. "You're not going to be able to lose all that weight." I said with little humor.

She was looking at me, "I'm watching what I eat." She seemed better.

"What's with all these plates then?" I lifted one up.

"I'm having a little of everything."

I looked at the plates, seeing little to no stain on them. "Are you done? We have to head to the gates."

"Yeah." She took the last bites before getting up. We walked up to the gates and waited for Matt and Lily Dawn to show.

"Sorry about earlier. I normally don't get those really extreme mood swings that most have." Neon said.

"It's okay." I smiled, glad that I was right.

It didn't take long for them to show up. Lily Dawn wasn't looking too happy, but I didn't pay much attention to it. The other guest started to gather when we were able to see land. Matt had the right idea of being one of the first since there were a lot of folks getting off.

Lily Dawn did her trick, allowing us to get by without any trouble. We walked into the bar place, and Matt was asking around.

"When has Matt known this language?" I asked.

"Beats me… He could've learned it while in space." Lily Dawn offered.

"The owner is allowing us to work here for a while to get some money. He'll also provide a room that we can stay in for a while." Matt said when he came back.

"Guess we can't rely on charm for too long, huh?"

"Not forever. Don't want to place a strain on your powers."

"So what is this place?" I asked.

"They sale all kinds of drinks. The owner trusts us enough to hire us under the table."

"What about me? I shouldn't be working." Neon said.

"I told him about you and only Lily Dawn, Lightningmon and I will be working. Nereida is going to be staying with you and you two can get a good look at the town and the best route to take from here."

"How long are we going to be here for?" Lightningmon asked.

"A few days at least. This money doesn't weigh much in other parts on the world so they're willing to pay in US dollars."

"Wow, how did you manage to get them agree to that?" I asked.

He smiled, "Trust them but do be wary of them, okay?"

We all nodded, since we all knew that this was too lucky on our part. Matt showed us to the rooms that we'll be using. They were simple and they were small. The Digimon would have to be up here while we stayed.

"Lily Dawn, Lightningmon, we have to get going. We start work right now." Matt said once having a good around.

"Okay." She said and they walked down the stairs.

"Should we take a look around?" Neon asked.

I looked at the Digimon, "Do you guys want to come?"

"We'll watch the room." Gabumon said with a smile.

I nodded and we walked out as well.

[Lily Dawn

Matt was working at the bar and Lightningmon and I were serving the drinks out. This took less talking and less knowledge on what alcoholic drinks were. We also had to clean the place. It was pretty easy, which is good for me. I noticed that they had a stage since near lunch and going throughout dinner, there were people performing up there. They were really amazing and I loved their moves. I was able to memorize them so I could try them out later on my own.

I also took note on the people that are giving us a place to stay and a job. They were a lady and a man whose eye was missing. They seemed like really strict people, but they never acted that way. They also seemed to be watching us intently, but it was probably to make sure that we didn't mess up. I was also surprise that Matt knew so much about the language and the drinks. He didn't seem to have a problem fitting in, and it was obvious that some of the guys were taking a liking to him, as well as all the ladies.

This was the first time that I noticed that Matt was in fact handsome. I never really noticed before because I kinda always saw him as someone that Panther liked to admire and someone that's like her father figure. But he does have good looks, and charming blue eyes. I know that he didn't do anything special to himself while we were getting dressed for our roles, but he seemed totally different. He was also handling the fact that guys were trying to hit on him pretty well. I might not know the language, but I've been on many dates to know what flirting is.

"That wasn't so bad." Matt said as we were getting out of the place.

"Yeah… and you seemed to be able to fit right in with the crowd." I said with a smile.

"Really? I'm glad. They have many nice people around here. What did you two think about your job?" He looked at me and Lightningmon.

"It wasn't difficult and it's much easier on me since I don't know the language as fluently as you."

"I don't know the language fluently."

"You could fool everyone else."

He laughed, "I guess that is a good thing."

"It wasn't hard for me either." Lightningmon said. Though, while we were working, I did notice that she was able to talk to the people. She was handling herself well, since some of the guys were hitting on her too.

There was a voice behind us. We looked to see that it was the people that ran the place. Matt talked to them in their language, holding a conversation. I could tell by his eyes that he was now questioning their motives. They followed us back to the place we were staying.

"Matt, what's going on?" I asked in a whispered.

"They want to talk to all of us about something. I'm sure it's nothing serious." Matt smiled it off.

I looked at them, knowing that this can't be good. They wanted something from us, but what? I looked back at Matt, "I could go into their minds to see what they're up to." I offered.

"It's fine. You should save that for when we really need it." He smiled it off yet again. I didn't understand why he was, since they could be endangering us in some way. I wondered if Matt had a blind eye to these kinds of people.

[Nereida

They came back with two old people following them. Neon and I had come back not too long ago, and now all the Digimon that had stayed are hiding.

"Welcome back." Neon greeted them, acting as the housewife. I just then realized how the place looked a bit Japanese.

"Thank you. Would you get something for our honorable guests?" Matt looked at them, talking in their language. They replied to his question before he faced Neon again, "Anything warm and tasty." He said with a smile.

Neon bowed, "Okay." She went into the kitchen. I wondered if her kids were affecting her again.

"So how was it?" I asked Lily Dawn and Lightningmon as they sat down next to me.

"It was a lot of fun. But they want something." She whispered the last part as if they knew what we were saying.

"Do you know what?"

"No, but I could tell that Matt didn't like the idea too well. That or he doesn't believe what they said was the reason."

I looked over at him, seeing that he was talking to the people. He seemed to be enjoying himself nicely. Neon came back with tea for everyone, being a good housewife. I knew that that is something that she doesn't want, but she's playing the part well.

"Okay, you requested that when it was right that I speak to you in Japanese. So what is that you want to say?" Matt addressed them.

"+Please, don't be alarm that we can speak your language,+" the old woman said in Japanese.

"+But we have to talk to you all about something important.+" The old man finished.

We were all shock and surprise to utter something, the girls at least.

"So what is it?" Matt didn't seem fazed.

"First, allow me to say that we are deities. My name is Freyja." The lady said.

"And my name is Odin."

I looked at Lily Dawn to see her hugging the pillow she was holding tighter. Her face showed courage that wasn't there.

"Freyja and Odin? Aren't you supposed to be evil?" Matt asked. "As a matter of fact, you and Thor are supposed to be rivals and Thor is the good one?"

"You know your legends well for someone that should know nothing." Freyja commented.

"Something I picked up. So now that we know we are working for deities, what else is there?"

"It is true that Thor and I are rivals, and you might believe that this is to gain some upper hand, but we really do have your interest at heart." Odin said.

"That Love Goddess is using the desires floating around to her own advantage. We need you to be strong enough to defeat Thor so he could return to his right mind." Freyja said.

"And if we were to help, what then? How does that help you?" I was surprised to hear that, since I figured that Matt would ask how it would help us.

"People think that Thor and I will always be rivals, which is nearly true. But with years of being forced to live together, I have more respect for my rival than I did before. I would like that peace to return." Odin explained.

"I am interested in having the Greeks shown that they aren't the best around." Freyja added.

"So Thor is acting as if possess or obsess." Matt summed up.

"Yes, but more than that. He normally wouldn't fall for a lustrous person that Aphrodite has become, but he is following her wishes, as well as Seth. We have to stop her." Odin said.

"So how do we become stronger? Do you know the status of the others?" That got us all interested, including Lily Dawn.

Odin smiled, "They are fine for now. You are separated into groups of four and spread across the world."

"What about my brother?" Matt didn't show it, but he was worried.

"Your brother is still home." Freyja said with her eyes closed, reminding me of Hecate. Matt just nodded.

"How do we get stronger?" Neon asked in the most serious voice that I've heard from her before. Even when she's motherly bossy, she never used that kind of voice before.

"You all must pass a test. If you can not, then you don't deserve to be the Neo Digi." Odin said, raising his old arm and that was the last thing that I remembered.

When I woke up, I found myself on a bed with annoying lights above my head.

" Darling, are you alright? " Some man asked in English.

I stared at him for a good while before answering, "+ Who are you?+" I didn't want to know the truth.

" Honey, I don't know Japanese. " The way he said that made me get up. I don't even know him and he hates me. There was a mirror nearby so I went over to it. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I was much, much older than I am now. My face doesn't have that youthful joy that it has now. It has retained its beauty, but it has lost all joy, all happiness, all hope. My eyes are lifeless.

" Dear, you should probably rest. It was a more serious fall than I thought. " The man suggested to me.

I looked over to him, " Who are you? Why am I here? " I finally had to know.

The hurt and surprise look was more than I could handle. There was also confusion on his face. Why was he so hurt? Why did he care? I just took off.

The place seemed like a dream. I didn't know where I was going or how to navigate through the house.

" Mom? " I stopped when I heard someone ask. I looked to see a kid that had some of my features. Her eyes were hard with young, but wise, understanding like that of Tim. " Mom, are you feeling better? " When she stepped closer, I moved back. It also confused her, but her other emotion wasn't hurt, it was worry.

I ran from her as well. I didn't understand any of this. Why were they speaking English? Wouldn't they know some Japanese because of me? Sure, I can speak English, but I love Japanese more.

An even littler girl with growing features came running towards me with the biggest smile on her face, " Mommy, mommy, look, look, I drew another picture! "

"+Don't come near me!+" I yelled.

She stopped and held their same expression before tears started to come to her little eyes. I took off again.

I managed to get outside, seeing my beloved Japanese sky. I was hoping that this was some bad dream or something, "+Tim, Damon, Lightningmon, where are you?+" I yelled to the endless sky.

I fell to my knees, crying. Why was I alone?

"Nereida, you're being quiet today. Why is that?" TK asked. I looked around, but didn't see him. "How could you think that you're alone? You got lots of people around you that like you."

_But they aren't here now! Why aren't they with me?_ I curled back up.

"We can't be with you all the time. We have to have some time alone. But whenever you need us, we'll come running to you, okay?"

I looked up to see a ghost like of him as he is now. He extended his hand to me, "I promise there will be someone that will always be with you."

With his warmth and smile, there was no way I couldn't believe him. I got on my feet, looking back at the house. Those people cared a lot about me. They seemed to be my family. I looked at TK and too his hand, "If this is my future, allow this moment to remind me that I'm not alone and this moment when I choose to be true to me."

TK smiled as I said that, "Let's get you home."

I smiled as I was taken away from here and back to where I belong. I also made up my mind and wanted to go home.

[Neon

"Gladiolusmon?" I called as soon as I gain consciousness. I got up slowly, suddenly noticing I felt a lot lighter than normal. I placed my hand on my stomach, having my flatness back. I looked to make sure I wasn't mistaken.

I got up. I couldn't believe that they were gone. "Gladiolusmon?" I called again, shaking badly. I then noticed that I was in some kind of vortex. I couldn't tell what the colors were.

I decided to walk, seeing how I was standing, but couldn't move. I noticed how cold my feet were. I slowly looked down to see ice keeping me in place.

A light shown in front of my. I looked to see a world. Suddenly, I was in the world, realizing it was the Digital World. There was a great war taking place. It wasn't the one we all thought it would be. There were no gods and no one that was controlling the minds of the others, but that didn't make it any less horrific. There was so much pain, suffering, tears. I felt the tears on my cheeks as I was watching it in fast motion, though slow enough for it to leave an impact on my soul.

A hero rose and brought peace. That's when I noticed that my legs were feeling cold. I looked to see an icy wing wrapping around my legs, freezing the air around it to form ice on my legs. I took a deep breath before looking back at the scene. I was hoping that my fear wasn't coming.

This hero was corrupted and overthrown, bringing three new people to power. But one was corrupted, throwing the world back into chaos. It only then hit me how much time had passed. I don't know how long it was, but it was a long time.

My fear was showing itself. I was watching as time flew passed me. I'm forced to watch it all. Now, the icy winds were at my thighs, telling me this is my fate.

Kids came into the world, able to turn into Digimon and have an adventure. Two of the kids looked familiar, but I didn't know where. When they went back to the Real World, I could see that a good amount of time had passed there too.

The wind had made it pass my shoulders. My cheeks were cold, so I was still crying.

_I will keep you here for you to see my glory._ A voice so evil said.

"Who are you?" I asked. My voice was going to be gone soon.

_I am the darkness that will take over the world. And your precious children will get me here._

I wanted to scream, but my neck and mouth froze. The last thing I heard was his evil laughter.

I wondered if I would die like this. I wondered if this was real or some nightmare of my fear. It lasted too long for it to be a dream.

"Have you ever noticed how nearly everyone knows your name, Neon?"

I was shocked when I heard that. In front of me that moment was replaying, but only what TK was doing.

"Yeah, I was talking to a bunch of guys that Cody knows and they were asking about you. I was really surprised that they knew your name, but not Don's. So I went around to people I didn't know, saying I was doing a project, and I didn't find one person who didn't know your name or what you look like. Most even knew your married and your new name."

That day, when he told me that, it was a happy day for me. He even showed me the list of names, what grade they were and what they had first period. There were a lot of names taking up 50 pages. He said he would've asked more, but he's trying to get an easier way of finding out.

"Do you want to be that popular?"

Yes. I didn't tell him then, but I do want to be that popular. I wanted to be known throughout the world, if I could. The easiest way I saw was to be a singer. I didn't want to be forgotten.

I noticed that the ice around me was getting moist. I then noticed that there was a light melting the ice.

"Did you also realize that your Crest has a lasting impact on people? Ken's first Crest has the same effect."

I didn't know why he mentioned that before. He said it then moved on. But I think I understand now. Whether he meant to or not, he was telling me another way of being known. They might not know my name or know what I look like, but how I interact with them will be with them forever. And maybe that will also be passed on to others or their kids.

The ice suddenly broke. TK was there, smiling at me. This still felt like a dream, but I won't simply forget what I've learned. I reached out to touch him.

[Lily Dawn

A princess locked up in the tower is the perfect way to describe how I felt as I looked out the stone-made window. I didn't know where I was and I didn't feel comfortable being here. Those deities did this for a reason and no matter what they say; it couldn't be for anything good.

I didn't recognize the place I saw outside, but I didn't want to think about the interior. When I woke up, the room was very plain. A bed with framework that would put most others to shame, but the covers was dull and a bit raggy. It's wide enough to allow more things to be added, but nothing filled that space.

The sun here was going down. If the tower were lower, I would climb out of here.

The sound of a bolt opening echoed in the room. _He_ walked into the room and there was no where for me to hide.

"Lily Dawn?" He, Apollo, dared to ask.

I turned my head away from his gaze. I started to wonder if I could withstand the fall.

"Lily Dawn!" His voice was loud as he called me again. His arms wrapped around me in a loving embrace. Before I realized what I was doing, I eased into the hold. I wanted to be held like that for a long time.

I pushed him away, moving away from him and the window, "Why am I here?" I demanded.

He was surprised by my reaction. When he advanced, I moved back. The pain on his face didn't move me either. He gave up so easily, sitting on his bed. "So like everyone else, you'll leave me too."

"You have no right to feel self pity."

He looked at me, "Why not?"

"Because you hurt me more."

"I was going to tell you that night, you and your brother."

I turned around so I didn't have to look at him. "It still hurts."

"Then ask me anything now. I govern over truth."

I hugged myself, "No thanks."

"Then go into my mind and see it."

"There's no point. Nothing you can say will ever change what you did." I leaned against the wall, wishing that this would all go away as if a dream. I slid down to the floor before some dark cloud covered my mind.

"Well, you could always look in my mind to find the answers." TK said.

It was when we were studying and he was trying to help me with an area in France. He didn't draw it right enough for me to see it and it was to help me answer a review question. Of course I refused to do so and failed that proportion.

"You might've been able to get the questions if you had looked." TK said as he looked over my test.

I told him that I would've felt as if I was cheating. He gave me a look as if he didn't believe me, but didn't say anything about it.

"You know what I've noticed. You don't seem to use your powers all too much. Any information you get comes to you and you barely go searching for it."

Again, I lied to him by saying that I do go searching for the information. I hated my power when I was a little girl. One day, I learned that my mother was going to leave. No one else knew this, they still don't know this, but she left to go with another man. They were even planning on killing my father. When I learned this, I tried everything I could to get her to stay and love my dad. She never got back her love for him, but she did decide to let him live. Then dad wanted to leave as well, but he couldn't leave us. I got close to Stan because he was the only one who thought about staying, or at least stayed with me.

I always hated studying since if I thought too hard or long, I couldn't keep the others out. Dancing only require the body to think.

Many boyfriends had to suffer through my knowing them too well or dumping them without any reason. My curiosity had always got me when dating and I always learn more than I want to. When I met Apollo, I vowed to never do so with him. He also never gave me reason to. He didn't seem cable to hide anything.

"When you meet your soul mate, it doesn't take much thought to know it. It's a feeling you get when you first met and you want to do everything you can to be with that person. And through that, you get to know them." TK said when I asked about soul mates. He and Kari are so perfect together that there is no way they couldn't be soul mates.

When I first met Apollo, everything seemed to disappear. I didn't worry about much and Panther came back. Then I met everyone in the group, the group that took her away. But in Apollo's arms, I knew I was safe.

Finally, I was able to open my eyes. Apollo was leaning over me with deep worry and concern. I noticed that his hand was on my head since I turned into it.

"Are you okay? You were scaring me for a while there." He asked with a small smile. I noticed that I was lying down, most likely on his bed.

I started at him. He had hurt me, true, but maybe some was on myself. I never allowed him to tell me the truth. He was willing to tell me before he left.

I raised my hands to touch his face, only to bring it down to kiss his lips. They were the same, he felt the same. Does he really love me, as if we were soul mates? Could I really love a being so immortal?

I brought him lower to me, undoing the rope belt that was now around him.

He kissed my forehead when we were done. Unfortunate for Apollo, he wasn't my first, though I know I wasn't his. I hugged him tightly, loving his bare skin against mine. "I love you, Lily Dawn." Apollo whispered into my ear.

"I love you, too."

"Are you still mad that I didn't tell you?"

"No… but the Neo group is another story." I noticed that it was still night.

"Why? I thought…"

"Whatever you thought is false. Everyone has a problem with each other. We're hardly friends now."

"But every time I saw you guys, you all seem so strong."

"It was probably a façade or something."

"Why do you hate them?"

"They took Panther away."

"How can they take her away?"

"She's with them more. She has a stronger connection with them than with me or Ryan. Us three were so close that we could guess what the others were going to say and say the same thing all together…"

"Didn't she leave to be with Killer?"

"Yeah… but she…"

"Whom do you think she is closer to now?"

".. Probably Ceres."

"Maybe there's a reason for it. I don't know much about them, but I do know that Ceres is very powerful because of her power and knowledge."

"But I want her to come back to me."

"Let her know that. Maybe she believes that you don't need her or something… Maybe you could learn more if you talk to Killer."

I looked at him before remembering that Killer had to stay with Hades. "Could I?"

Apollo nodded, "Get dressed and I'll let Hades know I'm coming."

I got dressed quickly, shivering from the digital cold. I touched my stomach, feeling a bit strange.

"Lily Dawn, are you done?" Apollo asked when he entered the room with Lethemon.

"Yeah." I walked over to them.

"Stay behind me." She said as she turned around.

Apollo took my hand as we followed after her. When we came across someone, they seem dumbfounded and stood there as we walked by. Apollo made sure that no one from behind saw me.

Lethemon stopped at a cave before looking at us. "Apollo, keep her safe."

"I will." Apollo assured her before we head down the cave.

I held on to him tightly so I wouldn't loose him in the dark. I noticed that the ground surrounding us was wet.

"Welcome!" Hades said once we were out of the cave and adjusted to the light. "It's good to see that you made it without any problems."

There was a table with food out. Persephone was sitting there with Killer, Ceres's boyfriend and Nereida's goddess friend. Hades guided us to the table, having us sat near him.

"Please, eat something." Hades's wife offered. We started eating. The Greeks, or really the deities, were talking about nothing. The morals were eating few and talking even less. I was hoping for a quiet talk with Killer, but it seemed like I wouldn't get the chance. I just remembered that everyone else was back in Russia so I couldn't spend a lot of time here.

"Killer, from when Panther left until you died, tell me what changed her." I asked in a low voice since he was close to me.

"Where do I begin? I probably wouldn't be able to give you an accurate list."

"Just tell me anything you remember."

"Why are you interested in knowing? Killer had told me that she was really close to you and Ryan." Ceres's boyfriend said.

"Ceres took her away from us."

He blinked for a moment before laughing, "Ceres hates followers."

"Well, she's allowing Panther to follow."

"Panther hates following. She never liked rules no matter where they are." Killer stated.

"So then why would they be so close? They have completely different personalities."

"Ceres can seem hard and tough, but she has a really sensitive, tender side to her. I don't know why she takes great pains to hide it."

"Panther always seemed to be searching for something. It's like nothing she ever did bought her peace. She became really attached to me while showing her worst sides to the others. After her family died, she never left my side until Matt showed up."

"So she changed after her family died?" I asked.

"Kinda. I mean, that was the biggest change, but there were other changes. She did form friendships with other people."

"Then why didn't they keep her there?"

"I really don't know. Maybe she formed them to keep her emotions busy or to ease tension."

"Tension in the gang?"

"And in the people themselves. You know, like the new members."

"Did she ever care for them? Like when they were hurt." Ceres's boyfriend asked.

"Yeah, she would take care of them until they got better. And if any died, she would personally take revenge for them if someone hadn't already."

"I can't say anything about the revenge part, but I do know that Ceres cared for any injured when she was with us."

"She does kill." I stated.

"I don't doubt it. People don't have cold stares unless they've killed a lot of people. Personally, I never had such eyes, but I know a good many that did."

"Then how can you love someone that kills?"

"Because you didn't have to see her wake up during the night with a cold sweat and terror and tears in her eyes. I've never seen that in the eyes of those I've known. She didn't want to kill them or at least felt remorse for what she did."

"Panther was the same way. She killed left and right, so long as she didn't see who she killed or have blood on her. Otherwise, she would go into a state of shock."

"How so?" I asked.

"Her eyes were wide for a while and she takes showers every chance she got. When she wasn't taking showers or sleeping, she kept herself busy."

"But you told us that she would take revenge for some. What happened after that?" Ilpalo asked.

"Same thing, but she gave herself more solitude."

"Even from you?"

"I was her solitude." Killer said with pride.

"How did you help Ceres?" I looked at Ilpalo.

"Before, she would play it off as nothing. When we were dating, I would hold her until she was calm again. Now that I'm remembering, she always acted clingy after nights like that as if she needed the comfort."

"Did it happen often?" Killer asked.

"It occurred for three nights when she first came. Then it was many months before it started again. She was having them every night until the fateful day."

"Then why did she go to sleep?" I asked.

"Because she believed that they would end."

"Did she ever tell you about them?" Killer asked.

"No, she didn't even tell me that she had killed before. I believe the first time was because she had recently killed someone. The others were just memories. I could also tell which ones were worst."

I finally knew what brought them together. They had similar lives and similar reactions to when they killed. Maybe they could sense it, or have seen it in each other's eyes. Panther did tell me about when they were heading back to Matt's house the first day we met Ceres. How she was in total control over the situation, not even giving out any signs that she was worried. She was still all jokes. Panther has also told me that she could now tell when Ceres was joking to lighten a mood and joking to cover up what she actually knows. Somehow, acting dumb allows her to get by with more.

I looked at Apollo, noticing how they were still talking about nothing. I wondered if they were listening in. "Apollo, I would like to go back to my friends."

He looked at me and nodded, "Okay, but can you wait here for a moment?"

"Sure. I need your help to get me back anyway."

He smiled before he kissed me. "I'll be right back."

I nodded as he got up and left. Hades and his wife left the table, leaving the mortals and Heka with us.

"Panther is fine, incase you were ever wondering." She informed me.

"And Ryan?"

"Also fine. He's with Ceres."

"Tell who is with whom. I think it would help ease Matt's mind if he knew."

"Panther, Kari, Don and Damon are in Australia with Seth chasing them. Ryan, Ceres, Ken and Tim are in America with no one chasing them, as of late."

"Where is Arsmon?"

"I don't know. He's not near your group and that's all I know."

"Okay, Lily Dawn, we can go now." Apollo said as he was at the entrance of the cave.

"Thank you." I bowed to everyone before leaving to go to him.

He took my hand as we went back up the cave to a point where we were back in the tunnel we used to get to the Celtics. Apollo turned around to face me, "Before we go farther, I need to tell you something."

"What?"

He opened his other hand, revealing a very simple but beautiful ring made out of some kind of stone. "I know that you mortals have ceremonies and all, but I can't give you that. Will you marry me?"

I was really surprised. I looked at him, unable to say anything.

"This will be your wedding ring."

"Yours?" Was all I could ask.

"Don't worry, I won't be unfaithful." He smiled at me. "And this is so for something else, as well."

"What?"

"I learned about your role with us and…"

"What's my role?" My sentences were getting longer.

"It's to either be mortal or be immortal."

"Does… this mean that I have to be immortal?"

"It's up to you. I'm not going to be making that choice for you."

I fell to my knees. I couldn't believe that all this would happen. He got next to me, "You don't have to decide now." He touched my face, "But I would like it if you decide on being my wife."

I looked at him and smiled. I kissed his lips, "I do." I gave him my hand.

He smiled as he slipped the ring on. He kissed me afterwards. "Thank you."

I smiled, hugging him tightly. I didn't want to think about the immortality, so I will as we're traveling. I pulled back after a while, "Okay, now can I go home?"

Apollo smiled, kissing me once more as he helped me up. So now hand in hand, he led me back to the others.

[Me

"Gabumon?" I called as I walked down the cave. I could hardly see anything it was so dark. I noticed that the air was damp and the ground tough. It seemed like many came down here before.

I started remembering the Dark Cave. The feelings that I felt were fresh again, but they weren't having the same impact. They showed me how far I've come along.

I was remembering my own group. Everyone had some troubles with the others. I never realized how much they could analyze everything. I wanted them to be more united when I got back. I wanted them to be stronger since no one knows what we'll face.

"Gabumon?" I wanted to believe that he was here. I needed him to be with me.

Now, my old friends hate the new group. Tai hates Panther; he and Sora hate Ceres and Neon; Joe and Mimi hate Ryan and Don. I've heard that TK has made them mad. I don't really believe that he was taking my place or feeling moody because I wasn't there. TK looked like he's going through some kind of change. I think that this is what causing his change.

But I was wondering why they hated the group now. They were allowed to know so they could help with any cover story. Ken and Kari were torn between the groups, but slowly agreeing to stay with us. Maybe we've pushed them too much.

"Gabumon?" I called again. I stopped where I was, leaning against the wall. I wasn't tired, but I was fighting the urge to give up.

I tried to think positively, but I had received no good news since I've been home. Izzy can't be trusted with the books. TK had to take them away from him, nearly stealing it. They never said this, but I could see it in his eyes that he only trusted this group.

I was really worried about him, being all alone with no one close to turn to. I know that he wouldn't go to Tai or Izzy. He wouldn't go to Davis or Cody. I doubt Seto would be of any help to him. I didn't know who could help him.

I sank down the wall, but quickly got back up. I couldn't bear the old emotions again. I need to be over them. I started to walk again, "Gabumon?"

A new thought came to my head. What if they are somehow being possessed by the Gods? They should know who they are, or at least recognize them. I bet that someone is controlling them to turn against us. But they should be stronger than that and no one is strong enough to control that many people and Digimon. I want to believe that they're fighting against whatever is going on with them, but I can't be sure. I wondered when the turning started. They were totally supportive when I first presented this to them, but why aren't they now? Why can't they believe in them like I do? They know three people that are in this group very well. Shouldn't that be enough for them to trust it?

"Gabumon!!" I yelled into the cave, having only my voice call back to me. I fell to my knees, knowing that I was alone here. I'll probably never get out of here.

Styxmon came into my mind. She gave me this task, and I failed her. I didn't know what I was doing, and the group that's supposed to be the strongest has fallen. I don't even know how it would be possible for them to be complete again. She wanted so much from me, and in the end, I couldn't give it to her. I failed everyone who ever had faith me in before. They were wrong. I was wrong to think that I could ever change. Back then, I was a coward, a jerk, everything but what I pretended to be. I'm no different now. I pretended to be strong, pretended to be wise, pretended to be loving, pretended to be caring, pretended to be trusting.

I leaned against the wall of the cave. Even her family believed in me. They hoped for so much and I failed them. I was their last hope. I was her friends' last hope. I can't even get out of a stupid cave. I promised so much too many people. My promises became the core of this group. I'm no good as a leader. Tai should have been the leader.

And all of them know it. They have no faith in my abilities. I was only fooling myself to think that I was any good. That maybe I could make a difference in this world and the Real World. I misread everything, believed in the wrongs things, and trusted the wrong words.

I closed my eyes. I was tried of all this fighting. I didn't know what I was fighting for anymore.

"_Let Matt go!"_ I heard my brother yell. I opened my eyes, seeing him looking angry. I was trying my hardest to remember when he said this.

"_Matt, get that thing out of you!"_ TK believed in me, but he also has misplaced it. I wasn't anything that should be believed in. _I can't help you either._

"_TK, what are you doing?" _Kari asked with worry in her voice. TK was handing over a knocked out Patamon to her.

"_I'm going to save my brother."_ TK had this look in his eyes that said that he wasn't scared.

"_How?" _Ken asked.

TK started to walk but Panther grabbed his arm,_ "We'll find a way to get him out, don't go."_ I then remembered when this occurred. It was when I allowed myself to be controlled by the evil in the darkness that I have possessed. I closed my eyes. I was being reminded that once I'm gone, that side will come out. He will kill TK and destroy this group and all because I'm too weak to stop him. I didn't have the power to fight someone like him and he knew it.

"_He's my brother. I have to do this."_ _No, TK, you don't. You'll only get yourself killed._

"_Trying to be brave I see."_ The evil said.

"_Then there's no way that you'll be able to harm me. Matt cares way too much to let anything bad happen to me."_ TK was wrong. I couldn't control him. I wasn't in any way able to do anything for him.

"_I'm leaving my fate in your hands. Do what you want if you think you can but I know that Matt will stop you."_

"_Because Matt and I are brothers. We would never do any harm to the other with our knowing."_

"_You might be in his mind but not in his heart."_

"_Why do you think I face that guy? To show you that I was brave? I wanted my brother back."_

"_That's why I faced him. I still need you around."_

"TK…" I noticed that I was crying. He didn't realize how happy I was to hear that. I was planning on leaving forever, disappearing somewhere in the Digital World. But he brought me back, back to the world and light.

In the past, I might've been able to leave him. Be gone forever without worrying about him so much. I couldn't now. We are all we have of our family. Our lives are wrapped in mysteries and suppressed memories, things we need answers to.

I opened my eyes, seeing that an image of TK when he was younger was standing near my ghost girl. She was smiling at me with so much love and devotion. Did she believe in me as much as TK did? She looked at TK, "Go to him. He's ready."

TK started to run to me. I sat up as he got closer, growing up as he ran to me. When he finally embraced me, he was as he was now. I hugged him back, "TK."

"Matt, you have no place in this world anymore. You're much stronger than any darkness."

"I'm not, TK. I'm not strong. I thought I was…"

"You are strong, Matt. You just need to believe in yourself. You have more strength than anyone else. Everyone knows it."

"But I failed. I couldn't keep this group together."

"Because you forgot that you have another Crest. You've only used Virtue that you forgot about Friendship. Sometimes, going back is helpful."

I did notice that. I've been trying to uphold the Crest of Virtue. I thought by holding up this Crest that I would also hold up Friendship. Are they two completely different feelings? "How? I don't know how to do so."

He pulled back to look at me. I noticed that he didn't have his hat on, and he seemed to be in PJs or something. "You need to show them trust. The kind of trust that doesn't come from faith or having complete virtue, but the one that comes from the ability to make mistakes and to lose faith and the one that, even when things aren't going well, one look in the other's eyes and you'll have confidence. The type of trust that only comes from loyalty, the bond friends share."

I was surprised that my little brother could come up with something like that. He was a novelist, so maybe they are now becoming the wise. I nodded my head, "Thank you, TK."

"You're not perfect, Matt. So live like a human."

The cave shattered and I started to fall. I looked up, seeing TK smiling at me. The girl was also smiling at me, as if glad that I was leaving. I smiled back.

I still have my responsibilities, and I still have a group that needs a leader. But now I know that there's a way I can help them. It's not by trying to be perfect; it's by letting them know that it's okay to make mistakes. It's to be their friend, as well as leader. A voice whispered 'I'm proud of you, Matt' before I closed my eyes with a smile.

"Good, you're awake." Odin said. I slowly opened my eyes, looking at him. He now seemed like a God. I sat up, and looked around. The girls were still out.

"Where are our Digimon?" I looked at him.

"They're training with Freyja. It took them a while to trust us." He was cooking something.

"So they want to be stronger too." I commented to myself, remembering what he said before throwing us somewhere. "What did you do?"

"Sent you to places that you needed to be in to get stronger."

I looked at them again, realizing that Lily Dawn wasn't there. "Where's Lily Dawn?" I looked at him.

"I don't know. I don't know where any of you went."

A portal was opening in the tent that we were in. Odin got a weapon ready. Then Apollo and Lily Dawn appeared with the portal closing.

"Matt!" She came over, hugging me for a moment.

"Are you okay?" I looked at her when she pulled away.

"What are you doing here?" Odin questioned Apollo.

"So, you are helping them. I thank you." That seemed to surprise Odin. "I'm in your debt."

"Why?"

Apollo looked over to Lily Dawn. I looked at her to see that she was smiling. "Because you're protecting Lily Dawn."

"You mean the one that…"

"That can turn the tides or favor us, yes. But that title doesn't concern me. She's my wife."

"You, having a wife. HA!"

"It's true!" Lily Dawn said. She went over to Apollo. "We are married."

"Why are you married to your enemy?"

This was reminding me of something, something that happened a long time ago. I wasn't sure what it was, but I knew it wasn't good. "Odin," they looked at me, "its okay. I think they love each other. I mean, I didn't see any signs that Apollo was ever disloyal to her."

"That's not the point. He's one of the Greek Deities and they are out to destroy you."

"But we have friends in that group." We looked to see Nereida getting up. "I have a friend in that group. She's loyal to us."

"And we have more loyal friends in there too." Neon got up, her hand on her stomach. "Hades and his wife are helping us."

"And we have two more with us. We're not helpless." Lily Dawn added.

I walked over to Odin, "And now, we have you and Freyja."

Odin looked at me, as if studying me for some reason. "I believe that you've passed the test. All of you have passed." He looked at the others.

"Good… Where are our Digimon?" Nereida asked.

"Freyja is training them outside." They all ran out to go meet them.

"Aren't you going too?" Apollo asked.

"What's Lily Dawn's role? I promise I won't tell her."

Apollo studied me as well, "Her role is to either stay a mortal or become an immortal."

"If she becomes an immortal?" I was asking as if I just wanted to know.

"She'll live with us and her powers will increase. She'll be a lot stronger than she ever was before."

"If she stays?"

"You have a greater chance of winning. But somehow, it's not enough."

"So we are going to be fighting you?"

"Yes. Gennai isn't going to be apart of your fight. He never was."

"I see… Okay… Thanks." I smiled before heading out.

"You wanted him to be?" Odin asked, stopping me.

"He killed Styxmon and her family and her friends. I wanted to get revenge for what he did."

"So, tell me, is that all this group is good for? To help you get your revenge?" Apollo asked.

I looked at them, "No. It's not what I wanted of the group. I thought it was the group's destiny to fight him. But maybe, they have another propose."

"You think it's to fight us?"

"No."

"Then what?" Odin asked.

I looked out of the tent, seeing them happy to have their Digimon with them again. I looked at them, "To restore what has been lost." I walked out. Gabumon ran over to me and hugged my legs. "Were you worried?"

"No… I trusted them."

I got down to his level, "I'm not trying to be perfect anymore."

He looked at me before smiling, "Okay. Then yes, I was."

I smiled.

"Your Digimon are all stronger warriors, but you need to be a lot stronger before you can face Thor." Freyja said.

"We'll get that strength as we travel." I stated. "Thanks for your help."

"Where are we?" Neon looked around. That's when we all noticed that we weren't where we stopped.

"We've got you far as China." Odin said. He and Apollo were coming out of the tent. "But we were told that we weren't allowed to take you any farther."

"By whom?" Nereida asked.

"The Chinese Deities."

"How many days have gone by?" I asked.

"Only a day. You should probably rest before going on." Freyja suggested. It was getting close to night.

"Alright. What do you guys say?" I looked at everyone else.

They all nodded.

"Thanks for the meal." I said to Odin.

"You're welcome." He smiled.

Lily Dawn and Bellimon were talking to Apollo. Nereida and Neon were talking to each other. Everyone seemed to be on good terms again.

"Remember, that you have to be strong. Stronger than you ever thought it was possible." Freyja said.

I looked at them, "We'll save your friend." I smiled.

"Thank you." Odin smiled back.

"Thanks again for helping us." Neon said. It was morning so we were heading out. Apollo was standing near Odin and Freyja.

"You are quite welcome. Be safe on your journey home." Odin said.

"Stay safe." Apollo said.

"I will." Lily Dawn smiled.

We turned to head on the path to home.

It wasn't that long until we came to a town. I don't know where we were, but I was able to see that it wasn't a big town. We had stopped at a restaurant and ordered something for Neon. She wasn't particularly hungry, but she knew that she needed it so she accepted.

"::::Excuse me, sir,::::" I turned around to see this old man talking to me in his native dialect. I was surprised that I understood him, since we were talking in Mandarin to the hostess. "::::But I was hoping that you would come with me. I have people who would like to see you and your friends before you leave this town.::::"

":But we don't know anyone here. How could someone want to meet us and why not meet us here?:" I asked in Mandarin so they could understand.

":I know that it's strange to hear something like this from a stranger, but it's important for your return home.:" That caught all of our attention.

"+It could be some Chinese Deities.+" Nereida offered.

"+I say that we should go.+" Lily Dawn said. Neon nodded her approval.

I looked back at the guy, ":Thank you for letting us know. We'll go with you in a moment.:" Neon was still eating.

":Thank you. I will be waiting for you outside.:" He bowed before walking away.

"+Do you think he's a servant to one of them?+" Neon asked.

"+I don't know, but I guess he is lower than them for him to be so humble.+"

"+We'll find out soon enough.+" Lily Dawn said.

"You seem over your fear." Neon smiled.

"I am married to a god, so I have his protection." She smiled. We all told each other what we went through, since our Digimon were curious.

Once Neon was done with her meal, we went out to see the old man sitting there in a style that Ceres was when she was mediating. I really hoped that their group would be okay. He looked at us, ":Follow me, please.:" He got up and started to walk.

":What's your name?:" I asked.

":Tu-ti, and you might meet many more like me as you travel across China. We are quite popular.:" He smiled.

":Why?:" Nereida asked.

":We're find nearly everywhere. There are a few places that don't contain us, but they have their own reasons for that.:"

":Who are we meeting?:" Neon asked. It's a good thing that everyone learned the other languages.

"Xuan Wu, P'an-Chin-Lien, and Yan-lo."

"And they are?" Lily Dawn asked.

"They will introduce themselves to you when you meet them. Only two will be traveling along with you."

"Why do they want to travel with us?" I asked.

"I don't know of their reasons, but I'm sure they will tell you if you ask."

We arrived at a small house that seemed to be for the poor. He allowed us to enter and we saw a woman who wasn't hiding her job, a black robe man with a sword, and a young guy that seemed to have some dark aura around him. The young man was the only one that was wearing modern clothing. Tu-ti left as he closed the door. The girls sat down as I continued to stand.

[Neon

"+Thank you for coming.+" The black robe man greeted in Japanese.

"+What are your names?+" Nereida asked.

"I am Xuan Wu." The black robe man said.

"I am P'an-Chin-Lien." The prostitute said.

"Yan-lo." The boy said.

"Would you like our names?" Matt asked.

"If you would." P'an-Chin-Lien said with a smile that showed what was on her mind.

"I am Matt Ishida and this is Gabumon." He motioned to him.

"I'm Nereida and this is Lightningmon." She smiled.

"Lily Dawn and this is Bellimon."

"Neon and this is Gladiolusmon."

"Would you mind telling us why you wanted to meet with us?" Matt asked.

"Allow me to start off." Xuan Wu said, "I need you to do a favor for me." He was only looking at Matt.

"Okay, and why?" Matt told us that he was trying to be perfect before. That meant that he would first trust that the people were okay people and that he had faith in them. Now, he was still going to have faith and trust, but not as complete as he would've before. He told us that it started after Panther came to his life.

"I was recently told that this needs to go over to Japan." He held out some kind of metallic piece with an image on it. Matt walked over to him, looking at the image. "I will give you more details if you're willing to help me."

Matt looked at us. I could see in his eyes that he wanted to help, maybe not because he wanted to help, but because he was curious. I nodded my approval, as did the others. Matt looked back at Xuan Wu, "Okay, tell us more."

"I'm handing this mission to you, Matt." He gave it to him, "because you're the only one that needs to fulfill it."

"Okay, so what do I have to do?" Matt seemed excited about doing this for some reason.

"There is a woman that you need to seek out as soon as you return." He gave Matt a picture, "And tell her that this belongs to her grandson. It will aid him on his journey."

"Okay. But what would I do if that doesn't satisfy her?"

"Use your good judgment, but I believe that she will accept it with just that."

"Okay, count on me." Matt smiled, "So, I guess that means that you two will be accompany us through China. Why do you want to?"

"I thought that I should lend a helping hand." P'an said. I'm shortening her name to that.

"And I want to see what the God of Death can do." That hushed us. "What?"

"I'm not a god." Matt said, since he was the only guy in our group.

"Of course you are. You're part of a higher older of Deities that most don't know about. We're the Deities that rule the Earth, and there are others, or none, that rule other planets. But your kind rules everything. You're the highest of the Deities and I want to learn from you. I'm a Prince of the Underworld as well as a judge, so I need to learn from the best."

"But I can die." I could tell that it was a shock to his system. After all, he had learned that he is hosting some kind of ancient power of light and darkness, with the darkness gaining some evil over time and now he learns that he is a god.

"We can die." Yan-lo pointed out.

"Before you were Digimon?" Lily Dawn asked.

"The Indian Deities weren't immortal, though they can live for a long time."

"But they also believe in reincarnation so they don't consider anything as dying, just moving from one stage into another." Nereida pointed out. We had all done research on other religion to get ready.

He thought about that for a moment, "I'm sure there is some that didn't make themselves immortal, but in either case, you can turn it on and off as you wish." He looked at Matt.

"So if I didn't want to die, I could."

"And if you did, you would." He nodded, "That's another power of the highest."

"Do they have a name?" I asked.

"Not that we know of."

"Does that mean that they get reincarnated into other people?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Not really. Their power is transfer into others, sometimes, but they choose what they want to do. Sometimes they merge fully with the person and sometimes they just live within them."

"Why do they do that?" Matt asked.

He shrugged his shoulders, "But at least I know that there is another god that's a Digidestined, but we don't know who that is."

"It's Cody and he has the God of Life." Nereida said. "We learned that through Megamon's group."

"Megamon? You mean the Digimon that's from the future?" P'an asked.

"Yeah, we were protecting the other two groups when they attacked. That's when we learned that Cody was called the God of Life."

"What else did you learn from him?" Yan-lo got excited.

"You can learn more on our journey back home." Matt said. I looked at him, seeing him getting nervous about something. I figured it had to do with the evil within him. "Neon, do you need to rest?" He looked at me, trying to hide it.

I was debating if I should wait or should I get him on his way. I looked outside to see that it was okay to walk. I thought that it was probably best that we get going, anyway. I just remembered that Ceres figured out the legend would happen on the Chinese New Years and that was coming up. If we were home, then we stood a better chance of facing whatever Deity it would be. I looked at Matt, not wanting him to worry about that for a while, "I'm fine. We should cover as much ground as possible."

He nodded and looked at the two would be coming with us, "I guess that you two can be our guides." He smiled.

"Would Thor attack us?" Lily Dawn asked.

"No, we're allowing no other Deity in here unless they go through the proper channels." Xuan Wu said, "You're safe during your stay."

"Why can't you go to Japan?"

"Because even the Gods have tension, just like the nations they govern."

"Would they not allow you to go to give her that metal piece?" Nereida asked.

"No, they would not. I have tried, because it is important, but they don't believe in my word."

"Would they get mad if I take it over then?" Matt asked.

"I believe that they wouldn't. If they do, then let them know that it was my doing." I was respecting this guy a lot. He wanted to give this boy that piece, and was willing to take full blame if anything should go wrong.

"Thank you." Matt smiled and we all got up. Matt held the door as we all walked out.

"Okay, follow us. We can get you home the quick way." P'an smiled. I don't know why I don't like her, other than for how she's dressed, but she doesn't seem like a bad person. But something told me to keep an eye on her, so I was.

[Lily Dawn

They got us on camels since we were in the desert. Though, that being said, we were still dressed as if for winter. Whenever I hear that word, I tend to think heat and endless sun. We were getting that sun, but not the heat. P'an-Chin-Lien had gotten us warmer clothes, especially for Neon.

Neon hasn't been particularly cold to her, but it's a bit obvious that she doesn't like her. Normally, we give Deities a chance before we make a judgment on them. So having her just not liking her is something that's odd. Yan-lo was talking a lot, with Nereida mostly answering. Matt was quiet for the most part.

We made good distance before night hit. I thought it would be better if we kept on moving, but Yan-lo said that we shouldn't.

"But any fire we make would be blown away." I stated.

"It's safer this way." Yan-lo said.

"Why?" Matt asked, though he was making the fire needed.

"So we don't exhaust the camels. And so that we can keep better warm."

"Is that why you wanted the camels to surround us?" Nereida asked, since they were already placed like that.

"Yep." Yan-lo summoned up a meal for us. It was all traditionally Chinese. "Let's eat."

As we were eating, Yan-lo tried to get Matt to talk about his dark powers. We all could see that he didn't want to talk about them, but he didn't want Yan-lo to see that because he was answerng his questions. Though, we interrupted a lot because we knew. Matt was grateful that we were, and Yan-lo never caught on. Nereida and I were trying to save some of the tea by hiding the pots or our cups. Neon and Don told us that it's a tradition in China to make sure that a cup is never empty. Yan-lo didn't seem to mind, for some reason, and it didn't seem like the Deities were catching on.

"Do you think we have enough?" Nereida asked as we were up keeping watch. We had managed to take four pots and two cups. They were hidden under the camels.

"I hope so." I looked at Matt, "He's sleeping so that's a good sign that we were doing the right thing."

"Why not just tell them?" Lightningmon asked.

"Only if he mentions it. He doesn't like it when too many people worry about him."

"How long to you think this will take?" Nereida asked.

"I don't know…" I looked up at the moon, suddenly remembering about the prophecy, "But we need to get back soon."

"You're right. Not only for us anymore, huh?" I looked at her, seeing her looking at the moon too. She looked at me and smiled, "So even though someone might not want to go back, their duty will make them come back."

"That's if they remember, but I'm sure that everyone will go back."

[Nereida

We traveled a good while before we were able to catch a ride on a train. It wouldn't take us to where we needed to go, but it would get us there. Even though they were giving us food, Neon still needed to eat when we got to the town. I can see that she was worried about something. I could see her stressing about it. We, including Neon, had made sure that Matt got tea twice in the morning. He always drank a lot during the night, but that was just for reassurance.

"Neon, are you okay?" I asked as we were on the train. Somehow, we all had gotten our own rooms, so I went into hers.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She looked like she wasn't getting sleep.

"I just think I see you stressing out." I sat down across from her, "We're going to get home in time." I smiled.

She smiled back, "It's not that… it's just that the travel is taking a toll on me. I'm trying not to slow everyone down, but I'm pushing myself."

"We can slow down for you."

"No.. we need to get home…" She placed her hand on her stomach. "I've also never been away from Don for this long… So I guess I'm not all together as I normally am."

"Do you want me and Lightningmon to stay with you then?"

She nodded.

"Okay, I'll go get her right now. I know that these beds aren't comfortable, but do try to get some sleep, okay?"

"I'll try." She smiled.

I went out and got Lightningmon to come back with me. Neon was already asleep by this time. We took the beds opposite of her and fell asleep as well. As I fell asleep, I hoped that what she told me was true. That there wasn't more that she didn't want me to worry about.

[Lily Dawn

I knocked on Matt's room. I had Bellimon with me, even though I didn't really need to. I just didn't want to leave her there if Gabumon was unwilling to leave us have some time alone. He opened the door, "Yes?" He widened it, as if he thought I was someone else before, maybe Yan-lo.

"I just wanted to talk to you." I smiled, since he knew what the topic was going to be. He was worried about it. We didn't even need to wonder if he was trying to hide it, because we knew that he was whether it was obvious or not.

He allowed us to come inside. "Gabumon, no one is up." I looked at him.

He looked at Matt before getting up and coming over to me. Bellimon got on him and they headed out. I didn't know if Matt had talked about it with Gabumon, but at least Gabumon allowed us to talk. I might not be Panther, or Ceres, but I was still pretty good. We all were, but Nereida had told me that Neon wasn't looking so well. I sat down on one of the beds.

He went over to the table that was near the window. I could see the moon lighting the earth, a reminder of our duty, a timer for when we needed to get back home. It wasn't full, but it was getting there. None of us wanted to tell him until he had this issue under control. We didn't want to stress him out more. "I don't know what to make of it." He said after a while.

"Why can't you just ask that demon?" I asked.

"Because… I completely fused with him now… The same with the light that was balancing him out." He looked at me, "So I can't talk to him anymore."

"Do you think that it's because of the demon that Yan-lo thinks that you're a god?"

"No… because you guys mentioned that Cody was referred to as a god, and Yan-lo said that we're both of the same sect."

"Are you really worried about that? I mean, wouldn't being a deity be kinda cool?" I hid my own thoughts of it, because I still hadn't decided which I wanted to be.

"I'm not really worried about it, because if I am, then I am. What worries me is that I might've been told this a long time ago and I just now can't remember. If there is a god inside me, I don't know if he's like the dark being and has his own consciousness within me or if I just have his powers. And I also don't know him, so I don't know what he's like. I mean… Gods of Death normally are calm about things, but still…" I could see that he was worried. He wanted to know this other person within him. "Before this, I had mastered the dark being. What if I had something similar with the God of Death and now that I can't remember, he's angry because he was being suppressed by the light."

"Well, if he remembers that he was mastered and didn't mind, I'm sure he'll allow you to do it again. Have you been looking for him?" I only asked because he referred to this god as a person, like the dark being before.

"I have, and I still haven't heard anything from him. I would also think that the dark being would've told me if I had some other being within my head… I don't know, maybe I just have his powers."

"But Yan-lo doesn't think so." I pointed out his thoughts.

He nodded, "Yeah… He thinks I am this god and I have no way of confirming it."

"What if you ask him? I mean, he seems to know a lot about these kinds of deities." I was wondering if I was one of these deities. He said that they could turn off their immortality, and they didn't have to just live within the body, they could just give up their powers. What if one of them had the ability to give out immortality?

"You're wondering if you're one too?" He smiled. "I asked Apollo about it."

I nodded, "Yeah… I mean, I'm supposed to be this great balancer, but I don't know why my decision has any affect on what's going on."

Matt got up and sat down next to me, placing a fatherly arm around me. "It's not fun being in the dark about it, huh?" He smiled.

I smiled back, "Yeah, it's no fun at all."

"Tell you what. I'll ask Yan-lo tomorrow if there's a way to tell if one has them or their powers. Once I know that, we can see if you do, okay?"

"You don't have to do that." I was glad that he offered, though. I was just brought back to what Stan asked once. At how Matt could bring us all together. It was partly because of our duty, but it was because of this that we all respected him, wanted to call him our leader. He was willing to put himself in harm's way, if it meant that we would be okay. He could've just said that we'll go together and have Yan-lo test us both, but he didn't. He offered only himself as the test subject, keeping my wonder hidden from Yan-lo.

"Yeah, I know, but I've been used by creatures before and if this is just a way for him to get something from me, then I don't want you to be in the same boat. I would need someone on the outside to make sure that he isn't doing something funny."

I was at first surprised, but then realized that this was Matt. This wasn't the 'trying to be perfect' Matt, this was the Matt that worried, that was insecure. This was the Matt that wanted to trust others, but had some experiences to know that they can't be completely trusted. I smiled. "I see. Okay. But Neon and Nereida and our Digimon would be there."

"We don't know much about the Chinese Deities, so we don't know what their powers are. Nereida would need to make sure that Neon is okay and our Digimon can't attack while on the train."

I was becoming more impressed. I don't know what the other Matt would've said, but I could see that this one was strategic and thought things through. He didn't want to leave things to chance, as if he wanted to make sure that he got the win. I was also glad that he was becoming more human, because I was beginning to wonder if I needed to do something to be like him, to be that perfect being. Even his human self, I still wanted him to be our leader. I doubt that what I want matters at the end, but still. "Do you think that they have other motives?"

"I don't think Yan-lo does, but P'an-Chin-Lien is another story. She really doesn't have any real reason to being here."

"Then why be weary of Yan-lo?"

"Because I've been tricked once, twice really, and I'm trying to learn from those mistakes." He smiled.

I really liked this imperfect side of him. "You need to meet my brother some time."

"Why? I won't mind, so you know."

"Because he doesn't see why we love you so much. Plus, he likes meeting the parents of the girl he's dating."

It only took him a slit second for him to get what I was saying, "Which one?" He sounded like a mix between being a brother and being a father.

"Your first one." I smiled.

"Why? Not that I'm saying that your brother is bad or anything."

I laughed since he asked it like he couldn't believe it. "Her cooking is great."

"That better not be the only thing." I could see that he considered himself her father, even though Matt never really says it. I don't really know if Panther has accepted him like that, but she has in some way.

"It's not, but it was the deciding factor. He normally wants to know how well they cook before going anywhere serious." I started laughing after that. I couldn't believe what I was seeing in his eyes. He had this look that was asking if he had done anything improper with her, but he already knew the answer, but he was still wondering because he was worried.

Matt then pouted, "Fine, when we get back, I'll ask Panther myself. That or just interrogate your brother. Besides, why wouldn't her cooking be good? She learned from the best. I would be insulted if he called her cooking bad."

"What if he did jokingly?" I asked once I stopped.

"How did Panther take it?"

"She was mad but then later accepted his apology."

Matt thought about it. "I'm not insulted. But we are going to have a long chat."

I began to wonder if he noticed how he acts when it comes to Panther. He acts like her best friend, her brother, but more often than not, he's her father. I thought it was interesting. "I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Plus, he wants to understand you. He can see that Panther cares a lot about you."

"Why does he want to know why everyone loves me anyway?" I didn't realize that Matt could act like Ceres. That sounded like something she would say.

"Because Panther blew up in his face about you and I told him that we would all defend you the same way."

He smiled. "Thanks… What do you guys think of the older ones?"

"That they're becoming pricks. I mean, we keep saving their butts and all they do is hound Kari, Ken and TK. It's like nothing we do will please them. I think that's why TK is getting so frustrated."

"He says that he has lost trust with them."

"Well, it's not like he tells us everything they say to him."

"Do you like them?"

"They're okay."

"Okay, thanks." He smiled.

I got up, "I'll get Gabumon back to you. See ya in the morning."

"Night." He said. I went back to my room, seeing that Gabumon was eating with Bellimon. We got some food so they would have something to do while we talked.

"How is he?" Gabumon asked.

"A lot better." I smiled. "We have a plan to get some answers."

He nodded, "I'm glad that he's better."

I looked around before letting him out into the hallway and watched him made his way to Matt's room.

"What was he worried about?" Bellimon asked. "Gabumon couldn't really figure it out."

"He was more worried that the god would be angry since he doesn't know whether he was being suppressed by the light like the demon."

"Oh, I see." Bellimon yawned.

"Let's head to bed." I smiled as I changed and got in bed.

[Me

I told Gabumon everything that Lily Dawn and I talked about, including Panther and Stan. I know that I shouldn't have anything to worry about. I mean, it should be a good thing, but I somehow knew that it wasn't. I just somehow knew that something was missing from it.

After I told Gabumon, we went to sleep. I couldn't really fall asleep. I noticed how we were sleeping, reminding me of when my father came to get me up when we were being trapped by Myotismon. That made me think about the legend that was told to us wrongly. The King of the Undead, or something like that. I wondered if they had figured out what was going on in that legend. I placed my head on Gabumon's fur. It was soft, air dry only. I don't know why that seemed funny, but it was. Maybe because he doesn't take it off so it could only be air dry.

My thoughts went to Ceres. I wondered how she's taking Panther's new relationship. I doubt that she would voice them, but I wonder if she has the same feeling as me. That something is missing. She could probably see it, being there more. She seemed to be really calm, calmer than I have seen her. Her trial, I wondered what it was. She cared about the group, as I knew she would. I wished that I saw the process myself, but I had a job to do.

I heard my door open. I wondered if it was Lily Dawn. Neon hadn't looked good for a while so I figured that Nereida was with her. I looked to see that it was P'an-Chin-Lien. I sat up, "Do you need something?" I asked.

She had some clothe around her. She looked like she had a nightmare and wanted some company. She came to the side of my bed, "I think there's something lurking in my room."

I knew that there wasn't. It was obvious that she was lying. "Is it something that a goddess can't handle?" I made sure that I sounded like I knew she was lying.

"I'm not lying to you."

"If you don't want to be alone, go to Yan-lo." I was now getting a bit annoyed.

"But I fear that he might do something improper with me." The way she sounded, it didn't seem believable. But that wasn't a lie, at least.

"There's a bed over there. You can stay there." I pointed over to it.

She looked over before looking back at me, "Why can't I stay with you?"

"Because I have someone sleeping me with, and besides that, I don't trust those who were lying to me." I didn't want to say that I didn't trust her, since she's helping us to get back home.

She got up and went over to the bed. She let the clothe fall down from her shoulders, revealing that she was bare underneath it. I got back to my spot, figuring she just sleeps like that. I felt something happening just then. I opened my eyes to see that she was over me in her nakedness. I wasn't lying on my side, I was on my back. I looked over to my side to see that somehow I was moved over here.

With her hand, she brought my face back to hers. She smiled as she lowered her head to mine.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked, really ticked off now. She hadn't taken off my clothes, yet.

"I want to know what you feel like." She wasn't that far from my face now.

"Get off me."

"You can't move." She smiled.

I only now noticed that I couldn't. I sighed, "Get off me or placed me back with Gabumon."

"You must want a body to lie next to. How long has it been since you were in Styxmon?" She seemed to be mocking her, by the sound of her voice.

I used my powers to push her all the way up to the ceiling, "I love her."

"So.. you're unwilling to sleep with any other."

"She's the only one I have slept with." Somehow, I broke the spell she had on my body. I got up and walked over to my bed, "You can still stay here, but try anything again and I'll send you off this train." I looked at her.

"Understood." I let her down onto the bed she would be using as I got in mine. I heard her getting under the covers.

I noticed that even if I wanted to go to sleep, I couldn't. Well, not completely anyway. It's a weird feeling, I must admit. I didn't even know how my body was doing it. It was like I could only rest a bit, but I couldn't get to a deep sleep. I could hear everything going on in this room. The Digimon breathing, the train moving along the tracks, the wind created by the train; I heard it all like I was paying attention to them. But I wasn't really. I was trying to sleep. I then noticed something else. I wasn't just listening, but I was also feeling. I was sensing what was in this room, outside this room, in the rooms next to this one. I don't know why my body was doing it, but I felt a smile on my face as I began to take note of what was going on. I touched my face, feeling that it was true.

I had no idea why I was smiling though. It was like feeling this, knowing that I could do this, was a pleasing idea. I shut my eyes, getting annoyed that it was happening. Maybe if I knew why, I would be please, but I don't. I wanted some sleep.

[Neon

After breakfast, Matt had told us what he was going to do today. He did feel kinda bad about doing it so secretly, but only slightly. So around lunch, they had joined up with us. Matt asked him then, and Yan-lo was more than happy to see. He told us that it would take him a few days to find out the ritual, but he would do so. We were all hoping for it to be quick, but it seemed like we would all need to pay attention when he does it. P'an seemed mad about something, though giving looks to Matt, who was ignoring them.

"Did she do something?" I asked as we were all heading to bed.

"She tried." He answered.

"Then why are we still traveling with her?" My opinion finally showing.

He sighed, "Because it's better to let foes become friends then friends become foes."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I wasn't really clear what he was trying to say.

"She was a friend that got turned into a foe by what she was trying to do. So now, we have to let her become a friend again because it's safer that way."

"You're willing to give her another chance? What if she's always the foe?"

"By showing a lot of kindness to the foe, you soften their hearts. No one is immune to kindness." He smiled.

That reminded me what TK said about my Crest. I looked down at the floor, "No one is immune to forgiveness too."

"Something wrong?"

I looked up at him, "TK said that kindness is something that can last for a long time. He said the same thing about forgiveness." I smiled.

He smiled back, "I thought it was something bad."

"No, not at all. TK is a great person when you need to cheer up."

"I hope he's a great person either way."

"He is, but when you really need someone to just give you some encouragement about nothing, he's the best. It's like he could tell and knows just what to do to get the person happy again."

"Why are you saying person?"

"Don agrees with me." I smiled.

"I'm glad. Night." He headed to his room.

I nodded before heading to mine.

[Me

I got bored during the night. I wasn't getting any sleep and I could only think so much. I was looking at my computer, things that I needed to get done. Hota hasn't sent me anything new, which was good. P'an-Chin-Lien was staying in her room, which was good. I then did a quick search for which probes were near each other. I had up a world map, seeing our current location and the others. Though, since I also had the Digital World map up, I noticed there was group in the Digital World. Considering that we couldn't go there, I zoomed in on them. It was Ceres, Tim, Ryan and Ken. I went into Ken's probe, being the only one conscious. He was looking at younger versions of me, TK, Kari and Izzy, but they had our Crest on them. The TK one commented that a Kenmon had failed, making Ken realize that TK, and not his Crest, gives everyone hope and that these guys were some dark form of our Crest that was tainted by the blood of some group of Digimon. I made a comment, since it was unlike him to be so poetic about his thoughts.

The Kari one said something that made Ken noticed how weak their teamwork was. It was kinda creepy to hear her sound so nasty, so I was impressed that Ken could handle it. He activated his Crest power, which was cool because it was surrounding him and the bird part was over one of his eyes. They dodged and he grabbed the others and started running.

Ceres woke up, helping Ken carry the others and commented that TK was cute back when he was young since he was in front of them. The TK one made a comment about merging TK with him, adding a wink that disgusted Ken so he started shooting him. He was able to dodge it all and when he went to kick Ken, Ken was able to block and knock him out. That's when they left the area for a safer place, though how any place in there is safer, I don't know.

Ken did some kind of motion with his arms, trying to tell Ceres that she needed to use her Crest power. Even though I wouldn't be able to guess that by how he was showing it, it seemed liked Ceres would. But in the end, she didn't and it was kinda funny. He was about to repeat it, but just held his amulet. It was like he was believing, having faith in Ceres. He mouthed what he wanted her to do, and from there, they got out. I was impressed that Ken was giving out faith like TK can give out hope. I thought it was interesting, and I was also glad to see that they were much closer, since he mentioned that Ceres was losing to TK in a game of reading his signs.

I then left them, since they seem to be doing fine for the moment. I kinda wished that Ryan and Tim were up so I could see how they were doing, but I guess I just had to wait for the next time. I looked at Panther's probe, to see that she was glowing really brightly. I checked the intensity of it on the probe, since they were also designed to be able to go near the sun without hurting the eyes of the on-looker, and it read her brightness as close to the sun in it's relative, meaning that she was really bright since the sun in it's absolute wasn't that bright compare to other stars. I wondered if the others could get protection from it, but at least it wouldn't cook them. Before I had a chance to look at Heka's probe, I felt something in the air. I turned it off and got Gabumon up.

"What is it?" He asked sleepily, since he knew that I couldn't sleep.

"I think someone is around here that shouldn't be."

He got up, almost reluctantly it seemed, and we headed out. I looked around somehow getting a familiar feeling from this behavior. I found someone sneaking around Neon's room.

"What are you doing?"

He turned to face me with readiness to fight, but then relaxed a bit, "Oh, for a moment there I thought it was one of those idiots."

"Who are you?" I wasn't surprised that he wasn't afraid of me, but I was wondering why he wasn't worried when he saw me.

"Arsmon."

I now got a better look at him. _So this is the Digimon that Nereida likes. I see, I see… _"You're about to go into Neon's room."

Now he looked confused, looking at the door before looking back at me, "Where's Nereida?"

"Wait until morning. It is rather late. You can stay in my room and I'll let her know where you are." It's not like I didn't trust him, but I didn't want Neon to go crazy on him because he woke her up. Besides, I wanted to get to know him.

He was watching me carefully. I noticed that he only liked Nereida, because even though I'm a friend of hers, he didn't care about me or my suggestions. I could also see why Lily Dawn would have a problem with him, since he didn't respect those involve in Nereida's life.

"Okay." He said with an evil look in his eyes.

I smiled back, "Follow me." I walked back to my room, letting him go in first. "So, I heard that you destroyed a Destiny Stone. I thought they served their purpose so they're useless." I sat down at the table as Gabumon went back to sleep, maybe as a sign that we trusted him?

"It was the quickest way for us to get your attention. Why weren't you there?" Arsmon sat down across from me. I noticed how pale he looked with the moonlight.

"I was doing my job, traveling in space. What did you want us for?"

"We wanted to be known to the others."

"Oh, okay. How did you know about Nereida?"

"I can't say." _In other words, he was watching her._

"Fair enough. I'm glad that Collect Soulsmon approves of your love for her and allows you to help her." I smiled.

"How do you know my Master's name?"

"Nereida and the others don't call her Master."

He frowned for a moment, "No one was supposed to know her name."

I shrugged, "I think only this group knows. I'm doubtful that the other two would ever learn it."

"Why?"

"My brother isn't on friendly terms with them right now… Oh, wait… The first group might know.. Maybe…" I kinda forgot about Kari for a moment. I also remembered that I had the picture of our ghost gals with me.

"And what about you?"

"I hadn't had a chance to see them yet, so I can't say."

"So why don't you want me to see Nereida?"

"She needs her sleep."

"And you?"

"Haven't been able to get any."

"Why?"

"I'm not really sure as to the reason why."

"Wouldn't you have some guess?"

"… Nope, not really." _I probably would if I knew why my body was subconscious happy that I was doing this._

"Or is it that you don't want to tell me?"

"I'm wary of you, but I do trust you enough to tell you things. I mean, it's not like you can do very much with my sleeping pattern."

"You're wary of me?"

"Yep, hearing that your master isn't all nice and friendly, and knowing that you want something from my other friends, I'm wary. I've becoming less trusting of other's motivates, but I don't mind waiting to see it." I smiled, "Do you care about her brothers?"

"Not really."

"So, let's say they wanted you over to their house so they could talk to you, would you go?"

"No."

"Even though one of those brothers had a lot of control over her?"

"What?" He looked very surprised.

"You never saw that?"

"Which one?" Now he looked like he wanted to kill that person.

"… You do realize that she loves them both, right?"

"What does that got anything to do with this?"

"Considering how you were ready to kill that brother, I think it matters a lot."

He relaxed, "How can she love someone that's controlling?"

"Why do you have a master?"

"Because she created me."

_Created?_ "They raised her. Her parents died when she was about a year old so all she had were her brothers. Only through this group did she gain some rebellious side to herself."

"You're keeping it pretty vague on whom the brother is."

"Of course." I smiled. "I don't want you to go killing them. I would think that would look pretty bad, considering that she believes in you and your love for her so much."

"She does?" He seemed surprised.

I nodded, "Yep, very much so. Lily Dawn got mad at her because of it. I'm also guessing that Sora got mad at her too, for some reason, but she doesn't care. She wants to believe in what you say. So, at most, be honest with her and also don't get mad if she tells us things that you told her."

"Why?"

"Because we're her only friends, and if she can't tell us things, who's she going to tell? She doesn't tell her brothers everything and she wants you to be a secret from them, as of late." _Besides that, TK and I will always know what you two are talking about because we'll read it later. Wmhahahahahahahaha!!!!_

"If she loves them so much then why is she keeping it a secret?"

"Maybe because you tried to destroy the Destiny Stones? Maybe because they know that your master isn't friendly and nice? Maybe they like being overprotective?"

"Why don't you know?"

"I haven't lived with them and I don't know everything they know. It wasn't that long ago that I was coughing up blood."

"From what?" I noticed right there that I got him at a point where he was comfortable around me, maybe going towards being nice towards me too.

"You know about the Crest Powers, right?"

"The first two groups used theirs against Megamon's group."

"They did?" He nodded, "Oh… Well… Yeah, I used mine too. Both of them, so I was really drained since I had to keep it up for several days." _I hope they're okay._

"When did you leave for this trip?"

"The day after I got back. Um… fourteen to fifteen days ago."

"You seem fine now."

"Lots of sleep does that." I kinda figured he didn't need to know about the dark being. "Can you tell me anything about Megamon's group?"

"They're all gathered from present time, but he and his creation, Loyalmon, came from the future. They also have two Digimon that claim to know things beyond the first Super Levels."

"How do you know that they're from the future?"

"They have vast amount of information. They even came to our secret hideout to let us know that we better leave the Digidestined alone because it would be them that will kill them. They both have incredible powers, much more advance than any other Super Level to date. It is said that they want to kill Izzy for some reason."

"Why did they come to the past then? If they appear now, then won't that affect the time they were born in?"

"Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. But I don't think he cares all that much. Meeting his goal would be good enough for him. He has also gathered your old enemies into his army as well as clones of you that have your Crest Power."

"It seems like we need to be wary of him. Clones?"

"No one is really sure who created the clones, but most think it was Gennai trying to create Super Levels on his own. It's not an easy feat."

"How about the Siblings? The one that has Mirrormon in it."

"They were the first Super Levels to be born. They created all the other Super Levels, most knowing this."

"But Megamon and your master also have the power to create."

"My Master is like them. As for Megamon, no one knows where he got the knowledge to create."

"How many are there in this group?"

"Three, Mirrormon is like the youngest. Fightomon is the middle and the only guy. Ful Evimon is the oldest. People know more about Mirrormon because she's more outgoing and likes to interact with other Digimon. Ful Evimon has a small band with her, but no one knows who they are."

"How is your master like them, if I may ask?"

"She has the same new Type as them. The one that has all the types mixed together and she isn't created by them."

"The deities also have that type. I was told about it when we were first meeting them."

"That doesn't mean anything. That type isn't given out to many, but it is very powerful."

"Do you have it as well?"

"No. I'm a normal virus."

"Oh… I see." I felt something outside again. "Hold on." It felt like when someone was up. I went to see that it was Neon, Nereida and Lightningmon. "What are you guys doing up?"

They looked at me. "This is the time we normally get up." Neon said.

I looked out the window, seeing that it was true, "Nereida, you have a guest."

"Who?"

"Your boyfriend." I smiled.

She looked quite surprised and almost thought I was joking until Arsmon came out from the room. I then realized that either of them really knew what to do, since on normal occasions they were supposed to run to each other. I motioned for Neon towards me as Arsmon walked over to her after a moment.

"Is it okay?" Neon asked.

"Yeah, it's okay." I smiled. I moved Neon into my room, figuring that Lightningmon would do whatever Nereida needed her to do, but I did leave my door open. "He might be evil and will do anything his master wants him to, but I could see that he does love Nereida."

"That doesn't do anything for us, though." She pointed out the obvious. "It's only her."

I smiled, "I know, it's complicated, but I understand it." After all, Styxmon was the same way. She was only willing to help me, even though she knew that I cared a lot about TK.

"You understand a lot, so it's comes to no surprise." She sat down, "I thought you were being more careful."

"I am." I smiled.

[Nereida

I couldn't believe that Arsmon was here again. I was actually glad to see Matt so willing to talk to him, something that I fear that Tim can't do. He even called Neon over to give us a moment alone before Lily Dawn came out.

"I'm so glad that you're here." I said when he was closer. I gave him a hug, "What brings you here?"

"I need to tell you something, in private." He looked at Lightningmon.

"Why?" She looked at him, though not with any hate.

"Do I need to give you a reason?" He was getting mad, though. I thought it was kinda funny how Heka made sure that Lightningmon know that she wasn't a threat and Arsmon doesn't care. I guess it has to do with the fact that Arsmon is supposed to be our enemy.

"It's okay, Lightningmon. It's because you're trying to warn me about something and it has to do with the others as well and you don't want Lightningmon to give you cold feet, huh?" I said with a smile. I didn't see it, or anything, but it was obvious, considering who he was.

"Yeah…" He seemed shocked.

I looked at Lightningmon, "Don't worry." I smiled, saying to her that I would say it later, if it really was that important.

She sighed, nodding, "I'll make sure that Lily Dawn knows. Use the room to talk then." She went over to the door and leaning on the wall.

I took Arsmon's hand and brought him into the room, closing it before sitting down on the bed. "What did you think of Matt?"

"He's an open person." He sat down.

"Yeah, he does appear to be, but actually he's more helpful and caring than open. So, what did you want to talk about?" I don't know why I was excited, but I was.

He looked at the floor, which wasn't a good sign, "You heard about the prophecy, right? The one with King of the Undead Digimon?"

"Yeah… We also know when it's going to occur. Why?"

"Because… My Master is hoping that there'll be a lot of carnage when it occurs. If you guys get involved, I'm supposed to take your souls when you die."

"Would that be a bad thing?" I could tell he was holding back, because that didn't sound like it would be his fault, which was what his face was giving me.

"No… I'm not really sure. She might give you Digital forms if she decides to bring you back. She might just allow me the honor of keeping you with me forever…"

"What are you holding back?" I touched his shoulder. When I did, it seemed like he was disguised with himself. I took his hand, which made him look at me and I smiled, "If you don't want me to tell, I won't. I will have to tell Lightningmon, because ever since Heka came into my life, I promised her that I would tell her everything. But, if it's something that I can prevent, I'll try my hardest to prevent it, okay? We both will try."

He looked at me for a moment before sighing, "My Master has set me to check up on Matt because we know that he's that King in the prophecy. Since he's one of these Ultimate deities, we know that it's him. The reason it doesn't always occur isn't because of the moon itself, but because Matt needs to absorb souls into his body to make the god stronger. Since I'm a container of souls, I have to put all the souls in me into him. The bats will be your signal that he's rising. We don't know what he's going to do after that, but we at least know that a battle will occur. My Master is hoping for your deaths."

"Why did you need to check up on Matt?" I was wondering how I was going to hide this, since Matt seems really good at reading people now.

"Because we needed to know if he was ready. Apparently, my Master believes that Matt can overcome the God, or maybe is the God himself, so she wanted to make sure."

"Is he?"

"He is… But after talking to him, I came to respect him. He even referred to my Master as 'your master'. I'm still going to follow through on it, but I would have regrets. I'm not use to this kind of emotions, either."

I smiled, laying my head on his shoulder. It felt nice, knowing that I had someone that I could do this with. "Matt is an interesting person. And I'm glad that you would feel regret."

"Why? I'm not supposed to." He moved slightly, though only his head.

"Because that means that if this wasn't an order, you wouldn't do it. I'll try my best to prevent it, but if we can't then have faith in us that we'll get through it alright."

"But I can't be sure of what my Master will order. Yes, she would tell me her plans, but even she can change. She's planning on watching it, not because of me but to see if there's a way to get more souls since we're not sure what he needs. She's even readying her army."

I looked at him from his shoulder, "Does that mean that you care about my group?"

He seemed taken back by that question, "I… I don't know…"

"It's okay." I got up and smiled at him, "We'll get through it. Matt isn't a weak person and he has all of us to give him the courage he needs to fight it. Believe in us and we can do anything. Though, do know that everyone has their rights of being mad at you and your master."

"Why?"

"Because you're attacking us, kinda. Well.. It involves us, but our anger won't last because we'll come to see that it was orders. We understand that people around us need to have an appearance sometimes."

"Nereida," he took my hands, "I don't want to lose you. Yes, your soul will live on, but souls brought back from the dead don't come back complete. I've seen it before, and they are loyal to my Master's will."

I smiled, "We won't die."

"You don't know that for sure. You don't know the future that completely."

I then remembered my trial, remembering the man's face, his words, the girls' words. I pulled myself closer to Arsmon, wondering if that was another life or something. I remembered how I looked, lifeless and draining. It felt too real to be an illusion. "Only if I look, but I'm afraid to look right now."

"Nereida," he brought my face to his, "I have something important to ask you."

[Lily Dawn

I was feeling really weird. I wasn't sure what it was, though. I mean, it felt like I should be getting sick, but I wasn't. It was a really odd feeling and I thought I should talk to Matt about, though I kinda doubted that he had the answers for me. When I got out of my room, I noticed that Lightningmon was leaning on the wall next to door, looking as if she was guarding me.

"Come with me." She said in her commanding voice. I looked Bellimon, who shrugged her shoulders before I followed her to Matt's room to see that Neon was there and Matt was sitting on the other bed there.

"What's going on? Where's Nereida?" I asked, seeing that she wasn't there.

"We're giving her some alone time." Matt said with a particular smile. "Anyway, are you feeling okay?"

"Do I look ill?" I asked as I rush over to see. I didn't think I did when I woke up.

"No… I just thought it was odd that you're now out of the room. Is there something the matter?"

I looked at him, "I feel like I should be getting sick, but I'm not. It's a very confusing feeling."

"Have you done anything in particular that could cause this feeling?" Neon asked.

"Not really… Nothing I could think of."

"Maybe it's the travel. Some people aren't made for it." Matt suggested. "Maybe you should take it easy for a while before it becomes a serious problem."

"And this coming from the man who was coughing up blood." I said with a smile and he started to laugh.

"Which is why I'm suggesting it."

"Why does Nereida need some alone time?"

"She has a guest." Lightningmon said.

I looked at her, wondering who that would be until I remembered the only person that could come see her anywhere. I was about to rush out but Lightningmon stopped me. "Why aren't…"

"She'll do the right thing." Lightningmon said firmly. I looked at her again, seeing that she had that much faith in her partner. I relaxed and nodded.

"Don't worry about him." I looked at Matt, "He really does love her. He might not be comfortable or knows how to express it correctly, but he does love her deeply. And she loves him just as much, so it's okay. It's so obvious, don't you agree, Neon?" He looked over at her. I remembered something that Panther once told me about Matt. That there are moments where Matt sounds and behaves like nothing is wrong, but if you watch him, you see another emotion on his face, a hidden one that he doesn't even realize. I think I'm seeing that right now, because he looked like he could use some alone time himself.

Neon nodded, "They do. Can anything grow from that kind of love, though? We all know that friendships can, but what about that kind of love?"

"I'm sure it's no different than what people thought about mortals loving gods or gods loving mortals. They might think of it odd, but as long as both beings love each other, what can be wrong about that?"

"How long have they been talking?" I asked.

"For about a good hour." Matt said. "Oh, Lightningmon do you think that Nereida would be mad if we had breakfast without her or should we still wait?" When he mentioned breakfast, I had this weird craving for chocolate.

"We'll have breakfast without her. We shouldn't make Neon wait." She said without a second thought so we all left for breakfast.

I was really craving chocolate; anything chocolate seemed to be enough to satisfy it. I looked at everything they had, seeing nothing with chocolate in it and no chocolate thing here. I felt like I would go mad if I didn't have chocolate right then.

"Are you okay?" Neon asked as I was looking at the food still.

"I have this bad craving for chocolate."

She gave me this weird look before sighing, "Eat something now and I'll give you some when Nereida is done."

"Really?" I felt myself lose myself for a moment, since I was acting like she was doing the greatest thing for me.

"Yeah…"

I gave her a hug, "Thank you." I then went to getting food.

"You are acting unusual." Matt commented when I came to the table with lots of food. "I'm pretty sure that traveling can't make you act like this."

"I can't explain it either." I said in my defense. I was eating in a normal manner, at least.

Throughout breakfast, Matt and Neon were commenting on what could be the problem as I ate, half listening to them. I also noticed that Matt was out of that sad state, which I thought was odd because I thought he would be in it for a long while by the way Panther put it. Once I was done, and that's saying something because I kept getting more, Nereida came over to our table. I just then noticed that we haven't seen the deities and Nereida had that afterglow of…

"What did you do?" I asked when she sat down.

She blushed deeply, unable to answer and I knew that we all knew what took place.

Matt laughed warm-heartily. "Is he still here?"

She shook her head, though looking down as if embarrassed.

"Can you tell us what you two talked about?" He smiled at her.

She didn't gain her composure at all. She whispered to Lightningmon. "She said that it has to deal with this group, but also the other two groups. It sounds like it could be prevented so she's going to try her hardest to because it's part of Collect Soulsmon's plans so she can't reveal it. He's also going to be involved with the plan deeply, but she wants everyone to understand that if this wasn't an order then he wouldn't be doing it."

"Though, we should be given our rights to being angry." Matt said, "We can understand, but we can also be angry for a little bit." He looked over at Lily Dawn, "That should also go to the deities." I nodded and she nodded. "By the way, have you done it with Apollo yet?"

I was more surprised that Matt was asking than anything else, "Yeah, why are you asking?"

"Was he also your first?"

"No, he wasn't."

"That means that you're out of the 'first timers with their beloved' group." He smiled with a playful look on his face.

"Wait, that means that Styxmon was your first?" I asked and he nodded, "I would've thought that you would've done it with Sora."

"Nope. Never came up and I don't think I would've anyways."

Nereida suddenly got up, dashed to Matt and dragged him away. We were all left there, dumbfounded.

"Have you guys seen the Chinese Deities?" I looked at Neon and the rest after a moment.

"No, now that you've mentioned it. Should we go look?"

I nodded, "What are you two going to do?" I looked at Gabumon and Lightningmon.

"I'm waiting here. We'll probably need new sheets too." Lightningmon commented.

"I'll wait here too." Gabumon said.

Neon and I got up and went looking for the deities.

[Nereida

I was embarrassed that they could see it so easily. I was, of course, reluctant at first, but gave in. He explained it as his only chance, in case something happens that prevents us from being with each other. I wanted to talk to Matt, since he had experienced with a Digimon as his first too. I didn't realize that I brought him back to Neon's room until I looked at the bed. "Can I get pregnant?"

"She didn't live long enough for me to find out." He answered with a sad smile, "But I don't think so, unless you felt him releasing something warm deep in you."

I thought about it for a moment, not remembering if he did or not. I blushed at the memory of it, "I… can't remember…"

Matt closed his eyes, as if remembering his experience. "I wonder if I can find out."

"What do you mean?" I was worried about that, not knowing what he was thinking.

"It's called trials. It's where we test those blankets as much as we can until we come with a positive conclusion one way or another."

"I, um…" I wasn't sure what to say, blushing more as I turned away from the bed.

"Well, if you don't want us to, we can always wait and see. I'm sure that you would have to go through the normal birth-giving cycle, and you already know the signs of that because of Neon. Though, do remember that my case was different because Styxmon was still a goddess. He is purely data… Wait.. I remember hearing somewhere that… Oh, never mind. Anyway, I don't think that anything would come from it." He smiled. I was getting really confused, but glad that he finally came to a conclusion.

"So I won't have to explain this to Tim?"

"Yep, and we'll keep it from them as well, until you're ready to tell them." He moved over to the blankets, gathering them up before opening up the window, "Do you want them for anything?" He asked me. I shook my head and he tossed them out. "Okay." He smiled. He walked over to me, "He's a good person, deep down, so keep believing in him and I'm sure that you can change him into someone that he will always be proud of."

I smiled, glad to have heard encouragement rather than disappointment. "Thanks. Why were you referring to Collect Soulsmon as his master?" I was wondering that.

"Well, she is."

"But we all call her by her name."

"He told me that she wanted her name to be a secret. I know that I don't have to respect those of evil's wishes, but I felt like it was okay for me to keep her name locked up. I mean, she's allowing him the freedom to love you and to express that love and allow him to help you. He even told you her plans, whether or not she knows, and you're keeping it because you don't want him to be hurt because of that freedom. Styxmon was beaten because of her love for me, so I'm glad that yours is different from mine. Apollo also can't see Lily Dawn, so you're a luckily one. So, because of her kindness that she can have, I'll be referring to her as Arsmon's master."

I smiled, "I'm glad that she does, but do remember that she does want to harm your old friends and us when given the chance." I remembered what he told me about her plans for Matt and the God of Death within him.

"I realize that, but Ken was willing to do the same thing and look how he came." Matt smiled, "Evil within someone can be overturned with faith in their kindness."

I nodded, gaining some hope for her to be a good Digimon, someone that could help us instead of looking for the next chance to attack us. "Thanks."

"Comes from experience. Oh, never reveal that Tim controls you to Arsmon until you can tell he's ready to not kill him."

"What?" I was surprised to hear that, not sure what to make of it.

"You're making the right choose." Matt smiled, "I'm glad. Styxmon told me that she was willing to kill everyone, including TK, and I loved her anyway."

"Why? I thought…"

"TK does mean the world to me, and I wouldn't want him to die, but I also knew that I loved her greatly. So great that I was willing to leave them behind for her. Whether or not that's the right thinking, I don't really know. Anyway, yeah, make sure that they're comfortable around each other before letting Arsmon know."

I nodded, right then, a knock was heard. Matt went over and opened it to see that it was Lily Dawn and Neon.

"We can't find those deities." Neon said. I then noticed that Lightningmon and Gabumon with them since they walked in. "What are we going to do?" She sat down on her bed.

Matt closed his eyes for a moment. I immediately felt something happening, but there was no way to described it. I couldn't even tell whether I should be at ease or afraid. When he opened his eyes, he looked fine and everything went back to normal. "We're not near anything, so we still have to be on the train for a while."

"Do you know where this is going?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Shanghai. That's its final destination anyway."

"Should we go to Shanghai, then?" Neon asked.

"We need to, otherwise we won't get home. So, I guess the question becomes, should we stay on this train?"

"We should. If we find out that they know we've hitched a ride, then Lily Dawn can change their minds. Neon shouldn't be traveling so much as it is." I said.

"Neon?" Matt looked at her.

"I hate to admit it, but I think we should. We can't be too reckless." She agreed.

"You mean you shouldn't be too reckless." Lily Dawn corrected, "Anyway, you promised me chocolate."

"Since when and for what?" I asked as Neon was looking through her secret stash of candies.

"I have this really bad craving this morning for it. I thought I would go mad." She took it and took a bit from the bar, being in heaven instantly.

I rubbed my hands together to get the magic going through them. This is something that Ceres taught me so I could keep a check on Neon's condition. I touched her stomach, getting the immediate feeling that there was a life in her, but this technique wasn't for the first trimester. "You're pregnant, chocolate girl." I said with a smile.

She took another bit before it sunk in. She dropped the bar and her eyes widened. I couldn't tell if this was something she was proud of as she sat down.

"I thought your craving was similar." Neon laughed.

"We're getting three kids." Matt said with a smile. "How exciting."

"Should…" Lily Dawn tried to ask.

"Yeah, you should be happy. You're married to him after all." Matt said.

She had the expression of 'oh yeah'. I laughed a bit.

"You better do the same thing to yourself, missy." Neon said, "Otherwise you won't be able to hide what happened from your brothers."

Matt started to laugh at my expression.

[Neon

I was surprised by how much food Lily Dawn was taking. It was like she was a machine that's sole purpose was to eat. I mean, I wasn't that bad at the beginning. We were all trying to make sure that she wasn't over doing it, and I'm sure she was as well. And even though we both felt bad about the fact that Matt decided to eat less so we could eat more, we couldn't help it. The only reason Nereida was eating was because she might in the same situation as us. Matt would also not allow the Digimon to not eat, because they needed to be strong for anything.

"I'm sorry we weren't here yesterday." Yan-lo said as he and P'an came up to us, "We decided to get that scroll for you." He smiled.

"Does it need a specific time for it to be performed?" Matt asked.

"No, we can do it right now if you want."

"Let's wait on that." He sounded nervous. "Why did it take most of yesterday for you to find it?" Matt offered them a seat.

"I had to attend a meeting that Hadesmon called for."

"Why did he call it?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Apparently, Panther's group was attacked by Sethmon and Hinamon was with them before hand. Panther is important to them, and apparently the Egyptians want her for something."

I looked at Matt as I was eating my food, something that Mackenzie-sensei taught me. He was hiding his worry. "Who's Hinamon?" Matt asked.

"An Australian goddess of the underworld. She seemed to have some motive for her, but she wouldn't reveal it to us so she was banished from this world."

"Banished?" Nereida asked. We were all looking at him.

He nodded, "She was enclosed in an asteroid and will have to remain there for a long time. She wasn't the first one to have that happened to, and it's also the most severe that they can do to us."

"Are you worried about her?" I asked, wondering the somber tone.

"Not really, but they might start to think that we have another motive, when we don't. I mean, Lily Dawn is here and she has some importance to them as well." He looked at her.

"We could find our way around if you need it." Nereida said. None of us wanted to get them in trouble, though, I also thought it would be cowardly if they did except the offer we were giving them. I don't know how the others feel about that, though.

"If we run then that means we do have other means and are afraid of getting caught for it. Plus, they all think themselves superior and Hinamon had shown us all that we don't have to accept it. We can still have dignity." He smiled. I could see that this Hina was very impressive, and we were all sad that she had to be punished.

"What was she doing for Panther?" Lily Dawn asked before Matt could.

"Giving her advice. It was something that made Sethmon angry at her, since she was placing herself above a god when she's a mortal."

"Panther has that attitude sometimes." Matt said, "I think it comes from her past."

He nodded, "We don't care one way or another. Would you like to see now?" He looked at Matt.

He looked at all of us, including the Digimon, and we nodded. We all got up and went over to some other part of the train. Gabumon was with Matt as we headed there, as if he needed the support. That was the first time I have ever seen him like that, needing support. Normally, he tried to play it as if he didn't need help and had enough faith that everything was okay. It was god like, or angel like, how perfect Matt had made himself to appear. Seeing him be human was kinda… weird.

[Me!

I felt a hand on my shoulder as we followed them. I looked to see Neon, who smiled at me. I guess I was showing my worry, smiling back in a thank you. She was right, I had everyone here. I looked at Gabumon and he looked at me, smiling at me too. I really felt like everything was going to be okay, now. When we got to the cabin Yan-lo was using, we all entered and Nereida closed the door. I took a deep breath as he looked straight at me. I was ready, I hoped.

"Know that I have no ill intentions towards knowing you and my only wish is to gain favor of someone who has given to me my powers that I now wield." He bowed to me.

"Alright." I figured I should respond.

He looked back at me, "Oh, the ones above those we know

May we who desire to see your face

See the light of your power. Show unto

Us that we have not discovered and

Pondered in vain. We desire to see

You in your glory, to know that we

Have looked well. Our hearts are pure

And will be more so with your

Guidance and advice. Your host

Will not be harm, and they will never be

As long as they are with us. They may

Had suffered under you, but we have come

To know them well. We wish for their well being

No more than you wished of it. Grant

Us, we who are now begging, the

Way to your divinity, to your place

Of worship. I open up the doors

For you to walk through."

I started to feel weird. I wasn't sure what it was, but soon I felt like I was in a daze, but able to hear at the same time.

[Nereida

Matt was holding himself as he said the chant. I knew that the first part wasn't part of it, but some pre-ritual that needed to be done. I looked at Lily Dawn, seeing that she wasn't being affected by it, which was kinda odd. Then something came out of Matt, though he was still standing and seemed to be just there now. The spirit didn't have a form, though, since it looked like Matt in a way. Yan-lo and P'an bowed to it, though.

"God of Death, thank you for allowing us in your presence." Yan-lo said.

He looked over at us, nodding before returning to Yan-lo, "Is that all?" His voice was much deeper than Matt's but his voice nonetheless.

"Yes, thank you." Yan-lo never lifted his head.

"Guard them well until they have left your land."

"As you wish."

He went back into Matt. I now had the chance to see the being that Arsmon wanted to use, and the being which will bring out carnage if he succeeds. He didn't seem all that evil, but maybe there is another side to being that represented evil that I had never given too much thought about. That maybe our decision to hold out until we know for sure is the right way to go.

[Me

I heard the voice, grateful he wanted us to be safe and that he wasn't revengeful. When he came back, it felt like I was whole again. It was just an odd feeling. I looked at Yan-lo when everything was settled, "What happened?"

"You are the God of Death." He smiled. "And as ordered, we will take you the rest of the way." He bowed. Even knowing that I was a god, I didn't like the fact that he was bowing to me. Something about that seemed wrong, like how I think the titles are wrong, which is why I hardly, if ever, use them. If I know your first name, I'll use that with no prefix. Lots of people don't like that, but that's what I can do with my fame.

"Please, you don't have to bow." I said with a smile. "You're protecting us so we need to be thanking you."

"Alright." He smiled, "Though it is really us who are honored. So please, tell us what you need and we'll provide it for you."

"We could use some more food." I said, thinking only of Lily Dawn and Neon. "And if it's not too much trouble, could you also get chocolate here as well?" Lily Dawn seemed to want that the most.

He nodded, "We'll be right back." He and P'an-Chin-Lien left after that in a mist.

I looked at Lily Dawn, "Anything?"

She shook her head, "Though, if it was a chant, you would think it would affect me too."

"Well," Nereida started, "I know that some spells aren't towards a crowd, but to a person. Maybe this spell is that kind of spell. I believe that what he said before hand, about his intentions, was for a pre-ritual thing, since no purification was needed."

"Why would there be a purification thing?" Neon asked.

"Because whenever you face a god, you must appear to them in your purest form because they are holy beings. If you can't be pure, then why should just beings give you help?"

"I guess that makes sense." Lily Dawn commented.

"So, what he did was kinda like that, stating that he was pure and having you, Matt, judge that."

"So what should we do in Lily Dawn's case?" Neon asked.

"I suggest that we state towards Lily Dawn as much as we can. That, or have either Panther or Ryan perform the chant."

"Why them?" I was curious, seeing Lily Dawn smiling a bit.

"Because they're a lot closer to Lily Dawn than the rest of us, and so any pre-ritual of purification will already be met because she already knows their intentions and hearts. There would be no fear, like there was with you, Matt."

"Was it that obvious?" I somehow felt like I failed at something.

She nodded, "But, we like that side to you." She smiled. "Because we now know that we don't have to reach so far to be like you."

I blinked, "You tried to reach me?" They all nodded. I started to laugh, "I was trying to uphold Virtue."

"We realized that, but it still made you god-like." Neon said. "And we thought that we had to have the same thing."

I laughed some more, "Then if I ever get kids, I need to be careful. I never knew how much influence I had. Sorry."

They laughed as well. Neon came over to me, placing her arm around my neck, "Don't worry Matt, you have three kids to test the right amount of influence you'll need for your own."

I just then noticed that this wasn't really like Neon, though I smiled since I thought it was her pregnancy. "That's true."

"Who would you marry, though?" Nereida asked after jumping on my back.

"I don't know. I'm still kinda hoping that Styxmon comes back to the living."

Lily Dawn wrapped her arms around the other arm that Neon wasn't on, "I'm sure she'll come back." She smiled.

I smiled back before noticing a flash. I looked in front to see something coming out of a field of lightning. Lightningmon went over to it, flapping it as I noticed that Gabumon was in the space that Neon, Lily Dawn and I created and that Gladiolusmon was on Gabumon's head. Lightningmon came over to us, showing that she took a picture of us like that., Bellimon on Lily Dawn's shoulder. I laughed, "I got to make copies of that." It looked like we were trying to pose for a statue or something.

"We all need one. Now let's eat!" Lily Dawn started to pull me over with her, making me trip over Gabumon and brought down the structure we had. Once I made sure that everyone was okay, we all started to laugh before getting up and heading back over so that the future children can eat.

[Neon

Yan-lo and P'an did get us more food, though Lily Dawn sat near me so they wouldn't think that she was feeding a child too. Matt and Nereida and Lightningmon were all having their fun with fat jokes because she was eating most of the chocolate. I wondered what this meant, knowing fully well that I wouldn't have a problem asking Mackenzie-sensei when we got back. I mean, if it wasn't in solid form, I'm sure Lily Dawn would put it on everything. We also invited them to join us, though I still didn't like P'an. Matt wanted them to feel like they were friends, not servants. I could understand that, though I still didn't like her.

Then I heard that we had arrived in Shanghai. I looked at Matt and he looked confused too. He looked at Yan-lo, "How did we get here so quickly?"

"I figured you wouldn't want to wait." Yan-lo said. "We can't get you a boat to get you back home, though."

"Where are we?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Shanghai." I answered.

"Where we that close?" Nereida asked.

"Nope."

"Okay, thanks." Matt said, getting up, "I'm sure we can find a way to get back from here."

Yan-lo nodded as they got up too. "We'll get boxes for your food." And they left.

"We still have a money problem." Lily Dawn said. "And now two of us have to eat."

"We'll figure that out later." Matt smiled. Yan-lo and P'an came back with food boxes and we were placing the food into them. Matt was talking to them about the money issue, though making it seem like it wasn't a big deal. Yan-lo said that P'an would come along with us so she can get them the money they need. I wasn't really sure what that meant, but I couldn't tell what Matt thought about that. Nereida and Lightningmon were carrying the boxes as we headed off the train.

Matt got us in an inn in a place that didn't seem to be all that friendly. I looked outside, getting this feeling that we should be very careful. Matt got us all one room, which made me feel a bit more secure.

"P'an-Chin-Lien, you don't have to go out alone." Matt offered. I hid my puzzlement, since that sounded like he cared. I wasn't sure why he was offering.

She smiled slyly. "I have to."

"Then don't worry about us. I don't want to force you to do something for our sake." I wondered if he caught something that I didn't.

"But it's my honor to serve you." She bowed. "So please, your highness, let me take care of this for you."

"It's really okay. Please, don't worry about it. We'll be fine. Thanks for your help." He smiled.

She bowed again, "As you wish, your highness." She then took her leave.

"Was something wrong?" Lily Dawn asked.

Matt looked at her, "I don't like all this respect."

"Why?" Nereida asked.

"I never liked them. They seem wrong, somehow."

"We're not the only country that shows respect to others, though." I pointed out. "Everyone has a polite way of speaking to each other."

"I know.. but monarchy set ups aren't my thing." He smiled, "Which is why I don't like using the suffixes and don't like to be addressed in them."

"So why were you offering yourself to go with her?" I asked.

"I wanted her to know that I was willing to go with her so she doesn't have to think of this as a job, but a favor."

"And since she wasn't taking it as that, you politely sent her away?" Nereida asked.

"Right."

"So what are we going to do?" Lily Dawn asked, lying on the bed.

"Well, we can have a look around or come up with a few plans of action."

"I'm very comfortable with coming up with a plan." I sat down on the bed.

"Alright." Matt pulled up chairs for the ones that were still standing. "Okay, so let's go over what we need to do. One, get some money so we can get home; two, find a way to get home; three, worry about food; four, worry about Thor coming after us."

"Why is food the third thing?" Bellimon asked.

"Because if we can get home quickly, then food won't be a problem."

"And Thor?" Lightningmon asked.

"Because there's a chance that we won't run into him."

"What do you suggest we do?" Nereida asked.

"I'll go ahead and look around to see what there is to do around here."

"You do remember that only two of us know Chinese while enough to work here and one of them can't work." I pointed out.

"I'm sure there are English places that Nereida and Lily Dawn can help at."

"For quick cash?"

"Oh… good point…" I just then realized, as he was thinking, that he probably still didn't know about the prophecy. I looked at Lily Dawn and Nereida, with them realizing the same thing. We didn't know whether or not to tell him.

"Don't worry, Matt." Nereida said, "I'm sure we can get jobs too."

"How if you don't know the language that well?" Matt looked at her.

"We'll find a way!" She was being cheerful for some reason, probably to cover our worry about the time. "Oh! I got an idea! What if we call Kaiba-sama?"

Matt blinked for a moment, "That's a good idea."

"Okay! We'll go look around for a phone for you!"

"But we still have to worry about food."

"Lightningmon and I will take care of that." She smiled.

"How?" Matt asked in a way that said that he had an idea on the method.

"To survive, one sometimes has to sink low to keep them alive."

"We're not that bad, yet."

"But we are in a bind, aren't we?"

"Why are you trying to make sure that I don't work?"

"Does it seem that way?" She looked at all of us. Lily Dawn, me and the Digimon nodded our heads. "Oh, sorry. Well, how lucky can you be in finding a job that will pay a lot and give it to you on that day?"

"How are you going to be crafty when you never stolen before?"

"I'm an actress." She said with pride.

"Acting and real life aren't the same thing. Besides, acting can only be a help to you if you know the language since they would be watching a foreigner more than a native." I kinda thought it was funny how he was poking holes in her plan.

"Do you not want me to do this?"

"If you could pull it off, I won't mind. But you can't so your chance of success is about thirty percent."

"Why not do what Nereida wants to do?" Lily Dawn asked.

He thought about it for a moment, "My chances are higher, and I could pull it off, but there is that chance that I won't succeed and what do I do then? Since we're not in a…"

"Matt." He looked over at me, "I'm on my last run before they are born." I pointed out that we are in a situation where food is important. "I know that I can't be greedy about this, but I do need food."

He nodded before looking at Nereida, "Okay, come over here and I'll place something so you can speak the language."

"You can do that?" Nereida went over.

"Yeah, the demon can do a lot." He touched her forehead, "Okay, so tomorrow, put on your best face and see what you can do. Do you have the device that Izzy made?"

"Yeah, I do." She pulled it out from her back.

"Get a bag and place the food in there." He looked at Lily Dawn and me, "You two can be in charge of finding a way of contacting Seto."

"What are you going to do?" Gladiolusmon asked.

"I can find a job, help with the stealing, or help with a way of getting Seto."

"The more food we have, the better." I stated.

"Okay, you two rest while we go search for the places to hit then." He got up.

I nodded and they headed out.

"I'm actually surprised that Matt is willing to do this. I kinda thought that when Nereida was bringing it up, he would object to it." Lily Dawn said.

I shrugged, "I didn't think much of it."

"Why?" Bellimon asked.

"Because I understand doing what you need to in order to stay afloat. We were like that a lot, and I'm very grateful of the group since my mom doesn't have to stress over my state."

"You're not well off?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Nope. We do alright, but still not in any shape if I did this without your support."

"How did you get in West Odaiba?"

"Grades. The same with Don. What about you?"

"My dad makes enough to get me in; my grades alone wouldn't have gotten me in."

"Why did you want to go?"

"Ryan got an art scholarship to go there and Panther got in because of her grades. We were always together, so I thought that we can keep that up. But then Panther went her way and Ryan drifted away, so it wasn't as I thought for the first two years."

I went over to her, placing my hand on her shoulder, "Do realize that they're not mind readers. Come on, let's see what we need and also start our job."

Lily Dawn nodded and we headed out too.

[Nereida

I don't know why I wanted to steal, though kinda surprised that Matt was allowing me to. I knew that Tim would be against it all together, so I was kinda glad. I guess I just wanted to experience it or something.

"Lightningmon, have you stolen before?" Matt asked her.

"Nope."

"Okay, then I should probably teach you want to look out for before I let you do anything." He walked into one of the stores and we followed. It was pretty small and it smelled. He went over to the fruits. "First, you have to check out what kind of security they have."

"Why?"

"Because you don't want to be caught and that be used against you when you make it big, right?" He smiled, "That's why I was reluctant to do this. Anyway, tell me what you see?"

"Lightningmon," I looked at her, "What do you feel?"

She looked around, "Cameras and a sensory."

"I guess I don't have to worry about you two then. Have you've gotten faster with your movements?"

"Not really. We decided that we would wait until you came back to train."

"Oh.. okay, show me how fast you can move. Just pick up something as fast as you can."

I picked up some fruit that was magenta color as fast as I could. I would've done the motion of placing it in something, but then it would've been obvious what we were planning.

"Okay, that should be good. Lightningmon, mess around with whatever you can so she doesn't get caught." He looked at her and she nodded.

I placed the fruit back as we headed out. We were looking around at the bags I would be using since Matt was going to use his pockets. Matt was also showing me how to act like I'm going to buy something, showing me expressions to practice. As it was getting late, we went to a place that had a lot of security. This is where Matt was demonstrating what he had taught to me today, which was interesting since he was able to walk out with all kinds of food without any help from Lightningmon.

"So, think you can do that?" Matt asked as we headed back to the hotel.

"I'm going to try." I said with determination.

He started to laugh, "Just be careful, okay. Oh, and also remember that you're not the only one out there."

I nodded, though not really understanding why he added that in. We got inside to see that Neon and Lily Dawn and their Digimon weren't here. "Where are they?" I asked as Matt sat down the food. I only then noticed that Gabumon was doing the same thing.

"When did you do that?" Lightningmon and I asked at the same time with the same amount of shock in our voice.

They blinked at us before looking at each other and laughing.

"You need to pay more attention around you." Gabumon said.

"I'm sure they're getting a head start on their part." Matt said, placing the food away.

We looked at each other, "Lightningmon, we have to beat them!" I said in my determine voice.

She smiled kinda evilly and nodded, "We won't let them beat us."

"Why do you want to make this a contest?" Gabumon asked as Matt was making something.

"Because that would make it more fun!" I said, "Besides that, this gives me a way of seeing how good of a liar I am."

"So even you want to be bad." Matt commented, "Were you able to show this side too much?"

"Of course not. I could only act it out, I could never do it. I would be in so much trouble if Tim ever found out."

"If he gives you a hard time, let me talk to him then."

"Okay." I smiled before jumping onto the bed, "Should we get clothes too?"

"Are we in need of them?"

"Not really… but Neon could use them and we shouldn't be in the same clothes all the time."

"That sounds like something Ceres taught you." Gabumon commented.

"She mentioned it once to TK, because he wanted some idea on what a thief should be like."

"When they get back, ask what they want." Matt said, "but nothing that stands out, okay?"

"Right! So can we make this into a contest?"

"I don't see why not." Matt brought out the food, "but I don't lose so easily."

"We're going to beat you!" I laughed, "We're going to be called… Fortune Spark."

"Fortune Spark?"

"I'm learning to be a fortune-teller and Lightningmon has electric attacks."

"I see…… Then we'll be called Timeless Memories."

"Why?" That struck at me for some reason.

"We know a lot about the Digital World's past, making them timeless and memories." He smiled.

"And today doesn't count."

"Fair enough."

Then Lily Dawn and Neon walked in. "Wow! You got that much?" Lily Dawn asked since Matt made a big dinner.

"Yep!" Matt smiled, "And it's still warm so go ahead and eat. Where were you guys anyway?" We all came to the table. I just then realized that they also didn't just steal food.

"We went looking around." Neon said before picking up a piece of meat. "So far, nothing looks promising."

"Maybe you should look around the business strict." I offered.

"We would need to take the bus." Lily Dawn said, pouring chocolate onto her food since they got the chocolate syrup.

I looked at Matt and he sighed, "Fine."

"You're giving in a bit too easily." Gabumon commented.

"If we need it, we need it, what can I say?" He ate something.

"What?" Lily Dawn and Neon asked.

"We're going to have a contest on who can steal the most." I smiled.

"Why am I going to be the first to say that that's not a good idea?" Lily Dawn looked at Matt, "I mean, I know we need food, but money too?"

"And clothes." Matt added, "Besides that, it's not a bad skill to have."

"I can't believe I just heard that." Neon said.

"You trained in a bit of ninjijutsu, right?" Neon nodded, "And stealing information and such is apart of that. Digimon," He looked at them, "Don't you think that this skill is a useful one?"

Bellimon and Gladiolusmon thought about it for a while. "It's not always good, but I do have to admit that it can be useful." Gladiolusmon said.

"I would also have to agree." Bellimon said.

"Nereida," Lily Dawn looked at me, "If you do this for things other than what's approved by the group, Tim isn't the only one that's going to be chewing your ass off, got it?"

I blinked before smiling softly, "Understood."

"That goes for me too." Neon said.

"And Matt," She looked at him, making him pause. "you need to stop being a bad influence and you better not let Panther do this when we get back, otherwise I'm going to do the same thing to you."

Matt started to laugh, "Panther doesn't want to go back to what she was, so don't worry about that." He smiled.

When we were done, we all went to sleep. Matt and Gabumon were sleeping on the floor since Lightningmon was with me and Neon and Lily Dawn were together. There wasn't enough room for Gabumon on the bed.

"Lightningmon," I whispered to her.

"Hm?" She opened her eyes to look at me.

I smiled, "I love this group."

She hugged me, "I know."

"Are you okay with this?"

"Yeah."

"Okay." I closed my eyes. With what Lily Dawn and Neon said made me happy, since they just told me that they care about me. I hugged Lightningmon, glad that she was here with me. She was like a mother and a sister. Grandmother was awesome and all, but I didn't feel like I could connect with her too well. I really wished I could have Heka back.

[Matt

So, the next morning, we headed out. Neon and Lily Dawn were still going to try around here, since they needed money for the trip to the business side. Before we headed out, we decided to have it on what we could steal and how much we stole. We would place them in our corners in the room, returning for lunch and dinner. I wouldn't allow us to go out during the night because that's too dangerous for Nereida. Not that she couldn't defend herself against anyone, I just didn't want to put her in that situation. Gabumon and I were walking around the open market that was out, looking at all the clothes that were there. Some of the things, I was kinda embarrassed that I was seeing them.

I stopped to look at some wonderful robes. Something about them seemed to draw me to them, but for our game, I couldn't steal it because it would make us stand out way too much. I noticed some clothes in the next stand, glad I would watch it from where I was. I noticed that it wouldn't be too much trouble to steal anything from him. I also realized that I would need sunglasses and a hat since I stand out too much as it is.

":Pardon me, your highness.:" I turned around to see this beautiful woman weaving another robe on the spot, but I could swear that she wasn't there before, ":Are you interested in a robe?:"

":No thanks. They're beautiful, though.:" I looked at them, not lying about that.

":Only fit for deities.:" She smiled.

I looked at her, "You're…"

"Of course." She bowed, "I would be honor to weave you and your friends robes to wear if you wish."

"Don't you need our measurements?"

"We know your group." She went back to weaving. "What do you say?"

I didn't know what to say, since for some reason I wanted to. "Okay, but only one and make it amazing. It's not for wear."

"Robes are meant to be worn." She pointed out as she pulled out another shuttle.

"I just want something else to remember this. Can you show the ones that aren't in China?"

She smiled, "I'll have it ready by tomorrow."

"Thanks. Um…"

"Your highness, do not worry about money."

"Thanks. And thank you for doing this."

"It is an honor." She bowed.

I bowed back before heading out. I decided that I would hit something else far away, because I didn't want her to see it. I needed to remember to ask for her name later. I then started to hit stands left and right, with Gabumon helping. We got a lot of clothes before hitting the food places. I wasn't doing anything in order to steal everything. I know this isn't a natural thing for me to do, but at the same time, it was. We took a break, drinking some tea that we stole too.

"Should we head back?" Gabumon asked. We were on the roof of a building. It was really dirty so I cleaned it before we sat down. The city looked awesome like this.

I looked at the sun, "I guess... Should we get meat on our next run?"

Gabumon nodded, "Do you trust that goddess?"

"I didn't sense anything to worry about, but we'll keep an eye open." I got up, "What did you think?" I looked at him.

He got up too, "I think the Chinese deities like you."

I smiled, "Don't know why, though. Should we do something for them before we leave then?"

"I think they would like that."

I looked out into the direction of the sea, remembering that we still have to heal another Deity. I wondered if he could come after us here. "I guess we can look around to see how we can honor them." I said as I jumped down from the building in an ally way.

"That can work." Gabumon was running down the side of the building, jumping off and landing when we were closer. "Then we can get those and not let Nereida know."

"Okay. Let's go see whose winning." Gabumon and I then went back to the hotel.

Lily Dawn and Neon were there first. "Is Nereida back?" I asked as I started to unload our stuff in our corner.

"Not yet… why did you get all that?" Lily Dawn came over to look.

"For the contest. I don't like to lose." I smiled. I got a notebook and pen so we can keep track. I already took down my inventory, so Neon was putting away the food.

"I can't believe you're doing this, though." Neon said.

Then Lightningmon and Nereida came in, first looking at our pile. "Aw man!" She said as they unloaded theirs. It was clear who won this time. I went over to her, handing over the notebook and pen. She then wrote what she got.

"Did anyone get money?" Neon asked.

"Want to make that the goal for this trip?" I looked at her.

"Okay!" She said with determination, it was kinda funny.

We had lunch together, hearing that Neon and Lily Dawn weren't having any luck around here. They would go out when we did, though.

So, once we were done, we headed out again. Gabumon and I went to a place that was run down. I was asking the old folk if they remember the time when they had deities. Some remembered, but only a few remembered how they were honored. It was pretty much prayer worship, with incense to grab their attention. There weren't any sacrifices, which was probably a good thing. Once we got that, we went into a public area and were taking money left and right. When it was pretty late, we went to a roof top again and counted what we got. With wallets, I sent them back to the owner without the cash in it. We got a lot of money this way.

"Do you think that you should teach Nereida tomorrow?" Gabumon asked as we were heading back.

"Why?" I looked at him.

"Do you want to be fair?"

I thought about it, "Well, orphans have to learn their own tricks. And if she wants to be an actress, then she has to use that talent for this. She's able to get what she needs once she finds what works."

I handed over the money to Lily Dawn when we got back in, writing the amount down in the notebook.

"Where did you learn to do this?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Don't know." I sat down. "Any luck?"

"Nope." Neon said. "We should be able to eat and head over with all that money. Should we be saving some too?"

I shrugged, "I just get the money."

Then they came back in. She went straight for the notebook and wrote down her amount as Lightningmon placed it down. It was quite a bit, making me look at her number.

"I got one more coin than you." I laughed.

She growled.

"How did you get this?" Lily Dawn asked.

"I did a sideshow, street performance of literature from China that I knew." I smiled to myself, glad that she found a way to use her talent. "And while I was doing that, Lightningmon was at the back of the crowd, taking things as she could."

"Matt, why not perform too?" Neon offered as she lay out the food, "I mean, you were once a singer."

"Okay, tomorrow morning, we'll do that then." I looked at Nereida, "Do you want to try that again or go with actual pick pocketing?"

"I tried to pick pocket, but I wasn't able to do it." She confessed.

"I'll teach you after dinner then."

So once the meal was done, I started to show Nereida the tricks of pick pocketing. Lily Dawn and Neon and the Digimon were watching as I was showing her. She got it down fast, so she was perfecting it before we went to bed.

[Nereida

Lightningmon and I were in an open market, since the people would need cash here more. I was able to get the money from the people more easily. I was also distracting everyone by making witty comments or loud comments in crowded areas and start complaining to draw crowd. All of this was tiring work but it was a lot of fun. I was even able to practice some of the motions and expressions that I've seen Ceres do. I found that how Ceres acts is the best way of doing this kind of work. I wondered if she ever had to steal before.

"I wonder how Matt did." I said as we were walking back over. Lightningmon had already counted the money by this time.

"We'll soon find out." She opened the door, and we saw him placing the food on the table. It wasn't as big as all the other times, since Lily Dawn and Neon were going to eat in the city. I went over to the notebook and wrote down what we did. "How did you do?" I asked as Lightningmon placed it in a jar that one of us got.

"I did pretty well." He said.

"Better than me?" I wanted to know.

"The same amount."

"What did you do?"

"I performed and Gabumon took. I played my harmonica and sang songs of old and new."

"And you did the same as me?"

"Yep. Most of it came from Gabumon's job, though."

"Ours was equal." Lightningmon informed.

"So, how did it go?" Gabumon asked.

"We toped your number." I said with an attitude.

"So you think you're hot now?" Matt asked with a laugh. "Now, let's try meat tonight."

"Meat?"

"Yeah, from a slaughter house."

"How?"

"I'll show you the target place afterwards." He smiled.

We then ate the meal, talking about the people we saw while we were performing. When we were done, Matt led us to a place that was an open food market in a building. He first showed me what was here, allowing me to get a feel of the place. The top was where the meat was, so that's where we were going to start. We were going to steal as much as we could from each floor. Matt informed me that we were going to cook and clean everything thoroughly so I didn't have to worry about how I got it hidden or wrapped.

I was excited for this challenge. This was like placing everything I had on the line. I couldn't mess up on this, because I couldn't pretend like I was doing something else with it like I could in the market. We each got a different part of the building to start out, but we were allowed to enter each other's area. And to add to the fun, we were even allowed to steal from each other if we saw it right. To make it fair as well, we changed the location where the device was placed so we had to also figure out where we were placing it.

I studied the people first, making sure I knew how this thing functioned. Tim had always preached that we should always understand what was around us, and the only way to do that was study. I normally used that philosophy to pick up behaviors and lines and expressions. Once I got the mode of the place, I went to work.

I was drawing in a crowd anyway I could. Once I did that, I took my chance of taking the meat that he was cutting, seeing that that was the easiest way of doing it. As I was doing so, and succeeding, I noticed that it took a lot of confidence that I didn't have to pull that off. I had kept my calm and my cool and look as if everything was fine. I knew that Ceres was like that a lot, in fact, a lot of them were. They had that look that they are in control of everything. I was never like that before, which made me smile as I went around.

I tried different ways of getting it, even getting bold with just talking to the butcher himself. Lightningmon was also stealing meat when she could. We did go over to Matt's side, though we didn't see him. I could tell where he hit though, since they had a confused look on their faces. I got even bolder and hit there as well. I let Lightningmon get the meat, since I wasn't sure how Matt got them.

Once we were done, we headed to the next level. I didn't run into Matt until the last floor. He acted like he didn't see me, though I was positive that he did. I was minding my own business when I sense that something was going to happen soon. I grabbed to the left of me, where Lightningmon was, to find that Gabumon was about to steal from me.

"Nice try." I said as I let go.

He laughed, "Yep. Good job." He then went over to where Matt was talking to one of the ladies there. He was flirting with her, giving a quick wink to me as Gabumon reached him. I went back to what I was doing, though soon tried to go after Matt. I wasn't able to get anything from him, though.

"Are you done?" Matt asked after my twentieth time of my attempt.

"Yeah." I said in an annoyed voice.

He smiled, "Let's go then." And we headed out.

"What should we do next?" I asked.

"We'll decide that when we get back. We should first find out if we need to do anything for tomorrow."

"Good point." I said and then we talked about the people we stole from, laughing at them a bit.

"Who won in the morning?" Neon asked as we came into the door.

"I did!" I raised my hand.

"And we're about to see who won this time." Matt said as we went into the kitchen. "Did you just get back?"

"Yeah, and we couldn't get into the buildings to see if they knew Kaiba-sama." Lily Dawn said. "We're going to try again tomorrow, though."

"Okay, good, you can help us prepare the fresh food we got then." He then laid out what he got on one side. I was really impressed that he got all that. As Neon was taking the inventory, we reached to find that we had one thing each. We looked at each other before quickly looking at Matt, "How?!" We both asked, making them laugh.

"You have to be aware of your surroundings. What I did was just a decoy." Gabumon said.

"And every time you tried to steal from us, we stole from you." Matt revealed.

"You were stealing from each other?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Because, when you're out on the streets, you not only have to be careful of those you're stealing from, but other thieves who are willing to steal from you."

We pouted as we cleaned the meat and cooked everything we had. It was a good thing that Neon and Lily Dawn could eat a lot, since they were able to finish it off. Tomorrow, we decided that the morning would be another steal or be stolen contest.

We were in an open mall place for this one. It was quite busy with people walking around the place.

"Okay, I'll start at the other end of it. Also, not only money, but things too."

"Why things?" Lightningmon asked.

"Because thieves also steal things, not just food and money. Once you can steal one thing, it becomes easier to steal other things off of people."

"I didn't realize you wanted me to be so bad." I said with a laugh.

Matt laughed, "If you don't want to, we don't have to. I just thought you would want to add excitement every time we go out. We've up the level every time."

That was true, "So, what are you trying to teach me through this?"

"Who knows when this will be useful, right? If there comes a time when stealing is needed, and the prime two aren't there for some reason, then there's another that can do so. Also, you're very quick on your toes, so if you're able to take things without anyone, and I mean anyone, then you'll be able to gain upper hands in many situations."

"I see… so if I can steal these small things, then I can steal bigger things?"

"Right." He smiled, "I know that Ceres and Panther are also quick on their feet, but having more than one can't hurt. Besides, they would be uncomfortable doing, it seems, at least Panther. Also, people that know them would be watching them more than they would be watching you."

I nodded, "Alright! I'll try my best."

He smiled before he and Gabumon left. I then took a deep breath before looking at Lightningmon, "Ready?"

She smiled, "Always." And we went into the crowd.

[Me

We were able to get quite a good amount before meeting back up with them. I smiled at how they tried to hide when they spotted us, not knowing that we saw them long before that. As we were trying to steal from each other, I gave them lots of openings, including the ones that weren't obvious. Though, since I was looking out for her, I didn't allow her to get anything from me, but she also didn't allow me to get anything either. I was glad, though, that she was able to see all the openings that I gave her.

After a while of this, as well as stealing from others, I looked at Gabumon. He gave me a smile that told me he got them. I nodded and headed back over to where we began since I haven't been down there yet. I was still stealing, as I headed down, taking a seat near the entrance to show that I was waiting.

She came over after an hour or so since she went over to where I was. "Are we done?" She asked.

"Yep." I got up, "Let's go."

"What are we going to do about the items?" She asked as we were closer to the hotel.

"I haven't thought that far yet."

"Well, it's not like we can give them back." She sighed.

"I can."

"How?" She looked at me.

"I can teleport them back to their owner."

She stared at me for a moment before smiling, "Okay."

When we lay out what we got, I found out that Nereida went for a lot of jewelry. We did the inventory before we went through each one to see what was actually valuable. We discovered that not many were, and that was from both groups. I also put that into the notebook before I sent everything that wasn't money back to the owners.

"So why were we checking the value?" Lightningmon asked.

"If it has no value, then why steal it?"

"So I guess that you weren't good at seeing that either, huh?"

"Not when I have to get a quick look at it and decided with that first glance."

"Who won?" Gabumon asked.

I went through it all, since we have to factor the thought value and the real value. "Fortune Spark."

"Alright!" They said as they gave each other a high five. I looked out the window to see that it was pass the time we go out for the second run.

"What do you want to do tomorrow?"

"How about you teach us to steal so that no one knows that we did? Obviously, we were caught when we tried and Gabumon was able to get things from us." Lightningmon said. "If we need to be good, then we might as well try it."

"I agree." Gabumon said. "We should now teach."

"Okay, so tomorrow morning will be for training and then tomorrow evening, we'll test it out again?" I offered.

They nodded and we then cooked the food that we still had in the place.

[Lily Dawn

We got back to find that Matt and Nereida were cooking already. They were using up the food that they had gotten before.

"Who won?" Neon asked.

"Nereida and Lightningmon." Gabumon said.

"How was your day?" Matt asked.

"We got half of the place looked at, but still nothing. I don't know if this will give us anything." I said as we sat down.

"Do you still need money?" Nereida asked as she placed the food down.

"We have enough for tomorrow." Neon said.

"Okay. I'm sure you'll be able to find someone." She smiled.

"The problem isn't finding someone; it's getting to talk to that person. I guess they don't believe us when we say that we know him."

"If you don't feel revengeful, then don't take down names." Matt warned from the kitchen.

"Why?" I asked.

He placed the last of it down since they sat down once he did, "Because I'm sure that Seto is looking for us as well. Besides, if he's not and learned that we could've come back sooner through a connection of his, I'm sure he'll make that person pay."

"Because of you?" Bellimon asked.

He smiled, "We're friends."

"Oh yeah, TK said that you were with Kaiba-sama at that conference, the day you got back, is that true?" I asked.

"Yeah, I was with him. I also worried him because I was coughing up blood in front of him." He laughed a bit. "I was planning on heading back home before the conference, but that didn't happen."

I wondered how it would've been if he was there before going. How would things have played out? I guess we'll never know.

The bus is pretty crowded when we get on in the morning. I let Neon sit since she's the more obvious out of the two of us. She also talks to the ladies on the bus, though I never know what they're talking about since they talk really fast. They're in their fourth year of it, so I can only understand the words and a few phrases. They've been teaching us the basic, though Matt had helped with everything else before Ceres came. Since the school doesn't have anything higher, they're going to go into a college for it. Though, why they had always wanted to learn Chinese, I never learned.

"Why did you learn Chinese?" I asked as we were walking around the crowded, though cold, city. I am grateful for the clothes that they got us, but I don't like the idea that it was stolen.

"When I make it big, China is going to be my start for the world." She smiled, "So I learned it on my own for a while before Don decided to join me. Once he did, we got better quickly and then our parents managed to get us into a class for it four years ago."

"That's pretty awesome."

"Do you want to go to America after Japan?"

"Yeah! My idol did that so I'm mimicking her a bit." I smiled. I then placed my hand on my stomach, "Though, I guess I would have to wait for a while before that."

"Maybe." She smiled, "Having two deities for parents might make a miracle happen."

I smiled, "If I choose to be a goddess."

We then went into the building that was a big corporation. They wouldn't let us talk to the boss, again, even though we were saying that we knew Kaiba-sama. We do this for every one, but no one let us talk to their boss.

As we were taking a break, I wrote down all the ones that we couldn't get inside, not for the revenge thing, but so we know which ones we don't need to hit. I looked down the road, seeing that we only had a few more to go before we can give up on that idea. Though, if we could find out where the nearest space company is, we could always get Matt here so he could talk to them.

Then, we heard an explosion. We looked at each other before looking where the screaming Chinese were running away from. We saw lightning coming up from the ground and we ran towards there. Thor was hitting random things as he was coming down the road. We were standing out rather quickly, and there was nothing behind him. He smiled wickedly at us as he raised his hammer.

Right then, the police came from behind him, and then behind us. They grabbed our arms and pulled us behind them, yelling something at us. They then took aim and started to fire, but none were being affective. When he looked like he had had enough, he swung his hammer all around him, getting everyone there. I noticed that he put enough power behind that to kill them, since they were frying afterwards. I never felt more afraid. Before, I didn't want to deal with them, but now I have a child coming.

[Neon

Lily Dawn wasn't able to do anything, and I couldn't allow him to get us without a fight.

"Gladiolusmon Digievolves to…………………… Sunflowermon!" She looked like a sunflower too, though with pink petals. "Sun Shine!" A beam came from her head and shot at Thor, blinding him.

"Lily Dawn!" I yelled at her and grabbed her shoulder so she could face me, "You can't be scared!"

"But…"

I smiled kindly at her, "Your child wants you to live too. Believe in that."

It took her a while before she could nod. At that moment, Bellimon jumped away from her, "Bellimon Warp Digievolves to…………………….. L-Valleimon!" She grew into a huge plant with a white, bell shaped flowers on her, one for her head and two more for her hands and others scattered on her body in random spots. "Sweet Bell!" She then started to do this dance, making a bell sound as she was doing so. The sound was aimed at Thor, making him also back up a bit, but then he swung his hammer. Sunflowermon ran over to L-Valleimon, placing her roots on her as the attack went to her. And through them, it went into the ground, missing us. They seemed fine as well.

Thor now looked pissed off.

"Thor!" I yelled over to him, "Why are you helping the Greeks? What do you have to gain from them?"

"I will gain back our glory!" He said and swung. Lily Dawn moved me away from the path.

"Do you think that they'll allow you the chance?" I asked. "If they rule now with an iron fist, then why would they allow it? Why would they give you the chance?"

"I have nothing else!" He swung again. "I have nothing else to aim for! Odin is ruling now! I have nothing else!" And he now kept on swinging.

"He wants you back! He wants you two to be friends once again!"

"What?" He stopped.

"Whatever history you two have has passed. Over the years, he has grown to respect you and care for you. He asked us to bring you back. He doesn't want you to work for the Greeks."

He looked confused for a moment before smiling. At that moment, he started to scream and hold his head. I couldn't tell what was going on, though. He then looked at us again and started to swing again. I knew he was glad, so why was he still attacking? I then felt my Crest coming from him. He wanted us to forgive him for this.

"Sunflowermon Warp Digievolves to…………………………… Maho Elfmon!" She became an elf, with a lyre in her hands. She also had pig tails and orange hair. She was relatively my height and had on clothes that kinda made her look like she was from a desert region.

"Maho Elfmon!" I called to her before she did anything. She looked at me, allowing me to see that she also had make-up and earrings on as well, "Something's wrong with him. I don't know what it is, but he wants to stop."

She nodded and before she could do something, she was hit with lightning. I was about to as well, since I was away from Lily Dawn by this point, but Lightningmon absorbed it and shot it back at Thor.

"Are you guys okay?" I looked back to see that Nereida and Matt were riding on Garurumon. He landed and Nereida came over to me.

I looked at Lily Dawn to make sure that she was before running over to Maho Elfmon. "Are you okay?" I got down with her.

"Yeah," She smiled at me, getting up, "You should stay with the others." She was now standing.

"I'm not about…"

"Neon." Nereida said, making me look at her because of her tone. "Think of your kids." She then pulled me over to where Lily Dawn and Matt were.

"Are you really going to let only the Digimon to fight?" I asked as Gabumon came back. "Thor doesn't want to do this anymore."

"Then we'll hold him down." Gabumon went over to the other Digimon, who were now in a line.

"Gabumon Warp Digievolves to…………………………………… Metal Garurumon!"

"Matt!" I looked at him.

"Do you really thing that anything but a Mega would be able to hold him down?" Matt asked.

I looked back when I heard him releasing his lightning. Lightningmon took it and the others were going around him. She shot it back again and the others shot their attacks. L-Valleimon did her Sweet Bell, Metal Garurumon did his Icy Breath, and Maho Elfmon was playing sweet music with her lyre, but I didn't hear what her attack was. They all hit Thor at the same time, but he was still standing up. He then called thunder clouds over us, making it now really cold and wet. Matt placed his jacket over Lily Dawn and Nereida did the same for me.

Lightning was now striking everywhere. They were protecting us from it and the Digimon were dodging it and his attacks. Lightningmon was using this to her advantage, though. I could feel his sorrow, his desire to stop. I wanted them to heal him. Right then, Metal Garurumon was able to get him knocked down to the ground. Lightningmon used her lightning to tie him down. Maho Elfmon and L-Valleimon looked at each other and nodded.

"Healing!" L-Valleimon yelled and a spray of pollen came from her flowers.

"Flower Spell! Take out the evil within!" Maho Elfmon yelled, her hands glowing as she did.

The pollen went straight for Thor, attaching to him instantly. He started to scream again, as though not in pain like it was before. The pollen then collected above him and Lightningmon, with him fainting and Lightningmon letting him go.

"Spark!" She yelled.

"Metal Wolf Claw!" Metal Garurumon yelled, both aiming for the ball of pollen, destroying it.

I went over to Thor as our Digimon went back down. "Thor?" I asked as I got near him.

He moaned as he opened his eyes. He looked at me, taking a moment before smiling. "Thank you."

I smiled back, "You're welcome."

"Are you okay?" Matt asked as he came up with everyone, handing me a tired Gladiolusmon to me.

"Yes, I am." He got up, "Thank you."

Matt smiled, "I'm just glad that you're alright."

Thor seemed taken back for a moment, "I have always heard that you wouldn't…"

"That's not this group. The other two groups, I would have to say that they wouldn't care. But we do."

He nodded, "I am sorry for the trouble I have caused."

"But it did help us, so don't worry about it." Nereida said. I could tell that even though he did kill the driver, we all didn't mind it. I thought that was kinda funny.

Then the clouds went away, "I am glad that I was able to provide assistance." He then started to walk away.

"Say hi to Odin and Freyja for us." Lily Dawn said.

He looked at us and nodded before continuing.

"Okay, now we have to get back as well." Matt said and we all headed away from the place. Before we did, though, I paid my respects for the fallen police officers.

"Are you two okay?" Nereida asked as we were on the bus.

"Yeah, though we should probably put up the heater." Lily Dawn said, holding Larkspurmon in her arms.

"Okay. We'll also get a bath going. So, any luck?" Matt asked.

"Nope. No one was willing to let us inside." I said.

"Do you think that I should come with you?"

"It couldn't hurt."

"Are you going to steal?" Lily Dawn looked at Nereida.

She smiled, "Maybe."

"Who won?" I asked after Lily Dawn and I took a warm bath. Matt also got the room warm and they were cooking dinner.

"We did." Matt said. "So we're winning so far." He smiled as Nereida pouted.

"Are you going to steal tomorrow?"

"When we're outside, but otherwise no."

"Even on the bus?" I asked, "Because I know some of the ladies on the bus we take."

"Not on the bus then." He smiled. "Okay, the food is ready."

The next morning, everyone was coming along. Matt was also talking to the ladies. They were giving me pointers on what to do after I have my kids and what I shouldn't do. I was remembering it, since they were all very useful tips. They liked that Matt was charming them, though they knew that he wasn't my husband since I told them all about Don. Nereida was keeping Lily Dawn company.

When we got into the city, we went to where we had stopped and was about to start it up again, but we started to hear a helicopter. We looked up, as did everyone else, to see that it was black and pretty big and heavy since it needed two rotors. The side door opened and a ladder was thrown down to us, since it was right above us. Then Kaiba-sama popped his head out.

"Okay," Matt said as he grabbed the ladder to make it steady with a big smile, "Head on up."

Lightningmon and Nereida went up first, followed by Lily Dawn. I went up after her, finding a bit of a pain in my stomach as I did so. I didn't like it one bit, since I knew this wasn't a good sign, but I ignored it. Lily Dawn and Nereida helped me up. Kaiba-sama showed us where to sit, though once making sure that we were fastened, he went back to the door. He grabbed Matt's hand, who had smiled as he was being pulled up. He got into a seat as Kaiba-sama closed the door.

"Is everyone okay?" He asked in his cold voice.

"Yeah, we're all fine." Matt said.

"Good. We're getting everyone else as well."

"What?" We all asked together.

"I managed to find where everyone was, and sent my copters to get them. TK should also be happy to see everyone back."

Matt smiled, "I'm sorry for worrying you and for not keeping my promise."

"You're fine now."

I kinda wondered what that was about, but then didn't really care. I was so glad that I would see Don again. I held my tears in, because I didn't want to cry in front of Kaiba-sama.


	27. Chap 26 World Tour! Ocean Water Adventur

[Damon

The air was really warm but cool. It wasn't like this in Japan. I noticed that something was licking my face. "I'm up!" I yelled, knowing that Huskimon does this to get me up.

"That's good to hear." I heard Don say.

I looked up to see he, Panther and Kari were smiling at me. "Where are we?" I noticed that they all had their winter stuff off.

"We don't really know. We haven't really gone exploring yet." Panther said.

I looked around to see that it was night, maybe getting near sunrise. The landscape screamed foreign, but I knew that we were in Australia by the vegetation. "We're in Australia."

"How can you tell?" Kari asked.

"I know the landscape." I got up fully and looked at them. "Have you found anyone else?"

"This is it so far." Panther said.

"I can't sense anyone else." Kari added.

"Now what?"

"We should probably look for a house or something. We could all use a little food." Don said.

"Using people again, huh?" I didn't even have time to blink when Panther held me by my collar.

"If you're going to be like that, we'll leave you here." Her harsh voice reaffirming her decision.

Huskimon growled, warning Panther to let go but she didn't. "Why are you caring so much about this? It doesn't affect your lifestyle."

She threw me to the ground, "I can't believe that your family would be as selfish as to think your decision has no weight in this group. Matt was hurting deeply because you guys started the break up."

"He's not even your real father so why does it matter? You're going to leave him after high school."

"How the hell do you know what I'm going to do?" She now looked like someone that belonged to a gang. She had never looked like this around us before. She smiled, "Are you a fortune-teller or something? Can you predict the future or something? Never tell me what I'm going to do, because I can't be predicted like that." She turned around, grabbed Kari's hand, and walked away, leaving Don and me behind.

"You know," he looked at me, "I don't use people like you think I do anymore."

"So you did!"

"Yeah, because I needed to learn how to. My father wanted me to be able to manipulate others, so I did. But I haven't done so for a while and definitely not openly. So when did you find out that I did?"

"You were talking to someone the morning of the day, saying that allies only slow you down."

"I was talking to someone about an Internet Racing game. That site has us place a photo and the nation where you live. So many people come to me for advice since I'm the best in that game."

I didn't know that he was into videogames. I had always thought that he was strictly a fighter. "I didn't know that."

"You also don't know that I used to actually race before going to that site."

"Really?"

"Yep. Neon got me out of that since it was really dangerous. She doesn't want me dying when we have kids coming."

"That would make sense… I'm really sorry for doubting you. I just didn't know."

"Now I'm worrying about the kid who asked me those questions." He gave me his hand.

"Why?" And I took it.

"Because the part I know you would've heard to make you think that way… He set up his questions so I would answer them in that way. He also smiled oddly as he emphasized the name when I knew we were talking about it. Aresmon looked a lot like that kid too."

"What are you saying?"

"That they wanted us to split up. Being Deities, they probably got bored and wanted to see how fun we would be."

"But how would they know who we are?"

"They should at least know Neon and me since the brothers knew about us. He probably was able to guess that you were one with how you were acting."

"Oh.. We better catch up with the girls."

"Yeah. So, we're cool?"

"Yeah, we are. And you have to teach me some of your technique. I'm really into racing games myself."

"When we get back." He smiled and we headed off after them.

It took us a long time to find a house, and we were very lucky that it was a nice lady living there, though only Panther and I could really talk to her.

" I'm so glad that you kids haven't been traveling for long. This part can really be harsh. " She said.

" Thank you for breakfast. " Panther said.

" It was no trouble. What way would you like to go? "

" We need to go north. " I said, learning that we're in southeast Australia.

" You would need to follow the mountain range. It would be the easiest way to know that you're heading the right way. But there's no real easy way of traveling. "

" We'll be able to figure something out, so please don't worry about us. " Panther said.

" Okay, why don't you kids rest for a while? You must be tried from the traveling that you did. "

"+What do you guys think?+" I asked them, since they could understand English better than speaking because of the study sessions.

"+I think we should. I could use some sleep.+" Kari said.

"+I agree. We're about an hour ahead of our own time.+" Don added.

" We really do appreciate it. Thank you. " Panther said.

[Don

We left a few hours later, glad that she was able to lend us horses.

" What house are we to take them to again? " Panther asked as she got Kari on the horse that she was using.

" There's a house yonder. " She pointed north, " A good and dear friend lives there and he has a boat that you can use to get up the river. "

" Will he recognize the horses? " Damon asked.

" Nah, he's too old to remember something like that, " she laughed to herself, " I'll give him a hauler before you get there. "

" Thanks. " Panther sounded like she wasn't sure what she was saying, but we all figured that she was going to let him know before we arrived. She got on her horse, " Take care. "

" You do the same. "

Panther nodded and we took off in a gallop.

"+Wow! Who knew that it would be this hot?+" Damon asked as we took a break.

"You at least knew that it's summer down here, right?" Kari asked.

"Yeah."

"And it doesn't seem like we're going to be finding a house anytime soon." Panther said, looking head. We were allowing the horses some water.

"Australia is very vast." I said.

"If there isn't much people to see us then why don't we fly? It could save some time." Huskimon stated, looking like he could die soon. He was on the back of Damon's horse.

"We probably will, but we have to get these horses to her friend."

"And remember, Don doesn't like to fly." Panther said with a smile.

"Oh yea, I forgot about that." Huskimon said.

"It seems that it's about a few kilometers away before there's anyone around." Kari said out of the blue.

"Is it beyond your reach?" Gatomon asked.

"It is, so this person is really far."

"That means it's going to be a long time before we meet up with him. I was wondering why she gave us a lot food." Panther commented.

I looked to see that Panther looked at her new bag. I didn't notice that she had that bag either. Kari used her powers and pulled all the horses, and us, back. Right then a crocodile tried to take a bit of where meat was. He didn't come up too much onto land, but his mouth was open wide as if daring us to come closer.

"Should we just walk away now?" Damon asked.

"Yeah, you guys head off first. If he makes a move, I'll make sure that he doesn't go very far." I stated.

"Be careful." Kari said as they were walking away.

He was now staring at me, and me at him. I tried to move away, but he advanced. I knew that they can't run very far or fast, but I at least knew that this wasn't normal. They would've given up by now, right? I took another step away from the river, and he advanced again. He growled, as if annoyed that I was doing this.

"Don, why is he doing that?" AeroDinomon asked.

"I don't know, but I at least know that it isn't normal." Then he advanced a few more steps closer to me. I was beginning to wonder if running would help me any. I brought out a sword that I keep in my pockets, thanks to the invention that Izzy made. I launched forward as it launched at me and I sliced his upper jaw. He retreated in pain, somehow not allowing any of his blood to flow out as he swam away.

I sighed heavily, glad that I didn't have to kill it. I sheathed my sword and went after the others.

"What took you so long to get away?" Panther asked as we were traveling again. I was in the middle since I could take away some of the heat that was beating down on us.

"It was acting weird, like it wanted to attack me. It came towards me when I tried to move away."

"That is odd." Damon said, "After a fail attempt, they normally go back to the water to wait for their next opportunity."

"There was something different about this crocodile," Kari said, "I'm not really sure what it was, but I think that it had actual thought."

"There's the theory that animals do have some thought process going on but not on the same level as humans."

"How did you get away from it?" Panther asked.

"I sliced its top jaw."

"WHAT!!!" Damon yelled, "They're still protected!!"

"I didn't kill it and it will heal over time." I said calmly.

"But it can't get help like we get help! It can get infected really easily out here."

"I guess you would like to go back to see if it's okay."

He sighed, "Just remember that most of the animals here are highly dangerous or much protected, okay?"

"But don't people kill things out here all the time?" Panther asked.

"Only the ones that they're supposed to."

"You know what… We didn't see if we could use the Digital World as a way to get home." I remembered.

"You're right!" Panther smiled and held her amulet in her hand. It wasn't doing anything so Kari tried her with the same result. Damon and I tried next and still nothing.

"Well, it was a good thought." Kari said.

"How are you holding up, Huskimon?" Damon looked back, as we all did, to see him being cooked.

"Am I helping any?" I asked.

"A bit…" He said so tiredly.

"Hey, Plantmon, can you take this heat?" Panther asked, looking at her.

"A bit… though it feels like my leaves will catch on fire soon… I really need some water…"

"Gatomon?" Kari asked.

"I'm fine." She smiled.

"And I'm okay too!" AeroDinomon said.

The rest of the day, it was relatively quiet. Damon helped Panther catch or pick whatever was safe.

"I wonder why she wanted to split us up." Kari asked more to herself than to us.

"You mean her plan?" Damon asked.

"Yeah, there had to be some reason behind it. I mean, shouldn't she figure that we would all try to get home?"

"I want to know why she did this in the first place. It's really an out of the blue kinda thing." Panther said.

"Deities don't have to have a really good reason to do something and they sure can do things at their whim." I said.

"Well… I'm betting that Heka had something to do with it." We all looked at Damon, wondering what he was talking about. "Heka is really a Deity Digimon called Hebemon. Heka tried hard not to return to them, but they threatened Nereida so she went back. If she was willing to do that, then she probably did something to help Nereida out as well."

"I guess that means that I was right about Apollo… Poor Lily Dawn." Panther said.

"What about Apollo?" I asked.

"When I first met him, I thought he was a Deity Digimon. Lily Dawn told me that Heka knew Apollo and was living with him and his sister."

"So that's why they were also attacked…"

"What do you mean?" Kari asked.

"Remember when the brothers went missing, Neon and I went to go see if everything was okay. We saw Apollo there, but we never asked as to why he and his sister, we assumed, were also with them when we thought they were mortal. So now I know, he was there to be bait for someone."

"Well, I knew that during that time Heka was over at our house. I didn't tell anyone about it, but I happened to see her in Grandmother's mediation room. They probably wanted her to return."

"Huskimon, did you know that Heka was a Deity Digimon?" Gatomon asked.

"Are you saying that you knew?" Kari asked.

"No, but I was just wondering if he did."

"Now that you mentioned it, Lightningmon didn't seem too surprised that Heka was a Digimon and Nereida at least knew that she was a Digimon." Damon commented.

"We were told to keep it a secret, since Nereida didn't want you to know." Huskimon said.

"Really? Why didn't she want us to know?"

"Because it seemed that Heka had helped her with her fortune-telling skills. I was never really told as to why we had to keep it from you. Lightningmon promised that she would watch over her to make sure that she didn't do anything."

"I'm sure Nereida just didn't want to share something for once." Panther said.

"Maybe… but we were so strong before this. It was when we met you guys that we started to break from what we had always known."

"What was that?" I asked.

"We had always listened to Tim on everything. He did take care of us in our early years. Only recently has he been absorbed with his school work that he doesn't have time for us. Even though I wish he didn't, I know that he is sacrificing a lot for our own sake."

"Why did he have you two in the same grade?" Kari asked.

"He wanted us to finish at the same time. So she could start off her own career earlier. She had always wanted to be an actress and it's really awesome of how Tim is always supportive of what we want to do. I know what he wants us to be happy and successful in whatever we do…"

"But you got selfish for just one moment and allowed all the anger that you had held exploded." Panther said so matter-of-factly. "So I'm guessing that after Heka went with Aphrodite, you three were even more divided than before."

"That's right."

"So that means that this a good time for you three to think things over for a bit. You've been together so long that you probably never gave each other breathing room."

He smiled, "But I'm so worried about Nereida. We were really closed to each other, and she normally told me everything."

"Well, obviously even she has things that she doesn't want you to know and I'm sure that you have things that she doesn't know." Gatomon said.

He closed his eyes, "You're right. There are things that I haven't told her."

"So you guys better fix it when we get back." Panther said, "Otherwise Ceres won't forgive you guys for breaking up the team."

"Why didn't she use her Unity powers to keep us united?" I asked.

"She said that she doesn't really know how to use it. But I'm sure that we'll all learn how to use our own powers sooner or later."

"We better get some sleep… Who will keep watch tonight?" Kari asked.

"I'll keep the first watch." I said.

"I'll take the next." Damon said.

"I'll go after that and Kari will go last." Panther said.

With that, they all fell asleep and I watched over them. I looked at Damon, who was worried about Nereida even though it wasn't really needed. A while ago, Ceres told us that we're going to have a boy and a girl. I was now wondering if he would be as protective as the Shuni brothers.

[Panther

This is our second day of traveling. It seemed like we were getting no where since Kari still couldn't find a trace of human life. It was also getting really old of the hot days and the cooler nights. We were going to try a new method in the morning, which is sleeping during the day and traveling during the night.

"What do you guys normally do for New Years?" Kari asked. "We always have this big party of all the Digidestined. Then Tai and I would go home and our parents would have another celebration. With the other Digidestined, we always have lots of games to play and a karaoke machine for anyone that wanted to challenge Matt to a singing contest. Normally, TK does since he likes to make fun of Matt's singing."

"New Years in my Grandmother's favor holiday," Damon said, "She always goes all out for it. We have to clean our house very, very thoroughly and no one is allowed to do homework during this period, so we always got it done early. We're all made to wear our best kimonos and have dinner together. Once the New Year begins, Nereida always did some short play to entertain us. This shows you how good she really is since she can play multiple characters simultaneously. We also make little charms and things like that we sell when we go to a local shrine. They allow us since they know our family really well."

"Neon and I have our parents meet up at some local restaurant or bar that's open and have a party there. We were the ones that always paid for it, so they had never minded it. They actually enjoy since it's one of the few times when they can kick back and relax, allowing all their worries to escape for one night."

"Panther?" Kari asked, since I didn't start when Don finished. But what was I supposed to say? We didn't celebrate the holidays. I do remember what I did when I was with my parents, but I didn't want to go back all that far. I didn't know what to say. "Are you okay?" Her voice was so caring.

"I haven't done anything for the holidays in a long time."

"Really?" Damon asked.

"Yea, we didn't really care about what's going on around us, the ones that live and breathe the life. But when I was with my family… it was just a party for family and it was one of the few times that I actually felt close to my family as a whole, like they really cared about me and wanted me to be apart of their family."

"You thought they didn't?" Don asked.

"I knew my siblings did, but my parents never showed it. It seemed that everything I did was something they didn't want. There were many factors that played to the decision of me going to the gang."

"So it wasn't just one thing, it was many things." Kari summed up.

"Yep. So not celebrating this night is something that I am very used to." _Though I was looking forward to celebrating it. I figured that I consider it a way to connect and belong to people, that I would find it no different than any other day._ "If there was a party that Matt was going to hold for everyone in our group on this night, would you all come to it?" I was wondering if they would leave their own traditions behind to start anew.

"Yeah, I would've come. I would've also bought along my father and Neon would've brought along her mother." Don answered.

"I know that we would've come and our Grandmother would've as well. She really does like parties and she would probably have helped Matt with all the cooking." Damon answered.

"I don't know what to say for mine… I mean… it's the same thing but with different people. I know that Matt would like to invite them along, but he knows that it wouldn't be a very good atmosphere if they did. But I would come none the less, explaining that I wanted to spend it with TK." Kari smiled.

"Isn't there still one more New Years that we can all gather for?" Plantmon asked.

"You mean the Chinese New Years?" Gatomon asked.

"Yea, why don't we have a party then? I'm sure that your folks would really appreciate it."

"I think that's a fine idea." I smiled. I really wanted to celebrate this day with everyone.

"Then that's what we're going to do!" Damon exclaimed.

[Kari

After four more days of travel with little to no rest, we finally got to a house. We weren't sure if it was the person that the lady before told us to meet up with, but at least this person could give us a direction to travel.

" You must be the youngsters that are traveling. You came later than expected ." A guy answered when we knocked. " Come on in. " We followed him inside.

" We're not use to the traveling. " Damon answered for us.

" So where are you headin'? " He asked as he took a seat at a table. We followed his lead. I smelt coffee brewing, so I could only guess that he would offer some later.

" We need to head back to Japan. That's where we're all from. " Panther answered.

"Japan, eh? Well, it won't be easy to get you there. It's a long trip." He sounded like the word "Japan" pleased him in some way.

"We'll travel as long as it takes. We just need to get home."

"Okay. Why don't you rest for a while? I need to check my resources before offering any help."

"Okay." Damon said. The man got up and walked outside.

"+He seems nice.+" Don commented.

"+I think he's going to help us, but there's something that he would like to know before we leave.+" I said.

"Like what?" Panther asked.

"I'm not really sure. He seemed to be hiding it. I did try to look, but I couldn't see what the reason was."

"Interesting… I guess that means we have to find out what that is so he knows he can trust us."

The door opened and I could sense that he entered again. " You took care of the horses well. I don't think that my friend has cared for them that much. "

" Well, they are our ride. " Damon commented.

" Oh, I didn't know that you brought along some pets. " That made us all conscious that our Digimon were in the open. " And you're dog looks like he's about ready to pass on. "

" It's his fur. "

He filled a metallic something with water and placed it near Huskimon. Huskimon, not caring about much, drunk it as fast as his tongue could lick.

" Does your cat need some water too? " He asked.

_If he has milk, I'll take that. _I went into Gatomon's mind to see what she wanted. "+She would like milk.+"

" If you have milk, that would be okay. " Panther relayed for me.

"Okay." He smiled as he walked over somewhere. He placed the bowl with milk on the ground since Gatomon jumped down. "How many of ya speak English?"

"Only us two." Panther answered.

"Do you youngsters drink coffee?" He got up as the water was boiling.

"+I'm not allow to drink coffee.+" Don said.

"+I would like to try.+" I said.

"+Damon, what about you?+" Panther asked.

"+I had some before, so no thanks.+"

" Two, but make one black. "

" Alright mate. " He poured into three cups. They were tin cans as well, so I could only guess that he didn't live to lavishly. _Gatomon, how's the milk?_

_It's really fresh, not really like the ones back home._

_Is there a farm here?_

_Not one that I could see. Ask one of the others._

"+Panther, is there a farm here?+"

"+It's an open area so I don't think so.+"

"+Ask for mine with milk that way I have an excuse to ask.+"

" If you don't mind, could you put milk in my friend's cup. "

" Not a problem at all. " I heard him pouring something smooth into one of the cups before walking over with them. I have to sense really hard to make sure that I got his movements right. During our arrival here, my eyes had at least returned but I still couldn't see. My eyes were opened, which is unusual since I'm used to having them close.

" Thank you. " I said as I took the cup. Damon had taught me how to move lucent objects so I was trying to move the heat away from my hands and it was kinda fun to do so.

" Yer welcome, miss. " He handed Panther hers as I took a sip. My senses were all keen from the lack of my eyes. It seemed like even though I've been in this state for a short while, my body made sure that I was not defenseless. I was able to adapt so well that I'm afraid to use some of the abilities that I'm granted.

" Do you see many travelers? " Damon asked as he handed out water, by smell and sound.

"I've seen my fair share of travelers. Pretty common around here."

"Oh, I didn't realize that travelers were common. I thought they were always a rare occurrence." Panther commented.

"You're travelin' yourselves." He made himself comfortable.

"And this is a rare occurrence for us." Panther conferred.

"So this is your first?" He seemed skeptic.

"Yeah, this is our first."

"So what led you to choice this path?" He seemed to be interested, but I couldn't tell in what way.

"I'm not going to say that it was a calling, but it just happened this way so we have to deal with it."

"Seems like a hard choice."

"We're friends with problems, we know, but we all know that we have to get home."

"Do you mind me asking so much?"

"Not at all, right?" She moved her head.

I shook my head, knowing that the others did the same.

"What's the trouble back home?"

"Our friends are having some troubles and before we left, nothing was solved."

"And you four?"

"I believe we've passed our faults." Damon answered.

"I believe I have a place that you need to stop. It's on your way."

"Can we ask why?" Panther asked.

"I think it's something you need."

"+Let's take it. As long as we get home, we can take journey.+" Don said.

"+And we can only learn more from the experience.+" I added.

" Okay, how do we get there? " Damon asked.

He seemed to bring something out and was giving direction to the ones that could see. I was acting like I could see what he was talking about. But his directions were vague without the aid of the map that I wasn't sure what he was telling us. "Once you get here, there'll be a village that you need to stop at. The people are all nice folk and will welcome you."

"Thanks." Panther said as he handed her the map.

"So I better let you get on your way. It'll be a few days before you'll reach there."

"Right." We all got up and walked outside. I could sense that we had to head somewhere on foot since he didn't mention getting the horses.

"By the way," he said at the door. We stopped to look at him, "Do you happen to know the Asian Traveler?"

"Ceres is one of our dearest friends." Panther said and I could sense her smile.

"Tell her that her Australian protector says hi."

"I will when we see her again." And we continue on our way. I went into his mind and I could see that he could trust us since he let down all his guard.

"+We have gained his trust.+" I commented.

"That's a good thing. Kari, it's not a long walk to the river so don't worry."

"Why are we going to the river?"

"We need to follow it for a while so we can get to that village he mentioned." Don said.

"But what about that strange crocodile that we ran into before?"

"I don't think that it will be up here. They do have territories that they have to defend." Damon reasoned.

I wasn't really that sure, but I allowed that to ease my mind about the whole thing. I also noticed that I was starting to feel something not right, but I couldn't place my finger on it.

"He didn't mention that they'll be a boat for us." Don commented when we reached there.

My breathing started to become shallow, but I blamed it to all the walking that we were doing in the heat. "Maybe someone left it here and are about to come back for it." Damon reasoned.

"As long as we can get to that village faster, why care? That guy can take care of them." Panther said, far from us so I guessed that she was near the boat. "Come on. We have to get going."

I heard someone walking forward. "Don't you think of anyone else? We can't take what isn't ours." Damon stated, letting me know that Don was the one that walked.

"If we can get there by today then we'll ask the tribe to take it back." Don said.

"Kari, you agree with me that it's wrong to take it, right?"

"It's not right to take it, but how long would it take for us to get to the village?" I asked.

"A day or two. That's why we need to take this." Don said.

"And it looks like it has a good amount of oil in it." Panther said.

"What happens if it's not enough to take us there?" Damon asked.

"The thing says it's full."

"That can't be right." He walked over there as well, "If someone was using this then it has to be low."

"Maybe he left it here and knew that we would find it and use it. So stop your complaining and get on." I heard a loud thump, knowing that Panther had pushed Damon into the boat.

Don took my arm and led me to the boat, helping me get inside. Panther turned on the engine and we took off. I was feeling a bit better since I was getting a breeze, but I knew that this wasn't really good sign for me. But I didn't want to tell them that I was sick because that would slow us down. I then sensed a thought. It was evil in intent and it was approaching. I looked behind us, but it blocked my thoughts from finding it. I didn't know that one could do this, but I knew that we were in danger.

"Kari?" Gatomon asked.

"Someone is coming at us, and it's not a nice person."

"Where?" Panther asked.

"I don't know, but the last I sensed, the person was behind us."

"There's no one there. We would be able to see a boat." Damon said.

"And there's no one on the beach." Don mentioned.

"We're going to be attacked." Then the engine died. Panther tried to restart it, but nothing worked. There was an eerie silence that followed when she stopped.

"Here." Don said, tossing something to Damon. "It's better than sitting around."

Something hit the boat, making them stopped. I could sense that this was the evil, but that would mean that it can have thought. Another hit came, harder this time, but it only moved the boat sideways.

"It's a crocodile." Damon commented.

"It's trying to knock us over." I said, somehow knowing that it was the same croc as before.

"They don't do that." And another hit came, harder than before.

"I believe that you're wrong." Panther said.

"What are we going to do?"

"Plantmon, use your vines and pull us over to the shore."

I heard her vines shooting over and wrapped around a branch before we were being pulled in. I heard a wood cracking and we were being pulled in the opposite direction. Plantmon was pulling harder, making the crocodile work harder. I heard that Don grabbed something and started to hit the animal. That made it let go and I was glad that we weren't getting water inside. "Woooh!" Don yelled as he moved back, "We're surrounded by them." He said as Plantmon still moved us toward the shore.

"Ah!" She said and we stopped since she pulled back her arms. I heard the growl of all the crocodiles that were around us.

"Kari, we have to get us out of here." Damon said.

"Right."

"Huskimon, freeze them." He said as we placed our hands on the boat.

Huskimon launched his Snowstorm as we moved the boat over the animals and made it speed down the river. I was following Damon's flow, since he could see where we needed to go.

"They're moving fast." Panther commented.

"AeroDinomon, use your attack as well."

"Flame Wind!" He shouted and I could hear the fire shooting from his wings, aiming at the animals that were following.

"What's making them come after us?" Gatomon asked.

"That's a really good question." Panther said.

"Hey, something is rising among them." Don said.

I felt something evil, so evil that I lost focus for a moment.

"Kari!" Damon yelled, suddenly having the task of moving the boat by himself. But I couldn't stop shaking. This power was raw, not hidden and it was scaring me to no end.

"This is not good." Panther said, though I doubt she was looking at me. I started to cough, unable to keep this evil from seeping in. I heard a laugh that seemed amused by our attempted.

"Kari, you have to help me!" Damon was scared, but I couldn't and I couldn't stop coughing to tell him so.

"You think that your escape will help you! I control all these creatures, which are ordered to kill you." Someone new said. I was able to stop coughing for some reason.

"Who are you?" Panther asked.

"My name is Sethmon, and I was hire to kill you, Neo Digidestined."

"Who sent you?" Don asked.

"If you must know, it was Aphroditemon."

"Why are you working for her?" Damon asked.

"It's better to get rid of the trouble. Though there is someone here that I need to take before Hades or some other dark deity takes her." That limited the person he wanted. I then noticed that Damon hadn't slowed down. I tried to gather my energy to help, but nothing was forming. I also noticed that Gatomon was near me, both protecting me and making sure that I was okay. _I have to do something. I have to make sure that everyone is okay. We need to make it through this._ I heard, but I couldn't tell who. Someone moved their hand and grabbed something. I felt something warm, as if the heat was intensifying, but not in a bad way. We hit something in front of us, making the boat flip in the air. We were about to hit the water when something wrapped around us and pulled us into the air. We hit a branch and a bright light was being shot with the sounds of someone evolving.

"AeroDinomon Warp Digievolves to………………… UtlraDinomon!" I could hear something big forming. I could only imagine what he would be like in his Mega stage. I then realized that he went to it in his Champion stage, which no one had been able to do before.

"Ha! You believe this will help you! I command the greatest of power!" I started to feel something choking me. I couldn't breath. Panther yelled something, but I couldn't hear her. Someone placed their hand on me, but I couldn't tell who. My breathing was slowing down, I was panicking and scared that this was going to be my end.

[Panther

Kari was knocked out after her breathing was shallow. I knew we had to get her way from here.

"Flaming Missiles!" UtlraDinomon yelled at Seth's dark attack. The two exploded when they hit, allowing us the ability to escape on UtlraDinomon since he was really big. Once we were sure that he wasn't going to follow, I felt Kari's head and she was hot.

"She has a fever." I announced.

"Not again." Gatomon said with great worry.

"This has happened before?" Damon asked as Don was hurling over his own partner.

"Yeah, when she first came to the Digital World. I thought she got this out of her system since she never got sick when we met again."

"Don, are you okay?" I asked.

He was laying on his stomach, but I wasn't hearing anything from him.

"He's fine. He just needs to rest." UtlraDinomon said.

"Damon, stay near Kari." I got up and walked over to UtlraDinomon's head. Plantmon wrapped me with her vines before wrapping them around his neck so I wouldn't fall. I looked ahead to see whether we were near that village. I knew that it wouldn't be a smart thing for us to still go there, but we have no other choice. If this was going to help, we might as well take it.

"Damon, who has the map?" I yelled.

"I do."

"Huskimon is bringing it." Plantmon told me. Huskimon appeared at my side with the map in his mouth. I took it so he could get back to Damon. I looked at the map and was able to calculate where we were.

"We're not that far from the village." I told the others. I looked again and saw the village that we needed to be at, "UtlraDinomon, we need to land over there." I pointed to a spot that would allow us some distance so they wouldn't see us. I couldn't be sure if someone from there hadn't already, but we couldn't take the chance.

He landed in the spot and Damon, Huskimon, Plantmon, Gatomon and I made sure that Don and Kari got off okay. UtlraDinomon De-Digievolved into a very small dinosaur that seemed unable to protect himself. LDinomon at least was able to defend himself, but not this little guy. Damon picked him up and placed him on Huskimon before we continued toward the village.

The people in this village were looking at us as we walked in. Don still wasn't feeling well and Kari wasn't up. Damon and I were really worried, but neither showed it.

" Are you travelers? " A young girl asked.

" Yes, we are. " Damon answered.

" Follow me. " She led us to a tent that seemed to be the main tent. There was an old man sitting there, seeming to be in some state of mediation. She left once we were sitting down and the other two were in okay positions.

" Have you come for some guidance? " He asked.

" We were advised to come here. " Damon said.

"Ah, lost wanderers I see. You have come to the right place. May I ask why your friends are not doing so well?"

"They're both sick." I said, "One just needs some rest." Kari needed something more, but I wasn't sure what that was.

"I will call for some water and food." He said something in his tongue. "Where do you need to go?"

"We need to get home in Japan." Damon said.

"A journey home, the greatest of all."

"We know."

"It has one open their eyes to see what they had and allow them to know what they truly have."

"I think we understand." Damon seemed annoyed for some reason.

The food and water came in and it looked really interesting. "Please, eat. You'll need your strength."

"+Don, can you eat?+" I asked.

He shook his head. "+I can't stand drinking.+"

"+That bad?+"

"+Everything is out of my system. I'm healing myself right now.+"

" We're just going to eat. Our friend can't eat yet. " I explained.

" What has brought you here? " He asked, not really seeming to care about what I just said.

"We got lost."

"Shouldn't you be looking for a way to be found?"

"We figure that the trip will help us find our way."

"+What are you talking about? I thought we were pass our differences.+" Damon stated.

"+We have to get everything out of our system. We'll need to be stronger to face whatever is ahead.+ Any other questions? "

" You all have strong spirits that can fight any foe. Why have you lost your strength? " He seemed pleased.

"Doubt, I believe."

"So you would like to overcome this?"

"Yes."

"Relax for now. Once you have gained your strength, I will help you."

With that, Damon and I made sure that we got something and the Digimon. Don was just drinking after a while, but Kari was still sick and not awake. I was worried, but Gatomon said that she just need some rest. We just had to believe that.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"We are. Our friend should be fine if you can help her in this state."

"I'll do my best."

"Thanks."

"Closed your eyes and allowed the words to flow through you."

So we did as his native tongue spoke words that seem like a song. It was really relaxing and soothing. I suddenly found myself in something soft and light. I opened my eyes to find that I was somewhere that wasn't in the tent and I stood up and looked around. I wondered how I got here and where I was. I knew that this wasn't a good thing for me to be here, but I couldn't place my finger on it. I looked up and saw something floating up there.

"Plantmon?" I called, but she didn't respond. I didn't know where she was, but I figured that she had to be with me somewhere. If I was sent here, she was on me so she had to come along. I started to walk, but something started to come at me. I wasn't sure what it was, but I started to run. It just kept on coming after me.

[Damon

There was a sudden shift in the air so I opened my eyes. I saw that I was a spirit or something. I was in some world that I couldn't be apart of for some reason. "Huskimon!" I called, but he didn't answer. "Huskimon?" I looked around. He was sitting on my lap when this all happened so I knew that he would be with me if I was sent to another world. I started walking, thinking that we were just separated.

[Don

"LDinomon?" I called. I never got his Baby form name since he was still sleeping when I closed my eyes. I was really worried about losing him in this form since I didn't know much about it. "LDinomon, if you can hear me, answer please." I yelled as I walked around.

I stopped once it got dark. I noticed that I wasn't in Tokyo, I was in a some other town. It wasn't that far from Tokyo but good enough so that someone from either town wouldn't want to drive to the other every day.

"Krypton, why are we leaving? She could come back." I heard a little girl ask. I looked around, wondering where it was coming from. Since we knew what gender our kids were, we already decided on their names. Krypton was one of them.

"She ain't comin' back, Jade." A little boy yelled back. Jade was the other name we decided.

I started to walk around, trying to find them.

"Krypton, where are we going? We don't have anywhere to go." Jade said. This time her voice was clear. I turned around to see them stopping by the wall. I looked around, seeing that this wasn't a safe place to be. I looked at them again to see traits from both of us. They were so beautiful, but I was wondering why they were out here on a cold night. They seemed to be running away.

"Why are you running?" I asked, but they couldn't hear me.

"We'll think of somethin', but we can't be d're anymore."

"But she might be back."

"She told us a month. It's been more than five. We can't wait forev'r." Krypton seemed really angry and Jade looked really scared.

"Why? Is someone looking for us?"

"Yea, someone's been lookin' for our parents. Remember, we can't be found."

"I know, I know. But what if she comes back and doesn't find us?"

"She's the one that told us to run after a month."

"I wish mommy was still here."

"I know Jade." He held her, comforting her. Why did they wish that Neon was still around? I walked up to them, trying to place my hand on Krypton's head but my hand just went through. I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know what this is or what that man did to us.

"Hey, look what we got h're." A punk said. I looked over to see a gang of punks, but they didn't seem to be from any gang that I know of.

I looked at Krypton and Jade to see that Krypton was protecting her.

"Aw, look, he thinks he's a big, bad dude." They were walking forward.

"Come on, Jade, we better get out of h're." I heard Krypton say. I looked behind me to see them start moving away.

"Hey, look at dis. Dey dink dey can get away." Another said.

"What do you want?" Krypton asked with courage that I knew was covering his fear. Jade looked really scared.

"We see yer little girl th're. Why not share?" I looked at them, seeing in their eyes what they wanted to do to my daughter.

"She doesn't like strangers." And they ran off. The punks went after them and I followed. I couldn't believe that this was happening and I couldn't do anything about it.

The punks were catching up to them, but neither were looking back to see what they were doing. As the punks turn the corner that they took, it was a dead end but they were no where.

"Come out kiddies, we ain't gonna hurt cha." The leader said. They were walking slowly, looking around. I went over to where I thought they were, and I was right. Krypton was making sure that Jade wouldn't scream and she was showing her fear.

"Dey ain't h're, boss." One of the others said.

"Nah, dey h're, we just got to find 'em."

I was pulled back far enough to get a view of everything. I couldn't pull away. It was like something was holding me in place. I looked at them, seeing that one of the punks walking over to where they were.

"I found 'em." He said wickedly.

Krypton kicked the things that were hiding them and they try to run out of the alley, but another grabbed Jade and pulled her away from him.

"JADE!" Krypton yelled.

"Let go of me!" Jade yelled.

Krypton ran up to him and head butted the punk in the stomach. That made him drop Jade, but once he got his senses, he grabbed Krypton and made sure that he couldn't escape.

"Krypton!"

"Get out of here!" Krypton yelled.

But Jade took too long to make up her mind and the boss caught her.

"Jade!"

"Yer pretty tough fer a bunch of kids. I dink we need to teach you a little lesson about respect." He held Jade up by her right arm.

Krypton kicked his capturer and that made him let go. He tried to get to the boss, but the others got him and bind him to the ground. The boss tossed Jade to the ground, "What did we tell ya about respect?" He brought out a knife.

"Let her go! She didn't fight."

"Yea, but the best lessons are learned through oth'rs."

"Jade, run!"

But she was too scared to run. He grabbed her right arm again. I watched in horror as he started to cut her clothes off. Jade was screaming, now fighting back. Krypton was trying too, but that only made them put more pressure on his back. The boss started to hit Jade to make her stop, but she wouldn't.

"Jade, don't fight him!" Krypton yelled.

"Annoying brat!" He brought up his knife and brought it down, cutting through her skin, muscle, and bone to the other side. He now held in his hand her right forearm. She was looking at it with shock and Krypton was too. "Now, be a good little gal and shut up!"

Her glaze went back to him as her voice seemed to leave her. Then he raped her. Krypton tried to protect his sister, but other punks descended upon him, beating him until he lost consciousness. Jade was losing a lot of blood through her left arm that I feared this was her end. I was wondering where the hell are the others. Why wasn't anyone protecting them? Did they all forget their love for them? Or was it all for show?

Suddenly, I was pulled away from the scene. That's when I noticed that tears were coming from my eyes.

I hit the ground hard, but I didn't feel like getting up to see where I was. My kids were probably died from that attack. I couldn't stop my tears. They were so young, not even beyond ten years old and that happened to them.

"Krypton, I want to go back." I heard a female voice say. I looked up and right in front of me were Krypton and Jade. They were older, much older. They looked to be around Panther and Kari's age. But I noticed that the warmth they had in their eyes had faded. They were cold and hard, as if they no longer clung to love or emotion.

"I want to go back too, but we don't even know how to activate those portals."

"We've closed enough of them to know when they'll appear. Why not just used one of those?"

"Because we don't know which color to choose. We don't even know TK's color and he's the only one that we know that could possible get us back to the others."

"I miss Kai so much." She held herself.

Krypton walked over to her and placed his arm around her. I got up and walked closer, sitting on the side that Krypton was on. "I know, Jade. I miss him and the others. I never thought we would get attached to other people like we did with them."

"It was the best. We finally got the family that we needed."

"Are you saying that the gang wasn't our family?" He laughed.

"They are and always will be since they took us in that day. They made us stronger." She brought out some kind of top, "But Kai and the others gave back our hearts. I was able to shed my last tear before we left."

"And that tear is what made Kai and Rei realized that they needed to win. I'm glad that we made them stronger. Now, nothing can stand in their way." He said with great pride.

"Yea… I wonder how they're doing." I could see that they cared a lot about the people they were talking about. I smiled, glad to know that they survived that and found good friends. But they knew of TK and yet that still happened to them. I couldn't understand what happened to us.

"Knowing Tyson, he's probably eating. Max is at his dad workshop, helping around and restocking parts. Rei is working at that restaurant with Jinochi by his side. Kai is thinking about you and when we'll return. Kenny is researching more about Beyblades."

"But it's been three years since we left them. I don't think Rei would stay here forever."

"Well, Mr. Dickenson brought him over here for a purpose. Maybe Rei will stay because Mr. Dickenson isn't done with him yet."

"You know." She got up and walked around the fire, "Rei once tried to tell us that something wasn't right about Mr. D. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew something wasn't right."

"Like what?" Krypton stayed where he was.

"Rei used the party that we got when we beat the Yami Hunters as his example. Mr. D made it seem like it was the best thing that they could've done. Rei thought that they should've gotten that when they beat the Demolition Boys the first time."

"Hey, you know that that old fart never left anything to chance. He always knew who he was dealing with and always had a back up plan."

"But he got Rei first before he got us. Why didn't he introduce us then? But he hid the fact from both parties."

"You have a good point. I wonder if they have lost their love of blading." Krypton brought out a similar top to the one that Jade had.

"I don't think they ever will. They might do other things, but they'll never lose their love for the game. After all, so many adventures happened that surrounded that game that it would be ashamed for them to lose it."

"I wonder if they're mad that we left. After all, that song was for them."

"I know, but I'm sure they'll forgive us. Let's risk it!" She said with a smile, but it still didn't hold any happiness. It was clever looking, like she was planning to do something bad. I just then realized that they both had dyed their hair. Jade's hair was blond but she had it grey and Krypton's is now red where it was green.

Krypton got up. I also then noticed that Krypton looked like he could control a group with just a glare and Jade could kill anyone with a glaze. I wonder who these friends were that could open them back up to emotions they rid themselves of so long ago. "Yeah! It's not like we haven't done it before."

"Great, so no matter what color the portal is we're going through, right?"

"That's right. No matter where we'll end up, we'll return to them." He smiled, but you had to understand that he wasn't planning anything bad.

They placed their tops back into their pockets and headed out. I got up and followed them, wondering why they didn't carry anything with them. I had already figured that they were living in the Digital World, since they were talking about portals and TK, but why were they? It didn't make much sense. If they had to go find a portal, that means they're probably in the Super Level realm. And if they're here, where were the others? Why were Jade and Krypton the only ones here fighting? If we were somehow gone from the picture, then why weren't the originals here? They should have enough power to fight whatever it was that Jade and Krypton were fighting.

A sudden noise made them turn around. I looked where they were looking, but I didn't see anything. I heard metal clinging and I looked to see them holding something with those tops attached to them. They were alert to something that was there.

I walked over to the area to see what was there. It was an open field and the grass was short so there was no way that anything could hide here. But something had to make that noise, and I know that it wasn't the wind.

"Guess our homecoming is going to have to wait." Krypton said.

"Yeah. I think we're surrounded." I looked back at them to see that they were back to back, waiting for their attackers to appear.

I was lifted into the air and held there. I wasn't feeling sick, which was odd, but I knew that this wasn't good for my children. Then Digimon appeared all around them, coming from the ground. I could see that they were Super Level insectoid. They pulled back on some cord and the tops went at the Digimon at such high speed that they didn't even stand a chance, but that didn't take them off their guard. Then more came at them, but mammal Digimon instead. Krypton and Jade stood still and calm, but their tops were moving so fast and so precisely that I began to wonder how they were doing so. Once all of those were taking care of, Krypton held out something and all their data when into it.

"That was too weird. I thought the different species hated each other. But it seems that they were working together." Jade said.

"Yea, and did you notice that they were all beast-like. Something is going on here."

"I don't want to leave the Digital World like this, but maybe we can use their help."

"Yea, with the Legendary Bit Beast on our side, I'm sure even the Digital World can be saved."

Then more started to attack, but they were coming from the air. Jade and Krypton got out of their attacks' way and sent their tops at them somehow. It was like they had done this a thousand times before. Once they were deleted, Krypton did the same thing again before they took off. I was forced to follow, but it wasn't as if I wouldn't anyway.

"We got to find a portal and quick. They're too organized now." Krypton said.

"Do you think that the Super Levels are free?" _What?! Those weren't Super Levels? And the Super Levels are imprisoned? _

"Of course not. Our parents and their friends gave their Crests to make sure that wouldn't happen. There's no way that seal is broken."

"I want to trust in that seal, but who else can be controlling them."

"I don't think Gennai would do this. This part of the Digital World is too remote for him."

"So someone is controlling the beast Digimon. I fear that someone else is controlling the humanoid Digimon as well."

"That's only logical. If we have to face two big groups, we're going to need more help."

"Yea, especially since we have taken a lot of data from both kinds."

Different groups of Digimon were coming at them, but they were still able to delete them and being absorbed into something that Krypton had. With all the attacks, Krypton and Jade never stopped running. Krypton fought once and a while, but it was mainly their tops that fought.

"There's a portal!" Jade yelled. I looked to see that it was a pinkish hue to it, but even I didn't know what that meant.

As they got closer, an attack was shot at the gate of the portal, that made them stop and look to see what attacked. But before they could even turn, they were hit by another attack. I looked with horror at what I was seeing. My children were dying.

"Jade?" Krypton asked weakly as the Digimon begin their launch, "We have to close that portal."

"No, we can make it." She tried to get up, "I want to see Kai."

Krypton toss something into the vortex, "We have to close it. If we don't, Kai will be killed."

That made Jade stop and look at the portal, "I will always love you." And they used their last bit of strength to send their tops near the edges, spin them really fast, somehow having that be the way to close it. The extra spin they have shot them up somewhere before Jade collapsed on the ground.

"We'll return, I promise you we'll find a way." Krypton said in comfort.

"We're too stubborn to let this stop us." Jade said with unusual confidence.

The attacks of all the Digimon there struck as they grabbed each other hands in agreement, but I wasn't being pulled away like before. I lingered there a bit and once the smoke cleared, I clearly saw their lifeless bodies. All the Digimon roared as if they had won before leaving them to riot. I was finally let go of my hold and I went over to them.

I placed my hand on them, finally able to touch their bodies. I let my tears roll, because I had witness their death. This was my greatest fear. That I'm not strong enough to protect my family or my friends and it seems that I'm right. We're not here, no one is here, only they and now they had died for something I couldn't stop. In my time, they weren't born and now I see how their life will be. I didn't know how to protect them though.

I was pulled away really fast in the midst of my despair.

"Don, you're going to be a father. That must be weighing on your mind a lot, huh?" I heard TK's voice say, somehow making me stop in the air. I still saw my kids' bodies laying on the ground. "I'll be amazed at all the things you'll learn about yourself as you watch them grow. I bet that you'll now protect them with your life as you've done with Neon."

"TK," the tears came back again. I didn't know why I thought I could talk to him, since he was still in Japan, "I can't protect them. They have a short life ahead of them. They died and I couldn't save them."

"If you have too much doubt and worry, you won't be good for anyone. You have to clear your mind of the burdens and just live. That's the best way to conquer any fear." I could hear him smiling at me.

"What if I do let them down?"

"You'll never let them down. They'll love you just because you're their father and you'll love them because they're your kids. Everything will be fine."

"But what if that isn't enough?"

"It will be more than enough once you get rid of that self-doubt you placed on yourself. You're much stronger than you think you are and you give yourself credit for."

Thanks TK. I needed that reminder. I needed to remember what you told me that day when I came to you for advice. It was like you understood my pain and some how made it into something I could work with. I was no longer scared about the future and I couldn't wait to embrace it. I know there might be a chance that this will all happen in the future, but I will live and see whether or not I could prevent it.

I was taken away again, but it wasn't the forceful one like before.

[Damon

I heard fighting, like blast and explosions. I ran towards it, wanting to see if I could help.

"Nereida, hurry up!" I heard Ceres yelled, but it sounded like an older voice of hers. They came running towards me, but I couldn't see what they were running from.

"Their entrance should be around here somewhere." Nereida said. I just then noticed how much older they looked. Ceres looked the most different since she was wearing old style Chinese clothes, which I have never seen her in once. Her face looked kinda motherly too, not the wild and crazy Ceres that I know. Nereida looked the same, so that meant that Ceres somehow changed.

"What the hell? How can Ceres change so quickly? I wonder where I am anyway." I knew that this wasn't a real place, but I decided to follow them to see where they would go.

They stopped near the place I had landed. Nereida was looking around as Ceres was watching out for something. I could see how much she had changed again. She didn't have that hawk-eyed guardian watchful eyes that she normally did when she's guarding someone. She was feeling the space surrounding them to see what was there. She looked in my direction and smiled. I couldn't tell if she could see me, but more importantly, I didn't know what that meant. Did that meant that I could feel pain here or something?

"Found it!" Nereida said.

"Good." Ceres touched the ground before lifting up a metal door. Nereida got in first then Ceres. I followed too.

They walked down a dark tunnel that was made out of metal. It was like this was some secret base for someone very powerful. I wondered what they were going to do.

"Remember, we only have one shot at this. If we don't stop him now, he'll start going after the others." Ceres said.

"You don't have to keep reminding me. I know what we have to do."

"Then stay alive. I don't think I'll have many opportunities to protect you."

"Right. We can't afford to lose." That changed something in the atmosphere between them. What happened that made them so focus? I know that Nereida could get serious for a role, but she loved to joke more. She hadn't tried that with the others, but she still wouldn't be this serious around them either.

They came to the end of the tunnel and paused. They made sure that it was safe enough for them to go adventuring out. It seemed to be the master control room or something. Ceres walked over to some of the panels to the right and Nereida went to the left. They walked out the other side after a while, but Ceres quickly turned and destroyed the place. They started to run since the alarm was sounded.

"Why did you do that? I thought we wanted to sneak up on them?" Nereida asked.

"Why hide when we can call them to us?"

Then Digimon appeared in front of them, powering up to release their attacks.

"That could be a reason."

Ceres pulled out two guns and started shooting at them. I was first surprised that she was shooting Digimon and that it was killing them; second, where the hell did she get guns!! They didn't stay to fight them but to clear a path so that they could escape. They did that with every group of Digimon they saw. Soon they came upon a Digimon that had parts of other Mega Digimon so I knew that was Megamon.

His other henchmen, the ones that we fought I could only assume, appeared and Nereida was keeping them all at bay so Ceres could chant something. She was gathering energy, speaking in a language that I didn't know. She started to glow with this power.

Nereida was then knocked to the ground and was being held by a swordswoman. I tried to use my powers to get her off, but they weren't working. She was about to kill her when Ceres kicked her in the face.

I dropped to my knees, watching Ceres fight off the Digimon as Nereida got up to help. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I couldn't protect my sister. Ceres could see me, right? Then why couldn't I do anything to help? Why the hell was I here? Another Digimon was about to attack Nereida and I tried harder to use my powers to save her, but again Ceres had to. She created a portal near them, "You have to get out of here."

"But what about you? You can't fight them all on your own." Nereida seemed really worried about something.

"It's okay. I will stop them. Just go!" She pushed Nereida in the portal and closed it.

"That was a bad move, Ceres. You stood a chance with another with you." Megamon said.

"You're not going to kill me and you're not going into the Real World." Ceres froze all the henchmen there before chanting again. Megamon charged at her, but stopped a few inches in front of her as she was being engulfed by the light that was surrounding her. "O Guardian Spirits that have protected my son and his village, give more strength to the powers that have guided me and empowered me, for those who were killed by his hands, we shall imprison you in that which you never owned, never to see the life and light around you."

He screamed in pain, moving back a bit and was being confined within the light that was surrounding him. I noticed the light was in different colors, but they were melting together that it was hard to tell which ones they were.

"You will never harm another living creature in this form. So turn into the form you will live in for eternity!"

The light shaped around him, forming an egg like thing. When it became solid, it hit the ground with a loud thump. It was a large Digi-Egg with all of our symbols on it. Ceres was breathing hard as she was on her knees.

"How dare you do that to him?!" The swordswoman yelled, launching at Ceres.

I tried my powers again since Ceres wasn't paying attention, it seemed, but still nothing! Just when it seemed that Ceres was going to get her head chopped off, a shield appeared in that spot. She was flown back to the others that were there. She had this haunting look to her eyes, "Be glad that I decided not to kill him." She opened a portal for herself and went through.

The henchmen gathered the egg and were taking it somewhere else.

"What are we going to do now?" A beast Digimon asked that seemed to be made up of four different animals.

"We're going to wait for a while. This spell won't last long and I know that Megamon will get stronger within this egg. We'll come up with a plan once we have thought more about it. The Digital World will be ours." And they left.

I couldn't believe how helpless I was. I couldn't protect any of them, and I can't warn them of the danger that is coming their way. What was me point of being here if I can't even do that?!

"Does a life need some purpose?" I suddenly heard TK asked. "Lives are born everyday without a single thing to do in life but live. That might just be the meaning of life."

"But there has to be a purpose to life, otherwise why be born at all?" I asked the same question I did when we were having this conservation.

"Just to see if there is a reason to your life. Everyone wants something special to happen to them, but only a few get that chance. Your reason might not be to always do something for others."

"It has to be."

"You could do so many other things. You just have to go out and look."

"But I have to stay near my family. They need me the most."

"I'm sure that they would want you to do something with your life instead of staying behind and watch them. Unless that's what you want to do."

No… that isn't want I wanted. I did want to make something of myself, but I never given it much thought. I was following Tim's example and just focused on protecting Nereida. But now she doesn't need that.. and she has even kept things from me. I don't know what to do, which is something I fear. I normally do things on instinct more than thought, and I can't do that here.

"We all come to that spot where we think we're useless, wanting things to fall apart so we can not bother with them anymore, but I know that you can rise above this and turn it into something great." I felt his smile, the one he gave to me on the day we had this, "Come on, show us that you're bigger than it all."

It was as if he was giving me a challenge to rise up to. Setting me a goal that I needed to reach to over come this fear, this terror. It was as if he knew that I like to fight, that I like to take on a challenge, that I don't feel challenged enough. Maybe that's why I'm always doing something, and my fear of not doing something is so great. And here I thought it was all because of my powers, though I'm sure that it has something to do with it.

I started to float into the air. It was kinda like before when I was brought here, but not really since this one was a gentle guidance. The first time was a force, like I couldn't control what was going on.

[Panther

I ran into a building. I barely had time to notice that it was golden when I closed its huge, heavy doors. I still didn't know what was chasing me, but I wasn't going to find out. The thought of the elite raced across my mind when I saw this place. I just had to hope that this was a safe place to rest. I didn't sense anything coming through the doors, so it seems like this can keep them out.

"Welcome, my dear." I heard a male voice greet.

I looked up to see this handsome man with gold and white cloth on him. He looked like a guardian or something. I got myself up and clung to the door. I just then noticed how I was, dressed in dark clothes, totally standing out. "Where am I?"

"That is something I don't hear ask first. Why not ask who am I?" He seemed to be acting too friendly.

"Once I know where I am, I can figure out what's going on. If I need your help, I'll ask."

"I can see that you don't trust me."

"I don't trust anyone I meet for the first time."

"That's not true. This year alone has shown that exception."

I stared at him, wondering how he would know something like that. I've never met him before, so how would he know. "Answer my question."

"You're in the land that holds all time. We are guardians of this timeless space."

"There's a place like that?"

"Psychics have been able to touch this space all the time, they just don't realize it."

"So I have been touching this space since I was born, uh?"

"Yes, you have." He smiled.

"Thanks for letting me know." I was about to turn, but remembered about the thing that was after me, "What was chasing me?" I looked back at him.

"It's other psychics that are trying to find this place. They were trying to use you to find this place."

"Chrono, how many times do I have to tell you that you can't talk to those who…" A lady with a weird looking outfit, long dark green hair, and a long staff with a red orb on the top said before seeing me, "Who are you? How were you able to come here in a body?"

"I don't know."

"Lady Pluto, I wanted her to ask about my name." Chrono said, as if complaining that she said his name.

"What's your name?" She seemed to ignore Chrono.

"If this is a place of information, then you should know that without me saying anything."

She sighed and closed her eyes, "Konke Miroiishi, age 18, family is…" She opened her eyes, "Your new name is Panther. Please, come with me." She started walking away.

I pulled away from the door and followed them down some corridor. The whole place was bright and shining. The two things that weren't were Lady Pluto and me. Even though she had a mainly white, like her one piece thing and elbow gloves, but the other things weren't white. Like a mini skirt that was dark purple; a gem on her chest; and a choker.

"Why are you dress differently than the rest of the place?" I had to know since it was bothering me.

"I am known as a Sailor Scout. I guess you can consider this a part time job." She smiled. I then realized that she had a tiara on her head.

"I guess it would be since no one would want to be around all information for eternity. That would be boring after a while."

"It's not boring. It's very interesting!" Chrono said. "Did you know that…"

"Chrono! I understand that you can't leave here, but don't go telling her everything." Lady Pluto said.

"Yes, Lady Pluto."

I couldn't even guess what he was about to say, but that didn't really matter since nothing can change time.

We got to a point that started to darken. It was getting cloudy on the ground and the sky was turning into the night.

"So even in light, there can be darkness." I uttered for no reason.

"Everything must be balance." Lady Pluto said. We were coming upon a big castle that was also darkened. Now Chrono was standing out.

"You're going to like this place!" Chrono said as he grabbed my hand and led me inside. The place was lit, but still not as bright as the first place I entered. He happily led me down the hallway to the basement. Torches were the only source of light and the floor tiles were arranged to form circles. He led me to the floor.

"What is this place?" I asked, sensing something not right about this place.

"This is where you will gain a lot of information at once. You came here to increase your power, yes?" Lady Pluto asked.

"No, I don't want to increase my power." I tried to move, but something was holding me in place.

"Panther," she came right to me, "Please, this will help you."

"I don't care. I want to leave."

"But Panther… why?" Chrono asked in a very sweet way. He was almost reminding me of a child, or Ceres.

"I don't want to know everything."

"Chrono, please wait for us upstairs." Lady Pluto said and he obeyed. "Chrono is very young and new at this job so everything is exciting to him."

"How long have you been at this?"

"For a longer time, but it's hard to measure since I skip times all the time. Well, whenever it was needed."

"If you two have bodies…"

"Chrono doesn't have a body. He's a guardian spirit, unable to leave this place. I am his only companion since he could remember. He doesn't even have any memory of who he was before this."

"Shouldn't you know?" I thought that would be a sad life, "Why can't he find himself? He's surrounded with all this information."

"It's hard to find something so small in an area so vast. I am trying my best to help him, but so far, I can't find anything."

"How did he arrive here?"

"He was all battered and weak when his spirit wandered here. Once he was healed, I gave him a position to guard this area so no one can come here unless destined to."

"So now he thinks I'm here to help guard this place or something, huh? Well, I still have a life to lead back on Earth."

"I know, but you have un-clarity that needs some light. You can't find those answers anywhere else."

"But I don't want to know them." She started walking around me. I stayed where I was, still unable to move.

"You limit yourself because you're mind is afraid to know the truth. I believe that your heart is ready."

"What if I keep refusing?" It's always best to know this.

"I am terribly sorry, but Chrono led you here knowing that you needed to come here. After all, he was brought down here to ready him for his job. But you don't need to come here yet, your time hasn't come yet."

"So that's why I'm bond. Why isn't anything happening?"

"Because I am stopping it. Once I leave, you will be flooded with information. It's your task to find the one you want to see the most."

"Why?" She was still walking around me.

"Because soon, your truth will be revealed. You need to be ready to face it and give another the confidence to face it right by your side."

I looked at the ground. I couldn't bare the thought that I would lead another to their doom, "Fine, but only because I don't want to lead this other person down a wrong path."

She placed her hand on my shoulder, "I wish you luck. You'll know when it's done." She smiled before she walked up the stairs. When she closed the door, the torches went out. There was no light, no sound but my breathing. It was frightening, but I wasn't going to give up. _Wow, for once I'm afraid of the dark._

Then something hit me and hard. Something kept on hitting me, coming from all sides. It was painful. I didn't know why this was happening. I bent down, trying to avoid them and protect myself, but nothing was working. It was hard and relentless. My body was getting numb to the pain, meaning that it was probably going to be black and blue before it was all done. I just then noticed that no blood was coming from my mouth or any other part of my body that was getting hit. All beatings produced bruises, but the harder ones can also cause some blood to come out.

But this pain is real, so I don't really care that nothing was being produced. I didn't understand why I was being attacked when all I was send here to do was find some piece of information to help someone else.

"Panther," I heard Matt's voice, "why are you blocking your powers?"

I remembered when he asked that. It was when we were training together. He wanted to see if I could expand my powers so I didn't have to wait for a premonition to hit me. I now can control it somewhat, but I still block most of it. I told him on that day that I wasn't and that it's not easy controlling this power. I never knew if he bought that, but he never seemed to mind going slow.

Then I realized that I was doing the same here. I was blocking the information from coming into my head, which is why I was hurting now. I didn't want a flooding so I let a small bit of my mind to open to it, but it came anyway. It was like a swarm of bugs finding an opening to enter a house and attack. I opened my mind fully so I didn't have to face that onrush.

It was crazy how much stuff there is to know. I try to focus on one thing, and it came right up. It was about World War I, and it showed everything, not only what the history books say, but what each person did and thought. It was scary to know that this could happen. That I could know the truth about everything I ever wanted to know.

I thought about Matt. I wanted to know more about him anyway. There is a strong connection between us, even when we first met. It was like it was destined that we find each other. I focused on his past, like when he was a kid, but then his birth came up. He was born at the same time as another baby was. It was a girl and both were being brought to another room, the intensive care room. They both seemed fine, so I didn't understand why. Then the two babies touched each other and I felt like something was moving. I didn't understand what was going on, but I knew that this was important.

I was then moved along to when TK was born and a little girl that had most of the same features as Matt was with them.

"Wow! He's so cute." She said, looking at TK with a big smile. "What's his name?" She looked up at their mother. It just then hit me that I'm getting to know their parents as well, since they died before I could meet them.

"TK."

"TK… I like that name!" She looked over at Matt, "Do you like that name?"

"Yep." He smiled. "Mommy, where are Diana's parents? I thought they were having a baby too."

"Don't worry; you'll see their little girl soon. They had to go to a different hospital." Matt's dad explained.

Then it moved up to when their parents got divorced. Diana was curled up next to Matt as they were sitting on some roof. I only knew that their parents were divorced because I knew what age Matt was when it happened.

"I miss Kitty, Matt." Diana said, but no tears were coming from her eyes.

"I miss TK too." He said.

"I want her back. Why did they have to go?" She buried her face in his shoulder, and he just placed his other hand on her head.

So that meant that at the same time that Matt's folks got divorced, Diana's did as well.

I was moved farther along in their lives, like a month or so later since they looked the same age. They were watching a spaceship launched. It went well, and everyone was happy.

"Looks like your father is going to make history, Diana." Mr. Ishida said.

"Yeah!" She said with a big smile. "How long does it take to get to the moon?" She looked at Mr. Ishida.

"It takes about three days to get there."

"But then why did he say that he'll be back in three days?" Matt asked.

"Yeah, that doesn't make sense." Diana agreed.

"He's getting to the moon faster. It's the first time that this has been done so your daddy is going into the history books." Mr. Ishida smiled.

Diana smiled really big as she turned back to look at the spaceship. The thing was already in space.

"We have made it safely to space." A strong, male voice reported.

"That's great to hear. Are all the instruments in working order?" Someone from the station asked.

"So far they are."

"Turn on the engine slowly."

"Roger." A few minutes later, there was screaming.

"Artemis? Artemis, can you hear me? What's going on up there?" The guy was panicking.

"Don't worry, I'll get them home." But the screaming continued. I think I even heard some kind of high pitch noise.

"What's going on?" Diana asked, not peeling her eyes away from the screen.

"Diana, come with me." Mr. Ishida said.

"No, I'm not leaving my father." She was horrified, but she was strong.

"Diana." Matt went up to take her, but then the spaceship exploded. The escape pod was launched before this.

"Can anyone hear me?" It was dead silent in the ground station, except for the one that was trying to contact someone.

"We're… okay…" A buzzed transmission came through.

"Where is Artemis? Is he with you?"

"No… he stayed behind… We're sorry, there was nothing… we could do…"

It was silent again. I looked at Matt and Diana and she was just watching the pieces of debris on the screen float in the emptiness of space. But there were no tears in her eyes. Matt was holding her hand, though she seemed not to notice it there. Mr. Ishida looked away, and I heard a soft sobbing for his friend.

I then looked at her life. She changed her last name to Ishida, went to the same school as Matt, and slept in the same bed as him for comfort. No one would take her, not even her own mother. It was also tough for her to get into a school because none of them wanted her too. But Mr. Ishida wouldn't give up. She never cried for her father, even when she slept. She always had this big smile on her face and seemed to ignore her pain.

She was a strong person, I had to admit. Not many can go through life after seeing their father being killed right before their own eyes. I figured that this was the accident that was mentioned when Matt was going into space, but I couldn't figure out why he couldn't remember it. He was right there, he saw it happen.

Then I was shown her talents. She was able to sing beautifully, paint masterpieces, sculpted wood and clay, sew, cook, but her most favorite talent was playing the violin. She was a master at such a young age. It was truly magical to hear it. I also noticed that she never left Matt's side. They grew to love each other, it was written on their faces.

"It would be a good bonding experience." Mr. Ishida said.

"But why can't Diana come along?" Matt asked. She was standing there, looking humble and meek.

"Matt, I don't mind standing behind. I've caused enough troubles as it is."

"I'm not going to leave you here while I'm having fun. I don't care if it does involve TK, I'm not leaving you."

She smiled, "But he's your brother. You have to go."

"Is Kitty coming along too?" Matt turned to his father.

"She had other matters to attend to while you're at camp so she won't be able to make it."

"See, there's no reason for me to go." Diana tried to reason with Matt.

"Dad, please, allow Diana to come along." But he was giving up. "You can have the whole house to yourself."

"We can't have the house looking like a mess." Diana said.

"Dad can clean, Diana."

"Matt, you prove above all doubt that men can't clean as well as women. I have to stay."

"Wait a minute," Mr. Ishida interrupted, "Are you saying that I can't clean my own home?"

"I'm saying that men can't, Mr. Ishida." She reminded me of Ceres right there. She was polite in the way she spoke, but it seemed to be an act. I could also see where this was going and I knew that Ceres would do the same.

"Diana, you can go as well. I'll prove to you when you get back that men can clean as well as women."

She bowed, "Thank you, Mr. Ishida." And they walked out.

Matt pulled her closer to him when they were in the main room that had the TV and kitchen and table, "That was quick thinking, Diana. Why were you saying that you didn't want to come?" He looked kinda hurt.

She placed her hand on the side of his face, "I wanted your father to think that I was okay with his decision. Even if he didn't allow me to come after all we had done, I would've followed. I'll never leave you." She smiled.

Matt smiled back at her, but I was rushed through Matt's Digital adventures and I noticed that Diana was there with him. She had her own Digimon as well. It was the cat that I saw in the book. When their first one ended, she helped him still. She got him into the band. She helped him through his tough times, giving him songs to sing whenever he needed it. But I knew that tragedy would strike soon when I saw the second group going into the Digital World to fight Ken. This time, I was seeing more of her sister, Kitty. She was awfully nice to Kari, but I could see that she didn't like her too much. She hanged around TK and Diana the most, more of TK than Diana though. TK would look so happy when she was around, hiding some love that they had for each other.

At the winter concert, Diana and Kitty were over with the second group at Ken's house. Diana's Crest happened to appear on a DigiMental, but I haven't been able to see what Crest it is. Kitty also has a Digivice, though I could sense that it didn't come from the Digital World since it looked like the old version that Matt has. Oh, and Thunmon was with her as well.

"Diana," Sora called, once the whole mess at the concert was done, "Letting you know that Matt and I are going out now. Isn't it just great?"

Diana stared at her for a second with shock on her face before smiling, "Yeah, that's great to hear. When did this begin?" She didn't have any sign that she was hiding some other emotion.

"Just before the concert. I went to give him some cookies and he just came out suddenly that he had always loved me."

"You recover quickly, but that's a good thing. I just hope you're not going to hurt Matt the way you did with Tai."

"I won't." And Sora walked away. I couldn't believe that she took that from her. If I were Diana, I would punch her lights out then go after Matt to do the same.

"Matt," Diana said when they got home, "Sora told me that you two are going out now. Is that true?" She held back her fear.

"Yeah… it is." Matt seemed really sad that he was saying this.

"Oh… okay. I was just wondering… Do you want me to sleep in another bed so Sora doesn't think you're cheating on her or something?"

"It's okay. I won't have her come over at night."

"Then I will remain silent if she calls."

It was painful to watch her go through everything she did. Kitty and TK were both mad as hell that Matt was doing this to her and she wasn't doing anything about it. Her anger was never expressed, though she did start to rebel against him. Once they defeated Malo Myotismon, they were thrown into something new, though not immediately.

They had to fight someone that I could feel was pure evil. They were in front of a castle thing and it was nearing night. I looked around and saw Sage and his friends and Mackenzie-sensei. I didn't see Mina or Lita anywhere, and they looked younger too. Then they appeared in the sky with armor on, Mina and Lita and others, including Lady Pluto.

Diana called to the man that was in front of them, calling him father. He had some of her features as well as nobility to him. While the other fought, Diana was trying to talk to her father. Her tears that had never shed came out upon his sight. She missed him, and she was confused as to why he was here when he was dead. At some point, a light shone, getting all the ones that were fighting to stop. Diana and Thunmon fused together to fight against the evil being. Once that battle was done, all the groups that had gathered went through portals. Matt carried Thunmon in his hands. I noticed that she and Gabumon had chokers on with the Crests of Friendship and Virtue! I didn't understand why she would have that, but I wasn't able to think about it too much since once Matt went through, he was sleeping in the apartment that TK lived.

No one remembered anything about Diana or Kitty, and I was seeing the jerks that I have come to know. Matt seemed like he didn't want to have anything to do with them anymore, almost like he had lost the will to live. He went a whole year like this, having everything but his grades falling apart. There were times that he wanted to be violent, but he never got to be.

Then he met Sage and they went on an adventure together. Sage was always there to protect him and trained him to fight. TK and Ken were there with them. I saw how Sage got his injured leg and how their bond grew. Sage taught them a lot of things as they were rebuilding the city after the takeover. So I now knew why it happened. It was because they wanted Matt and Sage wouldn't allow it. But then yet again, Matt woke up but he didn't remember anything. He never went back to Sage's house and he hardly ever smiled. This is the part that Matt remembers before Styxmon came along.

I stopped watching, stopped listening to what was around and started crying. Matt was suffering, because I knew that he still loved her. He had never stopped loving her and now she can't be with him anymore. They have forgotten about them, which is the saddest part. I then felt myself being pulled, as if they wanted me to know something. I allowed myself to see, only to see that Diana, Kitty and Thunmon were all dying. But their bodies didn't stay there, they were turned into the jewels that we now have. I couldn't believe it more, that Matt will never be able to have her back in his arms.

I cried harder, because I didn't want Matt to suffer. Why couldn't he be happy? He needed it more than anyone else.

"Panther, you have one amazing gift. You can know just about everything you want." I heard TK's voice say.

"TK, what are you talking about?" I knew he wasn't here, but it made me feel better that I felt like I was talking to him.

"Do you not want to know everything?"

"Of course not. I don't want to know everything."

"But what if that knowledge would help someone else?"

"Don't pull this hero crap on me."

"Of course you can help someone. It might not be your destiny, but you can help someone know their uncertainty."

I opened my eyes. I knew this and I could help Matt with his life. He would know and he doesn't have to guess anymore. TK was right. I could use my powers to answer their questions. I wouldn't have to know everything about the future, which is what I wanted.

Then the air was still and calm and I could move again. I walked up the stairs and opened the door to see Chrono standing there.

"Panther." He seemed happy to see me. "How do you feel?"

"I need to get back. I have to help my guardian."

He looked sad, "Lady Pluto told me that you're not here to accompany me."

"I'm sorry that you thought different. Can I get back now?"

He nodded his head and led me back to the white and gold part, back to the gate. He took my hand, "I can't lead you to safety once you step through those gates. Lady Pluto told me that you were just here to get something to help you back on Earth. Sorry for the trouble that I caused."

"It's okay. I hope you find your past." I smiled and looked at the gate.

"Good luck, Panther." The gates opened and I walked through. I thought about going back to my body and I was rushing back to it.

[Kari

I slowly woke up, feeling that I was able to breathe again. "Gatomon?" I asked quietly. I didn't hear a response, nor any sound of movement. I then noticed that my cheek was wet and the same with the front part of my body, the one that I was laying on. I got up slowly and opened my eyes. I was immediately shocked that I could see. Did my sight return?

"Gatomon? Panther?" I looked around for them, any of them, but they weren't here. The place was void of anything but the water I was standing on. I looked down at it, since it seemed familiar.

I saw a pair of red eyes staring at me, making me jump and remember where I was. I was back in the dark ocean, the ocean that held me and Ken in fear for so long. I started to back away, but more eyes appeared. Then their harsh voices called my name, adding 'queen' to it.

"Leave me alone! I don't want to be your queen!" I yelled at them. But that just made them get out of the water, still chanting my name. They're shadowy bodies slowly advancing in my direction, their hands reaching out to touch me. I looked at my hands, seeing the same blackness that I had the first time I entered. I looked at them and ran in the opposite direction.

Their walks became sprints, now they were chasing me with speed that they didn't have before. I wished that Gatomon was here to chase them away like last time. "Gatomon! I need your help. Where are you?!" I yelled, hoping that she could hear me.

"You will not escape, my Queen." One of them said. "You will live here for eternity."

"Gatomon!" I tripped over something. I tried to get up, but something was around my ankle. I looked to see one of their hands grabbing it. I tried to struggle free, but it started to pull me down into the water. The others stopped, watching as I was being pulled into their world. "Gatomon! Gatomon, where are you?!" I yelled once more.

"No one will save you, my Queen. You belong to us once again."

I struggled once more when my upper torso was still above the water. I tried to kick the thing that had my leg, but it seemed to have no effect. The ones on top lifted my elbows before I realized it and I was brought under.

It was silent and I was being pulled deeper into the abyss. I was afraid to open my mouth.

"No one will save you, my Queen." One of them said as they all encircled me. Now, they were chanting that. I didn't want to believe them, but they were probably right. I can't even save myself, so I shouldn't expect others to do so for me. I wanted Tai here, I wanted Gatomon, I wanted TK.

"Kari, you have a lot of strength in you." I heard TK's voice saying. I opened my eyes and looked around. He wasn't anywhere to be found, only those creatures that wanted me to be their queen. "You just can't see it yet."

_TK, I can't be strong. I'm not like my brother or you._

"You don't need to compare yourself to Tai. I don't do that with Matt. We're different people from them so we don't have to follow their shadow. We can start something separate from them."

_I can't leave Tai. He's my brother. I need him to help me._

"He can't help get rid of this effect, and neither can I. It takes a strong person to be willing to be blind for a while. It's the same for Ken. He's strong because he'll endure the pain of being numb, just like you're strong because you're willing to be blind. Just like me when I was slow."

TK never got it, I wasn't strong at all. If it wasn't for him doing it first, I probably would've asked Mimi or Yolie to heal this quickly. I was truly weak.

"Kari, what were we told about our Crest? We were told that they're different from the others. Your Crest gives light to this world and mine shines through the darkness of the Digital World. I don't think it's a coincidence that our Crests destroy darkness. Our Crests are what brings this world Peace, the new Crest you hold. And to carry that peace takes a lot of strength."

I took hold of my amulet, feeling it comforting me now. TK was right after all. It does take someone strong to bring peace to this world. And we're the ones that have to do that. Not because it's our job or destiny, because it's the right thing to do.

"Kari, there's probably come a day where our love is tested. I just want to say beforehand that I love you."

I don't know why I remembered that now. I remembered when I first heard it that it was like a warning of some kind. There was nothing threatening our relationship. After he said that, he went back to acting like the TK I knew, so I ever gave it much thought before.

_But before I start thinking about that._ I opened my eyes, _I have to take care of these guys first._ I held my amulet tight, "You will not take me to be your queen!" I yelled as loud as I could. I felt this tug feeling, as if I was traveling with my mind's eye. I went through the hand of the creature that had my by the ankles, and through the herd above me. They watched in awe as I seemed to float away. _TK, I'm coming back._ I smiled, glad to be getting out of there and soon to be in TK's loving arms again.

I felt this sudden pain throughout my body and let out a moan. I felt a small paw placed on my shoulder, feeling it was Gatomon's paw. I opened my eyes and I was able to see! I got up suddenly, but immediately felt pain again.

" It's good to see that you have awakened. " I looked in front of me to see this old man sitting there. I looked over to my left to see that everyone else was still knocked out. " Do not worry about your friends, they're returning as well. "

Don let out a moan, before moving his hand to his head.

"+Don?+"

He looked over at me and smiled, "+Are you feeling any better?+"

"I can see." I smiled back.

He got up slowly and looked me in the eye before smiling, "I'm glad that you're much better now."

"What happened to us?"

"I'm not really sure." He looked at the man sitting there, "He was supposed to help us with doubt or something."

Damon and Panther moaned at the same time. They got up, rubbing their heads as if they had a headache.

" I am glad that you all made it safely back. " The old man said.

" What happened to us? " Damon asked.

"You were all sent to realms that exist in your own minds to help fight against your own doubts and fears."

I looked at everyone else, missing their faces and their expressions very much. They seemed to have the same look as if what they saw and experience was real. "Good, because I didn't want what I saw to be true." Damon said.

"Is this how you were planning on helping us?" Panther asked.

"Yes, did it work?"

She looked over at us, "Well, did it?"

"+Yes, I know that it cleared some things for me.+" Don answered.

"+The same with me.+" I said.

" It has. " Damon said to the man.

" I'm glad to hear it. You must leave soon though. We have prepared some transportation to get you to the nearest city, but you must leave soon for there is an evil entity that follows you and is trying to destroy you. "

"Thanks, we appreciate your help and hostility." Panther said.

"You are always welcomed back."

We all bowed before walking out. It was so beautiful, how the sky looked. It was nearing dusk, meaning that we were dreaming of those places for hours. One of the villagers led us to a black truck. We hopped into the back and the driver took off.

"+What do you guys think?+" Panther asked.

"+I believe the old man when he said that it was all in our heads to help us see what we needed to learn.+" Damon said.

"If it is or isn't, I know what I supposed to do. Though it would be nice if what I saw wasn't true." Don said.

"Kari?" She looked at me.

"It felt too real to be an illusion… but then again, if it were real then I wouldn't have heard TK's voice." I smiled to myself.

"You heard TK's voice?" There was surprised in her voice as well as on all of their expressions.

"Yeah, I heard his voice, repeating two old conversations we had. By the way, I can see again."

"That's great!" Damon said.

Panther was happy for me too, "I heard his voice too."

"TK's?" I asked.

"Yeah, when I needed to be reminded, I heard his voice giving me the courage to go on." She held Plantmon in her arms.

"The same for me as well." Don said, "In the moment I was consumed by my own grief, TK's voice came to me, repeating a conversation that we had."

"Same here. It was like the conservation that he gave then was something he knew we would need later and so told us before so we could remember it later." Damon said.

"But TK doesn't have that kind of power." I stated.

"Coincidences just don't happen with us. They are meant for a purpose. Anyway, we should start worrying about Seth."

"Seth?" I asked.

"Sethmon, the Egyptian God of Evil and such."

"Oh, right, he's after us. We first have to find a route that he can't easily follow."

"That's going to be tough." Don said, "Unless one of us knows a lot about Egyptian myths."

None of us knew. "We'll think about it later. Let's get some sleep." I suggested and everyone took it. I watched them fall asleep first, missing my ability to see. They all hugged their Digimon, which I just now noticed that there was a new Digimon with Don, as if they didn't want to let go and fell asleep. _Guess they too didn't have their Digimon with them._

"Kari?" I looked at Gatomon, "Are you okay?"

"I can see again, but I am worried about something that TK said once."

"What is it?"

"That someday something will test us and that no matter what, he loves me."

Gatomon hugged my arm and I hugged her back, glad that she knows why I don't want to lose TK. He's my source of peace, my source for hope. Without him, I don't know how I would live on. I fell asleep.

[Damon

The driver could only take us so far. He got us to a place where we could find a map that we could use. He also gave us some money for food for a few days. We got ourselves something to eat. Since we weren't really sure what we were getting, we decided not to ask what was in it when we got it.

"It seems like we're too far inland to go out to the sea. So we just have to keep moving north." Panther said, looking at the map for a while.

"But how do we get there?" Kari asked. "We don't have that much money and I don't know where that one Digidestined lives."

We looked at each other before looking at her. "What Digidestined?" Don asked.

"When we went around the world to close all those portals, we met other Digidestined. There was one down here, but only Joe and Cody met him." Kari said that like it was nothing.

Panther looked outside, since we were at a window, "We can make it on our own."

"If you believe that then we're failing horribly." Don took a sip from his soda. "It's obvious we need some help so we can't deny everything thrown at us."

Panther looked at us, "Ceres has been here before."

"And that does what for us?" I asked. "It's not like she's here with us."

"She created a network."

"Can we use it?" Kari asked.

Panther nodded, "We already used it. We just have to be careful who we ask, that's all. We can probably get home faster this way."

"Did she tell you how to use it?" Don asked, raising some hope in him.

"Kinda. Though I'm sure that if we look closely, we'll be able to pick out what we need to do."

"How can you be sure that she has it everywhere? I mean, she couldn't have been all over the place, getting help everywhere." I pointed out. I don't know why I was being so negative about this idea. I mean, it was the best one we got.

Panther sighed, "It's worth a shot, isn't it? After all, we can't go wondering out there without a fast way of getting home. Sure, we're close to Japan, but we have to get to sea. We need a way of cutting through as much land as possible."

"Damon, why are you doubting it? We all know that Ceres has been all over the world." Don asked.

I looked at the people in the building with us. They weren't giving us any extra attention because they didn't really know what we were saying, "I don't know.."

Kari placed her hand on mine. I looked at her before she smiled, "Don't worry. Everyone is returning home."

"What makes you think I'm…"

"Because you're very caring of Nereida." She smiled, "Just like my brother is of me."

I smiled back at her, knowing how she cares a lot about Tai.

"Now, let's look around to see if we can find some trace of Ceres in this town." Panther said as we left the place.

"She won't be easy to find, that's for sure." Don said.

"Well, we found one person that helped her. Maybe we'll get luckily again." Kari encouraged.

At nightfall, we got something to eat. We looked throughout the whole day, and still nothing. Panther looked like she wasn't about to give up. But then, she has patience so of course. I think Kari and Don just wanted something to believe in, something that could get them home. But this country is very vast. There's no guarantee that we'll find anything here.

"Ceres can cover her tracks good." Panther said as we were eating our meal.

"Or maybe she gave no tracks to follow." I offered.

"No, she leaves something behind." Panther said. "We just got to look."

"How can you be so sure?"

She looked at me, "Because she ran her whole life. If she had to run, that means that she leaves something to follow."

"We can't waste too much time here, though. We have to keep moving. It won't do us any good to stay and look because we don't have that time." Don said.

Panther brought out the money we had, "Okay, this is what we're going to do." She looked at us, "We going to get as much water as we can. Once we have a good supply of that, we'll worry about food."

"We're going to walk?" Kari asked.

Panther nodded, "I'll make sure that we have something for shelter. You guys just worry about getting the food and water." She handed the money to me, "We'll be meeting over there." She pointed to a place that was outside of the town.

"Where are you going?" Don asked.

She smiled at us, "Don't worry about me." She got up from the table. I then noticed that Plantmon was with Kari.

"What she's going to do?" I asked.

"I don't know… I didn't want to read it." Kari looked at the table. "But it can't be any good."

Don got up but stopped before he passed the table. He looked over at Kari, looking at Plantmon before sighing, "Then lets get this food paid for before we get the rest of it."

I placed the money down and we headed out. We made sure that we got more water, like Panther wanted. None of us were really speaking about what she might be doing. I don't know why we were being so quiet about it. I mean, we all knew that she was going to do something illegal. I don't know why it was such a big deal now. She had done worst things in her gang.

It was getting really late. We were at the meeting spot, waiting for her to come. I looked up at the sky, seeing that the moon was pretty bright. I don't care too much about the stars, so I don't know what phase it's in.

[Panther

I was taking off the license plates of the truck that we were going to use. I know that I shouldn't be doing this. Ever since the night club entrapment, I've been trying to keep my impulses down. I didn't want to bring shame to Matt. But we needed this. We needed to get home. I had made sure that the plates were from a car far away from this one. I got some sticky thing at a car shop so I can put it over the number code. This one seemed to have the best mileage and it was full already. I had checked this house out, making sure that I wouldn't be caught. No one seemed to be home. I would need to go into the house to get the keys.

I only started working when the moon was out. I didn't want to be found out. I was even attempted to use my Crest to make sure of it, but then I had a premonition about us out at sea, fighting Seth there on a boat. I couldn't be so careless about it. We had to make sure that we have enough time for that battle and to get home. I looked up at the moon, seeing that that was how many days we had to get home.

Finally, I got the plates off. I then got the ones I stole on before heading inside. I found some keys, but none that were for a car. Hijacking so many, I knew what they looked like. I looked all over the house, finally finding one. It was with a few others, so I just got the one we needed. I then went looking for money. I could pawn whatever jewelry I found, but I don't want to go totally back. I found a good amount. I would hate to ask Ceres if she ever did this. I bet she did when she was younger. I went back over, able to open the door with the key. I then tried to turn on the car, because you can't be too careful. It was turned on. I turned off the lights and pulled out of the place.

They were at the meeting spot. "Get in." I said.

They all had this sad look on their faces, especially Kari. I ignored it as much as I could while they loaded the water in the back. Once they were in, I drove off.

It was quiet, dead quiet, as I drove. I was right about this having good mileage. I looked at Damon and Don in the back through the rearview mirror. They were looking outside. Huskimon was sleeping on Damon, though forced to sit because of the room.

I looked at Kari through the corner of my eye, seeing her looking out as well. Gatomon was sleeping in her lap and Plantmon was near me. I found myself caring if they were judging me now. By morning, we stopped at the next town. I got us something to eat, but they didn't seem to be hungry. They were disappointed in me. Plantmon was the only one eating.

"Well, what did you expect me to do?" I asked with anger in my voice.

"There had to be another way, Panther." Kari said, looking at me with sorrow. "We would've found it."

"What if you were caught?" Don asked, "You should've at least allowed me to go with you."

"Why do you want to get mixed up with the law?" Damon asked. "I say it's better to let the experienced criminal to do all of our crimes."

Don narrowed his eyes at Damon, "At least she's willing to do something, you lazy ass."

Damon looked at him, "And what have you done?"

"You agree with her?" Kari asked, looking at them.

"It's the only way right now. We can't help that." I was impressed. I thought Don was with them. Still, Kari didn't like the idea. It's not like I'm looking for her approval, but ever since she told me that she knows my past, I thought she would understand me better. I thought she knew that I didn't want to shame Matt and that it was hurting me to do this too. "It's better that we get there than we don't."

"And what if we get caught while she has her fun?" Damon asked. Then Don pulled him out of the car, pulling him away from us. Kari and I looked at each other as we followed after Huskimon.

[Don

I pulled him far away from the car so we could have some privacy. I then turned around and punched him hard to the ground. Huskimon was then by his side, growling at me as he protected his partner. "You think this is fun for her?" I asked angrily.

"Why else would she be willing to do it?" Damon had blood coming from his mouth. He looked at me angrily as he got up. "It's not like we can't find a more honest way of traveling."

"She's doing it so she can get your sorry ass back to your house." I punched again, but he blocked it because I wasn't trying too hard. After that, I don't know how, but we were ended up fighting each other.

[Kari

I got my eyes back and I had to see this again, "Panther, we have to do something." I begged.

Panther was watching them, seemingly not wanting to move. Their Digimon couldn't even get in to aid their partner.

"Boys." She said before running towards them.

[Panther

I jumped between them as when they were pulling back. I pushed them back, learning about bodily energy from Ceres. "Would you two knock it off! This isn't getting us any farther." I yelled. That's when they were just looking at each other. They wanted to fight; Damon wanted to fight more than Don did. Don wasn't fighting for a point because he was much better than that. "Look," I said more calmly, "Something similar happened before with Kari and she's worried that it'll happen again with us. So stop it."

I looked back at her, still seeing that fear in her eyes. I knew that her brother and Matt fought once. Maybe that's what she was seeing.

"Damon, Panther doesn't want to go back. Both Neon and I saw that when we joined." Don said, "She doesn't want to do this, but we got no choice. We have to if we want to get home."

"There are always choices." Damon said after looking at Kari. "We can't just break laws."

"Sometimes, you have to in order to survive. You may want to play bad-ass, but until you live in our shoes, don't think that you know everything." Don walked passed us and over to Kari. "Don't worry about us, kid." He said as he passed her.

She looked at him as he went over to the truck. Whatever food was left, he took some and ate it, giving some to his Digimon.

I sighed as I walked passed Damon, "He's right." I went over to the car, leaving Damon and Kari out there. "So, you were just mad because you weren't there to watch my back?" I tried to keep my tone down.

He looked at me before sighing, "In my dream, I had to watch my kids die."

I nodded, "Okay."

[Kari

I didn't understand why Don called me kid. For one, I was older than him, but it was the way he had said that. It was like he was somehow degrading me.

"Kari," I looked back at Damon, "Did other people fought before?"

I nodded, "Tai and Matt fought and broke the group. While we were getting the DigiMental of Friendship, Davis and TK fought."

"Sorry then… Is Don mad at you?"

"I don't think so…" But I really didn't know.

"Well, let's get back. We might as well get some more ground behind us."

I nodded as we headed back. It was quiet as we drove on again. I don't know if we could bring peace to this. I figured that Panther got something from Don because she seemed better than when she came back with the food. We got really far when we stopped for gas during the night. Panther still had money so we got gas and some food.

"We're going to have to do something at the next town." She said as she drove on. I was amazed that she could keep on going. We all were taking naps during the trip. "That was the last of it."

"We can work." Damon offered.

"We can't stay two weeks." Don said, "Our time is limited as it is."

I looked out at the moon, remembering why. "I guess we better find Ceres's secret route at the next town." I commented

"We have to have another approach than the last one." Panther said.

"That's true." Don said.

When we got to the next town, we first checked to see where we were. We were getting much closer to the border. We asked how many more days it would be and the guy that was helping us out said it would take about two more days.

"If it's that long then do we really need to look?" Damon asked.

Panther looked at Don before looking at Damon, "We still need money for gas." I knew right then that Don was going to back her up if she went out again.

"You might as well speed somewhat too." Don said. "It will get us there quicker."

"But money is still a problem.. Plus, the Digimon need food." I was wondering why she didn't say 'we'.

"Do you expect strangers to trust us just because we know her?" Damon started again.

"Yes." Panther looked at him with a hard face, "Because she's a good person and she knows good people."

"Now will you shut your whining? It's not helping any." Don looked at him too.

"This time, we'll split up and just feel for it." Panther said, looking at all of us, "That's the best bet for us to find her."

"What if…"

"We're having a buddy system." Don said, pulling Damon along with him.

Panther sighed, looking at me, "Don't worry. Sometimes, a good fight is needed to bring peace." She smiled.

"Fighting doesn't solve anything." I said firmly.

"You still have a lot to learn about peace." Panther walked off, "We might as well part off too."

I looked at her before following her. Why did she say that now? I mean, I must've had peace in my heart all along to have it as a Crest, right?

Gatomon patted my shoulder. I looked at her, "You're not feeling."

I smiled, "Sorry." I looked at Panther, seeing her so desperately trying to find a trace of Ceres.

I wondered why we were now so nervous. We knew what we had to do, but why was it so hard for us to do it? Well, I guess it's really why is it hard for Damon and me to do what's needed.

[Don

"You can let go of me now." Damon sounded annoyed. I stopped before letting him go.

"Look, stop giving Panther a hard time."

"I'm not giving her a hard time. I'm being…"

"Don't you understand that she's hoping that this works?" I yelled, "She's the only one that has an idea to follow. She has not any idea if it'll really work or not, but she's hoping for the best. She believes in this."

"Then why should we believe in it? Shouldn't one be good enough?"

"No, one isn't good enough. This is probably why they failed before because they didn't all believe. They fell apart and Panther is trying to keep us going, to keep us together so we don't do the same."

"Kari agrees with me."

"I don't know what Kari is thinking and neither do you. Besides, Kari is just as sheltered as you so she doesn't count."

"Is that why you called her kid before?"

"Panther jumped in because Kari was getting worried. I knew that Panther would've let us got all the fight out of us before doing something. And that look in your eyes doesn't scare me one bit and it doesn't affect Panther. You want to know why, because we know that you don't have the guts to carry it out. Kari has the same look in her eyes too and we're not scared of it."

That got Damon nervous. It was like just settling in for him.

I walked around him, "So stop giving shit and crap about not believing and be of use for once."

I heard him coming and blocked, "I'm not useless." He said as he looked at me.

"You're sure not being of any use right now." I pushed him back. "Right now, all you're doing is whining and complaining about nothing. You're holding us back. Is it so hard for you to believe in something? Did Tim tell you want to believe? Or did he turn you into an emotionless body like him?"

Damon launched again, "Don't you dare talked about my brother like that!" He kept on throwing, but he was getting too emotion to have anything land. "He cares about us! I know he does!"

I grabbed his next punch, and pulled him to me to hug him. "Yeah, sorry." I saw that he didn't want to believe because Tim did make it hard for them to believe. Damon relaxed as he hugged me back, now crying.

[Panther

"Panther, what do you mean that I still have a lot to learn?" Kari asked.

I looked at her, seeing her looking worried and a bit mad, "Because you were sounding like a pacifist."

"What's wrong with them?"

"That's how World War II started." When I said that, I got this image in my mind. I just then noticed that my powers were getting stronger. The images weren't hitting me like they normally did. It was like I was remembering something. I could also hear what was in them this time. I couldn't do that too well before, unless it was important that I knew what was being said. I was seeing this man with blonde hair and amber eyes looking at me. I could tell that he wasn't of this world; I could feel it in his eyes. He was in World War II Germany, helping with the rocket technology. But then he leaves that time to go to another. I didn't see where he went, but then he comes back to that country and tries his best to help out as if detached from the world before he goes back to his world, a world beyond a gate. When he comes back, his brother comes with him and they go around trying to save Germany.

It all happened in a moment, and I understood most of what was going on. I only knew he went to another time because he was able to say something that clued me into it as he was testing a rocket privately. He seemed sad as he came back, as if more alone than before. Though, I really wanted to know why I had to know this.

"But what good are wars? They only bring destruction and death."

Then there was something from that world that came to my mind. I could hear that guy's voice telling it to me, "Death and destruction are apart of life." I then just heard what he was saying about a circle that we all follow; a flow of energy that can't be broken and if anyone tried then they will only cause more harm. I looked at Kari, "And wars are needed to make people realize that life is more valuable and to know what's really in life. It's not like people can see it if they can't see death before their eyes as well. Besides, what good if there was peace all the time? What about tension that will build? Peace can only come after chaos." I knew that from my own life and seeing his life. I then thought about Diana and Matt. "Even if it takes a while."

"It just doesn't seem right." Kari said.

"Of course not, but it's not like you haven't experienced it before." I stopped, getting something to my mind. I saw Ceres sitting down on something, meditating in a restaurant. I looked to my left, seeing a restaurant there. I walked inside there, feeling Ceres even more.

" Hi, welcome. " I looked at a lady, seeing that she was one of the ones that were looking over Ceres. " How may I help you? " She smiled at me.

" Do you happen to know a girl by the name Asian Traveler? "

She blinked at me for a moment before smiling, " I know that gal. Are you friends of hers? "

I nodded, " Yeah, we are. " I could feel that Kari was behind me. "There are two others with us, but they're not with us at the moment."

"I'll save you a table then. The manager and I are good friends of hers." She smiled.

I smiled too, and nodded, "We'll be back then." I looked at Kari and smiled. I don't know why I was so relieved that we found a way to get home, but I was.

We walked out. "How did you find it?" Kari asked.

"I had the image of when Ceres sat at a restaurant meditating to decide which food she wanted. Okay, call the boys back." I said once were far away from the place. "She does trust us, right?"

Kari nodded, "Yeah, it seems like saying Asian Traveler is a good thing to do."

I smiled, "I'm glad."

[Kari

It was interesting to see her so relieved that we found someone who helped Ceres. It was kinda like she didn't want to be without her around. I closed my eyes and searched for Damon. I found his mind easily, though I was surprised to see that he was crying. I didn't want to disturb him so I went to Don. _Don, we found some people that Ceres knew._

_Oh, okay. We'll be there shortly. Where are you guys?_

I opened my eyes to look around before closing them again. _It's near the north part of the town. We're going to be outside._

_Okay, we'll be there._ I then left them alone. I looked at Panther, "They're coming."

She nodded, still smiling to herself.

[Damon

"Damon," Don patted my head, "Kari said that they found someone who can help us."

I looked up at him, "They found someone that knew Ceres?"

He nodded, "Yeah."

I got off of him, rubbing my eyes as we walked.

"Here," he handed me some sunglasses that were really cool. I took them and put them on. I couldn't believe that I cried so much on Don. I guess I just needed to get it all out.

Don was leading the way, finding them easily. They were standing outside and they led us inside. The hostess got us a table quickly and we were allowed anything we wanted. I could see that Panther was really happy about this. I don't really know why, though. It was kinda odd.

" So, I heard that you youngsters know the Asian Traveler. " A well-built guy said, taking a seat at our table.

Panther nodded, " She's one of our good friends. "

" There's a question that she wants her helpers to ask others that know her. It's to make sure that they're okay and all. "

" Go ahead. " Panther encouraged.

" Where was she born? "

"That's easy. She was born in Japan." I said.

"That's not true." Panther said, looking at me before looking at the man, "She was born in the sky, but came to Earth, being raised in Japan before she took up traveling."

The man laughed, "That's right, my dear. So then, how do you know her? I'm just curious."

"She came to Japan in July and has been living with me since."

"Why isn't she with you now? And I have never known her to stay in a place for that long."

"It is unusual, we know, but she likes it with us. She chose to stay. We got split up from our other friends and we're all trying to head back home."

"Oh, so you need help getting up there, huh?"

Panther nodded, "Yeah."

"Well, let me see what I have lying around. And this is on the house, so eat as much as you want."

"Thank you for your kindness." Panther bowed a bit, which was odd to see.

The man laughed, "Any friends of hers are friends of her stations." He got up and went somewhere.

"+I thought that Ceres was born in Japan.+" Kari said, "+That's what she told us before.+"

Panther shook her head, "+She doesn't trust people when she first meets them. It's for her own safety that she does it. Her mother told her that, when she found her, two beams of light were shot out from the sky, but she only went to the one that was closer to her. That's when she found Ceres and raised her until she left.+"

"It was a good thing that you knew that. I don't think saying "Japan" would've cut it." Kari said.

"But why didn't the other guy ask the same question?" Don asked.

"Maybe because we didn't announce that we knew her." Panther offered.

Don looked at his Digimon, "By the way, we don't know your name."

It looked up at him from the plate of food that was in front of Don, "BabyDinomon." It said in a small voice.

Don smiled, "Okay, thanks."

" Okay, I have a way for you youngsters can get to the sea. " The manager said as they were closing. They didn't mind, since we were helping out a bit after we had enough to eat.

" Thanks. " Panther said with a big smile.

" I'll be taking you up the rest of the way by car. So if you need to gather anything… "

" We're good. " I said, since we didn't need the truck anymore.

" Then let's get going. " He led us to jeep. We all got in it, with Panther sitting in front with him.

[Panther

We were still traveling when night came on us. I was looking at the moon for a moment, since I was the only one up. I looked at the man that was helping is, wondering if he would tell me anything about Ceres that he knew.

"You seem to have a question on your mind." He commented out of the blue.

I looked ahead for a moment before looking at him again, "I was wondering why Ceres was mediating at your restaurant."

"Why? I'll probably never know. All I know is that my hostess gave her a menu and she was like that when she went back to check up on her. We both were staying at the restaurant during that time before she got up. She then ordered a lot of food and was talking to us about herself." He laughed at the memory.

"We were told that she did it because she couldn't decide what she wanted to eat."

He laughed more, "That sounds like her. Something she would do. She's a very silly person."

"Did she work for you afterwards?"

"As a way of apologizing. She was amazing though. She could do everything perfectly, even found ways to make us a profit. I never found her to be serious though. She always was happy and cheerful."

"Even those people have their sad moments." I then knew that she wasn't open to even those who help her. I figured that she would be to most, but I might just be wrong.

"It didn't seem like she could have any. Everything she did, she did it with a smile and a cheerful, happy attitude."

I remembered that she was like that when she first came to us. But then there was the incident with Matt and Killer and I got to see her other side. She still held onto her cheery side, but I was starting to understand her. Then with everything else, I know that I got to know her. I'm probably the only one that knows the darker side of her, though whether or not I know it all is another story. "What did you think about her answer to the question?"

"I thought she just wanted to be funny. After all, no one can be born in the sky."

I looked out the front window again. She tells those people the truth about her birth, and they don't believe her. I wondered if anyone did.

"Y'know, she has this pull to her. She gathers people around her, and people want to help her."

"But she doesn't allow it." I added.

"Yeah… you offered?" He looked at me from the corner of his eye.

"Yeah, and it took her this long to finally accept it." I hid my smile from him. When we first did, she was still willing to run. Now, she was willing to stay with us. I can sense that she is still longing to go out, but she doesn't.

"I guess all we needed to do was keep her for a few months for her to accept ours then, huh?"

"Maybe." I smiled now. I didn't want him to feel stigmatized because she trusted us more. She cares about us like she did when she was with Ilpalo. We just have to make sure that we're not killed now.

In the morning, he got us something to eat. I could see that both Damon and Kari were grateful for getting it with honest money.

I felt a hand being placed on my shoulder. I looked to see Don there, "+Don't worry about it.+"

I smiled, "+Thanks.+"

He nodded. "Remember, I'll back you up." I then got another vision. It was of a girl and a boy. The girl was crying on his shoulder as he looked stern, his face on the brink of losing all kindness.

"I have to do this. It's the only way that we can survive and get our revenge." He said.

"But I don't want you to die. I would be all alone." She didn't stop her tears.

"We can't be weak anymore. Otherwise, we'll end up like mom and dad and everyone else." He said firmly, making her have a surprise look.

She thought about it for a moment before closing her eyes, her tears drying quickly. "I'll back you up."

"You okay?" I heard Don asked and I broke out of it. It was like the one of that man from the other world, since it wasn't painful at all, but his was in fast motion which this one wasn't.

"Yeah… I just saw something."

"Tell me later." He smiled. I could see that he wanted to know so badly.

"Of course." I only promised because of how they looked. They looked similar to Don and Neon, especially because of their hair color.

After we were done, we headed back out. It just now hit me that we're going to be much darker than the others when we get back. We didn't have anything covering our bodies before so we have darker skin now.

We didn't stop for lunch since we were a lot closer to a city that had a port in it. He paid for lunch before heading back. He could only help us this much, since he didn't know anyone that owned a boat.

"We're not going to steal one." Damon said firmly once we were walking around the dock.

"Why don't you say it louder?" I looked back at him, getting pissed off. "Or say it so they can understand?"

"Kari, why not just look to see who's heading our way? That way we can just ask for a ride." He offered.

"We need to look for a particular boat." I said. Even if we pick another boat to avoid Seth, I felt that we needed to be on that boat. I knew we needed it for some reason.

"Why do we need to look for a particular boat? Shouldn't any boat be good?" Kari asked.

"I had a premonition when I was getting the truck. We need to be on this particular boat."

"Why?" Damon asked.

"She just doesn't get premonitions for no reason." Don said. "So, what boat are we looking for?"

"But she should know why we need to be on there." Damon said in his defense.

Don looked at him. I could see that he was remembering when I went to the night club even when I knew what was going to happen. He knows that I go with it, even when I know about it.

"Because it's going to help us." I said before Don said something. "I'm not sure how, but it does." I didn't want them to worry about Seth.

"If it's the journey of the soul, we can surely help you with that." A woman voice said. We looked over to the ocean to see a pretty lady on a wooden boat. It didn't seem like it would hold out at sea, but it was the one we needed to be on, the one that I saw.

"Who are you?" I asked, though in a way to let the others know that we found it.

"My name is Hina, the Goddess of Darkness and Watchwoman and patroness of travelers. My company is Gidja, the God of the Moon." She motioned over to a man on the boat that would be in a place to steer it.

"Why are you willing to help us?" Damon asked. I could see that he didn't trust Deities too much now.

She just smiled though, "Because all great and noble warriors need guidance from the gods when they journey."

"Some of us…" Damon started but Don covered his mouth.

"Some of us are a bit sore from ploys of other Deities and we're not sure who's working for whom right now." Don said. "So, please answer us with your interest."

Hina got out of the boat, "Fair enough. Well, my interest lies with this young girl here." She looked at me. "Because you hold darkness within you, and no one will tell us why."

"Is that why Seth wants me too?" I asked. "Because of this darkness?"

She nodded, "It's great within you. We don't know where you got it from and your background doesn't give us much to look into."

"What do you mean?" I couldn't figure out if she meant my years in the gang or my birth.

"It's too serious to talk out here." She motioned to the area. I looked around, seeing that it shouldn't be. We were all talking in Japanese. "Other Deities and spirits might be listening. Deities we're not sure where they lie."

"Are there others that are willing to help us?" Kari asked.

"Perhaps, but some don't care enough and some care enough. We can't keep sanctions on our lands like the Chinese or the Americans, so any can come here."

"What about India or Japan?" Damon asked.

"Those lands don't have a Neo Digidestined in them as we speak so they're not important at the present moment."

"Do you know.."

"I don't know, darkness princess, know who is where. We were told that four were in Russia before heading to China, but we don't know names." She answered before I could finish. "But rest assured that if they were in Russia and now in China, they're heading home."

I nodded, glad to know that. If four were found in Russia then that means that four were left for America. Ceres would be fine anywhere she goes, but would the people she's with be willing to follow her? I wondered if she got lucky in being with Matt. I looked at the others, "Well? Do we go or not?"

They all nodded, including the Digimon. Hina smiled at us, "Welcome, Neo Digidestined, to our boat of dreams." She stepped aside as she allowed us to get one. She led us to what was where in this small boat. We each got our own rooms, meaning four. When she was done, we headed out to sea.

"At least we don't have them complaining anymore." Don said as night fell. I was looking at the moon at the back of the boat, wondering how long this will take.

"Yeah, that's true." I looked at him, seeing that we both let our Digimon sleep. "So, want to tell me about your dream?"

He lowered his eyes before coming over to me, leaning on the boat by his arms on the edge part of it. "In my dream, I was brought to another city. They were running away because no one was there. Even though they had no place to go, they left because someone was looking for them. They ran into some gang and they tried to get away from them, but they couldn't. Because Krypton fought back, they took off Jade's arm. Then the leader raped her as Krypton was being beaten up near her." He paused for the moment, to let the image linger. I could tell it wasn't the end though, "They were barely ten." He covered his face with his arms, though I could still hear him, "I was then taken to the Digital World, where they were. They were there fighting groups of Digimon, Digimon that weren't Super Levels and were all animal like Digimon. They were talking about going back to the Real World, to see people they grew to love. But they were hard… like us, they forced a lot of their emotions off of their faces… They went looking for a portal as they were being attacked. They managed to find one, but something hit them and they were badly hurt. Bleeding everywhere, it seemed. Jade wanted to go back so badly to see someone she loved. Krypton convinced her to close the portal instead of going through. They died looking at each other, holding each other hands and proclaiming that that wasn't their end. They were probably around eighteen at the time."

I looked at the water, wondering if what I saw was them making their turn in life.

"Neon and I vowed that we would never allow them to go through what we, or you, had to go through. We didn't want them to live our lives again. We wanted them to be more like Kari, or TK… Any other lifestyle would be better than ours."

"Don," I paused for a moment, "What I saw was probably them making their pack to each other. Jade didn't want Krypton to have your life either, but it seemed like they needed to so that they could survive. Krypton mentioned something about revenge and not ending up like Neon, you and other people, saying that they couldn't be weak anymore." I looked at him, seeing that he didn't lift his head, "They were probably found by people who got them healthy again. A gang, maybe, by the sounds of it. They probably grew emotionless because it was easier on them." I placed my hand on his back, "But you say that they found people to love, right? And in the end, all they wanted was to return to them once again. In the end, they're still hoping and willing to do anything to see them again. The Digital World seems to have hidden power so maybe as spirits, they can tap into that power and see them again."

"That's not the point, Panther." He looked at me, his eyes filled with tears, "The point is that I can't protect them. If that's their future, how can I stop it?"

"You can't, really." I sighed, "But you can make it easier for them. With my power, that's all I can do. I can't stop it, and I can't prevent it. Trying to make it easier is something I'm going to try, though. So, even though they have to go through that, maybe you can make them ready a bit sooner."

"How?"

"By allowing them to be cunning, clever and anything else that can make them stronger for the world they will have to live. But also allow them to know that it's okay to be weak around those you love. So they know that it's okay to break down their walls when they find those who care. Make them loyal, so that they will try even harder to go through that portal to see them again. The future is never set in stone, and you can always affect it."

Don nodded, getting up, "Thanks Panther."

"I hope that does help."

"It's not going to ease my worry."

"It shouldn't."

He smiled, "Okay. I'm glad that you weren't trying that. It wouldn't have worked."

"I know. Knowing the future of those you love is never easy to settle."

"Your family?"

I nodded, "I saw it before it happened."

"And Killer?"

"I'm glad that I didn't have a premonition of that. I got a feeling that something would be wrong, but I ignored it to follow Matt into the Digital World."

"Thanks." He walked back inside.

I looked out at the moon. I saw their faces again, remembering that I wanted to avenge them, hearing Krypton saying the same thing to Jade. It was probably to those who had hurt them, the ones that he couldn't protect Jade from. Krypton would be a fighter, for sure. Jade would probably be smart, wicked smart, dangerously smart. She didn't want to fight, it was easy to see that in my vision, but she probably uses something else that she became a master at. They would only have each other for so long that I couldn't image them to not share traits but showing them in different areas.

"Ay, the moon, the keeper of time and inspiration to all man."

I looked up to see Gidja. "Did you…"

"No, Dark Princess. I know better than to listen into a private affair."

I'm kinda getting annoyed at how they were now calling me that. "Thanks."

He smiled, "Hina wanted me to tell you that she would like to speak to you tomorrow when you're ready."

"About what?"

"About your past, your future, your darkness."

I lowered my head. Since she told me that, I had this feeling that this darkness is what led me to believe everything I did. I looked at the moon, now seeming to be so close and yet far away. I loved the sun, and the moon. I seemed torn between the two, like my life. Torn between which life I really want, torn between the life I'm living. Was I ready to know it all? Was it important that I know? "Is it important that I know that much about myself?" I kept looking at the moon.

"Yes, Princess, because until you know, you'll never know why the owner of this light and this light itself attract you so."

I looked at him, "How do you know?"

"Because, my dear," He looked at him, "The moon is connected to both mind and soul. You desire both lights, wanting the sun more, but can never escape this glow," he motioned to the moon, "because of your love of the dark."

I looked at the moon, "Does it have to be tomorrow?"

"For fear that Seth might come soon, she felt it best to get it out of the way."

"What if knowing affects my ability to fight?"

"I have no doubt that it won't." I looked at him, "Because he wants you for this power. He wants it for himself. When you fight him, it would be for your life, something I'm sure you're familiar with."

"Have you've been watching my life somewhere?" I narrowed my eyes.

"It's not hard to see what kind of life you had. Besides, we watched you as you were traveling through Australia. It wasn't hard to place the pieces together." He smiled.

"So you saw how I shamed myself?"

"I wouldn't call it that."

"Then what do you call it?"

"I call it your deep desire. Your darkness is conflicting with the light within you, the light that the sun gives you. The more you want that light, the deeper you go into darkness."

"Is it written on my face or something?"

"Lust is something that all Gods know well. Lust appears in many forms and in many ways. Right now, you feel incomplete. Hina will try to make that a bit more complete. She doesn't have all the answers, but she can find them for you."

I looked at the moon, the stars that are other suns out there in the universe. Did I really want to touch those suns? To be able to bathe them in and be happy? _I know that I wanted the sun to purify me so many times before, whenever I got too much blood on my hands at one time. Killer would come with me as I tried._ "Okay, but I'll pick."

"Of course, Dark.."

"If you want to use that title," I looked at him, "Just call me Princess."

He nodded, "As you wish." He then disappeared.

I sighed, heading to bed.

[Kari

Don didn't get out of his room in the morning. Panther said that he'll be fine, though she was worried too. I was also kinda surprised to find Panther out on the deck a lot. She had on sunglasses and was lying out in the sun.

"They're acting weird." Damon commented around lunch. Panther said she wasn't hungry.

"Do you know why?" I looked at Plantmon. Plantmon didn't want to stay in the heat for too long.

"I don't. I know that she and Don were going to talk last night. It seemed to be private so I didn't want to go."

"Do you know the topic?" Damon asked.

"About his dream."

"You mean his future?" Huskimon asked.

She shook her head, "No, the one when we were at that village. He told Panther that he had to watch his kids die. Then later, she saw something when he touched her, so it was probably them again."

"They… die?" I asked, having it slowly sink in.

She nodded, "That's what he said."

"Then shouldn't we be in there to cheer him up?" Damon asked.

"Panther told me that premonitions can't be stopped." I looked at Damon, "That no matter what you do, it will occur at some point just like you saw. She probably knows that there isn't anything we can really do for the kids, and told him that."

"So we're just supposed to leave him in his room to cry about it?" He seemed to be pissed off at that idea.

"If you think it'll help… I just wouldn't know what to say." I looked at the table. "We all know how much Don was looking forward to having those kids, the same with Neon, and now they know that they're not going to live very long."

Damon got up from the table after a while, with Huskimon following him.

"Maybe he could use you too." Gatomon offered.

"I really wouldn't know what to say."

"Sometimes, just being there helps."

"But it's like we admit that it's going to happen and already giving him our mourning."

"Maybe you can talk to him at another time. That way it wouldn't seem like it." Plantmon offered.

I nodded.

[Don

My talk with Panther was helpful, but I couldn't stop crying during the night. I don't know why, but I didn't want to see the others right now. I wanted them to be happy, to be care free. How can they be if they live our lives?

"Don?" I heard Damon ask after knocking. "Are you okay in there?"

BabyDinomon looked at me. I also cry whenever I look at him. I petted his head before nodding, allowing him to open the door. Damon and Huskimon came in slowly. I could tell I looked like shit by how Damon was worrying over me. He sat down on the bed, "Kari and I don't know what was talked about between you and Panther, but we know the general topic."

"Who told?" I was curious.

"Plantmon. Panther is sun-bathing for some reason."

"You haven't asked?"

He shook his head. "Do you want to know?"

"Kinda… her powers have grown, I think."

"Why think that?"

"Normally, when she got one, it hits her. Like she was being attacked by something. When she had one of my kids… she didn't act like that. I hardly noticed that there was a change in her."

"How did you know?"

"Because it was the way she looked, it was the same kind of stare she has when she remembers what she got hit with."

"Maybe it has to do with her dream."

"Maybe… Thanks for trying to cheer me up, but I don't think I'll ever get over this."

Damon sighed, "In my dream, I saw Megamon being sealed up by Ceres. The thing was though, it was only Nereida and Ceres and they were serious. It was all or nothing with that mission. I don't think we live too long, either."

I looked at him. Is that why no one was there to help them? "But TK was still alive. They mentioned him."

Damon looked at me, "But he isn't part of our group… And we all know that we wouldn't want to bring Kari, Ken or Matt with us because they're still with the other groups when we need to do something really dangerous." He looked at the bed, "We can't protect ourselves… and their Digimon weren't with them.."

I got up a bit, "Then all we have to do is not die."

Damon looked at me. "But…"

"It doesn't matter whether or not we know how we die, we just got to make sure that we don't. If we don't die, then they don't have to die either." It was the only thing I could hope for.

Damon paused for a moment before smiling, "Yeah, all we have to do is not die and they live."

I lay my head on his shoulder, crying on him. I wished he didn't have to be so realistic. He wrapped his arms around me, comforting me as best as he could.

[Panther

"You know, you should eat something." I heard Kari saying. I felt Plantmon coming over to me. The sun was passed lunch.

"I'm not that hungry." I said, wanting to stay here. I was in my undergarments, out of respect that there were guys here.

"If you want a good tan then why not turn over?" She sat down near me. I had my eyes closed.

"I'm not really getting a tan."

"Then why are you doing this?"

"… When I feel enclosed or too dirty to be hold, I stay in the sun for a whole day."

"Why?"

"It's a way of purifying me. That's how I always thought of it."

"Why do you need to purify yourself?" Plantmon asked.

"Is it because of the car and the money?" Kari asked.

"No.. I don't feel too bad about that… at least, not enough to do this."

"Then why?" Plantmon asked.

"… Hina wants to talk to me."

"And you're going to talk to her?" Gatomon asked.

I nodded, "I need to… I think."

"You think?"

"I might not be totally ready for it, but I think it's better if I have more time to think about it than little time."

"Damon went to talk to Don." Kari said.

"About what?"

"Don's kids… Plantmon told us what he dreamed."

"Don can't be healed right now… Neon is probably the only one that can."

"But we have to show that we care."

"It hurts him too much right now. He doesn't know how to deal with it… And it's not like it's an easy one either."

"You sound experience in this."

"My family… I witnessed it before it happened…"

"Did you try to prevent it?"

"I did before… but they got me so mad that day that I left. Only after a few hours did I realize that I left them unprotected so I went back. Killer couldn't help me for two weeks afterwards."

"How did you get over it?"

"Falling fully into that life. Find a way to get rid of the pain."

"Did you advise the same for Don?"

"No… I told him that he should find ways of making it easier on them. The transition and all, so they wouldn't have to change a whole lot to fit in."

"What do you mean?"

"They don't die until they're young. But Don didn't only see them die, he saw his daughter being raped and his son couldn't protect her. We can't heal his wounds." I remembered all the times the girls who were pregnant wanting me to read their kid's future. I told them what I saw, sometimes it was them. Being attacked at an early age, being killed, being tortured. I've seen so much of that.

"I hope that Neon can ease his fears, at least." Kari said.

"I don't think so, but she could probably help him deal with it better than we can."

"Can you be a bit more optimistic for him?"

"He knows me."

"What does that mean?"

"That if he comes to me, he's not looking for me to make it all nice and pretty for him. He would need you and Damon to do that for him."

"Why wouldn't he go to you for that?"

"Because they'll be living my kind of life."

Kari got up and walked somewhere. I sighed, focusing back on the sun.

"Why are you purifying yourself?" Plantmon asked.

"Because I want to be clean when I talk to a Goddess of Darkness."

"I'm going with you."

"Okay. Then you should soak up some sun too. You don't know when you'll need it." I smiled.

Plantmon lay down beside me.

[Kari

Even as the sun was falling, Panther remained outside, claiming to get the last bit of the sun as she possibly can. I was kinda worried because she wasn't eating anything, though not too much about her safety because Plantmon was now with her. I had worried that Gidja might come to her, but then again, I haven't seen him or Hina all today. Damon was staying with Don. I went over to see if he was okay before eating, and Don had cried himself to sleep. Damon said that he would stay with him.

I would've stayed with Panther, but there was something about her absolute and uncaring attitude that I could only take so much of. I wondered if she had always had that attitude and I've just never seen it before. It just seemed that she didn't really care, that she was only focusing on herself. Whether or not she really ways, I can't say.

"Kari," I looked at Gatomon, "What's wrong?"

I sighed, setting down the spoon since we were having soup. "I don't like how Panther is treating this situation."

"Why?"

I looked at her, "It seems like she doesn't care about us. It's all about her."

"But she does care. That should be easy to see from all she has done. She put herself at risk to get us up here."

"But now she's so distant."

"Maybe there's only so much she can take. She thinks that she needs to talk Hina, do you not trust them?"

"I don't know, Gatomon. I mean, Hina is a Goddess of Darkness, and Panther places herself with darkness… She never seemed ashamed at her actions, whether they're moral or not. She doesn't regret doing anything she does, it seems. Even now, she said that she doesn't feel that bad about stealing. And we all know how comfortable she is with lying and other things that are immoral."

"Maybe she has just moved on."

"Is that what you did? Just moved on?"

"I can't move on… Because I can't forgive what he had me do and made me comfortable doing." Gatomon narrowed her eyes at the memories of when she was with Myotismon.

"So because Panther made the choice to do everything that she might have just moved on from that? But why would living with Matt made her just move on? That doesn't make much sense."

She shrugged, "Maybe it's how Matt treats her. We all know how much freedom he gives Panther. It's like Panther is part of his family, blood family. He treats her on the same level as TK."

"TK also seems comfortable around her and Ceres." I commented as I pushed my bowl away so I can rest my head on the table, "And around Ken."

"He knows them and he has to deal with them a lot more."

"But he should be spending a lot of time with me… most of his time, I would think."

"So now you're complaining?"

I closed my eyes, "I just miss him. I mean, nothing can break us apart." I smiled, now able to see in the past that we would end up being together. It was clear and even Davis could see it. But then I remember what he told me in my nightmare, that something might test us. Well, whatever it was, we will pass it with flying colors. "Nothing at all."

[Panther

I got back on my clothes when the sun had actually set. I looked up at the moon. I normally thought that the moon fitted Ceres better, but never thought of the reasons for it. I wanted for Gidja to come get us, because I didn't hear him at all during the day.

"Princess, are you ready?"

I looked at the door that led below. I got off the rail and walked over to him with Plantmon with me. "Lead the way." I wasn't in my confidence position at the moment, because this was something that I had no confidence for. It wasn't like I was scared to face her, I was scared to know the truth about myself. I never wanted to know what I looked like inside me because of everything I have done.

He nodded and led us to pass the rooms we were using, pass the kitchen and the other places we knew of, to a secret part of the boat. I figured it was magic that allowed us to go farther from the natural boundaries of the boat to a secret place where Hina was at. I entered the room, sitting across from her. I could feel things here, things that I would normally find comforting and welcoming before, a place fitting me nicely. But that was when I was in the gang.

"Have you readied yourself?" Hina asked.

"I hope so."

"Then we'll begin. Plantmon…"

"I'm staying." She wrapped her vines around me to emphasize this.

She sighed, "Okay," she looked at me, "We will begin with your birth."

"Born into a normal enough family, surrounded myself with fairly good friends before seeing my boyfriend and decided to join a gang with him."

"How did your family treat you?"

"Pretty good until they found out that I was in a gang. After that, only my siblings really cared about me."

"Then why still love them all if only a few cared?"

"I never knew why, I just did."

"Then in this gang?"

"It felt right. Not because he was there, but because I was good at everything and I kept seeing things that seemed to tell me that I needed to be in something impure."

"Did you ever long for the pure?"

"Only for moments, but they passed over me quickly enough that it didn't affect me."

She nodded, "Then it seems like you have a some light within you. Most dark people don't have that luck. They either have to find someone that has light within them or go mad because they feel lost and confuse. Have you ever sought after power?"

I closed my eyes, to make it easier for me to think. Had I ever wanted power? I knew I wanted to be stronger, but I never wanted to be a leader or anything like that. I wanted to be feared, someone that got respect the moment I walked into a room because of what they were saying about me. I knew that's why people in the community thought that I was getting off easy. I knew I was too, but I was impressed by what Matt was showing me. It was like my past didn't matter to him.

At first, I thought it was because he wanted me close so I could be in the group without having to break me out every time or something. But then I started to see that he cared. I normally worried if I wasn't a Neo Digidestined and just someone who just happened to know him for a day, would he still care about me enough to get me out? I never knew why I called him that day. But now, I can't pull myself away from him. I looked at Hina, "I never really wanted power. I wanted to be feared, the most feared person there ever was."

"But you never wanted power?"

I shook my head, "I could care less about that."

She smiled, "We all in the underworld have heard that there's a group of warriors that want you. Do you have an understanding as to why?"

"Not really. I thought it was because one of the members liked me, but I was told that they're too serious to have something like love get in the way of what they want."

"They have been known, mostly, in the Greek and Roman world, as I've been told. They seek to have power, the power that comes from being someone of the night and despair. They want you because of your dark powers. They are great, much greater than most other dark beings."

"But…" I held my thought back, not knowing if they knew about the dark being within Matt. I didn't want to put him in harm's way.

"Yes?"

I looked away, "I've learned that there was a being of so much darkness that even the Deities of the Greeks fear it." I looked at her, "I can't be more than him, right?"

"Ah, yes, I remember hearing that as well. He was of the old Digidestined, was he not?"

"Yeah."

"Well, have you met this being?"

"And he wanted to kill me." I remembered TK facing him down. It was like he had no fear of death. I normally don't have that, but I also witnessed Matt in pain as the being took control and tried to be freed. I didn't want Matt to go through that again, and I was glad that TK found a way so he didn't.

"Well, being locked up is never something that darkness wants." I looked at her, "Those of darkness seek the light because we desire it. I, myself, was once a Goddess of the light. So I understand that most Underworld Deities desire to be up above with the others than to stay down in their realm."

"But that can't be true. Persephone wants to stay underground now."

"That's because she didn't want to travel above. But when she was younger, she always went up with joy."

"So most would rather go above, then why don't they?"

"Because we know that we have a duty. Plus, it's part of being a person of darkness. We more often than not prefer to be left alone."

I remembered my times when I wanted that, the period when Matt locked himself in his office. I remembered hearing the stories when Ken did the same thing as he was being the Digimon Emperor. "Why?"

"So we can be surrounded by what gives us comfort, what we feel is us. To be alone in darkness is something we just naturally desire to have."

"But everyone gets depress at some point." I was remembering all the times I went to the Dark World, seeing all those people there, seeing Kari there a few times. "Even those of light get sucked into darkness."

"Those who are of light and get sucked into darkness are weak. Those who are of light and can enter darkness are strong."

"How can you tell the difference?" I was wondering which one Kari was.

"Your friend of light on this ship is sucked into darkness. We saw that during your stay."

"How can I help to make her stronger? Can she be stronger?"

"She can be. She is a very powerful light being, I must say, but she has always placed limits on herself. We heard her thoughts in her dream. The one that got her to fight is a strong light being."

_TK?_ "Why?"

"Because he was able to come to all of you and give you want you needed to break out of the darkness of your minds. He can enter darkness and still able to hold onto his light."

"And Kari can't do this?"

She shook her head, "At the present moment, she can't. She is too dependant on others. I don't know her story, so I can not say the reason for it."

"So, as you saw, are the guys also comfortable in darkness?"

"Don may seem like he would be, but none of them are. If he was, then what he saw wouldn't be affecting him as much."

"Even I was affected when I saw my family dead."

"Because you thought you lost your last light. But then you seemed to find a new light."

"A new light?"

"I don't know who, or what, but you moved on, didn't you? You believe that Don can not, so there is your difference."

"But I didn't see my kids getting hurt… Don seems like he wants to protect things so probably he feels like he lost that."

"And he has sucked into darkness. There are more people of light than there are people of darkness. And those that are people of darkness tend to cling to people of light. If they are with those of darkness, they lose themselves in that darkness."

"I don't think I lost myself too much."

"Maybe you're right. After all, it seemed that Don's son is able to keep himself and his sister the same. They just harden themselves to stay alive."

"Are you saying that Krypton is a person of darkness?"

"He is. He is not as strong as you, but he's stronger than most other dark people. That's why he can yield powerful dark creatures and be unaffected by their pull. His sister is one of light and she is strong because she's able to enter darkness."

"How can you tell? What gave that off?" I was half wondering if I should tell Don this later.

"Because I could feel it. She never once lost herself to the darkness around her. She had surrounded herself with dark people, and she never lost herself to them."

"Did you see that in somewhere else?"

"Her face told me all and how she was able to convince her brother to return. Most dark people never allowed a light to control them and I could see that Krypton was like you, now. He wanted to be feared, but not have power."

"So he has some light within him too?"

"Perhaps, it's hard to know unless we look. But I know that you fear that power of yours, even though you know it has gotten stronger."

I nodded, "Yeah, it has. I guess allowing my mind to be totally opened in that room made me more open now." At the moment, it wasn't scaring me, since they're not coming at me all the time.

"So we won't look into them. For now, we must go back to you. So, we now see that you are a dark person with a bit of light within you. Now, if your parents were angry at you for turning, they must be those of the light."

"Which one would they be?"

"They would be those who can't bear the sight of darkness. There are many entering this world."

"Do you think that it has to do with religion?" I knew that a lot of westerners were like that, that they consider themselves really pure.

"Perhaps, but that's not really important to know for the moment. For now, we just know that there are those kinds of light people."

"So there are those who can't bear the sight of darkness, those who are sucked into it, and those who can enter it. What about the dark people?"

"There will be those who are sucked into their own darkness, those who can covered their darkness so the light will never know, those who can be equaled with light, those who seek the light desperately, and those who are lost within their own darkness."

"Why does the light have so few?"

"Because they can better handle themselves, carry themselves over hardships and rise above everyone to shine. They will always carry a smile on their face."

That did described Ceres and TK. My thoughts went into Matt's life, seeing Diana fitting that as well. I wondered about Kitty. "I know a few who are like that." Sage was another one. "Is sadness part of being a dark person?"

"Yes, but only when you're alone. When you're with others, you don't have to be." She smiled.

I smiled back, noticing that Plantmon was still around me. "So, what would one of darkness need to do if she has surrounded herself with a whole lot of light folk?" I only have two dark people to go to. "And how do two dark people keep a person of the light?"

"You just need to make sure that you never become one of those who cover their darkness. You must become one of those who are equal to the light. I can assume that you think most of your friends are of the light, so you have a lot of work ahead of you. As for darkness to keep a light, you mustn't allow the light to be sucked into your darkness."

I smiled, "Thanks. Can there be people of both?"

"They will always have one more dominate than the other. You have both within you, but you have much more darkness than light."

"Is there a way to change that? Can you change which one you are?"

"One of darkness hardly ever can turn into a person of light. Most of the time, they have tasted too much of what the darkness has offered so they will always longed for that darkness. Only those which have the other elements within them can switch from one to the other easily and have less desire to go back to what they were."

"Why?"

"Because the other elements are neutral, in a sense, and since the person is able to wield it, the element takes on the traits of the person and also allowed that person to switch easier than if they didn't have it."

"So there are more light people than there are of darkness and there are more people of darkness than of the other elements, right?" She nodded. "So, since even those of the other elements have to have either light or darkness within them, right?" She nodded again. "But the elemental ones can switch between being of the dark and being of the light?" She nodded. "Because of the neutrality of the elements?" She nodded. "What if they have both an element and either light or darkness?"

"They can still switch over to the other."

"But wouldn't that mean that they're sucked into the other?"

"Darkness is never sucked into the light. The darkness desires the light, but can never fully have it. What one of darkness does is try to hide themselves among the light, make themselves appear to be one of light."

"So no matter what, darkness can never be one of light?"

"Only if there are no elements involved."

"But then wouldn't that be considered either being sucked into or covering?"

"No, because anyone would who see them after they switch will always think that they were that all along. But don't forget, they can switch back and forth. It just seems more natural that way."

"So only light can be lost to darkness?"

"Right, a light can turn into darkness. If they go in too deeply, they will never be able to get out. It's much easier for a person of darkness to cover themselves since most people are of the light."

"How can a person of darkness be lost in their own darkness or be sucked into it?"

"They lost hope. Even those of darkness understand that they can be happy as long as they hope. When they no longer see that, they will either go mad or become silent."

"Like in Pandora's box." I commented.

"Oh, that Greek story." She said after she thought about it, "Yes, but back then, hope was considered an evil, a feeling of darkness."

"What?"

She nodded, "Because a person of light doesn't have to hope. They just know, there's no hope involved at all. Hope is the sign for them that they have fallen into darkness. In the past, there were many people of darkness."

"Why has that changed? What made hope good now?"

"Science, technology made it easier for people to just know. They know how it will all come out. They do not need to hope for something to happen; they know or have seen it happen before. What changed this feeling into something good is the fact that it led those on the edge to escape the darkness."

"But it is also bad because it makes those who desperately want to be of the light more rash."

"Good, you're learning."

"And me knowing and understanding this is something that I need?"

"Knowing, yes; understanding, not really. It was your desire to understand that made us go this far."

"So then what do I need in order to be ready for Seth? I saw that…"

"And I knew that's why you didn't resist coming with us. What you need in order to be ready for any dark person, be it deity or mortal, is what they really want from you. Do they want you because they can sense that you will be able to aid them in their obsession for power or because they want to be like you?"

"What do you mean?"

"So far, you have experienced mostly those who want you because of your power. That group of warriors wants you for that purpose, the gang you had lived with drew you in so they can feed off of you, Seth will want you for something as well. You choose to stay with the gang because you felt it was helping. Helping those of darkness is normally a good choice, because sometimes they are just the fallen light. If you know why they want you, you can choose to follow it."

"Do you want her?" Plantmon asked.

"We are the same." She smiled.

"I've always been choosing, though." I pointed out. "I don't go into things because I just want a moment of something. If I'm in it, then I want to be in it."

"Most people of darkness can cover themselves; make them seem like those of the light. I am half betting that if the group of warriors wasn't so deep in their power that they would've been able to pull you into them."

"Why believe that?" I know that I would never have left Killer for anyone at the beginning, which was when they were trying to get me.

"Because they would've made themselves seem like you, someone of the darkness with light within. They could've made themselves seem like they were still good inside, something that you probably still desired to be. You gave up on that desire a long time ago."

"Are you saying that I lost hope?"

"Did you?"

I looked back at what I did, looking at what I did in a new light. No, I did lose hope of reaching the light. I lost most of it, nearly all of it, before I met Matt that faithful day. He gave me back my hope, my desire to be good. I smiled softly to myself. I also started to realize that I kept Killer purer than me, so I could still have something that reminded me of my light within. I wasn't lost or sucked into darkness. "What was I? I never allowed myself to be lost in my darkness or be sucked into it. Only recently have I tried to cover my darkness."

"Have you tried to be its equal?"

"I'm going to try, now realizing that this is what I am."

"Then you became one that embraced their darkness. They become someone who is feared, who is hated, who has power."

"But all I wanted was to be feared."

"And with that fear comes power over others and with power over others, there is hate."

"That can't always be true."

"It is. You are thinking internally, but it isn't that. It's those who know that they need to fear you, those who you get to fear you. They will come to hate you because of your power over them. It has even happened in your group. When power leads to hate and that power was born from fear."

I nodded, knowing whom she was talking about. "So what I need to do is to lead those of light away from the darkness that I am?"

"If that's what you wish to do. I am not giving you guidance on what to do, I'm getting you to know what you are and your paths that you may or may not take. Whether or not you want to aid the light is something that is up to you."

I touched my amulet, "But I have to help light."

"This isn't a matter that involves the Digital World. The Digital World is a world of the light."

"Not always. There was a period when death and sadness was everywhere." That just reminded me that Gennai was probably one of those dark people that have covered themselves to make them appear to be of the light.

"But it has grown into a world of light. And in either case, this isn't something that is of the Digital World. This is something that is you, not your Crest. Most of the Deities are seeing that and now want to take a piece of you for themselves. All the Deities know that this Lily Dawn is a key to knowing whether we'll ever walk in your world again or be lost to the Digital World forever, and know that this Ceres has so much power that she may even rival our own strength. Many more about your group is being brought into light. Like Don is able to father two powerful children. We don't know yet as to the reasons they are powerful, and I couldn't conclude anything from your visions, but we all know this."

"Do the others know their names?"

"No, we just know what exist in your group, but we don't know the names to which those powers belong to. Though, some are magnified because of your connection to the Digital World."

I nodded, "Thanks. I'll remember everything you say. I'll decide what I will do with my knowledge later." I said as I was getting up from the table.

She smiled, "Of course. Oh, you might also want to look for your true parents."

"Why?" I was confused by what she meant by that.

"Because it's very rare to have both light and darkness within you."

I nodded, "I'll look then." I went over to the door before stopping, "Can you give someone your darkness or your light?" I looked at her.

"As long as they're young. Before they can see, you can give them nearly everything. But do know that some are born of it and that can't be changed. And before you go, I must tell you that Gidja and I will be leaving after this."

"Why?" _I thought she wanted to help us._

"Because after Seth, the others need to find themselves. You should be able to find your center once you face down a Deity of Darkness with resolution in your heart and mind, but they will not. I am of no use to them and Gidja is of no help to them either, being a god of the moon."

"So you were only of help to me?"

"Yes."

I sighed, "Don't worry. I'll watch them. Thanks for your help." I went upstairs, finding it easy to get back.

"Plantmon, what do you think?" I asked when I entered my room.

"I'll follow you in whatever you make." She smiled.

"That sounds like something that Gabumon would say." I went over to the bed. "Why don't you mind?"

"Because I trust you and no matter what road you go down, in the end I know that everything will be okay."

I smiled back. "I guess I am surrounded by light folk." I laughed a bit before turning off the light and falling asleep.

[Kari

Panther was up and making lunch. She didn't get up for breakfast, so it was kinda surprising for her to be cooking.

"So?" I asked.

Panther smiled, "I got some assistance. They're not going to be here."

"What do you mean?" I went over to her.

"They're not here anymore."

"Who's steering the ship then?"

"We are."

"None of us know how to get back."

"They were only here to help. They're not here to be our guides."

"Then why go with them? We need to get home." I wanted to be with TK again.

Panther sighed, "You'll know when it happens… We just need to be here."

"What did you see?" I walked over to her, "Please, tell me."

Panther just looked at me for a moment. It was like she was studying me or something. "We're going to go through a trial. It's more of my trial, I guess, but you guys will need it to." She sighed, "I wonder if everyone needs to go through a trial before we can truly fight."

"What are you talking about?"

"Kari, do you trust me?"

"Of course I do…"

"Then trust me." She smiled, "TK is a strong person."

I looked down, nodding. I know that TK is strong, that's why I need to be with him. I'm not strong at all.

"For someone that supposed to bring light, you sure don't play the part often, do you?" I looked at Panther, who was back to cooking.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Everyone is allowed their moment of weakness. What makes them get stronger is that they keep going and overcome that moment. You don't seem to want to do that. You seem to want to keep yourself at bay." She smiled at me, "If you keep doing that, you'll never get stronger. And for someone in our position, we can't afford that too much, can we? I mean, Matt trained us to be better with our powers and our Digimon have different levels to make them stronger."

I walked towards the door, "I'll let Damon know that you're cooking."

"Is Don doing okay?" She asked before I left.

"No… he's still not over it."

She sighed, "Let him know that I learned something about his kids, then."

I looked at her, "When?"

"Last night." She didn't look at me.

"What is it? Did you see a way to keep them alive?"

"Of course not. The powers I have don't give me all possibilities out there."

"Then why should he hear it?"

"Because it will give him something to hope for."

I walked out and over to Don's room. Damon was staying with him so he doesn't do something to himself. We're both worried that he might. I walked in and Don wasn't there. "Where is he?"

"Taking a shower. I thought you were going to cook." Damon asked.

"Panther's up so she's cooking. Could you let Don know that Panther wants to talk to him?"

"Why?" He got up from his chair.

"I'm not really sure. She says it's about his kids, but he doesn't want to hear anything more than how to save them."

"Well… If she thinks it'll help…"

"When I talked to her before, she told me that she doesn't tell him the maybes like we do."

"Is there something wrong?"

"Why would there be?" I was confused as to why he asked.

"I normally don't hear you mad at her."

"She told me that our guides are gone and we have to go through some trial before we get home. I never realized how much Panther can be so insensitive to the people around her."

Damon thought about it for a moment, "So why have us on this ship?"

"For some kind of trial that she needs to go through."

"I'm going to talk to her." Damon walked out and Huskimon followed.

"Kari, there's something else, isn't there?" Gatomon asked when they were gone.

I sat down near her, "She can see me easily."

"Huh?"

"She realizes that I'm not strong at all… I want to be with TK." I closed my eyes, "I need to be near him." Gatomon got on my lap and hugged me around my neck. I wrapped my arms around her.

[Damon

Kari was upset over more than that so I wanted to know what it was. I went into the kitchen, seeing that she was cooking. Plantmon wasn't anywhere nearby.

"Where's Plantmon?" I asked.

"Steering the ship. Her and I are going to switch every now and then."

"Why are you distancing yourself from us? I thought we all needed to stick together."

She looked at me as she sat down a plate, "You think I'm distancing myself?" She asked that as if she didn't realize it.

"It seems like it. I mean, first you go back to stealing, then you get hung up on finding a trace of Ceres, then you lead us on here, then you ignore us yesterday and finally, you're completing it by saying that we're only here for something that you need. What about the rest of us?"

She thought about it for a moment, "You can always join me in the trial."

"… I thought it was yours?"

"Not really. It is, mostly, but it isn't a trial that can't be taken up by others."

"What's going on between you and Kari?"

"I'm probably scaring her."

"Why?"

She shrugged, "Maybe she's realizing things she doesn't want to face."

"So what do you have to tell…"

"Kari said that you wanted to talk to me." Don said as he and BabyDinomon came in.

"Yeah, it's about your kids."

Don looked at me and I walked away. "What do you think, Huskimon?"

"I really don't know. She seems changed, though. I can say that with certainty."

"Yeah, same here. It is kinda creepy."

[Don

"What is it?" I took a seat as she was finishing.

"Your kids are going to be fine as they're growing up." She smiled.

"That's not…"

She set down another plate, taking a seat, "Don, they're strong. Jade and Krypton, they're fighters. They'll be fine."

"I already know that. What did you see?"

"I didn't see anything. Hina noticed it when we were all in our places."

"How can she?"

"That's her home. I figured that she has her ways."

"… What did she noticed?"

"That Krypton is like me and that Jade is someone like TK and Ceres."

"How does that clear anything? How does that make everything better?"

She sighed, "There are people who are born with light within them and people born with darkness. Jade is light and Krypton is darkness. To be a strong light person, you have to be able to enter darkness and not be taken over by it. Krypton is like me, because he doesn't get sucked in or lost within the darkness. They don't lose themselves; they just made sure that they were able to live."

"What's the difference? And why does all that matters? They're going to die…"

"We all have to die."

"But not so young."

"Don." She hardened her eyes, "I have seen death my whole life. I understand that you love them with all your heart and soul and you don't want them to get hurt, but they enter the real world the moment they left wherever they were. They probably saw glimpses of the real world when we could no longer be there for them." She closed her eyes for a moment, "Nothing can live forever and at least they weren't killed dishonorably or in your arms." She opened them and looked at me, "Be grateful that you witness their deaths before it occurs. Don't dwell on it because that's not going to solve anything. Do you want them to know you only in this state? What kind of impression do you think that will leave? Think about what you want them to remember their father by, and work on being that kind of father."

That thought never even occurred to me. If I stayed like this, being depressed, then that's all they're going to remember me by. They might even think I hate them, if I hold them and cry. I don't want them to remember me like that. I smiled at Panther, "Thanks… thanks, Panther."

She smiled back, "Just look at TK and Ceres for how your daughter is going to be, and I'll make sure to show you how Krypton is going to be."

"Why?"

"Because, they're strong in their elements. Jade is in a gang, and she doesn't lose herself to that life. That's a strong person, even I must admit. Krypton, he doesn't want power." She got up, "That takes a lot, too, because I know how easy it is to want that power so badly."

"You?"

She smiled, "Never, but I've seen a good many try. Some succeed, some fail. Krypton and I, we just want to be feared."

"Why be feared?"

"Because it's a lot better that way. You get respect the moment you walk into the room and everyone will think twice before they move." She smiled, "But, I'm sure that he does care a lot about the people around him, so he's not a cruel person."

"Did you ever get that?"

She nodded, "I was nearly there before I saw Matt."

"I'm sure that you don't get that kind of reputation by being nice."

"But we're not cruel. I'm not ready to tell that side of me, yet."

"But if…"

"I understand, Don. One day, before they go, I'll tell you."

I don't know why I nodded, but I did. "Thanks Panther."

"Welcome. Now, get the other two so we can eat." She smiled.

I got up, "Are you and Kari fighting?"

"No."

"Then why does she look upset?"

"Because she's someone of the light and for some reason, she doesn't want to be like TK and Ceres and Jade, even though she can be."

"Why not?"

"I'm not really sure. I know that she relies too much on others around her to give her the support she should find in herself. It could also be that she's realizing that I'm no longer interested in covering up what I am."

"I thought you never did."

She smiled slyly, "Almost everyone in our group is light people. To be accepted, I had to hide a bit."

"Really? Who isn't?"

"Matt and Ken. Everyone else is light."

"So even I'm light?"

She nodded, "You bet."

"Where's Plantmon?"

"Steering."

"Shouldn't Gidja be doing that?"

"They left."

"What? Why?"

"They were only here to help me and to give us a thing to use to get us home. So, after this, we're on our own." She smiled, "Don't worry, we'll get back."

I sighed, "Well, if we're late, we'll be called the cavalry."

Panther laughed as I went to get the other two.

"What did she say?" Kari asked when I walked in.

I smiled, "To get out of this room and to be a person that they can remember proudly."

"But…"

"Kari, she's right. I shouldn't be dwelling on it. The fact that they'll have to remember me as someone is more than enough reason to keep going."

"But I don't think you can get over it." Damon said.

"I know, but I don't have to be consumed by it, now do I?"

"Panther wasn't this helpful before.. I wonder what changed her." Kari commented. I could tell that there was something there that Kari didn't want to touch on.

"Everyone has to change. Part of being human. Anyway, she was nearly done so we ought to go." I walked out and they followed.

Panther smiled at us when we came in. She was the only one mainly talking. I could see that Kari wasn't being herself, which was odd.

"Kari, don't worry about Panther too much." I said as we were cleaning up since Panther was taking over the steering.

"But she has changed so much that it seems unnatural."

I shook my head, "We've all changed. Panther has found some peace within her. I think she's trying to help you get peace as well."

"I do have peace." She seemed mad that I said that.

"You know first hand how you can stray away from your Crest."

"Don't you want to get back to Neon as fast as you can?" She looked at me.

"Of course."

"So don't you think that Panther, taking us on all these side trips, is just delaying that for us?"

"Nope." I smiled.

"Why not?"

"I'm worried about Neon, but I know that she's able to take care of herself. She knows that I can do the same. We depend on each other, but it's not like we can't live without the other. It's not like we would want to, of course, but we're strong on our own and we're stronger when we're together."

She looked down, "TK and I aren't like that. He's much stronger than me."

"Then why not get stronger?"

"I thought I was… but I'm just fooling myself."

"Then just become that kind of person. It can't be that hard, right?"

"It is… I've always been weak."

"This is why you don't have peace." She looked at me, "If you can't be happy with who you are, how can you be at peace? You're at war with who you are and who you want to be. Let Panther help you."

"Not even my brother can help."

"Maybe that's your problem. If you're not willing to change, how can you change? Panther seemed to have gotten a better depth of people, so let her help."

Kari finished drying the dishes. "I'll ask." Gatomon got on her shoulder and they walked out. I went out to the deck, since it was still light out.

[Panther

As I was steering and Plantmon taking a nap, I was thinking about why I saw that man again. I saw when his mother died in front of him and his brother, how his brother died before his eyes, and all the other times he witness the death of someone. I now knew that Don and Neon have never seen death like me. This guy, Edward Elric, has. I was wondering why he was so important. I know that I normally get images when they're important, so that means that he's important to someone close to me.

The ocean was vast and calm. I was worried about Seth, about when he will attack. I didn't want to tell them that he was the reason I came on here.

"Panther." I heard Kari say. I looked to see that she was coming in with Gatomon. "I need to ask you something."

"Sure." I don't know why I didn't like the look on her face, but I figured that she and Don were talking.

She took a seat near Plantmon, "Are you trying to make me stronger?"

I looked at her for a moment, "Define stronger."

"Are you trying to make me into someone that can be independent from everyone, someone that can make their own choices and decisions?"

"No, did I give that impression?"

"I know that you're trying to change me."

"I'm not changing you." I don't think of it as a change.

"Then what are you trying to do?"

"I'm trying to get you to a level that TK and Ceres are at."

"What do you mean?" That caught her attention.

"You three are alike in one area. The difference is how you handle that area. Both TK and Ceres handle it similarly, but you don't."

"I don't?"

"Nope."

"How do they handle it?"

"They can both enter darkness."

"So can I."

I shook my head, "Maybe before, you could, but you can't now. Now, you're being sucked into it."

"I don't…"

"You're still in the Dark Ocean, Kari." I looked at her. "You haven't left there, yet. How can you say that you can enter darkness if you can't even escape that place?"

"What about you? What about Matt and Ken?"

"Matt's not there. He never was. Ken is still there and the same for me. But for us, it's not such a big deal. It is for you."

"Why?"

"Because you're not like us. Like I said, you're like TK and Ceres, and they're never there. TK was once, when he was getting you out. That's what you need to do. You need to get yourself out."

"Why does it matter to you?"

I could see that there was something else there. Why was she so afraid of doing this? "Do you want to get out?"

"Of course."

"Then you have to get yourself out… Because once you show that you can enter the darkness instead of being sucked into it, you're going to be a lot stronger. You can still be you."

"That sounds like a totally new person."

"All it takes is courage. That shouldn't be too hard to do since you've lived with the person that should've shown you the how to, right?"

"He hasn't been able to change me."

"I'm not saying to be a totally new person. TK still clings to Matt and you and Ken, doesn't he?"

"What about Ceres?"

I thought about it for a moment. I know that she still clings to Ele, but I'm not sure if she clings to people. I also thought about Sage and Diana. Diana clung to Matt, and Sage is clinging to his siblings. So, maybe they need to at least have someone that is of darkness to be close to in order to enter darkness. I don't think Mackenzie-sensei is of darkness, and I don't think that Mina is. Also, I don't know about his friends. I don't know much about his past, but he does know Matt. I would need to think on this some more. "I'm not really sure who or what Ceres clings to. I think that you might need to cling to something, or experience darkness in order to learn to enter it." I smiled, "Once I figured that out, I'll let you know."

"Why does it matter?"

"Because you're much stronger than you allow yourself to be. I want to see what you got." I smiled.

"Why?"

"Because I know that you want to help others, and you can't do that unless you're able to enter their darkness. TK can do that, that's why he was able to come to us when we needed him."

She got up, "Thanks." And then walked out.

"I wondered if that helped." I then started to notice something in the distance.

[Kari

"Kari?" Gatomon asked as I was heading down the stairs.

"Yeah?"

"Is it that hard to try?"

I stopped, not really understanding why I was getting annoyed. I mean, I guess I should…

"Kari!" I looked up to see Panther looking at me.

"What?"

"Seth's coming! Get the others in here."

I nodded and headed down. I noticed that a storm was heading our way as I went over to Don, "Don, we have to head up to the deck."

He looked over at me, "Why?"

"Seth is coming, and I guess by that storm."

Don looked over, "I don't see any."

I thought it was weird. I could see it clearly. "We should still head up. I don't think that Panther would say something like that."

He got up, "I'll get Damon. Find out what's going on." He headed down the stairs.

I went back up to Panther, "Is he in that storm?"

"Yeah.. I can feel it." Panther was looked at it and Plantmon was with her.

"Gatomon, do you see it?" I looked at her.

"Yeah."

"Don't you?" Panther asked.

"Don doesn't."

"Really?"

"Don said that you wanted us up here?" Damon asked.

"Damon, do you see a storm up ahead?"

Damon looked, "No, why?"

Panther looked at me, "Kari and I can see it."

"Then why can't we?"

I looked out the window, "I guess we just wait and see."

We all stayed there. I was getting nervous as we were heading for it. I could see that Panther was as well. I started to feel something the more we got to it. It was really big. It seemed like it crossed the whole ocean. I could hear the thunder and see the waves head.

"You still don't see anything?" I looked at the boys.

"No, not at all." Don said.

"We're about to enter." Panther said. "If we're wrong, then we're just paranoid."

In a few minutes, we were in the storm. I looked over to see that Don and Damon were now feeling it. I could also see that if we didn't tell them about it, they would be at a lost of what happen. Panther was doing very well steering the thing through it. Damon got up.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"We have to get the water out of the boat. It could make us sink if too much get in."

"I'll help." Don said as he got up as well.

"Don, stay here. I'll go." I said.

He nodded and we headed out. The rain was cold and made walking dangerous. We got to a place and started to use our minds to get the water out.

[Don

"It seems like there's no end to this. Do we have a radio?" I moved up to her, getting sea-sick.

"Nope." She was working this really good, making sure that we don't capsize.

Then it started to get rougher. I went over to the door to see that they were still okay.

"Don, keep an eye out for the back." Panther said.

"How can you out run it, though?"

"I'll ride it."

I looked out the back, keeping an eye out for them and a wave. I then caught something from the corner of my eye. I looked at the water, seeing something big moving around it. "Panther, I think something is surrounding us."

"Ask Huskimon to freeze it."

I opened the door, "Damon!" I tried to yell over the storm. They both looked up, "There's something in the water!"

Damon went over to the side, "I don't see anything!"

I looked carefully before seeing it coming from the back, "Over there! Behind the boat!"

Huskimon jumped over and shot in that direction. It froze that part of the ocean and some part of the creature since it disappeared.

"I think you got it!"

Kari quickly turned her head to her side and a huge serpent thing came towering out of the water, a part of its body frozen.

"BabyDinomon Digievolves to……………………… LDinomon! Fire Balls!" He went out to the air and fired them at the creature.

Gatomon went to Angewomon and was firing her arrows at it. Nothing seemed to be doing it for the serpent. Huskimon joined in the fight, but still nothing. Angewomon was keeping the thing from getting the boat, which was good. I would fight, but I didn't have anything to send at it. Then LDinomon went to AeroDinomon, sending his Fire Winds at the thing.

I then noticed that a big swell was forming behind us, "Panther, a big wave's coming from the back."

"Great, tell them to hold on something!"

"Hold on to something!" I yelled. They did so and our Digimon got on the boat as well. The creature roared as if winning when we were suddenly pushed. I looked at Panther to see her spinning the wheel to get us sideways. I looked to see that there was another swell in front of us. The serpent was now ahead of us, but was hit hard with the swells as we moved with it. I felt us in the air for a moment before crashing down.

"Is everyone alright?" I yelled as I looked at them. They were still on the boat.

"Where's the serpent?" Kari asked.

"Under the water."

They looked at each other before closing their eyes. I felt that floating feeling again before we were zipping through the waters. Panther was still steering us through the waters. I don't know how long, but we suddenly stopped and they collapsed. Their Digimon brought them up to the bridge. I was glad that it was a lot calmer here. I looked ahead of us to see a boat coming over to us.

"Shouldn't…" I was about to ask if we should pick the person up, but Panther stopped me.

"That's Seth." She said. She looked at Plantmon, who nodded, before looking at me, "Stay here."

"But…"

"I need to do this. Plantmon is coming with me." She smiled.

I sighed as I went over to the wheel, "I can't do those crazy turns."

"I won't be long." She went out and headed down.

"Is that wise?" Gatomon asked.

"I don't know… But we got to trust her."

"Where's…" I looked to see Kari getting up.

"Talking with Seth."

"What?" She came over to see it was true. "Why?"

"Don't know. She said that she needed to do this."

[Panther

It was still raining, but not as heavily. I went to the head of the boat, seeing that Seth was coming there.

"I thought I would be attacked, not greeted." Seth said as his boat stopped in front.

"I figure I give you a chance to tell me what you want from me." Attacking him still wasn't off the table. I was following Hina's advice of seeing what they wanted.

"You're giving a god a chance? Do you think you have power over me?" He seemed mad at that.

"If I didn't want to listen to you, I would be attacking you, now wouldn't I?"

"You think you have more power than a god?"

"You're forgetting that you're a Digimon."

That seemed to piss him off. The serpent came up behind him and was about to launch at the ship when my amulet started to glow.

"Plantmon Warp Digievolves to…………………………………… Treemon!" A huge tree appeared where Plantmon was, and I was lucky that it wasn't on my shoulder. Her face was the notes and her roots were holding her steady on the boat. "Leaf Pour!" A swirl of leaves from her head was sent to the creature, keeping it at bay.

Seth was about to attack himself when a pink dragon knocked him off his boat. It then went after the serpent.

I looked back to see Kari coming over. "Kari, can you move the ship by yourself?"

"Why?"

"We need to get out of here."

"Mangadramon, come back." She looked at the dragon.

It did a last hit before coming back.

"Treemon," I looked at her, "Create some cover."

"Leaf Pour!" She had it shooting from the top this time, covering a lot of area.

I pulled out my jewel as the dragon went to some small Digimon that had Gatomon's tail ring around its neck. I placed my hand on the boat and turned it, and us, to shadows. We were moving swiftly along, not even making a ripple as we went by. I looked back just when Seth got back up and he couldn't find us.

After a while, the waters were again rough. I keep up the power as Kari was keeping us moving. As soon as we were out of that storm, we both stopped. Treemon went back to Rootmon. I looked over at Kari to see that she was exhausted. I went over to her when I had Rootmon, offering her my hand, "Going to sleep?"

"Why did you want to talk to him?" She looked at me, seeming to have energy to yell.

I smiled, "That's the first time I heard you yell." I got her up as she looked surprised. "I wanted to see what he wanted from me. I am a person of great darkness, so I guess I'm desired or something."

"Shouldn't you stay away from people who want you?" She asked as we headed over to her room.

"Maybe, maybe not. I won't know if I don't ask." I smiled, opening her door. "Who's this?" I looked at the whitish creature.

"Salamon." She answered for herself.

"We should be fine for a while."

"Get me up if he comes back." She went over to the bed.

"Right." I headed back up to the bridge.

"You're getting brighter." Don said as I got up.

"I noticed. I might need to stay outside for a while. How are you guys?"

"We're good. Huskimon brought Damon down. I'll steer."

"Want me to send signals too?"

"If it'll help." He smiled.

"I'll see what I can do." I went down to the deck and just sat there. Rootmon had to cover her eyes because I was getting really bright and I didn't have any sunglasses with me. I was wondering how long this was going to last.

[Don

"We need to do something about the food." I said as we were cooking. We weren't nearly done with it, but we were getting there. Rootmon was staying with us since Panther has gotten so bright that we had to place a blanket over her so we could see whenever we walked outside. It's the fourth day that she's been like that. Kari and Damon have been moving the boat along the water for an hour or so each day, but we have no idea where we're going. All we know that is that we're not heading south. Even though they don't move us west or east, the current could rightfully lead us that way.

"But what should we do?" Kari asked. "It's not like there's a market somewhere."

"Maybe we should fish. We are in the sea."

"But we have nothing to make a rod out of. Any wood we have is needed for the boat."

I sat the food down, "It's worth a try. I'll ask Panther what she thinks."

"See if she's willing to eat." Kari said with concern.

I nodded as Rootmon climbed on me as I headed out. I don't eat because I don't want the food to be wasted, but Panther has chosen to not eat for some reason. I came to the hump at the front of the boat, "Panther, how are you?" I asked as I sat down next to her.

"I'm good. How is everyone else?"

"We're running low on food. Do you think we should fish for some?"

"It would be wise. The Digimon need food." I've been wondering if that was her reason for not allowing herself to eat. "You haven't been wasting what I don't eat, have you?"

"No, we all split it up among ourselves." I sighed, placing her plate down. "We're worried about you, though."

"I know."

"Why aren't you eating? I don't want to believe that you're doing this because of our Digimon. If that's the case, then think about Rootmon."

"It's not for that."

"Then why?"

She was silent for a moment, "I've been seeing this guy."

"Huh?" I wondered what she meant by that.

"In visions, I've been seeing him. I've been watching him since our trials."

"What does he have anything to do about you eating?"

"I want to know why he's important. I've been seeing lots of things about him, but nothing as to why he's important."

"And that affects your eating?"

"Because, I read once that in order to get a deeper vision that you have to starve yourself for four days."

"So when are you going to go into a trance?"

"By tonight"

"Okay… What should we do about rods? We don't have much wood to make them out of."

"Look for anything you can make a net out of. Then have Kari find the fish, then have she and Damon move the fish closer to the boat. Use the flying Digimon lift up the net and have Huskimon freeze them. Gather as much heat as you can so that you can cook as many as you want. Have Kari look for the hidden room that Hina has built into the boat and place the rest of the fish there."

"You don't want the fish in your room?" I figured to have it in a place where we can all access it.

She was silent for a moment, "If she can't find it, then place them in my room."

I nodded, picking up her plate but leaving her a jar of water. "Do you want someone to watch you while you're doing your thing?"

"Rootmon can stay with me, but otherwise, no."

"Okay." I got up and went back to the others.

"She's still not eating?" Kari asked when I walked in, dividing up the food.

"She said that she needs to starve herself for a ritual she's planning on doing tonight."

"Why?" Damon asked.

"There's a guy she's been seeing in her visions and she wants to know why he's important. Apparently, by starving herself, she'll get a deeper vision than she normally gets."

"That doesn't make much sense." Kari said.

I shrugged, "Sounded like a logical reason to me. Anyway, she gave us a plan for food."

"What's that?" Salamon asked.

"We're going to gather things to make a net. Once we have that made, then we can gather the fish."

"But we're in the open ocean. There's no guarantee that there'll be fish in the area." Damon pointed out.

"That's why Kari is going to find them and you two are going to bring them over. Our flying Digimon will carry the net in the area beforehand and bring them over once they have a good amount in the net. Huskimon will freeze them and I'll heat them up when we're cooking them."

"What about storage?"

"Panther wants Kari to find the hidden room that Hina has in here, but if Kari can't, then we're to put it into her room."

"Why does she want me to find this room?" Kari asked, a bit of fear in her eyes.

"I didn't ask. Maybe it's still for her goal." I started to eat, "Afterward this, we're going to be making the net."

[Kari

I went to Panther once I was done. "Panther, why can't we just put it in your room?"

"I want to know if you're able to enter darkness." She answered.

"You're still going on about that?"

"You can be so much stronger than what you are now."

"Is it important that I am?"

"It could be, one day."

"That's vague."

"What I've learned about myself might be important, it might not, but at least I now know more about myself. Doing this and being able to enter darkness might not be important, but it will mean that you'll learn something about yourself and you'll be a stronger person by knowing that."

I sighed, "Okay, I'll try."

"Kari, I know that sigh. Please try." She said in a pleading voice, something that isn't really like her.

I really don't know why she wanted me to do this. All I wanted was to get home and be with TK. I didn't want to do this. I just didn't want to.

[Panther

I kept thinking about my past, for some reason. Maybe it was because I was surrounded by light when I'm very dark. I noticed that I should be horrified by what I did, but I'm not. I don't know if I'm still numb, but it still wasn't affecting me. Though, somehow, I felt that I wouldn't want others to know about it. Everyone knows that I did something terribly wrong, but they don't know to the extent of that. I doubted that Kari and Yolie knew all that I did, though I bet that they would have some sense of it. I don't think that Kari would be as disturbed as she was if she didn't get a sense of what I could be capable of. When I started to feel cool, knowing that it wasn't because of the lack of food, I lifted up the blanket to see that I was right. The sun had already set, but I wanted to wait a bit more so that I could go when the moon was out.

I didn't hear that Rootmon was with me, and I didn't see her anywhere nearby. I looked up at the place, seeing someone there. They flashed something, saying that they were watching. I looked out into the sea, still thinking about my past.

I wondered what Matt would think if he found out. I was imagining it, somewhat. I mean, he can be unpredictable sometimes and that was worrying me. I wanted him to still open his arms to me. When he first saw me, I was actually taken back that he wasn't fearing me. I think that's what initially pulled me in. Then, it was his trust that made me believe that I could rely on him. I smiled to myself, glad that I had. It's been close to a year, by now, and I couldn't believe how crazy it was. I looked up to see that the moon was coming up. I took in a deep breath, placing the blanket around me so I wouldn't be too bright. I looked at the moon as I lay down on the boat. I was being soothed rather easily, and soon was in my trance.

I ended back at the gate. I looked around, feeling no one coming after me this time. I looked at myself, seeing that I was still dark here. I wondered if this is how everyone looks that comes here in a body. The gates opened and Chrono was there with a smile. "Hi Panther!"

I smiled back, "Hey, I came here since I want to know something."

"Best place to be." He extended his hand to me like a gentlemen and I took it. He led me by my arm, "What are you looking for? Do you need to go back into that chamber?"

"I've been seeing this guy in my visions and I want to know why he's important. I normally don't see things that have no significance. Would I need to go there for this?" I didn't want to go there if I didn't have to. I didn't want my powers more enhanced than they were already getting.

"No, I don't think so. Want to talk to Lady Pluto? She's here."

"Is she normally not?" I thought that was odd, since she was the guardian of this place.

"She does have a life to live outside of this. Though, she normally spends her business hours here. It's kinda funny, actually, since she normally goes back to earth when she knows she has to or she's invited somewhere."

"So she doesn't actually work?'

"Oh, no. She has a job on earth as well, but she's the boss so she doesn't always show up."

"I see. Sure, she might be able to help me." I smiled. He led me to another part of the place. It had this huge castle that was made of lavender something. It looked to be crystals as we walked pass some of the decorative structures. I looked around, thinking that Ryan would have a field day with this. It was so magical.

And inside was really something. I kinda wished that I could look around because the light was shining off of everything. It kinda created a warm feeling even though I'm sure the temperature wasn't all that different from the one outside. We walked up to a double door, with imagines on both sides, but since Chrono opened one of them and brought me inside, I didn't get a good look at them. The place was also naturally lighted. Lady Pluto was there, reading over something in the library. My first thought went to Ceres, thinking that she would love to come here. Though, thinking about her made me long to return home.

"Oh, Panther, what brings you here?" She looked over to me with a smile.

"I came here because I wanted to know why a guy I'm seeing in my visions is important." I said as we went over to her.

She came down the ladder that she was using to get at one of the taller shelves. "Tell me about him."

"He's name is Edward Elric and he's from another world, apparently. The world he's from has something magical that they call science and it's much like our world, but less advance. It seems to me that it's a parallel world that just took a different path than ours." I remembered about that other world that I saw. I then remembered about Styxmon's dream; that all the worlds would be able to come together as one. I wondered if we lost sight of that dream.

She thought about it for a moment before looking up at one of the books. She went up again, pulling out a book and looked through it. "What would you like to do here in order to find out?" She said as she looked through the book.

"I don't really know… I guess talking to him might be a good start."

"Okay… come with me then." She placed the book back and headed back down. "I'll take you to a place where you can do so."

I nodded. As she led the way, Chrono followed.

"What was she looking at?" I asked him.

"I'm not sure myself. I think those books contain the history of all the worlds. Even though we're the gatekeepers of time, we need something to give us a quick reference to each different world because they don't follow the same time sequence."

"So that's supposed to let you know each time line?"

"I think it also gives a history of that world too. It doesn't give out individual time lines, but it does list major events and if there was anyone important to that world during that time. That way, we can give the minds that come here all the information that they need in order to solve what they want to know."

"So this is like a gathering of all the worlds? Including the Digital World?" I wondered if we could get more information on its history.

"The Digital World is much like this world." Pluto said. I looked at her, wondering what she was talking about. "It was created before this place was created. Apparently, someone from there came here and created this place. From that, someone from another world that was created at the same time as well came here to guard it. Later, the original guardian passed on his job to someone else, so goes the tradition."

"So there were three places that were created at the same time? The Digital World, this world and another world? How were they created? Was it at the time of the Big Bang?"

She giggled, "Not really. These places have no bearings on that Universe." She smiled at my confuse expression. "There is more than one Universe. The one that you are familiar with is just one of many. What your scientists are seeing is the edge of that universe. They can't see the other Universes, and people that can travel across the Universe don't know about the others either. It's not like there's a barrier, but there is a quite the distance between the universes. And it's not recorded how they were created. It's just been told to each of the guardians that that's how it goes. Though, I didn't realize that one of the worlds was the Digital World until I had the time to look."

"What's the other world then?"

"It's a world that's filled with darkness. It's where much of your mystical guardians, creatures and magical power come from. Though, it's not only connected to your world, but all the worlds. But, having learned about the Digital World, I'm beginning to think that the Digital World is probably the most powerful world of them all, and it's like the center of everything."

"Even though this world and the other world were created at the same time?"

She nodded, "I'm not too sure about the other world, but I know that someone came to here to create this space. And, another reason is that this world and the other world aren't located in the same place as the Digital World. They're both located in the Dark Universe."

"Dark Universe?"

She nodded, "It's also where those who have passed away go to live. So, you can really say that only spirits can come here."

I stopped, "What about people with darkness within their hearts?"

She and Chrono looked at me. I wasn't sure what I wanted to know, knowing what I know. She smiled at me, "What do you mean by that, Panther?"

I looked down, "There are those who have darkness and those who have light. I was told that the Digital World was a world full of light… I guess, what I'm trying to ask if those who have darkness within them can come to this Universe, as long as they're powerful enough and can be within their own darkness without being consumed by it."

"I don't really know." I looked at her, "But I do know that only those of a certain type can become the guardian of this place, and that not everyone is of that type. But, to what extent they need to be of one or the other, I don't know. I was never told with that in mind."

I nodded, then suddenly, Chrono gave me a hug. I looked at him, "Hm…" I wasn't sure what he was doing.

"Panther, you're wonderful. Please, you don't belong to any place that has darkness." He tightened his grip.

I smiled, "Thank you." He didn't need to know how wrong he was.

He got off of me and smiled.

"Let's continue." Lady Pluto said and we did.

We got to another double door with markings on it. Lady Pluto looked at me, "Once you step inside, you will be able to talk to his spirit. I don't know what age you'll get him at, though."

"That's fine. I've seen enough of his memories to know something about his past." I smiled.

She nodded, "Once you are done, you will return to your body."

I nodded and the doors opened. I could feel something dangerous in there. I took in a deep breath before taking a step forward. I was stopped by a hand, somehow feeling a TK and the dark being moment. I looked to see that Chrono had stopped me.

"Panther, be careful." He said with concern in his voice.

I smiled at him, "I will."

He let me go and I went inside. The small beings were surrounding me as the doors closed. I closed my eyes, hearing their scratchy voices all around me. I opened my eyes, "I am one of you. I am a being of great darkness. But unlike you, I'm also of the light. I will enter your place and not be taken over." I said before walking forward. They were making a path for me. "Now, show me Edward Elric." I said as I kept on walking.

I saw him. He was walking over, and it he seemed to be of the age before he came to our world. He noticed me, and stopped to look at me. I touched my amulet, bringing about a light around us to keep the darkness at bay.

"Who are you?" He asked me.

I got another vision. I saw him talking to Nereida, but she was much older and much less like herself than she is now.

"When you come to the other side, you need to build a rocket. You must then find a girl wherever you land that speaks your native language. But, first, I want to know more about you. You are important to many people, and I want to know why."

"Answer my question. Who are you?" I could see something in his eyes. I could see that he was on the verge of losing himself.

"My name is Panther." I smiled kindly at him. "And don't worry about your brother. You'll see him again."

That widened his eyes, "How do you know?"

"I've been watching you for some time. I know that it would be hard to believe, since you never experience a psychic before. But, you're an important person. You give people hope." I then saw him in the Digital World with another blonde hair boy. "And you're going to gain many more brothers before this is done. You'll gain trust and love from other people. Never forget your pull on others."

"What are you talking about?"

"In your world, you've helped people and became known as the Alchemist for the people, did you not?"

"Yes…"

"In world that you're entering, my world, you can't use your Alchemy."

"… Okay.. I guess I do deserve that for all I've done."

"Don't ever lose your heart, though." He looked at me, "Never give up your fighting spirit. And, most importantly, never forget where your home is."

"My home? I have no home to go back to… I burnt it down a long time ago."

"Home is where you can find peace. It's the place where you don't want to leave and it's the people that you want to love and protect. A home doesn't exist within a place. It exists within people. Once you have found those, or that one person, who can be your home, then you've found it."

"Then I've lost that too… My brother…"

"I told you that you'll see him again, didn't I?" I smiled, "A bond as strong as yours will never be torn." For some reason, it's the kind of bond that I want with Ceres, that strong bond that can't be broken.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"To tell you the truth, I don't know why. I don't know why you're important, but you are."

"Do you live here?"

"No, but I can enter it, just like you could, and your father and your teacher and your brother." Maybe that's why he was important. He's a strong light person. So, this means that I have to let him know that without using that wording. I was thinking about it, thinking about words that he would understand. "I think why you're important is because you need to teach someone the power that you know Alchemy has."

"But you just…"

"By teaching someone about Alchemy and they actually understand all that you do, you will then be able to see your brother. And don't hold back any information from them. They need to learn it all, including of this place, before you can return."

"But how can they learn everything if they can't perform it?"

"Someone will be able to perform it. Someone in a land far from where you're going now, in the time where you land where you will meet a girl that will promise to get you home, wherever you consider your home to be at that moment."

He looked behind him, "I want to return there one day."

"You will go home once you know that you have done everything that is needed." I got a feeling that he won't go back there, really, since he does come back with his brother. But, I figure that he didn't need to know that. "Are you able to complete this task?"

He looked at me, "I want to see my brother again."

"Then remember, know where your home is, never lose yourself, and teach someone about your world and you can go home."

He nodded and I let him pass me. I allowed my light to lead him where he was heading. Once he passed through the gate, I looked around me. They were crawling on my light, trying to get it. I sighed, seeing those that want the light so badly. I let go of that light and they were lost.

"One day, you will be part of the light. But until that day, be kind to those of light." I said as they came after me. I closed my eyes and felt myself back in my body.

[Damon

It was kinda weird how Panther just stopped glowing. It was even weird that it lasted for a few hours. I decided that I would stay up all night, taking my sleep after breakfast. It was nearing sunrise when her glow was getting stronger.

"Is she back?" Rootmon asked, watching her partner from here the whole time.

"I don't know." I looked over and she waved at me. "I guess so. Do you want to wake the others?" I looked at Rootmon, since Panther was looking out at the path of the sun.

"Yeah!" She got down and Huskimon brought her down. I wondered how hungry she was.

Later, we were all having breakfast outside since Panther was less bright that way.

"I thought your affect lasted for a week." Don pointed out.

"I guess where I went took some of that light away." She wasn't really eating much, since we didn't catch the fish yet. "Have you found things to use to catch the fish?"

"We're still making it." I said. I also noticed how happy Rootmon was to have Panther near her again. "Finding material for it is kinda tough."

"Do we not have enough or something?" She asked.

"More like we don't know how to make a net." I said. "It might seem like a simple thing, but it's quite difficult in practice."

She nodded, "I'll help, since I'm done."

"What did you find out, anyway?" Kari asked.

"That the guy is important to bring forth light to others." She smiled, "He's also a powerful light since he can enter a dark place and not be taken over by it."

"Is he connected to us in some way?"

"I don't think directly. He helps a boy when they're in the Digital World at some point."

"Is the boy another Digidestined?" Don asked.

"I don't think so. It didn't seem like it. Anyway, what the guy needs to do is teach his craft to this boy and also find the people he wants to call home."

"And how will that help the boy?" I asked.

"I don't know. But, somehow, the boy needs that craft in order to find himself, or something like that. I'm not too sure of it myself, but I know that at least it will be helpful. So, I guess all I needed to do was point him in the right direction and then let him loose. I already know that he'll be fine."

"What took you so long, anyway?"

She shrugged, "Maybe the talk took longer because of where we were. How much food do we have anyway?"

"We have enough for today and a bit of tomorrow." Don said.

"Okay, since we're done, let's get building."

"Are you sure you should be working?" Kari asked. "You didn't get enough food for the amount that you didn't eat."

"At the same time, I don't want to be idle and do nothing." Panther smiled, "I won't overwork me, okay?"

Kari sighed, "Okay."

[Don

We brought out the net to the deck and we were all working on it again. We were able to get a lot more of it done by lunch time, to which Damon fell asleep afterwards.

"Why did Damon go to bed?" Panther asked.

"He wants to man the ship during the night." I told her as we were working on the net again as Kari was steering.

"Oh… When do you steer?" She looked at me.

"I don't… they think I'm too emotional or something to keep a straight mind or something." I said with some humor.

"Are you?" She asked seriously.

"I don't know. I thought that I wasn't, but I guess they don't think so."

Panther looked over to her left, to where the sun rises, suddenly. I looked over too, seeing nothing over there. "What is it?" I asked.

She got up and walked over to the rim of the boat. I got up too, looking at the water to see something moving down there.

"Those are just sharks." She said. I looked at her, and she was still looking out to the water, "There's something that's moving towards us… or we're being pulled towards it."

"Another realm?"

"Maybe… I'm not really familiar with their myths and much of it has been lost."

"How are you feeling for it?"

"Because it's being attracted to someone over here. I know it's not me, because it's something of the light folk."

"So that leaves everyone else, huh?" I said, remembering that she said that we were all of the light, except for her, Matt and Ken. "What should we do?"

"Ask Kari if there's a current that we're now on."

I nodded and headed up. "Kari?" I opened the door to see that she was knocked out and the same with Salamon. I went over, checking up on them and they were fine. "Panther! Something knocked them out!" I said as I came down the stairs, leaving Aero Dinomon with them. "I'm checking on Damon." I went down to where he went to sleep. He was still sleeping, and the same with Huskimon. I picked them up and brought them to the bridge, just the same.

"Are they okay?" Panther asked, with Kari and Salamon now on the deck.

"Yeah, what could have happened?"

"I think we're in the realm now."

"Then why aren't we knocked out?"

"I'm not sure…" She looked up, "And the sun stopped moving." She went over to the side, looking down, "But the sharks are still there."

"I guess we shouldn't take that as a good sign."

"Probably not… But we'll see soon enough. They're not coming close to the boat."

"What should we do?" I lay Huskimon and Damon down next to Kari and Salamon.

"I'm not too sure. Though, we have to make sure that these guys are okay throughout it."

I nodded. I then felt something and looked out to see another boat coming towards us. "Is that him?" I asked.

"Maybe." She took a deep breath. "Hide them so he doesn't see them."

I grabbed the blanket that Panther was using and Aero Dinomon helped me put it over them. We then stood beside Panther and Rootmon, waiting for this being to come closer. It was a man, fully clothed like a modern man.

"Who are you?" Panther asked when he was in hearing range.

"I am Maui." He smiled innocently enough.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

"I came to claim a new body for my spirit. I figured I would again try to gain immortality for mankind."

"Many human beings don't need to live forever." Panther said, "And we take an eerie joy in death."

"What?" He seemed to not believe her. "Why would you? That would mean that you can't reach your full potential."

"Life and death are all part of one big cycle. One can't be one without experiencing the other."

"What about the gods? They can live forever."

"But now they must experience death. They have also experienced death by their religion and temples being torn down by others and by having a few believe in them."

"But not all have died." He smiled at that fact.

"Were you once a god?"

"In a sense."

"But that means that you're still human. Humans that are remembered aren't gods, but heroes and they don't count."

"Why don't they?" He was whining at that moment.

"Because a deity rules over things, and are worshiped for their power. A human made divine is worshiped for the hope that they bring." I was wondering where Panther was getting all this wisdom from. It seemed to come out of no where.

He sighed, "Well, if I'm only a bringer of hope, that's fine by me. I'll give the hope to everyone that wishes not to die!" He started chanting something, creating a whirlwind around us. I blocked my eyes.

I then heard laughter in Damon's voice. We looked behind to see that his body was standing. "Now watch as I take this medium to Hina! He will forever be remembered as the one that brought my people immortality!" He made a run for us. I grabbed his arm, but having little strength because of my lack of food, he managed to jump into the water.

"Damon!" I yelled. I heard some clothes coming off. I looked over at Panther, seeing her stripping quickly. "Wait…"

"I can enter darkness." She said firmly. "And I have a plan."

"I'm…"

"Get a line ready. I don't know how those sharks are connected to us." She handed me Rootmon, forcing me to nod my agreement.

"Don't die."

"Never." She smiled as she jumped in.

"Let's go! Get whatever else we can use to make a rope!" I looked at Rootmon and Aero Dinomon. They nodded and we went searching.

[Panther

I saw Maui taking Damon's body deeper and deeper into the ocean. My ears were popping like crazy. I tried to ignore the fact that there were tons of sharks swarming around. He was slowing down now, stopping as he was doing something else. I took hold of him before he finished and we were both teleported to a dark cave. I was coughing wildly, gasping for air and getting a headache for the sudden equalization of my ears.

"Why would you follow?" I was able to hear Maui ask as I was laying on the ground.

"He's… my friend…" I said slowly. I got up weakly, getting sick now. I looked at Maui, hating how he was able to keep Damon's body looking the same, "And there's… no way… in hell… that I'm about… to let you.. take him away."

He smiled at me, "But you can barely stand, let alone stop me."

"I'm not taken over by darkness and darkness is my element." As soon as I said that, I could feel something surround us. I could hear the sound of birds singing.

"What? Again you do this to me? Why favor her over me?" He asked, looking around. I could see something surrounding Damon. "No! I possess this body! I'm here to fulfill my duty! Not to give you, betrayers, another life!"

_Spirits?_ "Maui!" I yelled, ignoring my pains for a moment, and took hold of him, "Let Damon go!"

"Not until my duty is completed. You're human! Don't you want to live forever?"

"Never! If I don't die then I will never be able to see the one I love. And even if not for them, I would never be happy to live forever. Death is what makes humans strong. Death is what makes humans strive to make themselves better than the gods." I pushed some of my darkness through Damon, pushing out Maui's spirit from him. I wrapped my arms around his body.

"Why would you not want to live forever? You must be divine for you to say that."

"I'm as human as anyone else." I noticed that those spirits were still around us. I blanketed us with darkness, which kept them at bay.

Maui looked pissed off and was about to do something before a voice interrupted him, "Maui!" I looked over to see Heka in her ancient Greek grab. Right then, all the spirits went away and Killer was holding Maui's spirit when it turned solid.

"What do you want?" He looked at her with nasty eyes. I let go of the blanket that I created, falling to the ground with Damon still with me.

"Hina is no longer here." Heka said. "She was punished a few days ago and she won't be back until a thousand years."

I stared at them. I couldn't believe what I just heard. I think I wasn't able to process it right, either. "Then give me her powers! I can still…" He was pushed to the ground by Killer.

"Don't you get it!" Heka yelled, "She's gone and so are her powers. You have nothing now. Your last task is what killed you! Don't you dare repeat it."

He seemed to have submitted to that, because he was now crying. I barely noticed Killer coming over to me. "Panther?" He touched my face.

I looked at him and started to cry on the spot. He pulled my head closer to him, since I wasn't letting go of Damon.

"Panther." I heard after a while. I didn't move away from Killer as I looked at Heka. She gave me a sorrowful expression. "She was punished because she didn't want to bring you harm. But, with everything you've done, I'm sure that she would be please with you."

I looked at Damon, nodding my head. "I need to head back. I don't want Don to worry about me."

"But Panther, you're weak as it is. Don't push yourself." Killer said with concern.

I smiled at him, "I'll rest. But, as of right now, Don doesn't have my back and he's worrying." He gave me a weird look. "Thank you for helping me."

He smiled, "Anytime." He kissed me. I missed him terribly, but my time to be with him hasn't come yet.

"Had you ever feared me?" I was curious.

Killer blinked, "Never. I always knew who the true you was." He touched my face again.

I smiled, "Okay. Could you help me up?"

He did so, and I got a Damon in a better position. I looked over at Heka, "I'm sorry that you were taken away from Nereida."

She smiled, "I'm watching her and the others. Everyone is fine and heading home."

"I had no doubt that they wouldn't."

"Killer, I'll wait here." She looked at Killer and he nodded.

He was leading me somewhere, but I was curious about why she said that. "Killer?" I looked at him.

"Ilpalo and I are watching along with her. I'm her bodyguard and his Hades's bodyguard." He brought out a really awesome gun. "And she even got us some new toys to protect them with."

I smiled, "So, you're doing alright?"

"Yep.. Oh, also remember this." He said as he stopped to put his gun away, which I thought was odd.

"What?"

He closed his eyes in ponder, "But should I really tell you this?"

I got in front of him, "Killer, what is it?"

He opened his eyes, leaned forward and kissed me again, "I love you and be weary of Greeks even when they bear gifts."

I blinked before he lightly pushed me away from him. I was noticing that I was heading back to the ocean as Killer faded from my sights. I held my breath before I was completely back. The sharks were still around us as I headed back up.

I was swimming calmly at first before remembering that Damon was unconscious. I tried to remain calm as I was swimming fast, but I was losing my strength fast. I was also not liking the fact that they were condensing around us and that I couldn't see the boat. I now noticed that I couldn't access my dark powers to give me a boost. I stopped swimming for a moment, closing my eyes and I let out the rest of the light that was around me.

That scared off the sharks, somehow and I was getting a power boost from my darkness. I used that to get me back to the ship, able to find it by the amount of light Kari was showing. I burst from the bottom, gasping for air and the last of my strength gone. I heard something hitting the water, I looked to see a lifesaver.

"Panther!" I looked to see that Don had the other end. I took hold of it once I made sure that Damon was secure. He started to pull us over quickly, getting us on the boat with Aero Dinomon's help.

"Make sure Damon's okay." I said as I lay on the deck, wanting to sleep.

I hear Don doing CPR for a bit before Damon started to cough. I was getting that sick feeling again.

"I'll bring you to a room once I get him in one, okay?" Don said as he picked up Damon.

"That's fine." I smiled at him.

He then headed down the stairs.

"How are you?" Rootmon asked.

"I think I'm going to be sick for a while."

"What, why?"

"I came up too fast. You shouldn't do that when under water."

"But you had no choice."

I smiled at her, "It's a body thing, not a conscious thing."

"Oh…" Then we heard moaning. "Kari's up!" Rootmon said happily.

"What happened?" She asked, "Panther?"

"We had an adventure without you." I smiled, "To put it shortly."

"Where are the boys.. and why is Huskimon here?" She got up.

"Hopefully Damon is getting rest." Don said as he came over. "How are you doing, Panther?"

"She thinks she's going to be sick for a while because she came up too fast, which couldn't be helped but her body doesn't care!" Rootmon said, which, for some reason, made me giggle.

"We need to do something about that." Don said with concern. "Panther, is there something we can use to equalize you?"

I thought about it, "Kari, find Hina's… Hina's room." I kept my emotions in check.

"Why?" She asked.

"I think I should be surrounded by darkness. I think I'll be fine afterwards."

"That doesn't…"

"Kari, let's look." Don said.

"But…"

"We can't argue, Kari. She could die if we don't treat her."

[Kari

So, we ended up looking. I couldn't find it. "I can't find it." I said, trying everything to see if it would lead us there.

"You're not trying, Kari." He pointed out.

"Of course I am." I looked at him.

"Then you would be able to find it."

"Ever thought that Panther was wrong? Maybe it disappeared when she did?"

He narrowed his eyes at me, "Seriously try to find it before you give up. Otherwise, you're no better than those who now hate us."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're wasting time with your question."

I turned back around, closing my eyes. I don't know how I was supposed to find this stupid place. I already figured that it didn't exist anymore. I stayed like this, trying to find it but nothing working. "I can't find it, Don."

He walked away from me without a word. I didn't know what that meant but I followed him anyway.

"Panther, Kari can't find it. I'm going to try something else. You can get back your darkness when we get back, okay?" Don said as he carefully turned her over.

"Okay." She smiled. I noticed that Huskimon wasn't here anymore and Salamon came over to me. Don placed his hands over her ears.

"Let me know when it feels like everything has equalized out." He said as he started to heat up the area around her ears.

"I guess it's a good thing that I feel like I'm baking." She said with humor.

"It's a good thing that this didn't happen at night."

"It's still warm at night."

"Not enough for this."

"Equalized."

"Wow, I didn't know that you can swim this far down without a mask." Don commented. I just then noticed how friendly they were being, as if making light about this fact. I went up to the bridge, so that way someone will be focusing on getting us home.

"Kari?" Salamon asked.

"I'm fine."

[Don

"It wasn't easy." Panther said.

"Were the sharks still around?"

"Yeah, but the rest of the light that I had, I used it to scare them away.

"Oh, okay."

"Could Kari really not find it?" Panther asked after a moment.

"I don't think she was really trying." I didn't want to tell Kari that I consider her a coward and that she should just return to her old group.

"Maybe Matt and Ceres can help me when we get back."

"With what? She doesn't want to try, even when your life was on the line."

"She's not that strong. I know she can be, but I'm not sure how to make her realize that she can be. I don't even know why she thinks she can't be."

"Maybe you should do that first before continuing. Otherwise, she's going to start to piss me off."

Panther laughed, "Thanks for having my back, by the way."

"Any time." I smiled.

Damon came up around the time we have dinner. Our Digimon were the ones that were feeding us and the rest came to eat as well.

"So, what happened to us?" Damon asked, seemingly to be better.

"Apparently, some hero from here wanted your body to accomplished something he couldn't a long time ago." Panther said.

"Why me?" Damon asked.

"He said you're a medium."

"So why weren't you two knocked out?" Kari asked.

"Don't really know. And in either case, it's probably not important." And then I was done, I was glad that I got it all done before the sun left.

Panther got up slowly, smiling at me when she was up, "Thanks, Don."

"No problem. Get some rest, though."

"Right." She looked at the others, "Damon, you might want to be careful. I think you can attract spirits to you that would want to use your body."

"But I've never been possessed before."

"That doesn't mean that it's not a possibility. Anyway, I'm heading to bed. I'll help once we have a net made." She stood up and walked over to the stairs.

"I'll steer so you two get some sleep." I said, getting up.

Damon got up and took the dishes with him.

"Don, what did you mean by that?" Kari asked.

I looked at her before sighing. "I was just worried about Panther and stressed out. I didn't mean anything by that." I didn't want to break up the group again because of my beliefs.

"Really?" She seemed to want to buy that. I was beginning to wonder if this is what we needed to do in order to keep peace. Was this all peace and calm presence we create, even when false, what we need?

"Yeah." I smiled, "Sorry."

She accepted that, "It's okay." She then went to her room as I headed up.

"Maybe you should've told her the truth?" Aero Dinomon said.

"And what good would that do us?" I asked, sighing, "I wanted to punch her. I don't even know why Panther cares about Kari as much as she does."

"Maybe you should ask her."

"I guess I will tomorrow."

In the morning, Panther came out before the sun rose. "Need a break?"

"Did you get sleep?" I looked at her.

She smiled, "Yep."

"By the way, where did you get all your wisdom from?"

"Oh, I'm applying what I learned from Hina to bring a new light to other subject matters. Though, I realized that I can't use the terms light and darkness since I'm the only one that would get that, apparently."

"I can follow it pretty well."

"I think everyone on this boat is getting an idea on what I'm talking about." She smiled.

"So, why care that Kari gets stronger?"

"I kinda don't know why I want to push her so much." She leaned on the doorframe, "But I know that I have to. I know that she can't be her true self without gaining the ability to enter darkness."

"Well, if you want someone to punch her, I'm willing to do that."

Panther laughed a bit, "I don't mind getting my hands dirty."

"But you seem to be sensitive with her." I was kinda glad that she didn't put it down.

She shrugged, "Maybe I am being a bit sensitive, but if I push too much, I might just break her rather than help her."

"But she doesn't even try to be of use when she could be…"

"She never was given a reason to be brave, I think. I've always thought she was, but maybe it was just a front. I don't really know the answers… Though, I'm sure I can use the help to figure it out."

I sighed, "Fine, since I want to be there the moment she needs that punch to the face."

Panther walked in and holding her arm up, "Glad you have my back."

I smiled, rising mine and letting our arms hit, "Glad to be there."

Then we heard a noise. We looked to see a helicopter with two razors. We looked at each other before heading out. I summoned some heat and sent up a flare like thing. It came over to us, lowering itself over to us. A boy with black hair popped out, "Are you guys alright?" He asked through a megaphone.

"Yeah! We are!" Panther answered.

"Great! We'll get you home. Is there anyone else?"

"Yeah, we'll be right back!" She looked at me and I nodded. We got them up and let them got first. "Don, go up." Panther said.

"Why me first?" I looked at her.

"I don't want you to fall and have no one catch you." She smiled.

I sighed before getting up, going very slowly as Panther followed. I managed to get on, but was exhausted.

"I'm Mokuba, Seto's brother." He introduced himself as we headed away from the boat. I looked out the window to see that it disappeared. "I'm glad that you're all okay. Everyone else is heading back home too." He smiled.

"Do you know what happened to TK?" Kari asked.

"He's fine. In fact, you should be able to see him when we land."

That made Kari very happy, and also explaining her desire to get home.

"Don," I looked at Panther, "Go ahead and sleep. I'll get you up when we land."

I nodded and fell asleep, wondering how Neon was doing.


	28. Chap 27 World Tour! The Deity Side!

[Hebe

"I think she's finally awakening." I heard someone say. _Nereida?_

"Hebe?" Another voice asked. _Where am I?_

"Hebe, please get up."

I opened my eyes to see Artemis and Persephone looking at me. I moved my head a bit to see where I was. I knew I wasn't in our house since it was cold and dark and rocky… "What's happening to them?" I asked as I got up.

I was in a lot of pain, so Artemis forced me to lie down again. "We might be Immortals but we can still feel pain." She said.

"I know that, but what about Nereida and the others?"

"They're fine right now. They're all traveling to get back to Japan."

"Where are they now?"

"They're all traveling in different areas. Nereida, Matt, Lily Dawn, and Neon landed in Russia; Damon, Panther, Kari and Don in Australia; and the rest in the US."

"TK isn't with them. He's back in Japan." Persephone added.

"How long was I out for?"

"You've been out for a few days. It's already passed their New Years Day."

"I'm sure that this can't be the end of what Aphrodite was planning."

"She has also asked the aid of some of the other Deities. Thor and Seth are so far the ones that have agreed."

"Why? Why are they interested? What do they have to gain from it?"

"We don't know." I heard Hades say. He was now standing opposite of the other two. "But apparently Seth is going to deal with the ones in Australia and Thor is going to deal with the ones in Russia."

"But what about the Deities that once ruled Australia?"

"They have given him permission."

"And why didn't she get some for the ones in the US?"

"The ones that rule there apparently don't want others to come onto their territory."

I was beginning to worry since Thor was a powerful god in his own hierarchy. To have them face off against him was trouble. Though Seth was the same way, even more so since he has some anger issues that he never worked out.

"But you shouldn't worry too much." I looked at Hades, "I am secretly asking for help from the other deities. I also have just learned that there are some Egyptians in Japan that could watch over TK for us."

"Is she planning on sending someone after him?"

"As of yet, no, but we can't get anything from there. It's somehow blocked from anything we have."

I nodded since I would just have to wait until I'm able to move before I could do something.

I had to watch what everyone was doing for the rest of the day. Nereida was traveling with the others towards some port. Tim's group was celebrating the New Years at some town.

"Hades!!" A voice yelled as they entered the tunnel. I looked to see that it was Arsmon. "Where are you!!" He didn't seem please at all.

"May I help you?" I got off the chair that they're allowing me to use. I was also able to move, but it wasn't much.

"I'm not asking for his servant."

"I happen to be a Goddess myself, Arsmon."

That made him pause for a moment. "How did you know my name? Not even Hades knows it."

I smiled, "I guess you don't know that much about Nereida as you think."

"What? That's right! I need to speak to Hades."

"They're up above for a moment. So what do you want to know?"

"Why are you there, for starters?"

"This is my punishment. A punishment for not revealing names of the Neo Digidestined."

"You know the Neo Digidestined?"

"I only really know one. The one that you're in love with." I smiled.

"How is she doing? I was told that they were scattered around the world." He was a lot calmer now.

"She's fine, you can have a look."

He walked over to look at the orb. It was January second where she was and they were traveling still.

"I'm glad that she's okay." He smiled.

"You really do care for her, don't you?" I asked as I sat down.

He looked at me, "I do care about her. How do you know Nereida so well?"

"We're friends."

"You're right, I don't know her as well as I should. So, what does she really think about me?"

"If it was something ill, I wouldn't tolerate you being here."

"But you do realize that I have every right to be here since my Master has more power than Hades."

"I'm not his servant. I'm not even apart of the Deities anymore. I live for me and Nereida, no one else."

"I thought the Greeks were all about unity."

"We are, but I have lost faith within them."

"What are you doing here?"

We looked to see Hades and Persephone coming over. Hades didn't look so happy about him being here.

"I'm here to ask what is going on with the Neo Digidestined. My Master was curious."

He narrowed his eyes for a moment, "Aphrodite did it to them. She has sent them around the world so they can never return to Japan. She has cut off their amulets' power of opening portals to ensure it as well as sent other Deities to take care of them. So far, there are two."

Then there was an explosion on the orb. We looked to see that their driver was killed and nothing was left but ashes.

"Is that Zeus?" Arsmon asked.

"No, that's Thormon. He is assigned to kill this group." Hades answered.

"Who is assigned to what other group?"

"Seth has been assigned to Panther's group who are in Australia."

"And why aren't you helping?" He looked at me.

"I am gathering aid for them, but I need to do so in secrecy since Zeus can not know that I know them." Hades said, though I'm sure he was wondering why Arsmon was directing it at me.

"So even you fear your brother." He smiled.

"I don't fear my brother, but we can't appear to have disunity."

"Where are they?" He pointed to the orb.

"Russia."

We all looked to see what was going on. Lightningmon was fighting against Thor, using what I told them about the deities.

"They seem to be able to fair quite well without you." Persephone commented.

"You better pick someone worthy of protecting Nereida or else you won't like the end result." He walked out of the cave.

"Why were you talking to him?" Hades asked once he was fully gone.

I looked at the orb to see that Lightningmon was carrying Lily Dawn and Nereida, fleeing from Thor. Neon and Matt were already gone. "I wanted to know why he was here since he just walked right in here." Thor was able to recover and went after them. I could only assume that Arsmon went to go see if he could talk to her or protect her. I knew that they didn't need it, but then again, he is a way for me to get things to her. I'm doubtful that he would do it for anyone else.

"He is one that cannot be trusted on many subjects. His master has taken souls from here."

"Sorry… I didn't know." Though I think I did know, I don't really care if he knew that. "I'll keep a better lock on certain information whenever he comes by." They walked away.

"Why was he only asking about Nereida?" I looked behind me to see two new people.

"Let me guess, Killer and Ilpalo, right?"

"Yep, so you were told about us, by whom?" Asked the one that was more European in his looks, so he must be Ilpalo.

"Why does it matter?" I went looking back at the orb. Thor suddenly fell from the sky with no explanation. I was worried that Nereida caused that since her Crest had something like that.

"Hey, can you go over to Panther?" Killer asked as he was lending over the seat.

"No… she's probably still traveling. They haven't been taken by Seth yet."

"They're not here and we don't have to report to them either. So it's safe to tell us." Ilpalo said.

"Fine, Arsmon likes Nereida and she likes him."

"Really… So why is he bad news?" Killer asked.

"Because his master, Collect Soulsmon, has stolen some souls from the Underworld. Not many Underworld Deities are happy with her."

"Why is she taking souls?"

"No one really knows, right?" Ilpalo asked.

"Yep." I had forgotten that he was Maeve's slave for a while so he would know more about what goes on here than Killer.

"Then why not have someone take care of her?" Killer asked.

"Because she is apparently one of the four that has this new type as well as being the ones that can create new Digimon. They are the ones that gave us our data. I was told that they don't give every creation the Neo type code."

"What is this type and what is a type?"

"There are three types: data, virus and vaccine. The Neo type is when all the types are merged together." Ilpalo explained.

"All the Deities were given this type out of kindness of the three siblings. Collect Soulsmon isn't one of the siblings, but she seems to have the same power as them."

"Maybe you can find out her reasons within her name?" Ilpalo suggested.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I looked at him.

"I've noticed that the key to know about a Super Level Digimon is to hear their name since that contains their power."

"I… didn't notice that before… Is that true?"

"Just check out any Super Level to see."

I didn't have too many from my list to have a positive proof, but the ones that I did know seem to follow that pattern. "I think your right."

"So Collect Soulsmon has the power to collect souls?" Killer followed the logic, "But that doesn't give why she wants them."

"If she's able to collect the souls then that means she has a place on her where she can store them. They might be her energy source or something."

"Well, what's Arsmon's power?"

"His name seems to be Latin for skill." I said.

"I heard a rumor that Arsmon was an original creation of Collect Soulsmon. What that means, no one knew." Ilpalo added.

"So maybe he's her storage box." I commented. They were resting now so I switched to Tim's group. Their train landed in some small town before their destination and I was impressed that Tim wasn't angry.

"Ceres!" Ilpalo said as he pushed Killer out of his way.

"Oh, so you go to Ceres, but not Panther." Killer said with hinted anger.

"I was wondering what they were doing. I'm going to check everyone." Ceres was talking to Tim, with the others sleeping. They were talking about something important or serious, by the way that Ceres looked.

"I guess it was too much to hope that this would give sound too."

"Yep." I went to Damon's group, seeing that I was right about them traveling. Though since it was during the day, they were being smart and were resting in the shade.

"Why aren't they going? They're burning daylight." Killer said.

"It is hot in Australia. They'll get heat-stroke if they're not careful." Ilpalo said.

"Oh… I didn't know that… but isn't it like winter there?"

"When in the Southern Atmosphere, the seasons are switched."

"Oh."

"I thought they taught mortals that or are you just dumb?" I said.

"Hey! I'm not dumb!"

"Right, you smart as a tree."

"… I don't do so well with analogies."

"Then you're as slow as a leg-less snail." I knew he would never get that and Ilpalo tried to cover his laugher.

"Whatever." Killer gave up, meaning that I won.

The next day, Hades went up to some meeting that they were having. On my advice, Ilpalo was going up there as his aid. I wanted to know what was going on with them. I wanted to know what they were planning. Apollo and Artemis were able to attend. I was eating with Persephone and Killer since there wasn't much going on with the others.

"I would never believe that you guys also ate on the floor." Killer said as he was picked things up with his hands.

"High class love lying around, so we do it as well." Persephone stated.

"I'm surprised you never ask for chopsticks." I smiled.

"Yeah, don't tell Panther this. She was always nagging me about proper eating habits and whatnot. I would prefer to eat like this all the time."

I laughed, "I doubt I would ever get the chance of meeting her again." I smiled.

"Guys! There's a problem above!" Ilpalo came running over to us.

"What's happening? Where's Hades?" Persephone asked.

Ilpalo caught his breath for a moment, "Everyone is fighting against this Digimon that came into this area."

"Why is this Digimon here?" I asked.

"I don't know, but I do know that she's really strong. Zeus is asking for help."

We all went up above to see what was going on. A girl with light brown long hair was standing ready to fight. Her tube shirt was tied at the top and the same with her mini skirt. A leg lace had some kind of paper in it. I spotted Lethemon, knowing that she was trustworthy, and I went over to her.

"What's going on?" I asked her. There were many deities down there fighting her.

"She came into our area, demanding that something be returned to her. I have no idea what she's talking about, but it seems like she could control animals."

I noticed that they weren't doing so well, even with a gang up. They were so used to encouraging mortals to do their fighting. They only fought the Titans, but Digimon are in another league, especially Super Levels. We never developed our powers, so we don't know what we're able to do.

I made my way down there, being stopped by Killer, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to see what she wants. Lethemon said that she wants something back and it's obvious that we're losing the fight."

He let go of my arm, "I'll be behind you if she does anything."

I smiled, "Thanks." And we headed down. When we got there, the others were looking at me with a weird look. Killer stayed in the circle that the others created. The Digimon looked at me, still ready to fight as I walked up to her. I made sure that I was in a good place for Killer to come running if she was going to do something.

"Aren't you going to fight?" She asked.

"What's your name?" Learning that knowing their name was vital, I had to ask.

"Beasmastmon, you?"

"Hebemon. Now, what do you want?" I noticed that was short for 'beast master', so that would explain how she could control animals. I also noticed that most of the Egyptians weren't here.

"I want my servant back. I've been tracking him down for months. I don't know who has him in here, but I want him back."

"What does he look like?"

"He would fit in with your crowd, plain clothing with bags full of things that help me with my power. Where is he?"

"I don't know." I looked at the others, "She's looking for her servant. He belongs to her and it seems like he's wearing plain clothes that would make him look Greek or Roman. Surely, we all know how it is when property is lost and you want it back," I looked at her, "Do you promise to leave if you get him back?"

"Of course. I could care less what you do."

"She promises to leave as soon as she gets him back." I announced to the others.

There was a big chatter as the group talked to each other. The fighters left, knowing that this was a good move. I looked at Killer and he smiled. I smiled back, glad that my way worked better than theirs.

"You seem to be the wise one out of the bunch." Beasmastmon commented.

"The others are just tense. Why did you come to the Greek and Roman area?"

"I got word that someone from there got him. We don't know what your names are, but we know how to separate you guys from each other by what you wear. That's why I came here, since my sources say that a Greek got him."

"I bet that our lord has him. I really wouldn't put it pass him. Is your servant a pretty boy?"

"He is, and he's also young. Do realize that if anything happened to him, I will go back to attacking."

"I won't stop you then. It would be their problem from then."

"I thought you all were about loyalty."

"There are cracks in that."

"Master!" A little boy matching her description perfectly came running up to her.

"Servimon!" She said as she hugged him when he got to her. "I'm sorry that it took me so long to find you." She looked at him, "Did they do anything to you while you were here?"

"No Master, I didn't do anything they wanted me to."

She hugged him again. It was something I thought was weird. I looked behind me to see that Zeus was standing there, seeing that I was right. "You two are close. It doesn't seem like a master and servant relationship."

"I like to think of him as a son." I could see something in her eyes. There was some kind of joy in calling him that, but I couldn't tell what kind of joy, "Bye."

"Please come back soon. There's an opening a bit beyond our border that will lead you to where I am. Tell the ferryman that I asked you to come in." I whispered that so Zeus didn't hear.

She looked at me before nodding. Then they left and I went back to where I belong.

"This doesn't change your punishment." Zeus said in a harsh tone.

"I didn't do it for some lightened sentence."

"Then why did you?"

"Because it would look bad if we lost." I smiled as I went over to Killer.

"What did you say to her?" He asked as we were heading back to the Underworld.

"To come visit… Her relationship with her servant is something that's odd. She doesn't seem him as a sex object, and she's willing to call him son, but she doesn't get him better clothes. Her eyes were telling me that she has a story. A story that I'm curious to learn."

"I see… You know, that look is something that I saw Panther hold once."

"Why?" I stopped to look at him.

"She was talking about staying with Matt. I know that she worships him, but it wasn't a worship look. She never had that look before that day."

"Nereida told me that Panther was the most shaken up by Matt leaving."

"I'm starting to feel jealous."

"I'm sure it isn't anything." We continued on our way.

"You were awesome, Hebe." Ilpalo said as I checked up on everyone. Nereida's group was getting jobs with Odin. I knew who was going to help them.

"I'm awesome just by talking to someone?" I looked at him.

"The other deities were praising you. Zeus looked like he would've exploded if given the chance."

I laughed, "I like where I am, though. I'm not looking to improve it."

"Hebemon, you wanted to talk?" I looked at the entrance to see Beasmastmon. Luckily, Hades and Persephone weren't here. She came over to us, but I noticed that Servimon wasn't with her.

"Where's your servant?" I asked.

"I made sure he was in a safe place. So, what did you want to talk about?"

"I want to know why you call him son, but don't get him good clothes."

"Oh, I see." She smiled nervously, "I live in the Real World. I find the Digital World quite boring. There's someone there that needs to think that Servimon is my son. In the Real World, he has the best clothes."

"You want to marry this person?"

"Yeah… Why are you interested?" She now seemed suspicious.

"I was curious. Well, I do have a favor to ask you."

"Why?"

"Because I can't leave here and I need to get things to the Real World."

"Why?"

I led her over to the orb, showing her Panther's and Ceres's group. "They're the reason."

"Who are they?" She looked at me.

"They are known among us as the Neo Digidestined."

"Why do they need help?"

"Because the rest of us. The Deities have made them enemies, and they have so much more to worry about than us."

"If they are some chosen group then why do they need our help? They should be able to handle it, right?"

I looked at her, "Everyone needs help at some point in their lives. It's something that I learned when we were ruling over their lives."

"Why do you want your group to lose?"

"I don't think we'll lose, but I do think that if they somehow find a way to calm down the others that they won't have to worry about us. Gennai is someone that they really need to worry about."

"Do you want me to give someone something?"

"Not right now, but I know that there'll be something later. First, I would like you to be familiar with them. That way you know who they are and to see if you can trust them with the Digital World fate. After all, this is more of your home than ours."

"The Real World is my home now, but I'll see them to see."

"Thanks."

"No problem." She brought out a piece of paper and brush, writing a number on it. "Use this number to call me, okay?"

I took it, "I will, and thanks."

"See ya." She smiled as she went back the way she came.

The next day around noon, I decided to see how they were doing. I went to Panther's group first and I saw that they were being attacked by Seth. They somehow got away from him, which was a good thing. They went to a village nearby and were staying there for some rest.

As they were there, the village medicine man put all of them in some kind of sleep. The orb wasn't allowing me to see what was going on. I went over to Nereida's group and they were with Odin and Freyja. They all seemed to be knocked out. I learned how to "rewind" with this thing so I looked at the previous day to see that Lily Dawn and Matt had been working for them. They came with them and revealed themselves before knocking them out. I wondered why as I was about to see what Ceres's group was doing when Killer called me.

"Hebemon, come on! We have to get everything ready!"

I looked at him, "For what?"

"It appears that we're going to be having guests over. Some weird looking lady came here and said so to Hades so he wants everything ready."

I got up and went over to Hades. "Killer is telling me that we're having guest over?"

"Lethemon said that we will be having some. She would be leading them here."

I remembered what was going on in the orb, wondering if it was Lily Dawn. Though why she would be here is beyond me, "Okay." I bowed before leaving with Killer to get everything ready.

It didn't take us long to make all the food. Ilpalo and Killer were helping us too, though they were learning how to make them than actually making them. Once everything was out on the table, we all sat down in our spots. The cave opened and Lily Dawn and Apollo appeared. Lily Dawn was holding onto him tightly, I noticed.

"Welcome! It's good to see you made it without any problems." Hades greeted before guiding them over to us. They sat nearest to him, though Apollo was closer than Lily Dawn was.

"Please, eat something." Persephone offered and we all did so. I joined in the conversation with the Deities, but watching what they were doing. Even though Killer and Ilpalo have eaten our kind of food before, they were still trying to find the ones they liked the best. And since we cooked different kinds of food for this meal, they had to try everything to know.

Lily Dawn seemed a bit lost at what was going on, but was quickly looking at all her angles. After a while, she started to talk to Killer about something. She was making sure that it couldn't be heard by the others, though. At the beginning, Ilpalo joined in too, meaning that he could hear it as well. I made sure that the other Deities kept up their conversation so they could have a private chat. After all, mortals are normally amiss when in front of Immortals.

"Apollo, I would like to go back to my friends." Lily Dawn said to what seemed to be out of the blue.

He looked at her and nodded, "Okay, but can you wait here for a moment?"

"Sure. I need your help to get me back anyway."

He kissed her, "I'll be right back."

She nodded as he got up and left. Hades and Persephone also left, leaving me with the mortals. "Panther is fine, incase you were ever wondering." I said.

"And Ryan?" She asked.

"Also fine. He's with Ceres."

"Tell who is with whom. I think it would help ease Matt's mind if he knew."

_And yours, it seems._ "Panther, Kari, Don and Damon are in Australia with Seth chasing them," And being wise, I knew not to tell her that they were just attacked by him, "Ryan, Ceres, Ken and Tim are in America with no one chasing them, as of late."

"Where is Arsmon?"

"I don't know. He's not near your group and that's all I know."

"Okay Lily Dawn, we can go now." Apollo said at the entrance of the cave.

"Thank you." She bowed to us before heading over to him. He took her hand before they went back into the cave.

The boys helped me clean up, "You know, you've could've eaten more." I commented.

"But they all tasted funny." Killer whined.

"I just thought that it wouldn't be a good idea to eat a lot when we're not that important." Ilpalo said.

"Why? In Greek culture, everyone at a table is able to get as much food as possible." I looked at him as I was cleaning up. We were putting the leftovers in a big bucket, since we had other creatures to feed down here.

"Oh.. I didn't know that… I guess I got used to the Celtics."

"So you're not as smart as you like to appear." Killer seemed to have gotten some ground in some kind of contest.

"I at least know more than you."

I started to laugh.

"What's funny? This is a manner of pride here." Killer asked.

"It's just.. that.. When Nereida told me about how Panther and Ceres argue over things, it was just like how you two were doing it as well." I started to laugh more. Nereida told me that if you're not paying attention, you would miss the whole argument and would never know that they had just argued. They don't argue like most people do and their topics are either something that seems silly or something deep.

"Hebe, dear, I need to talk to you for a moment." I looked behind me to see Lethe walking up towards me the next day.

"What?" I still don't trust her too well.

"Well, I was just talking to Apollo about his dearest, and he seemed to have noticed a slight problem." She was leaning on my seat.

"What's that?" _She doesn't need to beat around the bush._

"He was talking to Eros before me about man stuff, I assume. Then Psyche called Eros for something that needed his immediate attention. It left Apollo remembering when Psyche first came to us and why she was now an immortal."

"It's not like…"

"He is."

I wasn't surprised, knowing how he felt about her and all, but I could see that their marriage would seem to be like a secret love affair. Because if word got out to the Greeks about this, then he's in trouble on two accounts. "So what does this got to do with me?" I looked around first to make sure that I was the only one here. Even though Hades isn't with Zeus, this is something that even he would disagree with.

"He knows that Lily Dawn has some great importance with us immortal. He would like you to see if you can find out what that is."

"This is a crystal ball, not a TV." I wondered if she would understand that. It took even the brothers a long time to recognize the new technology in the world.

"I see your point… I guess I just have to find you a better one."

"Why are you helping them?" I asked before she walked away.

"Because Lily Dawn likes me… and somehow, that makes all the difference in my mind."

She looked puzzled too, as if she herself didn't understand why that was enough. I always thought that the River Sisters were a little off. Even since we learned that Styx loved a mortal, most of the Deities laughed. Some even thought that since she had many love oaths sworn in her name that she wanted to have the chance to do the same. I asked Nereida about it once, learning that Matt was her mortal love, and she said that Matt seems to love her just as much and that she was the reason for the drift in the old groups. _They are odd, indeed._

"Anyway," she recovered, "Would you watch Lily Dawn for Apollo to see if he had married an immortal of mortal disguise or a normal mortal girl with a power over the gods?"

"If I find something, I'll let him know."

She smiled, "Then I'll be getting you that TV."

"What if someone else comes down to check up on me?" No one had yet, but I couldn't rule that out. "I don't care about myself, but I don't want the others to get in trouble."

She looked at me before laughing, "Have you been admiring Styx? I must be the first to tell you that that is something that she would've said. I don't know where she got it in her head, but she cared about those around her even though they all had used her before."

"I have already proven that I care about the others than myself. You are among those others, don't forget." I didn't like how she was laughing at something that Nereida taught me.

"I know, but it was amusing none the less. I'll have Thoth give me some potion to hide it."

"Fine." I went back to looking at my orb. Ceres's group was staying at some guy's house, resting up by the look of it. They weren't doing anything stressful, or seemed to be worrying about not moving along in their journey. Panther's group was walking around a town. It seemed like they were looking for something. Nereida's group was talking to Chinese Deities. Matt seemed to be happy to do something, which was odd to me.

"Why was Lethe here?" Ilpalo asked.

I looked to see that he and Killer were here. "How do you know she was here?"

"We were watching from over there." Killer pointed to their hiding spot. "We were ready to jump out the moment she tried something."

"Why is it bad that Apollo married Lily Dawn?" Ilpalo asked.

"Because in our culture, status matters. A master couldn't marry his slave."

"Lily Dawn is anything but a slave. She was always full of spunk. It annoyed me a lot, too." Killer commented.

"Why do you care? You don't know her." I looked at Ilpalo, realizing that only after Killer's useless side comment.

"Well… I kinda always joked with myself that Ceres was a goddess or something." He blushed, "I mean, I know she's not and all."

"Ceres a goddess? Panther is far more better than her." Killer said with pride.

Ilpalo started to pull him over to where they were hiding, "Apparently you didn't learn the lesson." He was mad, but not angry.

They disappeared behind the corner. I didn't hear anything, so I went back to looking at the orb. Nereida was now traveling with two of the three Chinese deities. I now wanted to know who they were. I went back over to America to see that they weren't leaving. In Australia, Panther was walking around by herself. The others, including Plantmon, were getting water and food.

"I got you that TV you wanted." Lethe announced as she placed it beside me with ease.

It was small, which was good, "Thanks."

"Remember, it's because Apollo wants to know more about Lily Dawn's power." She smiled before walking off.

"What about that spell?"

"It's already on it." She said before leaving.

I inspected the TV, seeing that I all I needed was to place it over the orb and that was it. I had to believe that that was all I needed to do. So I lifted it up, feeling why it was so light, and placed it over the orb. I then turned it on, and it was still on Panther. She wasn't talking, but I could hear the noises around her. I wanted to test who could see it, but the mortals weren't done yet.

"Where are they?" Hades asked suddenly.

I looked at entrance to see him and his wife there. They had gone to a meeting. "Who?"

"The mortals."

"They're arguing over their girlfriends somewhere." I had my first testers. I allowed my body to not cover the spot to see if they would notice. "Apparently, they're having some issues over them."

"Mortals can be so silly sometimes." Persephone commented, heading over to their bedroom.

"I need to give them some task then. They're supposed to be my slaves, after all." Hades said to himself before following her.

I sighed, glad to see that it worked. I had thought that Hades was one of those Deities that were over the old traditions. I see that he had something to gain from helping the Neo Digidestined.

I went over to Nereida's group. They were resting now, and the god was asking Matt a lot of questions. All the mortal girls were trying to prevent them from talking too long. In America, there was someone there that Ceres seemed to know. I thought it was odd, but I didn't sense anything from him. He looked normal enough. They were talking and having dinner.

"Who's that?" Ilpalo asked. I looked to see only him this time.

"You won?"

"Of course." He smiled, "Actually, Hades called him for something. I'm a bit worried about that since I didn't think he would."

"He thinks of you two as slaves, so don't be too surprised. So you don't know who they are?" I pointed to the ones that were talking to Ceres the most.

"Well, the big guy is someone that chases storms and such in America. Ceres does take pictures, but I don't know who the other one is and I kinda don't like how friendly he is with her."

"They seem to be good friends, at the very least."

"Yeah, but I still don't have to like it. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. That's what most people have to do with Ceres, just wait and see."

"Why?" I looked at him, wondering if he only saw the orb or the TV.

"Well, it's because you don't know when she'll run away. At the beginning, she tried to run, but I just wouldn't let her go."

"So you forced her to stay with you?"

"Not really, since I didn't tie her down. I didn't think anyone could do that with her until now. But then, she still wants to be free. I can see that in her eyes. Traveling is something that is natural for her. Even when she was settling down with me, she still wanted to travel." He looked over at the TV, "But they're acting like they've known each other for years and years. Ceres has changed a lot, even from when she was with me until now. She has changed greatly." I saw his worried.

"Maybe she kept in touch with him."

"Ceres fears that organization to her bones. She wouldn't do that."

"Well, I would keep on watching her for you, but I need to keep a closer eye on Lily Dawn."

He smiled, "That's okay. I'm sure that they're situation needs to be safe before worrying about the others. Maybe Arsmon can help you in that. You can have him go to them and tell them about the need for it to be a secret."

I moved to them, "They're with Deities right now. Plus, I can't summon Arsmon. I don't know where he is. I'm sure that he'll get worried about Nereida that he'll come back over sometime, though."

"Check up on Panther."

"You care?"

"I'm kind." He smiled.

I turned to them, seeing that she was now doing something with the front of a car. "What is she doing?"

"She's going to steal it." We turned around to see Killer there, sadness in his voice.

"I thought you were proud of her." Ilpalo stated.

He walked over to us. I looked at her, moving it to get a better idea on what she's doing. She was changing the license plates.

"I'm always proud of her, but those times that I've seen her… I just know that it's killing her to do this." He closed his eyes, "She might not be ashamed of her actions, but she doesn't want to repeat them anymore. Somehow, Matt got her to want to be better."

"Maybe it's the freedom that he allows her." I offered.

"Maybe…"

"What did Hades want?" Ilpalo asked, trying to change the subject.

Killer sighed, "He was giving me a lecture about how I shouldn't allow my emotions to rule me anymore because I can no longer be with her until she joins us here. I mean, it wasn't like I didn't know that before when I let her go…"

"You let her go?"

He nodded, "Yeah… because I knew that I had to… I mean, I don't want to hand her over to some other guy and I knew that she didn't have anything deep for him… but I didn't want her to stay here with me. She tried to get me to be with her and the Neo Digidestined once, so I knew that they were important to her… So I knew that I won't be with her until she dies."

"What else?" Ilpalo asked after a moment.

"He wants me to watch you. Apparently, he fears that you don't know who to trust and who not to trust." Killer said that uncaringly as he looked at me.

"Did he say what he wants me to do?"

"You're a good person to accompany him when he goes to the meetings, so that's what you're going to be doing."

"Hebe, can you change to Ceres again?" I did so, and they were still talking. "If I'm gone and you find out who that is, let me know." He looked at Killer.

"Oh, some new guy is moving onto your girl." He said with a smirk. "He looks like her type too."

Ilpalo glared at him, "I'm her only type."

"That doesn't look like it to me." Killer didn't stop his smirk. "Did you ever have sex with her?"

"No. It never really crossed my mind and I also knew that she didn't want someone that close to her body."

Killer looked at Ceres before looking back at Ilpalo, "I thought about it often enough. I mean, I heard that it was unmanly to never do it with your girl. The only time I brought it up, Panther shot it down."

"Why?" I could now see that they don't fight because they don't like each other. They actually respected each other. It was the way they were handling this conversation.

"Well, it wasn't because I was in-experience, that's for sure."

"Are you saying that you are?" Ilpalo had this smile that said he was joking. I then started to give more attention to this, since most guys, even though they're immortal, I know have done it more than once before they settled down. So I couldn't understand why this was a something that could be joked about. Most thought it was wrong if you had never done it before.

"Of course not." Killer glared, "Are you?"

"My gang was mostly guys. Any girl that was there was already claimed. So, what was the reason?"

"I could never really figure it out. I think it was the idea that something would be inside her that she couldn't control or something like that. I at least knew it was the idea of something in her, but beyond that, I couldn't tell you. Her reason kept changing."

"Are you worried that this guy will get to be her first?"

"Somehow, I don't think she would allow it. I mean, she loved me with everything she had and she still couldn't face the idea that I would be inside her."

"If you couldn't get it from the girl that you loved, then why not get it from some girl?" I, finally, asked.

They both looked at me. "Because we have values. Men that do, they don't have any honor or value with them." Ilpalo said. "It's like saying anyone is good enough, not the person whom you love."

"Yeah, besides, we both were willing to wait until it was comfortable in their minds before doing it. It only got to me once that I didn't do it with her, but after seeing how shot it down, I knew I had to wait."

"So you're saying that the gods are immoral because they believe that a man isn't a man until he has slept with a woman, be it wife or other?"

"They do that?" They both asked.

I laughed, "Yeah. I've been slept with a few times when they've gotten really drunk. Aphrodite is the life of the party when that occurs."

"Well, we're not interested in orgy parties." Ilpalo said, "All we want is for the one we love to be our first. It's important to us and it's important to them."

"So if some love goddess comes over to you and is like 'yoh, let's go over to that corner and have a good old time together', you'll be like 'sorry, I'm waiting for my baby to die so we can do it'?"

"That idea, but not that wording. I know that you should never give a target to a Deity."

"What if they find a way to seduce you?"

"I'll fight it. This is important to me."

"What if, even in death, she doesn't want to? What if she's all old and wrinkled when she dies?"

"She's still the person I love on the inside so it wouldn't matter when she comes." He smiled.

"What if she doesn't come here? What if she can't come here?"

"Why wouldn't she be able to come here?"

"Neo Digidestined. I think the only place for her soul to be safe is to be with the Japanese or some other nation that would protect her soul from the Greeks. What would you do then?"

I just now noticed that this thought never crossed either of their minds. It was the first time that I saw them sad and worry. They were looking at each other, as if talking with their minds. After a while, they looked resolved and looked at me. "Wherever they go, we'll go there as well. No one will keep us from them." Killer said. "Even if they give us protection now and until they do end, we won't leave them."

"But they'll be with their other friends, who can keep them company."

"Would you stay here if Nereida was in another underworld?" Ilpalo asked. "I know that you don't love her like a lover or anything, but friendship can be a stronger bond sometimes."

I thought about it for a moment, "Probably. I don't know… Nah, if I'm still willing to talk to her even when I knew it was dangerous for her safety, I think I would keep defying my Lord to stay her friend." I smiled. I think I got their bond now. It was something they had in common, that we all had in common now. We were willing to go to the ends of worlds to be with those we care for the most.

They both smiled, "We thought so." Killer said.

The next day, we all watched as Ceres said her goodbyes to her friends. Then I knew that Akba was Native American God.

"I can't believe she never told me." Ilpalo said in disbelief.

"Never told you what?" I looked at him.

"That she knew a god. I mean, that would've been nice to know."

"So you can hear this too?"

"And see it, yep." Killer answered. "We thought better than to make a big deal out of it. Okay, so enough about Ceres, go see Panther."

"I'm not your slave." I glared at him.

"I'll start whining and begging." He made it sound like a threat, which made me laugh.

"What's so funny?" Akba's voice was heard. We all looked to where his head was poking out from behind my chair. I jumped and Killer moved away a bit.

"We're laughing at the fact that you just sent yourself to hell." Ilpalo said with a calm smile.

Akba turned into a coyote and was moving really fast all around him before turning back into a human on the back of my seat. "Why do you have Ceres's scent all over you?"

"Because I love the feel of my arms and body wrapping around hers."

Before Akba could even make a move, Killer had a knife pointing at this throat. "We didn't get to know your lovely history with her, so you know." Killer said.

Akba put up his hands, "I'm her brother."

"What makes you so different?" Ilpalo asked. "I was once referred to as that."

"What are you referred to now?" There was tension between the two.

"Her boyfriend."

"Oh, so you're Ilpalo."

"How do you know about me?" Killer pulled back his knife.

"Ceres writes to me every now and then. I mean, her personality is a near copy of mine."

"But she's way cuter at it. How does she write to you?"

"Her magic. She writes to her mother as well, but she gets more letters than I do. By the way, who are you?" He looked at Killer.

"Do you know who Panther is?"

"Yep."

"I'm her boyfriend, Killer."

"How do you know Ceres then?"

"I came back to life when she came to Japan. She tried to save me."

"Why couldn't she?"

"I was sucked down here."

"I see…" He looked at me, "So, Greek Goddess of Honey, who is willing to help my sister and her band of friends?"

"Panther was found first." Killer stated.

"But Panther doesn't consider me right now. She's not in America." Akba corrected, going back to looking at me.

"Aphrodite is the one after them, in case you didn't know that." I said.

"And the one helping them? I heard of the rumor that called for aid for them, as well for likely candidates who would harm them."

"Wouldn't it be good enough that someone is helping them?" I didn't want to say Hades because he wants to keep his involvement a secret.

"Yes, but I would like to know if this person has other motives. Deities with such nasty hatred can sometimes have other plans for those they help. You know, like they have an invisible string attached to their aid."

"I'm not going to deny that they don't have hatred, but a few have let that hatred go."

"And some just cover it up. So, please, be kind and tell me."

"What are you doing here?"

We all looked behind Killer and Ilpalo to see Hades there. Akba got off the seat and brushed himself off a bit, coughing to clear his throat. "I'm here, O Great God of the Underworld and Riches, because I was seeking out who was willing to help my sister, who is of the Neo Digidestined. She is the one that told me to go to Hades to find my answer." This attitude change definitely reminded me of how Nereida described Ceres's mood shifts.

"And why do you want to know this?"

"Because I would like to know if there are any hidden motives that are not going to be mentioned. You, who are Greek, tend to have that about you with your words. I'm just looking out for my sister."

"I didn't know that one of the Neo Digidestined was related to a weak god."

"She is, and there's no doubt that this weak god will do everything he can to make sure that no harm comes her way."

"I don't think the Japanese Gods will allow you to go over to their land."

"I would do anything for my sister. Her happiness is all that I care about."

"It sounds more like a lover than a brother." He looked at Ilpalo for a moment. Ilpalo didn't show what he was thinking.

"If she wasn't my sister, she would surely be mine. Of course, that is if I can ever get pass her guards." He smiled. "Anyone that can get pass Ele is truly a great man, worthy of honors beyond the gods." I couldn't tell if he was joking or making Ilpalo feel better, but Ilpalo still didn't give what he thought.

"Why is that?" Hades didn't seem to like that idea.

"Because she's a vicious thing. She would bite you without a second thought and they're not those love ones either. It took me a while to heal from her bites. And now she has a Digimon partner that protects her, and I don't even want to know what she would do to me. Anyway, we're getting off topic. I want to know who is helping them and I won't be leaving until I know."

"Then become a permanent resident here." He walked away.

"Ilpalo, you have to tell me." Akba begged once Hades was surely away. "Feel your heart. You know that I only care for her safety."

Ilpalo sighed, "I know Ceres pretty well, so I know that you have to do more than beg to show me that you're sincere about this."

"Why are you saying pretty well?"

"Because I didn't know about you or how she contacted her mother. I figured that she didn't tell me everything, but I know that at least she told me a lot of things about her."

Akba got back on the chair, "How did you get pass Ele anyway?"

"One morning, Ceres was just gone. Normally, I've been pretty good at catching her when she tried to leave, but I knew that she couldn't have left because her bag was still here. I already knew about Ele at this point so I took care of Ele while Ceres was away."

"How long was she gone? Why did she leave? And why did you keep her from leaving all the other times?"

"She was gone for two weeks and she never gave me a reason as to why she had to leave. She was really grateful that I took care of Ele and her stuff, making sure that no one looked inside it."

"Did you?"

"Never tempted. And I didn't want her to leave because I could see that she was hurting and needed to heal. I knew that our place was a good place to do that. A lot of times, people just need to be around orphans before realizing whatever they needed to realize to be healed."

"So when did you fall her for?"

"When she decided to stay around more. I don't take to girls because the ones that I've met were never strong enough to last by themselves."

"So that's what attracted you to her. Her ability to be on her own."

He nodded, "I was the leader of my band. I couldn't have someone that only clung to me. I needed someone who would help advise me and lead along with me."

"You know, she told me that your leadership abilities are what she liked the most about you. Even to a total stranger, you were willing to treat her as one of your own. She hardly got that anywhere else, until now."

Ilpalo smiled, "Even though it took me five tries before she accepted."

"She wanted to know if you were serious. You weren't the first guy to ask her, but you were the only one that never backed down."

"I know a lost person when I see one. Even if she didn't accept me after all I did, I wouldn't let her leave. At the very least, I wanted to see her smile with no fear and no other emotion but happiness."

"There's something different about this group, though. I don't know if she smiles like that with them, but she's willing to stay with them for some reason."

"She can smile like that with them. When we were falling down from Maeva's tower, I saw that smile. I was the second time I saw it."

"I glad. Then I don't have to worry about her with them?"

"I don't think you do. They all came to get her out." He looked at the TV, "Even though they're broken right now, I know that they'll come to realize that they all mean so much to each other."

"I'm glad to know. What about this Ryan fellow?"

"What about him?" Killer asked.

"He seemed angry that I was there. I never really understood why."

"He has a friend complex sometimes. It gets annoying."

"You've met him?"

"I had to. Panther was with him and Lily Dawn a lot before going with the gang. And even then, she would still hang out with them. Ryan like it when people are honest and loyal, and when those around him aren't, he can be a pain."

"And here I thought he was taking a liking to Ceres."

"I thought so too, but about Panther, but then I noticed the same thing with Lily Dawn, so I boiled it down to being friends."

"And what makes Matt so special?"

"He gives them something that they can't get otherwise." Killer continued to answer. "Ever since he started his band, Panther had been a fan of his. She followed his movements throughout his life, including his launches. She even started to learn more about space. When we first met him, I could see that it wasn't the meeting that Panther was hoping for. But then he helped us out, and has given Panther a home. Maybe he gives Ceres the same thing."

"But she has a home. She has two."

"No, she doesn't." Ilpalo said, "Even if her mother is always her mother, and she cares a lot about you, she never considered those places her home. She told me that the place she'll call home is the place where she can set down her bag without worry or care that something will happen to it. Even with me, she hardly let it out of her sights."

"Except for that one time, right?"

"I don't know why she did that, but I know that she didn't call the place home. I think that once she finds that place, the only thing to make her leave would be the organization that's after her."

"I need to ask her, then, if she can place her bag without care or worry…"

"Hades is helping her."

Akba looked at him before smiling, "Thank you." He bowed before disappearing.

"Why did you tell him?" I asked. "I didn't see you testing him."

"Ceres learned her personality from him. If I couldn't read those, then I'm not a good lover."

"What was needed to be read?" Killer asked.

"There's an underlining feeling that she can create when they're a question-answer session going on. It's quite hard to explain, but it's there and that's how we were making sure we're both trusting."

"It sounds hard to learn."

"Not really. It's more like you have to pay attention carefully. You'll miss it all together if you're not."

"I wonder if Panther can read that feeling?"

Ilpalo shrugged before looking at me, "At least we know Ceres and her group are going to be safe."

I nodded, "Though I was never really worried."

He smiled, "I know."

The next day, we were looking at Panther's group since they were the only one that had something interesting going on. It wasn't because Hades had to go to a meeting so Ilpalo wasn't here. Nereida and Ceres's groups were traveling right now. Don and Damon had gone off on their own, getting into a fight before Don just hugged him. I could see that he was treating Damon like a child as he did.

"That's a bit odd." Killer commented.

"Not really." I looked at him, "Don is treating Damon like a child."

"But that's degrading." He looked at me, "No guy wants to be treated like that, especially by another guy."

"Don's going to have two kids soon, and one of them is going to be a boy." I looked at Damon, "Besides, Don can see how much Tim has hurt his siblings. Damon is a bit older than Nereida, so he had a bit more time with their parents… But Tim sucked out a lot of their beliefs that I know that they have."

"How do you know?"

"Because their Grandmother is a very spiritual person. She has also been teaching Nereida fortune-telling and allowed them to use their powers. If Tim had his whole way, they would be very underdeveloped in that area."

I then moved over to Kari and Panther. Panther had this very odd look on her face for a second before it was gone.

"She's seeing something."

"I thought she gets hit whenever she sees something." I looked at him, "At least, that's how Nereida always described it."

"Yeah, it is weird that she's not."

They didn't talk for very long when Panther went bolting into a restaurant, asking for the Asian Traveler. They then waited outside, since the lady said that she knew her. That's when Panther mentioned that she saw an image of Ceres in that restaurant.

"Her powers have gotten stronger." I commented.

"But she's not scared of it."

I looked at him, "Why would she be scared?"

"Because she hates her powers. She doesn't want to know everything."

"Maybe she learned that it's a good thing that she knows."

"I've given her plenty of reasons to not be fearful of it."

"Were they all gang related?"

"No."

"Most?"

"Some were gang related."

"Maybe she just didn't have a good enough reason to believe in those. Considering who she cares a lot about, I would say that this reason had to deal with Matt."

"I'm getting jealous at how Matt is able to change her so easily."

"He's a good person. Even Apollo and I can see that. He cares a lot about his little group."

They went into the restaurant when the boys got there. They were able to order whatever they wanted, but they were being modest. Then the manager came over and asked them a question about Ceres's birth. That's when we learned that Ceres came from the sky and landed on the ground when her mother found her. I was wondering why Ilpalo said that "even though her mother will always be her mother". Now I know.

We heard something from the entrance so we looked. Hades and Ilpalo came through, before Hades turned to retire.

"What's up?" Killer asked.

"Apparently, there's a group of Digimon that are Super Level but not Deities that are after Ceres's group." He came over once Hades shut his door. "They're part of Megamon's group, but they look like the older Digidestined when they came here the second time and they have their Crest on their bodies as well as Super Level versions of their Champion Digimon."

"You're saying stuff that I don't get." Killer said in annoyance.

He sighed, "Okay, Megamon is this very powerful Super Level. The Celtics were worried about him since he had a very strong band with him. He's apparently from another time, but no one knows that for sure. He has the old evil rulers of the Digital World on his side in their Super Level forms as well as two very old Digimon. No one knew what that meant though, but they knew that that was important. Got that?" Killer nodded, "Okay, so this group that's going after Ceres is part of his group. They look like Matt, TK, Ken and Kari and the others that you haven't met, but they look like they were seven years ago. Like when all those creatures appear on the earth and no one had any idea what they were and stuff. But these Digimon have their first Crests on them, almost like they were tattoos or something, but they're unnatural looking most of the time. They also have Digimon that follow them around as if they were like the real Digidestined, but these Digimon are of their Champion level forms."

"So why does Hades look down?" I asked.

"He couldn't find anyone that would help and they got a report saying that this group is looking for something. No one knows what they're looking for."

"I'm not sure, myself. I know that they were once causing trouble to draw Ken and the others into the Digital World. Is there someone going after them anyway?"

"Izzymon came in with Mattmon to the meeting, saying that if anyone interfered with that group then they will personally come to make sure that they're all deleted."

"Why did they come to the meeting?"

"Because they wanted to know who was being attacked by a Deity and if they knew of the location of TK. Apparently, they can't find him."

"If they want the old group, then why not get the ones that are the easiest?" Killer asked.

"Don't know. Maybe they want bait or something?" Ilpalo offered.

"TK is still in Japan, though. He should be easy to find." I pointed out.

"You would think, but he ran away from the old two groups and they can't find him anywhere."

I looked at the TV to see that Panther and the others were now helping with cleaning and serving. It was moving to the evening. I changed it to change, though not looking for TK. I went looking for someone else in the group. I don't know why I was looking for Tai, maybe because he was the leader of the first group. Anyway, I found them all walking around, their Digimon clearly visible. The street was pretty empty, surprisingly. Then they were suddenly blocked off by three people. One was a guy and the other two were female.

"Who are you?" Tai asked in his demanding voice.

"We will not allow you to get away for what you did to TK." The male said.

"Where is he?" Davis asked. "He's going to pay."

That seemed to tick them all off greatly. The male summoned a Japanese samurai armor as one of the girls called upon a sailor outfit and the other one a magician outfit. The Digidestined didn't know what was going on, and neither did we.

But then their Digimon started to defend their partners. It didn't seem to affect them one bit. They were all able to block their attacks. I could also that the attacks the three were using weren't that powerful at all. They got the Digimon knocked out quickly once they had enough of their attacks. The male lifted up his sword at the fear in their eyes before lightning struck the ground in the middle of them.

"That didn't kill them, did it?" The magician asked. They two had jumped into the air when the male had lifted his sword.

"They do deserve that much." He sighed as he summoned his armor back to his sword, which then turned into a cane. I remembered hearing about him. His name was Date-san and he had always been kind to them. Nereida said that she liked him, anyway. So the other two must be his sisters, Mackenzie-sensei and Mina. "But they're alive."

"I guess that calm head jumped in at the end, huh?" Mina asked, who was the one in the sailor outfit.

He nodded, "They're still friends deep down, somewhere. They're just like mine, before… At that time, I was willing to kill them if it called for it." He looked at his sisters, "We have to find a way to get this spirit out of them."

"Right." They said, though it was kinda clear on all of their faces that they had no idea on how to do that.

"I got it." Mackenzie-san said, bringing out chalk, "Get them closer together and in a circle like formation if you can."

"I shouldn't be…"

"Do you want to run laps?" She looked at Date-san.

They stared at each other for a while before Date-san sighed and started to do what she said. As they were doing so, she was drawing some kind of magic circle around them, with three small spheres that would form a triangle if you connected them.

"We got them, sis." Mina said. "Now what?"

"We each get a point. Satsuki, do you have something that you can point with?"

She thought about it before pulling out a pen like thing, "I have this."

"That'll work." They went to the nearest corner to them. "Okay, we're going to point our items to the space above the circle that they create in the center." She brought out a bell of olden Japan. I only knew that because of Nereida. She pointed that to the air, Mina pointed her pen thing and Date-san pointed his orb end of the cane. They all closed their eyes, "Concentrate on what you bear and what your responsibilities are towards us and others."

The other two nodded and shortly after, they were all glowing and generated a sacred space with that circle and triangle. The Digidestined and the Digimon were all moaning, as if something within was trying to fight back. A few hours went by like this before they had to stop. They all collapsed to the ground, breathing pretty hard.

"How much did we get out?" Mina asked quickly.

"They want to hold onto it." Mackenzie-san said.

"But why do they want to?" Date-san looked worried. "You would think that they wouldn't want to." I just then noticed that he wasn't speaking in his formal way, like I was told he does. "Can we try it again? Maybe we just need to dig deeper, fight the thing to get it out." He wanted to be hopeful.

"I was guiding us, Sage. We went as far as we could. We found the spirit within them." Mackenzie-sensei sighed, "They just don't want to let it go."

"Yayoi, we have to get it out! We can't leave it in there. It'll only hurt them more."

She shook her head, "I don't think we can."

"Satsuki," he looked at Mina.

"Yayoi, we have to try." Mina said, looking at her sister, "Just because it seems hopeless right now doesn't mean we should give up. Maybe we can get it now?"

"I'm telling you, they don't want to let this go. For whatever reason, they're not letting go. Did they remember when Diana came back?" She looked over at Date-san.

"No, they didn't. Not even during the time that we were rebuilding." He looked at them, "Matt would've told me if they did. He still attended school with them, but they at least remembered their adventures and Digimon… Not even Kari or Izzy remembered."

"How were your friends during that point?"

"They were a lot better… ashamed, but better. They all started to look for other places at that time."

"Let's get them somewhere." Mackenzie-sensei stood up. The other two got up and started to carry them some place.

"Who were they?" Ilpalo asked.

"I know one of them is Date-san and he's important to Panther's group for some reason." Killer said, "I don't know who the other two are, though."

"The older lady is Mackenzie-sensei and the other is Mina. They're sisters to Date-san." I said.

"How do you know who they are?" Killer asked.

"Nereida told me." I smiled. I went back to Panther to see that they were traveling with the manager in some jeep.

"Oh, so just because I'm not here, you're watching Panther more?" Ilpalo asked.

I went to hers, "They're traveling and the same with Nereida's."

"Anything could happen. What if those fake Digidestined attack them?"

"What will they do with the others?" I was worried that they'll have to face two groups.

"They don't want Kari or Matt right now. Izzymon seemed please with the fact that Ken wasn't being attacked. I guess they don't like to have their attacks interfered with others."

I looked at the TV, "I guess we just have to wait and see."

The next day, we watched as Panther and her group enter a boat with two Australian Deities as their guides.

"Are they safe?" Killer asked.

"I don't know them personally so I wouldn't know." I said. "Panther seems to trust them though."

"That's because she doesn't believe in running away from her premonitions. She knows that they'll happen one way or another, no matter what she does."

"Has she tried before?" Ilpalo asked.

"Lots of times."

"Then she does believe in that philosophy sometimes."

"Only when she doesn't want to face it because it's too horrible. That's what happened with her family."

"How did she take it afterwards?" Ilpalo has sympathy in his voice.

Killer sighed, "For two weeks, she just sat around, staring at nothing. Sometimes, she was gone from the hideout for hours on end. Other times, she hid somewhere in the hideout."

"What got her out of it?" I asked.

"I just woke up one morning and she was smiling at me. She wasn't acting like it never happen, she just moved on. Since then, she stayed with me."

"I've known people who could never get over it." Ilpalo said, "They're really sad to watch because you can't get inside them and help them heal. They just refuse to heal."

"Did you fear that Ceres was one of those?" I asked.

He nodded, "Yeah, I did. At first, I tried not to mind it so much, but then it started to bother me as I got to know her more. I'm just now seeing how much the others were keeping their distance from her. It was like they would see something that I couldn't and it made them hate her. Though, do keep in mind that she never acted differently from how she normally did."

"So I guess before your end, she wasn't like that anymore." Killer stated.

"Right. She was getting over them slowly. All the things she did in her past, she was getting over them" He smiled.

"Panther was nearly the same way. I mean, with how people just kinda left her alone. After her family's death and those two weeks, people were just avoiding her. It didn't really matter to her, though. Only when she showed herself to be real badass did people start to admire and respect her. There were more, though, that feared her."

"According to Nereida, no one in their group knows in detail what she did." I stated. I've always been curious about it.

"Well, it was more than hijacking and stealing. To her, those would be the basics. And trust me, some of the things she did even scare me."

"Why?" Ilpalo asked.

"Because she was so willing to do it and didn't even care for the consequences of it. She never got caught, though. I mean, sometimes it would be okay to do what she did. At other times, she took it took far and didn't even care that she did. I first thought that it was because of her family, but as it continued, I knew it wasn't that. Something else was driving her and I never knew what it was."

"So was it surprising to you that she could be nice and kind again?" I asked.

"Kinda glad, actually. The gang was her place, for sure. She could always go back to it and have no problems again, I could count on that. But, she doesn't want to. She wants to be better." He smiled, "As long as she can be happy, it's all good. She was nice and kind when I first met her."

"Oh, so you're the one that turned her over?" I asked with a laugh.

"Not really. I mean, I was thinking about it. I mean, I still had a loving family that I didn't want to leave and I knew they cared about me. She kinda pushed it, so I went along."

I went to Date-san again, finding that I could get him. He was with Patamon, playing chess with him.

"We know where TK is now." Ilpalo commented.

"Ilpalo," we looked to see Hades there, "I'm heading up."

Ilpalo left us to follow him through the portal.

"Did he hear him?" Killer asked as we stared at it.

"No… I hope not." I changed to Nereida's group so no one would see it. "We'll have to watch them carefully."

"Right."

They got to a town around evening and got on a train. I noticed that Matt and Neon were worried about something. Nereida, once on the train, went with Neon and Lily Dawn went to talk to Matt. Their topic started off about Matt being a God of Death, Cody being some kind of god of the same level and Lily Dawn's possibility of being one. Also, Matt wasn't acting like himself. I could tell that he wasn't being this idea of perfection that I've heard from Nereida and also seen personally. Then they got onto Panther and Stan and Matt was being her father. Nereida said that Matt does seem to be her father, even though everyone knows that he's not. I was also seeing him being a brother to her. I guess being adopted gives you that advantage. Matt touched on the older ones, meaning the first group. Nereida had told me that they're the only ones that knew of their existence. Matt had trusted them with that information, but now they seem to hate them for no reason, really, at least no good reason. Then they went to bed.

We heard the portal opening so we looked to see them returning. Hades walked over to us as I switched it to Ceres's group since they were traveling. "We just learned that the Chinese Deities want something from their bunch." He told us. After what we just learned, we had a guess as to what it was.

"Do you know what?" I asked.

"Apparently, they're looking for this ultimate…"

"God of Death." We looked at the entrance to see Arsmon there. He smiled as he walked up to us.

"How do you know? What do you want?" Hades was getting pissed again.

"I know because my Master has some business with this god. I'm here for no particular reason." Meaning that he wants to know how Nereida is doing.

"What business is that?"

"Surely that Digital prophecy has reached your ears by now. Anyway, what are these Chinese planning?"

"We're not sure what they want with this god, but it's something to give them an edge."

"That means it is of no consider for me and my Master. And here I thought I would finally get to delete some of you. Seriously, there are just too many of you."

Hades turned around and went to his chambers.

"She's fine." I said once we were all sure that Hades wasn't coming back out. "They're on a train right now heading for the coast."

"Really? That's more than I needed, thanks." He smiled.

"What do you want with this God of Death?" Killer asked.

"Oh, I guess you wouldn't have heard the prophecy. There's a prophecy that says the King of the Undead Digimon will rise in the world of the living to rule it. It's even a bit ironic how one of those who are needed to stop him is the God of Death. What we want to do is allow this god to rise."

I stopped Killer from going to him, "Why? Why hasn't he rose before?"

"Because he needs souls in order to rise. Sure, there area tons around him, but they need to enter him."

"And you're going to do that?"

"I first need to know if he's ready for it to begin. If he's not, then I'm told to wait. He wasn't there when we attacked the Digital World with those stupid Destiny Stones, so we had to wait."

"Why not look when you went to see her before?"

"I forgot."

"But it needs a specific time in order for it to work."

"When the moon strikes the hour of between happens nearly every night."

"And the bats?"

"Ah, that's where you are correct. For Myotismon, he needed to generate the bats himself, but for this, it just occurs. That's why I have to see if he's ready."

"And if he's not? Are you not going to do anything?"

"Until he is."

"Why do you want to?"

"Because not only can he call up the undead, but the demons of the very deep. The demons your kind has locked up. We already know that his counter god isn't awaken, so death will be everywhere."

"What if Nereida gets killed?"

He placed his hand where a human heart would be, "I'll hold her here. She'll always be with me." He smiled, "And she won't be alone. If the others die, I'm ordered to get them too."

Ilpalo was holding Killer back for me as well as keeping him silent.

"I was beginning to think that you guys were okay."

He laughed, "We're patient."

"Do you know what those fake Digidestined want? They could affect your plan." Ilpalo offered, keeping his own voice leveled.

"They want to fuse their originals to them."

"Why?"

"Because they want what they have. They only have the Crest powers to aid them, nothing else. They could be deleted easily. They've banded together so they could get their originals' powers so they could be all powerful."

"And that's not going to affect your plans?"

"That will just make it easier for us to find him and even easier to get and no one will be able to stop what's going on." He turned and left.

"How the hell can you be so calm about it?" Killer looked at Ilpalo once we were sure he was gone. He was keeping his voice down because of Hades.

"Because he takes souls. When he said that he would keep them, I got what he meant. He means that they will be in his body. Don't ever forget what we are."

Killer looked at the group. "I need something to punch."

I got up and went over to the river, Styx. There were souls floating around here. I looked at them, "Ilpalo, do you need one too?"

"Yeah… but should we?"

"They're dead already. You can't die twice."

"Okay then."

I went looking around for fighters. I found some and gave them a drop of honey. They became like Ilpalo and Killer instantly and I dragged them back over with me. It wouldn't do them any good if any of them fell into the river, even if it's no longer there. They were speaking Greek, so I knew what they were asking and demanding. I tossed them over to Killer and Ilpalo as they started to take out their anger on them. They were fighting back, of course, but that wasn't the point. I saw that clearly, as well as understood it. I sat down and watched them. I wasn't a fighter, so watching them helped me too.

I was now hoping even more that Matt wasn't ready. If he was, then the others will have to be able to stop them in time. I wondered if Nereida would be torn, half knowing that she won't be.

After the honey ran out, we told Ilpalo everything we knew. He and Killer would, later tonight since it was already morning, go tell Apollo about the news.

I showed Ilpalo how to work the orb so he could watch them for me as Killer and I went to see Hephaestus.

"So you want me to make your guards weapons?" He was sitting in his chair, looking at us with his ugliness, courtesy of our queen. "Why should I? They'll be gone one day and I would have made those for nothing. Besides, spirits can't hold weapons."

"So even you can't make a weapon for them? I was thinking that since you're the best blacksmith that you could make one. I guess I would just have to look around to see if there's someone better." I sighed as I started to turn.

"No other deity is better than me!" He hounded.

I looked at him, "But you said it was impossible. I'm sure someone else will be able to do it for me."

"Fine! I'll find a way." He flared.

"Thanks. I'm sure Hades would feel secure when he has to meet with the other Underworld Deities."

He still looked pissed as he got up and went over to start the process. We took our leave then.

"You want us to have weapons?" Killer asked as we walked among the souls to get back to where we were stationed.

"Yep. You would need something to protect yourselves against Arsmon and others. Plus, I'm not a fighter so I would also need protection."

"Why didn't you ask us what we wanted then?"

"Do you need somethin in specific?" I stopped.

"I'm good with guns."

"He can't make guns."

"I'm sure that you can get him to learn." He smiled.

"What do you think Ilpalo needs?"

He thought about it for a moment, "Let me go ask him." He ran the way we were heading.

I looked at the river. She was what we swore to, what souls needed to cross to find their final resting place, and much more. She started this whole thing in motion by seeing Matt that one day. Her love for him started it all. Because he wanted to see her again, Matt had gathered everyone, being in perfect belief in all them without allowing them to settle all their issues with each other. Who knows if this was a smart move or not, but that doesn't matter now. Walls are being broken down.

"He wants two swords." Killer said as he came back.

"You mean like the Japanese kind?"

"Something like that, yeah."

"What you do mean 'something like that'?"

"Well, they're not the samurai's, they're ninja kinds."

"Is there a different?"

"Ninja's are much lighter than samurai's."

"And you would know this?"

"Because there was a girl that was in love with sharp objects and she was great friends with Panther."

I went back to Hephaestus, saying what Killer told me about the swords. He was explaining what he wanted his gun to be like. I couldn't follow so I was lost nearly two words into his sentence. Hephaestus looked pissed that he had to do this, but didn't complain because of my comments of finding someone who could do the job. Even though there is tension, pride is still important. If I went to another, that's saying that he's not good enough.

"Thanks, Hebe." Ilpalo said as we were coming back. He looked like a cat with how he was sitting in my seat comfortably. He didn't even get up as we were getting closer.

"No problem. Would you like some popcorn with that movie?" I looked at him as Killer went to his normal spot.

"As long as you bring some soda with that." He smiled. "Matt told the other's their plan, but Yan-lo has to research it. He seems like a kid, so I don't think he has any motives. That goddess, though, might be another story. Ceres and her crew are still traveling, though they should be about a day away from the tribe they're trying to get to." He looked at Killer, "Panther is actually pretty hot without clothes on."

Killer's eyes flared when he said that, "WHAT!"

Ilpalo laughed as he turned to her, since he was watching Nereida's group. She was wearing her undergarments and she was lying out on the deck of the boat. She looked pretty relaxed there.

"She's purifying herself." Killer commented, "You're not changing the angles, are you?"

"I am a guy, still. Anyway, Don is upset about something about his kids. That's the report so far."

"And he'll make your weapons. Now get off the chair, you cat."

"But it's comfy." He smiled, stretching on it.

"It's made out of rock."

"Kings slept on rocks before."

I kicked him in the stomach, "Get off."

He rolled off as Killer laughed. "Do goddesses get PMS?" Killer asked as I sat down, placing my feet on Ilpalo.

"Not really. Why?"

"Just wondering."

"I'm glad that you're helping me, Killer." Ilpalo said, trying to get my feet off of his back.

"You asked for it." He smiled.

"Yeah, it's quite fun to see you like that, even I must admit." I jumped as I looked to see Akba leaning on the side that Ilpalo normal takes.

"When did you get here?" I asked as I let my heart steadied.

"When he asked about PMSing. Anyway, I thought I should ask about Panther and Matt, since Ceres cares about them." He smiled like it was no big deal. Ilpalo also took this time to get off the floor.

"Neon isn't looking too good. I think she's stressing about something. Nereida is doing okay, keeping an eye out for her. Lily Dawn is helping Matt. Matt is worried about the news that he's either the God of Death or has his powers. They're in China right now and two Chinese Deities are helping them out. Don is depressed because he heard some depressing news about his kids. Damon is okay for the moment. Kari is okay for the moment. Panther is purifying herself for something, but otherwise she seems fine. They're on a boat with two Australian Deities heading home." Ilpalo answered.

"Why is Panther purifying herself?" He looked at Killer.

"Well, I know she hasn't done anything too serious to where she would need it, so she's probably doing it because she needs her mind clear for something." Killer offered.

"Matt's a God?" He looked at me.

"One of those ultimate deities."

"Oh, okay… How are you guys?"

"Hebe is getting us weapons." Ilpalo said with a smile, "And we're fine."

"Oooo, what kinds?" He seemed to be excited.

"I'm getting a gun and Ilpalo is getting ninja twin blades." Killer explained.

"Because of Ceres?"

"They sound the coolest to have, out of swords, anyway." Ilpalo smiled.

"Okay! See ya around then!" He smiled before disappearing.

I quickly went back to my seat. Ilpalo pouted before smiling and walked to where he normally stands, "Maybe you should convince him to make us chairs too."

"Yeah, it gets tiring standing here all the time." Killer agreed.

"All because you're getting weapons, you think he'll do other things too?" I looked at them.

"If we ask, maybe." Ilpalo smiled. "I mean, I go with Hades whenever he wants me to and Killer has to follow you around so he might as well get a chair. We're both curious about them as well, so it wouldn't be like it would odd for us to have chairs."

I sighed as I got up and went over to the river. Styx had many powers, powers that we can mix with our own if we wanted. I started mixing my honey and pollen with the space near the shore. The power was still there, even if the river and the Goddess aren't. I then moved it with the sand and stone there. It was much harder to do than I thought it would be, but I got two chairs made for them. I picked them up and set them down where they normally are. They were tall enough to allow them to see over my head. "Happy?"

They smiled and nodded their heads. "That was cool." Killer said. "I didn't know that you could do that."

"Super Levels can do just about anything." I smiled. "Besides that, the River Styx has a lot of powers that we can mix our own with. Why didn't you tell Akba about Arsmon's plan?" I looked at Ilpalo.

"Because I figured that if he's not ready then we shouldn't worry them about it."

"Do you think that's wise? Arsmon made it sound like it could happen anytime."

"Maybe, but what we really need to do is have them look at that prophecy again so they can see themselves that it has loop holes."

"Why have them look for themselves?"

"Because if we just hand them information then how will they learn anything? Ceres is a very clever girl and once they realize that they need to have another look at it, she'll come to see it."

"But what if you can't see it that easily?"

"Besides, how will they know that they need to look at it again if no one tells them that?" Killer asked.

Ilpalo hit his head, "Yeah, that would be important, huh?"

"Ilpalo, when you go to Apollo, tell him that I would need his cell phone."

"For what?" He looked at me.

"I need to call someone to give them that information that you forgot to give to Akba. They'll be around animals, and she has an animal as well."

"I see… okay, we will."

Later on that night, Ilpalo and Killer went up to the upper levels. Since I could watch people, I decided to see if I could watch them as well. I found that I couldn't watch spirits that were given bodies so I had to watch Apollo. He was coming back from something, definitely not looking happy about whatever he was doing or just the whole situation. There was a knock at his door, which I was hoping was Killer and Ilpalo. It ended up being his sister.

"What is it?" Apollo asked as he allowed her to come in.

"I just want to make sure that you're okay." She sat down on his bed, "I know that they're not after Lily Dawn and her group, but still."

He sighed as he closed the door, "Yeah, I'm okay…" He sat down with her, "I just realized today that Lily Dawn is a moral."

"And why does that matter?"

"We got married… before she left."

"Oh… But it's not like our side would support it, and besides, she has a choice to make. Don't force her to choose to be an immortal because you're married. And it doesn't matter either way, because you weren't looking for a deity to like when you went out."

"I was just looking for a longer lasting girlfriend." He looked at her.

"But the longer you lasted, the more chances you had of ending up marrying that person." She smiled, "I know you a bit better anyway. You wanted someone to love for eternity. In their world, that means marriage."

He sighed before lying down on the bed, "Yeah… But she's special. If I can have the marriage more valid…"

"You don't need it to be valid by us. Zeus doesn't matter to her, or to them. He may be our father, but he doesn't matter." She placed her hand on his arm, "All that matters is her friends and her brother to accept it. That's all you need."

He sighed, "I guess, but they'll hate us because of our displayed loyalty."

"If they believe in us, then they should know that ultimately, we're doing everything we can to do to protect them." She lowered her eyes.

"I wish that I could be like Hebe and be strong enough to face Zeus."

"I know… I wasn't as brave as her." I was surprised to hear that. I thought that they were ready to admit as much as they could. Did they only keep their silence to save themselves? "Though, I guess they do need some Olympian Gods to keep things out of their hair."

"But we can't do anything for them, and if we do then they'll think more about our involvement." Apollo sighed, "I hate this."

Then there was another knock at the door. They looked at each other before Apollo went up to get it. Ilpalo and Killer were there.

"Can we come in?" Ilpalo asked.

Apollo allowed them, "Did Hebe find something?" He closed the door.

"She did. Lily Dawn might be either a goddess herself or have a goddess's power." Killer said.

"I know that you two weren't at the meeting yesterday, so I have something else to tell you." Ilpalo said.

"Why are you with Hades anyway?" Artemis asked.

"He has placed me as his guard and whatever else at those meetings and when he leaves for other meetings. I think he wanted us to be useful in some way so he has this guy guarding Hebe." He pointed to Killer, "Anyway, there are Chinese Deities that are watching Lily Dawn's group and they're after something from the God of Death in their group."

"There's a god among them?" Apollo asked.

"And we know who it is. But the thing is, he doesn't know for sure if he is or not, and he's going to learn if he is or not. Lily Dawn is in the same boat, but the Deities don't know that, as of late."

"What's worst, there's a group of Digimon that are under Collect Soulsmon that are after the God of Death so that they can get carnage." Killer added.

"What!" They both said and got up.

"We're going to warn them, though. But we need your cell phone. We have someone that we can contact so they can get this information, but Hebe doesn't have a phone down there."

Apollo got it out immediately and handed it over to them. "Please, protect them."

Ilpalo took it, "That's our job. We have loved ones there too." He smiled. "Thanks and see you around." They then left.

"That's probably what Hades was going to bring up at the meeting tomorrow." Artemis said.

"Yeah.. Though, I doubt that he'll know more than them. If they warned us, then that must mean that they talked to the informant more."

She nodded as she got up, "We'll see tomorrow then. Good night."

"Night." And she took her leave.

Ilpalo handed me the cell phone when they got back. I dialed her number and in an hour she was here.

"I need you to go over to America for us, if you could." I said after I greeted her.

"Why there? I thought I would be needed more in Japan." She asked.

"We don't have a way of reaching our contact over there. Is this a problem for you?"

"Not at all. I have to go through the Digital World though. Is there a Digidestined of the first two groups with them?"

"There is. It's Ken, the Digidestined of Kindness."

"Oh, okay. It'll take me a while to find them, though."

"Why is that?"

"You guys don't have to worry about this, but normal Super Levels have to use portals to enter and leave the Digital World. The only way we can do that without using up all of our energy is to use portals that each Digidestined create."

"How do they create these portals?"

"We're not really sure, but we do know that they create them. I use different ones all the time when I want to go to the Real World."

"What about getting back to the Digital World?"

"That's the easy part. We have to get into something with wires and we're good to go. It was much harder to do in the past, though."

"How long have Digimon been coming to the Real World? What about other worlds?"

"Super Levels have been coming to the Real World for as long as they have been created." She crossed her arms, "As for other worlds, we only heard about them through the Real World. I don't know if anyone has ever tried to go to them, but I figured not."

"Okay, thank you for your help."

She nodded, "So, what do I need to give them?"

"Let them know that they need to look at a prophecy again. The Mysterious group is after them and they have a better understanding of that prophecy and have a way of making it come true."

"You mean the group that is so underground that no one knows about them?" She blinked, "I don't know who their leader is, but I heard from my servant that they attacked the Destiny Stones, right?" I nodded. "I was created in the middle of the Super Level birthing, but I do know that the Destiny Stones were in existence by my time. I guess, considering all the rumors that surround that group, that they might know the purpose of the stones."

"The purpose was to keep Azulongmon locked up, wasn't it?" I asked.

"Maybe, maybe not. I never dug too deep into the matter so I'm not really sure. I'll deliver your massage, though. I'll let you know how it goes."

I smiled, "Thanks."

She waved as she went off. I gave more coins to her so she could come here.

"Maybe we should look into it." I looked at Ilpalo and Killer. They were both thinking, which was a bad sign.

"What are you two thinking about?" I narrowed my eyes.

"The Destiny Stones. Maybe we can look into it." Ilpalo said.

"It could give them an edge." Killer pointed out.

I sighed, "If it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter." I walked through them, "So please, don't go looking into things that don't need it."

"But what if it does become important?" I stopped and looked at Ilpalo, "Besides that, Ceres loves knowing things to their fullest."

"Then let them find out. If it turns out that it does become important, then we'll find ways to help them." I went back to my seat.

Nereida's group wasn't doing anything the next day. Panther was a lot calmer, it seemed. She was giving advice to Kari and the others. Ceres's group reached that tribe, with Akba being with them. When Ilpalo came back from the meeting that Hades called, he informed us that it was about what Arsmon had told them. We, then, heard an explosion near the entrance of the cave.

"What's that?" Hades asked as he and Persephone came out from their chambers.

"I don't know." I got up from my chair, looking down but couldn't see that far.

"Go find out." He said before calling Charon over. Killer and I got on and were taken down the river. As we were getting closer, we could tell that there was a battle happening outside the cave. He pulled the boat to the shore and we ran to see what it was about. Not many Digimon know about the cave here and it's hidden behind the barrier that's there.

When we got out of the cave, the Silenimon were at the ready position. The battle was being fought by two groups of Super Levels. I couldn't tell what they were fighting about, though. Normally, Super Levels leave each other alone.

"They're fighting over two small Digimon." Killer informed me.

"Can you get them without the Silenimon noticing and the fighting Digimon?"

"Yeah.. but why should we help?" Killer looked at me.

"I remember Nereida telling me something about two Digimon that Super Levels wanted for some reason. She said that they were small creatures and they were important to their group." I didn't want to give so much detail in an open area.

Killer went out without a word. I ordered the Silenimon to fall back, and they did so with reluctance. The Digimon were keeping their distance. I didn't see Killer anywhere, but I figured that I shouldn't try to actively search. Suddenly, the Digimon stopped in their battle, noticing something that was missing, perhaps their prize? They were arguing with each other, accusing the other party of their escape before leaving themselves in the search. I smiled at this, glad that it ended well.

After a while, I guess for reassurance, Killer came back with the two Digimon. They were just as Nereida described them. One was white with a tear drop on its forehead, the other was black with scars and a blue spiral on its forehead; the white one was a creature with wings, the black was a cat with a golden collar. The cat looked at me with a glare as the other quivered in Killer's arms.

"I thought you said we would be at safety." Endmon, the cat, said with hate and anger.

"She's different from the other Deities. She's been helping the Neo Digidestined." Killer said.

"Is it true that they're all over the world?" Eternalmon asked in his cute voice of innocence.

I nodded, "I'll show you them, but you must hide first. Where we're going isn't a place that you can be totally safe in."

"How do you figure we do that?" Endmon said, stating that they don't have that kind of power in her undertone. I created some pollen in my hands, tossing it to them. They allowed it to fall on them.

"This will hide you. I warn you, though. Don't touch the air that the boat floats on, got it?" With their nod of their heads, Killer and I went back to the boat and Charon. He asked nothing as we got on, heading back to the deep of the cave. They were on Killer, Endmon keeping Eternalmon silent.

Hades and Ilpalo were waiting by the edge with Persephone behind her husband. We got out of the boat first before Hades started to ask us anything. "What was it?"

"It was two parties of Digimon. They were fighting over something, but soon left seeing that their prize was gone. They didn't get pass the barrier." I reported.

"What was their prize?" He asked.

"We didn't get a good look to see, but I believe it was something of Digital or Super Level importance, something that the Deities need not worry about."

"Is it of the Neo Digidestined importance?" Persephone asked.

"I don't believe so. They could've also been practicing for something."

"Then why say a prize before?" Hades asked.

"Did the Greek wrestled and bowed and ran and throw for the fun of the sport?" I asked, hiding my smile.

They couldn't argue against that, as I knew. "If you happen to discover something…"

"Of course I'll tell you. I have no reason not to." Then they left.

"What was that about?" Ilpalo asked.

I smiled, "Civilized culture."

"So, something Greek, uh?" Killer asked.

"Yep." I smiled, looking around to make sure that no one else was here. "Ilpalo, you can see them, right?"

"Yeah. Who are they?" Killer brought them over to his seat, letting them go there.

"I'm Eternalmon! Nice to meet ya!" He said with a big smile.

"I'm Endmon." She said, lying down on the seat.

"They were the prize." I said, "They're also members of the Neo Digidestined."

"We never said that." Endmon said, looking at me.

"Those symbols on your heads say otherwise." I smiled. "They are two Crests that belong to the Neo group."

"And how would you know?" She looked at me with hate and suspicion.

"I'm Nereida's best friend. She's the one that has Lightningmon by her side."

"I remember her!! We like going to their house!" Eternalmon said before being smacked by Endmon for giving that out.

"Why not go there? I know that you would be safest there." I said with a smile.

"Digimon shouldn't be out in the Real World. That's my belief, anyway." Endmon said. "We only go for a bit to escape, but then we come right back."

"But what if you stay with the Neo Digidestined? I'm sure they'll protect you." Ilpalo asked.

"Endmon, can we? Can we? Can we? Can we?" Eternalmon asked, jumping around her.

"We never had help before, so why should we have it now?" She asked in a pissed off way.

"Because it's being offered to you. You'll also learn a lot about yourself that you couldn't otherwise know on your own." I said.

"Like what? Why should we care?"

"Well… Did you know that there's an ancient past of the Digital World and apparently, your Crests weren't there. Your two Crests came after a war that made the whole Digital World rebuild to what it is now. And also, around the time that it was being rebuilt, the first three Super Levels appeared. It is these three that create all the other Super Levels and also gave us our Digital Form. They are also known has a new kind of type where data, virus and vaccine all come together into one." Eternalmon had stopped hopping around when I said that there was an ancient past to their world. They were listening to everything that I said, amazed and surprised at the same time. "That's just some of the things that they learned, and they're still learning more."

"That still doesn't answer…"

"Their Digimon were present at that war that made the Digital World rebuild itself and their Crests were there. Aren't you curious as to why you two weren't there? Besides, what other Digimon besides the Super Levels can travel freely though the dimensions, and even they want you. Don't you want to know why you've been chased this whole time?"

She looked at the ground, seeing it in her one eye that she had been wondering it. Eternalmon was looking the same way, meaning that either of them understood it.

"Why can't I go to China?!" I turned around, seeing Arsmon coming off the boat angrily.

"What do you mean?" I asked, turning around to face him.

"I tried to go to China and I couldn't. Why can't I go?"

"Oh.. I guess the Deities that are with them placed a barrier so no one would interfere with their journey."

"Why the hell would they do that?"

"Because they also want to know the God of Death."

Arsmon was about to walk pass me but I stopped him, "Out of my way!" He yelled.

"They might not like us, and they might even be planning war against the Greeks, but I will not allow you to harm a fellow Deity. The Chinese have suffered more than most of us and they don't need to be killed because of their security. Sooner or later, you're going to learn that Nereida is here for a reason and they don't like to hurt Super Levels that have not harmed them."

He looked me hard, "They seem pretty willing to harm my Master's army."

"Who attacked first?"

"And what about Megamon's group?"

"They aided, but they didn't attack first."

"Then your so-called 'fellow Deity'?"

"They attacked first." I said each individual word for emphasis. "They allowed the Digimon to tell their story before deciding what to do with it. That's what their Digimon like about their partners. They're willing to listen and then decide. The other groups aren't."

"They do have people from those groups as well."

"And they're the ones that set the example of listening before attacking because they were the ones that met Styxmon and her family." I looked at Ilpalo, since he was closer, "Can you tell us how Nereida's group is doing?"

He went over to it. "They're still on the train, relaxing quite well."

I looked back at Arsmon, "Just keep trying. I know it's harder on you since you need to find Matt's portal, but if you want to see her because of your love for her, I'll try to convince Hades to call an Underworld meeting so at least one of them would have to come back."

"Why are you helping me?" He seemed suspicious.

"Nereida. I have faith in her and her group because of her and if she loves you so deeply without knowing anything about you, then I believe that there's something about you that's honorable enough to like."

He looked at me for a moment. "I'm going to convince her to not be there when I release the God of Death."

"I'll still do it, but you won't be able to convince her."

"Why not?"

"Because, she cares about her group and will go in harm's way to protect them. They're like her new family.

"So?"

"That means that she cares for them, and would want to make sure that they're safe."

"But they're broken. How can they…"

"Because they will. They're not broken beyond repair. I have faith in that."

"Why do you have that much faith in them?"

"Because I know that they'll come through. They were good friends and if it wasn't for Aries' and Aphrodite's games, they wouldn't have been broken in the first place."

"There would've had to been a crack to hit at for them to break them so easily."

I shrugged. "Maybe, but they hit right after Matt got back. Any issues that came up could've been resolved if he was there to help them reason it out. He does that for their study sessions."

"Huh?"

"He helps see another way of solving the problem. He would've done the same thing with them, and he's also their leader. I met him once, and I could easily see in that one meeting how they would respect him. Another Deity that saw him twice understands it better because he was particularly kind to him. Once you meet and talk to him, or just hear him talk, you'll understand."

He just walked out. I knew he didn't believe me, but he'll see that I'm right.

"Is that true?" I looked back at Eternalmon and Endmon. "Is it?" Eternalmon asked.

I nodded, "Yep. That's the group that you belong to."

"Isn't he the bad guy?" Endmon asked.

"That's the interesting thing." I walked over to my seat, sitting on the chair's arm, "Have you heard of the Mysterious Super Level group?"

"Yeah."

"He was one of the members in that group."

"Why does he come here then?"

"He's master as power over the dead as well. That's where we are. Ilpalo and Killer are both died and I was punished to watch the events unfold from down here."

"And you're nice to him because?"

"Nereida, my friend, is in love with him and he's in love with her. His master doesn't mind it and also allows it. As you saw, he was even going to tell her a plan that is going to do some serious harm to the other two groups and theirs as well."

"What is that?" Eternalmon asked.

"Matt, the Digidestined of Friendship, has this god within him. He's known as the God of Death and there's a prophecy that surrounds him. Arsmon and his group are going to activate that prophecy for some deaths in the Real World. In order to stop them, though, they need Matt, but he wouldn't be in control of his body for them to do so." Ilpalo said.

"And Arsmon is going to tell that to her?" Endmon asked.

"Apparently. He's doing so that she doesn't have to die because if someone from the Neo Digidestined dies, then Arsmon is ordered to take them up into him. Since he loves her, he doesn't want her to die."

"And what's this TV thing doing here?" She looked at it.

"That's how we're able to know what they're doing." Killer said, walking over to here finally. He changed it to Panther's group, catching all of our attention since they were in a storm. I let Killer take my seat as I took the arm. Eternalmon came to my shoulder as they were battling against the Egyptian serpent of their underworld and Endmon came to the back of the seat. After Panther got them over those huge waves, Kari and Damon made them go flying through the water. Once they got to the 'eye' of it, they stopped and were brought to the bridge. Then Seth's boat came up to them, with Panther going over to it.

"I thought I would be attacked, not greeted." Seth said once his boat was close to theirs.

"I figure I would give you a chance to tell me what you want from me." Panther said in her uncaring attitude.

"You're giving a god a chance? Do you think you have power over me?" _She probably does._

"If I didn't want to listen to you, I would be attacking you, now wouldn't I?"

"You think you have more power than a god?"

"You're forgetting that you're a Digimon."

I knew that she didn't mean to sound insulting, but it was still a sore spot for most Deities. The serpent came back out, and Plantmon went to her Mage stage Treemon. It sent a swirl of leaves at it before a pink dragon Digimon came out, knocking over Seth for some reason. Treemon then created cover to them as Mangadramon went to some peach creature. Panther used her jewel and Kari moved them away.

"Going to sleep?" Panther asked when they were in calmer waters and stopped what they were doing. She had gone over to Kari, offering to help her up.

"Why did you want to talk to him?" She yelled, something that most would never hear.

"That's the first time I heard you yell." Panther helped her up. "I wanted to see what he wanted from me. I am a person of great darkness, so I guess I'm desired or something."

"Shouldn't you stay away from people who want you?" Kari said as they headed somewhere.

"Maybe, maybe not. I won't know if I don't ask." She opened the door, "Who's this?"

"Salamon." The peach Digimon said.

"We should be fine for a while."

"Get me up if he comes back." Kari went to a bed.

"Right." And Panther headed up. That's when we all noticed that she was getting brighter, like a halo was forming around her. I then remembered that her Crest power was to allow the wielder to go into the shadows, but she would be glowing for a while. I couldn't remember how long.

"You're getting brighter." Don commented when she reached him.

"I noticed. I might need to stay outside for a while. How are you guys?" She looked at them, moving Rootmon in front of her.

"We're good. Huskimon brought Damon down. I'll steer." Don said with a smile.

"Want me to send signals too?" She smiled in her sly kind.

"If it'll help." He smiled.

"I'll see what I can do." She then headed down to the front of the ship, sitting there as Rootmon covered her eyes. We had to switch to Don because she was getting so bright.

"Maybe it's just me, but Panther seemed a lot different just then." Ilpalo said.

"She changed again." Killer said with a smile, "This group is much better for her than I thought."

"How did she change?" Eternalmon asked.

He looked at him, "You could feel it and see it. She wasn't afraid and knew what she was doing. It takes her a long time to change, unless something major happens to her. Throughout the whole trip, Panther was nervous about things."

"Well, I better get that meeting arranged. I would even help with their case, since Seth would have to come." I said, heading over to Hades' chambers.

"Do you need me to come too?" Killer asked.

"Nah, but thanks." I smiled. I knocked on his chamber door, having it slowly open. I walked inside, seeing that it was only him and Persephone.

"What do you want?" Hades seemed annoyed.

"I was wondering why you didn't just call for a meeting. One of the Deities there with Matt is an Underworld Deity. You can discover the truth that way."

"Why do you think so?"

"Because I'm sure that all the others would want to know as well. Also, Seth seems to be after Panther, so you might want to know why, since you want her too."

"Do you know why?" Persephone asked, letting me know that it was her pet project.

"I don't. I can't hear what they say. Though, Panther isn't going to go with him, but I do suggest that you find out why."

She looked at her husband. "Please, call the meeting." I remember that the brothers were saying that Demeter had sent Panther to her daughter and Hades. I was now wondering if Persephone needed Panther for something. Maybe she claims to want to live here forever, but what if Panther could get her out. "What if those Chinese Deities discover the power in Lily Dawn?"

He nodded, "I'll call for it immediately."

I bowed before walking out. They were watching Nereida's group, pointing out Matt.

"Well?" Ilpalo asked went I got to them.

"He's going to do it. Killer, did Persephone seem eager when Panther was here?"

"I don't think so. Why?" He turned his body towards me.

"Who allowed you to be like this?"

"She did, thinking that I would be of some use. What's up?"

"I think that.."

"I called for that meeting." Hades said. I turned to see that Persephone was with him. "Ilpalo, be ready in three hours."

He nodded, "Of course."

"Do you know if Hephaestus finished what I requested?" I asked, realizing that they didn't get their weapons yet.

"I didn't realize that he was working on something." Hades said.

I looked at Killer, "We better head over to see, then."

He nodded, getting up. Eternalmon and Endmon stayed on the seat. We then headed over to where he dwells, hearing the sound of banging of metals. I looked inside to see that he was pretty busy with something.

"Wow, it must be hot in there." Killer commented.

"It is. Hephaestus!" I called. He stopped what he was doing to look at me. "Are you done with my weapons?"

"Over there!" He pointed over to some place away from the fire. Killer went inside, heading over to where he pointed. He came back quickly with the swords in his hands.

"Thank you!" I said before we left. "Do you have yours?"

"Of course." He smiled. "And it's amazing."

"I'm glad that you like it." I said with a smile.

When we got back, Ilpalo was once again spread over my seat, but with Eternalmon and Endmon near him like pets. He was pointing out Ceres, telling them all of his bias opinion of her.

"Hey! Don't be glorifying one girl!" Killer said walking over there. "My girl is much better."

He looked up at Killer, "Are those it?" He got up from the chair. Once he did, I pushed him away and sat down. "What's that for?" He looked at me.

"Don't go thinking that this is yours." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Yeah, these are it." Killer said, handing them over. "I don't know that much about swords."

He took them out, seeing that they were really shining. "This is cool… Though, I don't know that much about swords either." He laughed as he put it back, placing it somewhere on him where he could reach for it easily.

"Why do you need those?" Eternalmon asked.

"Because I need to accompany Hades to his meetings as a guard. I won't be a good guard if I didn't have something to protect him with."

"Why are you protecting someone that you seem to be cautious of?" Endmon asked.

"He's not bad, but he's out for something on his own. At first, we thought that he wanted to help, but we've found evidence to say that he does have some goal."

"We also noticed that his wife, Persephone, also wants to use Panther for something, but we don't know what it is." I added. "So, even though we can trust them, we can't trust them with everything. Oh, by the way, I'm also going to be watching the meeting." I said to Ilpalo.

"How?"

I pointed to the TV and he mouthed an 'oh'.

"Tell us more about people!" Eternalmon said in a burst.

I looked to see what they were having lunch with a group of people. I told them about Tim, knowing all that I knew from Nereida. Killer gave information about Ryan, knowing him a bit better than us. I gave as much as I knew about Ken. I then moved to Nereida's group, telling them about her, Matt and Neon. Killer did add to Matt, since Panther did idolize him for a long time, and told them about Lily Dawn. I then went to Don, since he was closer to Panther. I gave what I knew of him, and Killer was glorifying Panther. I then went to Damon, giving all that I knew and then Kari, doing the same thing. I went over to Date-san, finding that he was at a dojo.

"Well, I was going to show you someone that isn't part of the group, but I guess not." I said.

"Why not?" Eternalmon looked at me.

"This guy here is supposed to be with TK, but apparently, he isn't right now."

"I remember him." Endmon said, "He was one of the people that couldn't know that we were there one time we ran into the Neo Digidestined."

"Oh! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! I remember him too!! He was always smiling and seemed to be very happy!" Eternalmon added.

"His name is Sage Date." I said.

"I thought it was Sensei Date." Endmon looked at me.

"We learned that his name is actually Sage."

"And he's also important to the group." Killer said.

"How so?" Ilpalo asked.

"Panther was shown the threads that the fates weave and he was in the middle of it all. I guess we better know how and if he's planning on using them too." He said with his eyes narrowed.

"He doesn't look all that bad to me." Ilpalo said. "Do you know his history?"

"He's been keeping it a secret, for some reason." I said, "No one knows it, but he seems to have no other motivate than to help them out. He has even gotten his friends to be of help to everyone."

"Still, someone that good hearted is something that they haven't been lucky in."

"Then we'll watch him as well. Though, we can't always because we can't let the others know." I said, saying it in a final way.

"Hebemon!" I quickly changed to Nereida's group as I turned around. I looked to see Hermes flying over to us. Killer and Ilpalo created a barrier between me and him. "I thought you were Hades's play thing." He looked at Ilpalo as he landed.

"What do you want?" I walked over to them, standing where their arms were nearest to each other. Endmon and Eternalmon were still hiding themselves.

"Aphroditemon wants to talk to you." He tried to give me her massage, but Killer took it first, opening it up. He looked at it for a second before holding it out to me, though not allowing me to touch it. It was from Aphrodite, saying that she wanted to talk to me about the movement of the Neo Digidestined.

"And she thinks that I would just go because she requested?" I asked with disgust.

"She is requesting it. It would be rude to not go." Killer handed it back to him.

"I guess she forgot that I'm their friend and I won't betray them. Now, she's more than welcome to come down here." I said with a smile.

"Why should she degrade herself to do such a thing? So, I guess that means that I'll tell that you decline."

"And that if she wants to talk to me, she better come herself to the Underworld." He then got back on his wings and flew away. "Were you protecting them?" I asked, looking at Ilpalo.

He looked at me, "Just because you like kicking me around doesn't mean that I won't protect you too." He smiled.

I blinked, quite surprised to hear that. I mean.. I guess I didn't know what to think of that.

Killer started to laugh, "Nereida must've been your only friend for you to look like that." He walked over to his chair, "And that, Digimon, is the power of the Neo Digidestined."

"Who was that?" Eternalmon asked.

"That was Hermes, the massager of the Gods." I said, heading back over to them. "Aphrodite was the one that sent everyone around the world."

"Why was Hermes here?" I turned to see that it was Hades.

"He was here because Aphrodite wanted to talk to me." I said in an uncaring fashion.

"What did she want?"

"Something about the movement of the Neo Digidestined."

"Ilpalo, I'm leaving." He said and headed over to the tunnel that led them to the other Underworlds. Ilpalo then followed him, remembering me of the loyal samurais with his sword.

"How are we going to watch him?" Killer asked.

"I can lock on a Deity and use it that way."

"Then who should we have a lock on?"

"Well, I want to know if they're coming." I went to Yan-lo, seeing that he and P'an-Chin-Lien were leaving the train through a portal. I went to Seth, seeing that he looking pissed off that he had to go.

"Osiris, why are you having me go as well?" Seth asked in an angry fashion.

"Hades called for you as well. Besides that, you are a God of Darkness."

"But I do not rule the darkness, brother." He looked mad, "Why not make up some excused for my absence?"

"I did offer to him that you might not make it, using your favorite rebirth priest as your excuse, but he made it clear that if you didn't show, we would have trouble on our hands."

"Then use your wife's magic to make it seem like I'm there."

"If he wants you there, then there must be a reason for it. I will be by your side, so no harm will come to you."

"He must be considered of your ploy of capturing Panther." Thoth came up to them.

"Why would he care?" Osiris asked.

"He had brought her to his Underworld before. He seems to have either fondness of her or has some plan for her."

"Why was she treating me as if I was beneath her?" Seth asked with hate.

"She talked to a goddess that is of the Underworld as well. She should be at the meeting. She would know the answers better than I would."

"Fine then, I will go. But brother, do not reveal that you know of this." Seth looked at Osiris, "It would be worst if we were all punished for this."

"Indeed, but are you sure that you want to take the fall?" I was quite surprised by this. I always thought that the other Deities were more disunited than we were. That we have more unity than the others, but I guess I was wrong. They were willing to take the fall for the whole group and less secrets were kept among them. I wondered if Lethe knew of it, considering that she spends a great deal over there with them. "I will make it appear that I was just using you, appeal to their ideal of us being more barbaric than they."

"I will not allow yourself to be degraded as such. If they are looking for barbarism, then I will show it alone." We have used that term to mean that we were better than them, not that they were uncivilized or anything. We got a bit better about cultural respect, but not about national/regional pride.

"Thoth, you have kept this from Lethe, correct?" Osiris looked at him.

"Of course, I would not want her to worry about it whenever she has to return. I would much rather have her and her River Sister ignorant of this, because of their lost Sister, who was close to us." Meaning Styx and Phlegethon since Phlegethon is known to be with Lethe.

Osiris nodded his head, "We must be off, then." He got off his throne and he and Seth headed out.

"Seems like their plan isn't all that good." Killer commented as they headed over.

"We'll see when they talk to that one goddess." I said.

"Oh, good." I looked to see BeasMastmon coming down to us. "They got the news."

"Thank you for your trouble." I got up and walked over to her.

"No problem at all. Though, why is it that Ken couldn't talk?"

"He used his Crest power. The same kind that Kenmon uses."

"I see… But he can talk."

"They have side affects that don't affect the Digimon of them."

"Oh, okay. Well, I told you that I would report. They were very friendly. I was expecting a more ready to fight atmosphere."

"That's them." I smiled.

"I think we can let the Digital World be in their hands. Please, I would now be more willing to help you in the future."

"Count on it. Even though they are scattered right now, I know that they can always use the help."

She nodded, "You know how to reach me." She smiled before leaving.

I went back to my seat, going back to watching the meeting. I kept it on Seth, since I needed to know more about his role with Panther. There was quite a group there, but you can see how much gloom and doom there was.

"They need color." Killer commented. "And Ilpalo really does look like a guard. It's kinda funny."

I noticed that Ilpalo was behind Hades and Persephone. They were at the head of the table that was there. There were two spaces that separated them from everyone else. They seem to have no order, because the all the other religions don't have a hierarchy to arrange them. I could see that it was similar to the meetings that Zeus has with the other leaders, having space between him and the others. I had always noticed it, since I was serving everyone, but it never occurred to me that this was something that was used to prove the point that we were superior. Nereida always described their meetings as something where no one is at the head, but a leader is always there. Whether that be Matt when he was there or someone else that seemed to take the reins, they were all equals in each other eyes.

"I have called this meeting," Hades started as he stood up, "for we have heard all around about this new God of Death and using him in some ploy." Yan-lo didn't seem too worried, "And that Panther, of the Neo Digidestined, is also being desired for some unknown reason. Now, as you all have known, I have given orders that no one is to touch her." That was news to me, but also understandable. "Now, let's start with this new God of Death, who is somehow higher in status than I." He looked at Yan-lo.

He sighed, as teen would, before standing up, "The Chinese have no plan for this god, we just wish to gain his favor. To show him that we mean him no harm and that we know of his existence."

"How does he have more power than me?"

"He would've created your powers. He created all of our powers. He is the master of the darkness and death."

"What is this god's name?" Persephone asked.

"No one knows their names."

"Their?" Asked one of the African gods.

"Yes, their. There is a whole another hierarchy of deities above us that control the universe. They all give powers to everything, they set everything in motion. They gave us our powers over nature on Earth, but there are other deities throughout the universe that they have given powers to. If we are lucky, they can implant their powers into mortals, who then become so god like in the powers they control. They can also implant themselves into mortals, though this is the first time that it has occurred with the god of Life and Death, and it's even more interesting that they are near each other and can be our enemies."

"How do you know of this?" Osiris asked.

"Research and study. Since we were abandoned and forgotten completely, we have looked for something higher, to understand what our subjects couldn't find over their years."

"What do you have to research? Records that you would have would only come from the earth." Hades pointed out.

"Ah, but we do have things to use in our research. The God of Death's host wants to know whether he is the god or has his powers, though I know that he is the god, but I know that my word isn't enough. If you would allow me, I will bring the documents to the ritual to find out which one the mortal has."

"Bring them here." Hades ordered. Yan-lo bowed before leaving.

I looked at Killer, "What should I make that can hold this information?"

"A laptop or lots of paper. Is there any way of doing that?"

I got up from the seat, going over to Styx and started to mix my honey with it. I was able to create a lot of paper and a quill and ink. I also got a stone so that I could have something hard to write on. I went back to my seat, glad that they were waiting for Yan-lo to come back before going on to another topic. "After I get it all down, we're going to place it down into Japanese for them, okay?" I looked at Killer.

"Let's wait on that. If they don't have a chance to get it performed for them while they are with them, then we don't have to translate it. According to Ilpalo, Ceres knows Greek, ancient Greek."

"I had forgotten about that. Nereida said that she knew a lot of languages. She even helped with… Oh, yeah… I kinda forgot about that machine too… Oh well, it's not like we can use it anymore."

"What machine?" Killer asked just as Yan-lo got back.

"I'll tell you later."

"Read the manuscript." Hades ordered. I then noticed that Ilpalo was given things to write as well, "so that all the other lands will be able to see what their people have as well."

None of the others believed that, though I guess I could be fair and give them my written version. I would just have to find a way to get it to the Egyptians first.

Yan-lo nodded, "Before I begin, I would like to remind you all that I will give you everything on this paper. I will not trick you in giving you false information."

"Now we better wait to see if he's telling the truth." Killer said and I nodded.

"This isn't just for the God of Death, but all the deities of that hierarchy. So if you ponder the lives of the mortals you serve, you will know if they are of their kind."

"How will we know which one is which?" Asked the Celtic.

"You will all see." He looked at the paper, "You must first be near the person before performing. There is no purification, for they themselves are already holy. You would have to face them as they face you, for they do not like to be known to the world. You must prove that you have no ill in knowing their presence, for even the one of Darkness has ill towards anyone. Their host must know you, for trust is important if you bring out the one within. The host must know what you intend to do, for they will not allow you to face their mentor in their minds. With all having been met, you may begin.

Oh, the ones above those we know

May we who desire to see your face

See the light of your power. Show unto

Us that we have not discovered and

Pondered in vain. We desire to see

You in your glory, to know that we

Have looked well. Our hearts are pure

And will be more so with your

Guidance and advice. Your host

Will not be harm, and they will never be

As long as they are with us. They may

Had suffered under you, but we have come

To know them well. We wish for their well being

No more than you wished of it. Grant

Us, we who are now begging, the

Way to your divinity, to your place

Of worship. I open up the doors

For you to walk through."

Right then, everyone was glowing. It was hard to see if you were looking at someone just by themselves, but you could see it against another and as a whole. Even Persephone was glowing, making everyone stand up.

"What is this?" Seth asked.

"This shows us that we all have his powers. If he was among us, then his image would appear or he would be speaking now through one of our bodies." I wrote that down.

"How did you find this?" One of the South American deities asked.

"The Digital World seemed to have lots of information about other worlds. I'm beginning to think that Titanmon was right in that this world can be connected to other worlds."

"So this came from another world? How do you know that this is right, then?" Hades asked, though he was one that didn't like Titanmon's ideas and was against it so this wasn't very pleasing to him.

"That's what took us so long. We had to find a Rosetta Stone, as it were, for this."

"Is there such a thing for your language?" Persephone asked.

"Of course not, your highness." He bowed a bit, "Which is why we are very pleased that we did get it all done before he had entered our land." Then the glow left them. They sat back down.

"Now, on to Panther." Hades looked at Seth, "What are you doing?"

"Hina was with them before. They were using their boat when I last saw them." I was kinda impressed that he wasn't trying to cover up that he is after her.

Hades looked at her, "Explain yourself."

"I wanted her to be weary of everyone, since she has a lot of dark power in her."

"Is that why you are helping Aphrodite? You want to use Panther for some ploy?" Persephone asked.

"I want to know if I could use her to open a portal so that the monsters could come out."

"Her power won't allow you do to so." Hina said. "Her power isn't a power."

"But there is a portal that is out there. I believe that she's the one that has created it. It has been growing for her lifespan."

"But her power won't allow for it. It can not be used in that way." Hina insisted.

"Then what can her power be used for?" Persephone asked.

Hina looked at her. "Her power is strong, and could be used, but not for portals."

"Then what?"

"I do not wish to say, since I would fear that most would then go after her."

"People are already going after her."

"But everyone here would, and I would personally hate to see that occur."

"You have grown a fond for her?" Seth asked.

"Yes, and for which, I would not place her in harm's way."

"I order you to tell me." Persephone said in her commanding fashion.

"I am sorry, your highness." She said without a second thought.

"I like her." Killer commented.

Persephone then looked really pissed off, but didn't say anything. She looked at her husband, who sighed. "Hina, you do remember the rule of those who don't obey us?"

"You have many punishments for those. And which ever you decide to choose, I would go to it with dignity." I was quite surprised, since most would rather avoid it than face it. They made living here even worst, which was the intent of it. Though, only the three rulers have power to choose which punishment to give and give it out, which is why Persephone had to look at her husband for it.

Hades looked at his wife, giving her the decision to choose. That made her smile so evilly that it was creepy. She looked at her, her eyes saying that she would enjoy it greatly. "Make her live within a comet for a thousand years."

The others were quite shocked. That was the worst that we could do, since they could not be worshipped, they would hear the prayers going to them and they could do nothing, and we took away their powers. With every punishment, we took their powers, but with the higher ones, we gave us the rule that we could use them. With this one, anyone could use her powers. I was now determined to hold her power so no one else could use it. I didn't want her bravery to be wasted.

"Surely…" Seth started.

"Would you like to join her?" Persephone asked.

Osiris placed a hand on his brother's shoulder before he could speak, "Your Highness, my brother means no disrespect. May we have an audience with her before she is sent off?"

"What would you need to discuss that can't be discussed here?"

"About what we should expect from her waters. Surely, they have spirits in their Dream World and to be on your good graces, we would offer our help to protect them from those spirits."

"What is this Dream World?" Hades asked. Even I didn't know what that was.

"It's a place where we all live. Our creatures, our monsters, our heroes go there. It's the place where we exist and can be found." Hina said. "As we do have many spirits that would be after them."

"You may talk then." Hades waved them off. Only they got up and went away from the table.

"What do you really want to talk about?" Hina asked once outside the wall.

"Our plan has nothing to do with our monsters from our darkness." Osiris said, "We know that her power has no power over portals, but to power up powers. I wish to express my apologizes for the finger pointing that had occurred, and would wish to take your place."

"Why would you offer yourself?" She seemed suspicious.

"My brother has a temper, to which doesn't always give the right impression of us. We do not wish ill for Panther, as it seems that Persephone would like to use her, but we would like her powers to grow. We are willing to offer her protection for her efforts."

"That's not the truth either, is it?" Hina asked, "Because you want her to do something for just an exchange. I would not allow it. Everyone wants something from her, and she doesn't need it."

"Are you saying that you don't want something from her?" Seth asked.

"I wanted to know something, but she doesn't know it herself. So, now she would have to find it on her own. She was lost, and I helped her back to where she needed to be. You want to take her away from her true path. I must admit, though, you almost had me fooled."

"I'm sorry we could not convince you otherwise. I do apologize for your punishment."

"I take it with dignity." She walked back inside and they followed. Everyone watched as Hades froze her. Her face was very regal, and calm. I was very moved by it, witnessing many more that screamed with horror. That was more real to me, hearing a scream, seeing the terror in their eyes and movement. She was so beautiful as an ice statue. Her face capturing her strength. I felt arms wrapping around me. Killer was comforting me, since I could now feel my tears. I smiled, grateful for this, and continued to watch. They picked a comet that wouldn't be near Earth in those years, teleporting her to the center of it. Afterwards, they went back to their homes. Seth was appointed to watching them, saying that the same would happen to him if he decided to disobey.

"Why did you offer yourself, brother?" Seth asked as they headed back.

"I was hoping that such a thing would make my words more noble. But, it seems that her actions took that away. No other deity had ever left with just grace and nobility."

"It was like she was believing in something."

"Indeed, but what she was, we will never know. I will let our companions know. You should watch them as promised."

"Should I continue with our plans?" He looked at him.

"Yes, but watch them carefully."

"Of course." Seth then disappeared.

I changed to someone else since it wasn't long until Hades, Persephone and Ilpalo came back. Ilpalo wanted until they went into their chamber before coming over to us. They looked like they were puzzled, which I thought was kinda funny. They never allowed themselves to be touched by the Neo Digidestined, even though they are the ones that are helping them the most.

"What happened?" Ilpalo asked as when he reached us.

"She was sent to a comet, with her power taken away from her and she can't answer any prayers given to her. It's the ultimate punishment we can give. It's how we control the others because we're the only ones that could do so."

"Why is that the ultimate?" Killer asked.

"Because there are a few people that do pray from time to time, and we try our best to grant them their wishes, but when you're in the comet, you can't help them and then they start to not believe or whatever else."

"Why take away their powers?" Endmon asked.

"That way they can't help, even if they wanted to. It's a way of humiliating them more."

"Would they do the same to you?" Ilpalo asked.

"We would much rather give ourselves lesser punishments to keep up the appearance of loyalty and unity."

"Is there a way for us to help her?"

"There isn't, I'm afraid. She would have to wait out her years. Though, we could make sure that no one uses her powers while she's gone."

"What do you mean?" Eternalmon asked.

"We place all the powers in a box that's well decorated with fine jewels and gold. You saw it, right Ilpalo?" He nodded, "All we have to do is get that box and we can get her powers out of it and place it into one of us. That way, if anyone had planned on using hers, then they can't now."

"When do you want to take this box?" Killer asked.

"Not now. It would be too soon. Tomorrow night would be good, because it takes about a day for news such as this to reach everyone."

"But wouldn't that mean that Zeus would know about Hades's involvement with the Neo Digidestined?" Ilpalo asked.

"He could easily make the case that he happened to spot her in the crystal ball and punished her accordingly since she looked like she was using them to plot against him."

"We'll get it for you tomorrow then." Killer said.

"What did the Egyptians wanted to talk about?" Ilpalo asked.

"Osiris was willing to replace her in the punishment, but they do want Panther. Apparently, she can power up things, and they did know that." Killer said.

"So you don't know what they're planning?"

"Not yet, but I'm sure that they'll be safe. Panther isn't the type to let others take her friends away."

Ilpalo nodded, "I know where it was placed, so I'll lead you there tomorrow."

"Right." He looked at Endmon and Eternalmon, "I would offer for you two to join us, but it's rather dangerous."

"But maybe we can be of help." Eternalmon said.

"We can't go to the Real World. We're spirits." Ilpalo clarified.

"Well, I could give you some honey to drink that could let you be solid if you do need an escape route." I said, "It would be much easier for you to go there than to try and return with it here."

"Where would we go?" Killer asked.

"Go to Japan for a bit, then come back. I'll try to find clothes for you two to wear so they don't think it's you."

"Alright then. If we have a plan." He smiled. "We can visit TK if we go."

"Sounds like a great idea." Ilpalo agreed. "We would just need an update on everyone before we go."

"It would be a pointless visit if you didn't have one." I said.

I went to the weavers, asking them if they could make me some clothes. I got the measurements for Ilpalo and Killer and the kind of style they wanted. They were reluctant to do so, but they did agree. I was making the thing that they would place the box in. Though, what they didn't know is that it's really Pandora's box. We managed to get back before coming here. It has more than the other deities' powers, it also has some evils that various people were able to capture and place back inside.

"You should also look to see if there's some manuscript nearby." I said to them, handing them the bag that I made.

"Why?" Killer asked, taking the bag.

"Because I don't know if there's a specific spell that needs to be case in order to get her powers out. After all, she's not the first one to be sent like this. And most are still on their punishments."

"Okay, we'll look." Ilpalo said, "Who should we give her powers to? We can unlock it while we're back on earth that way no one knows that it was us and we can put it back if needed."

I thought about it. "Maybe we should place it in something else, but I wouldn't know how to contain something like that. I know! Bring it to Hecate. She's still in Japan. She would know how to handle it."

"So we crash with TK for a while and then head over to her? Would the honey hold out that long?" Killer asked. "And who will protect you while we're gone."

I smiled, "I'll be fine. I'll also make sure that Hades wouldn't need you while you're gone." I looked at Ilpalo.

"Why not call BeasMastmon over so that you can disguise her up as one of us when needed?" Ilpalo offered. "It would keep up the appearance that we're here. Her servant can come too."

I thought about that. "Okay, so before going over to the box, ask Artemis if I can use their cell phone."

"Killer, do you want to go now so that we can get it over with?" He looked at him.

"Yeah. We'll be back." He smiled and they headed out. I changed the image over to Artemis.

"She's pretty!" Eternalmon said.

"She's also very kind." I added. She was outside, bathing. I wondered if she still had her famous tempter when someone spotted her. I kinda hoped not.

They came upon the spot half an hour since they left. I thought that was kinda fast, but they had their backs to her.

"Artemis." Ilpalo said. She turned around, and narrowed her eyes at them, but didn't punish them.

"What is it?!" She was still mad.

"Hebe wants to use your cell phone once again." Killer said. I wondered if Ilpalo knew of her tempter, since I'm sure that Killer wouldn't have cared.

She sighed, "I'll give it to Thanatos. Now go!"

They did so. I kinda forgot about them.

"Who's Thanatos?" Endmon asked.

"He knew the Neo Digidestined because he attended school with them for a while. His brother, Aither, was in love with Kari."

"But I thought that she loved TK." Eternalmon said.

"You can love someone that loves someone else. She never went over to him." I smiled. Then they came back, "That was quick." I looked at them.

"I didn't want to know if there was a way of dying twice." Ilpalo said.

"Does she really have a tempter?" Killer asked.

"Oh yeah. Ceres told you?" I looked at Ilpalo.

"Yeah, she was telling me the stories."

"And it's probably a good thing that she did."

Then one of the Fates came over, "Here are your clothes." She handed it to Killer, since he was closer.

"Thank you very much. Is there anything special about them?"

"Not really."

"What do you mean by that?"

"We used some of the same thread we're using to making the Neo Digidestined's masterpiece."

"What does that mean for them?" Killer asked.

"That once they die, they won't be reincarnated."

Killer looked over to me, asking me if that was an okay fate. I thought about it for a moment, "So you already determine when they'll die?"

"Yes, for most of them. Only one will live longer than the others."

"What about the people surrounding them?"

"We didn't use theirs. Also, they will all die around the same time."

"Thank you." Ilpalo said. She left. He got up and touched Killer's shoulder, "You do know that they'll probably go to their end with the same dignity that Hina showed, right?"

"Is it better for them not to be reincarnated?" He looked at Ilpalo, "I know that they won't run from it, but at the same time, is it right?"

"It's too late to turn the tides." He said, "So, just be happy that…"

"That doesn't mean anything for us!" Killer yelled. "We will be reincarnated!"

Ilpalo hadn't realized that. "You got a good point… Then we'll fight to stay down here for as long as it takes." He smiled. "After all, we're not about to be separated from them without a fight."

"Who are you two?" I looked beyond them to see Thanatos.

"Two people who will kick your sorry ass if you want to use Hebe for something." Killer said.

"He's cool." I said with laughter. "This is Thanatos."

"Nice to meet you." Ilpalo said with a smile. "I'm Hadesmon's bodyguard and he's Hebe's guard." He said politely.

He walked pass them, "Aither wanted to know how Kari is doing." He handed me the cell phone.

"She's good. They're all heading back home."

"That's good to hear. Was TK sent too?"

"No, he stayed in Japan. He probably was looking for you guys when school started."

"Probably… We did try to sneak back, but we were caught before we could leave."

"I'm sure he would appreciate that if he knew." I said, letting them know that they needed to tell him that.

"I hope so… Anyway, see ya." He walked pass them and headed out.

"Was he not afraid of us?" Killer looked at Ilpalo.

"I guess we need to teach him otherwise." Ilpalo said with a smile.

I laugh, "Don't worry about him."

"Do you want to be feared?" Endmon asked as I got up.

"Not really, but it would be nice." Killer said.

I got a ring and then she picked up, "Hello?"

"Hi, this is Hebe."

"Oh, how are you?"

"I'm good. I was wondering if you would be able to come back here for a day, starting later tonight. Your servant can come along as well."

"Why?"

"My two spirit friends need to head back to Earth for that long, and I need to make sure that they're not caught."

"Will you fill me in when I'm there?"

"Of course. Can you make it?"

"Yes, we can. We'll be there later tonight."

"Thank you every much." And then we hung up. I handed the phone over to Ilpalo, "Give that back to Artemis before going."

"Right." He placed it in the pockets of the new pants. I then went over to Styx, making the honey that they would need to be solid.

I was working on that for quite some time and became exhausted by the end. It was in a jug that I handed to Killer as he helped me over to the seat.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah… just some rest would help. Drink that when you get the box."

"Okay." He smiled.

"Why not see if you can also lock on objects?" Ilpalo offered.

"And you didn't try?" I looked over at him.

"I tried while you were making the honey. I tried to go to my old home, but it seems like we can only go to places that you've been before, meaning that we could only get them and that other guy and the other Deities. I've even tried to lock on one of the girls with that guy, and it didn't work."

I looked over at it, seeing that it was Sage and he was in his dojo. I moved it to his sister that was the teacher. She was teaching right now. I then went to Nereida's house, picking her room to test it. I was there, but it was kinda gloomy with the light off. I went to her grandmother, and she was sad but hopeful. I wished she didn't have to be like that. I didn't want her to be like that.

"Who's that?" Killer asked.

"That's Nereida's grandmother." I said, "She's really awesome."

"They'll return to her." He said with a smile. "So she won't be like that anymore."

I nodded, turning it over to the box. It was back where it always was, though it's not really guarded.

"It should be like that when you guys go over."

"Then why do we need disguises?" Ilpalo asked.

"Because we do have cameras to know who went to it. So, when you go back to the Real World, make sure that you're away from the cameras."

"That's good to know." Ilpalo looked at Killer, "I'm not too good at noticing that kind of thing."

"Then I got that." He smiled. He looked at Endmon and Eternalmon, "You two will be in front of us so they don't see you."

They nodded. I went looking at the other people that were connected to the Neo group. I went to Lily Dawn's house, seeing that there wasn't anyone there. I remembered Nereida telling me that she only had a brother and that he was now dating Panther.

"I guess Stan is at work." Killer said, recognizing it.

"Where does he work?" I looked at him.

"By the beach."

I went over there, looking around for him. He was selling surf boards. I only knew it was him because he looked like Lily Dawn. I could see that he was very worried about them, and couldn't hide it well. I looked at Killer, seeing him look away at that moment. "You know…"

"I would be holding her back." He said before I could finish. "It's better this way."

I sighed, going over to Ryan's house, finding no one there either. "Where does his father work?"

"All I knew about him is that he's a business man, but I don't know where he works."

I went over to Neon's and Don's house, but no one was there. I knew that their parents work really hard, so I figured that they were at work. I went over to Ken's house, knowing where that was because of Nereida. He's mother was there, but she didn't seem worry about her son.

"Who's that?" Ilpalo asked.

"That's Ken's mother, though I don't know why she's not worried."

"We can ask TK when we see him." Ilpalo offered.

"Okay." I went to Tai, seeing that he was pissed off and worried. I wondered if it was all for Kari or if some of that went to Matt too, since Nereida told me that they have a way of DNA Digievolving, which required that the humans have a strong bond with each other.

"Who's that?" Eternalmon asked.

"That's Kari's brother, Tai."

"Didn't you say that he was part of the original group?" Endmon asked.

"Yeah, he is."

"Why isn't he with TK then?"

"They're not on good terms right now. He and the others attacked TK not too long ago and TK is right now in hiding."

"Oh…" She said with familiarity.

Before nightfall in Japan, since I was also looking at the other Digidestined, I went to each of them. In China, Neon and Matt were having fun with Nereida and Lily Dawn. Nereida completely turns red at their comments most of the time. Lily Dawn was eating quite a bit, as well as having chocolate with her meal.

"I didn't know that she liked chocolate that much." Killer said.

I shrugged, "They seem fine, though." I was wondering why Nereida was blushing so badly, though.

"She's acting like a school girl." He commented.

"She is a school girl."

"I mean one that just did something she wasn't supposed."

"Oh, you mean like her first time?" Ilpalo asked.

"Have you ever seen a girl like that?" Killer looked over to him.

"Orphans, remember. They lose it in ways that aren't with your first."

"Oh… well, yeah, it happens a bit in gangs. Though, rarely does the girl act this shy."

I narrowed my eyes, "Maybe I need to kill him."

Killer laughed, "I doubt she refused."

"Don't let TK know of this." I said firmly before changing over to America. They were somewhere with only one room and two beds. Ceres was with Ken and Ryan was with Tim. They were all sleeping.

"Where's that?" I asked.

"They're in an inn, for some reason." Ilpalo said.

"Does Ceres do that with anyone?" Killer asked.

"Only with guys she can trust."

"Oh, okay."

I went over to Pacific Ocean, since they were in the water. Panther was outside with a blanket around her. She was looking out at the moon, glowing just as brightly. I was focusing on the boat itself, so I was getting an aerial view of it. I went to each one, seeing that they were all sleeping. "Everything seems okay with them." I said. I looked at Killer, "Anything you see?"

"Not really.. she just seems to be thinking. Okay, so do we head out?" He looked at Ilpalo.

He nodded. "We'll change in the tunnel and then move. But, show us where TK is." I did so, showing that he was eating with Sage and his family. I moved out of the house, letting them see the area.

"I know where that is." Killer said.

"Great, let's go." Ilpalo said. They went over to the tunnel with their clothes, the bag and the jar. I focused on the box, so that I would know when they got it.

After a while, BeasMastmon and her servant came by. "Glad you can make it."

"Why?" She came over.

"See that box?" I knew that she would only see the crystal. She nodded, "It contains someone that was also helping the Neo group powers. Since I don't want her sacrifice to be a waste, I'm having them bring that to the Real World to find a way of taking it out and sealing it so that no one here would use it."

"Why were her powers taken?"

"It's a punishment that we can give. I need you two to be a stand in for them, so that way the other deities don't know that I sent them to take the box."

"How will we be their stand in?" She asked.

"I'll place a spell to make you look like them. I will also fill you in on what they do, since one of them is a bodyguard to another deity."

"Okay, make me that one."

I nodded, blowing my pollen over them. I could see who they really were, but everyone else wouldn't. "Okay, your name is Ilpalo." I looked at her. "And you're name is Killer. Ilpalo goes with Hades when he calls, but I think all you need to do is be silent and be vigilant when you go with him. Ilpalo sits there." I pointed to his seat. "Killer is like my bodyguard, and he follows me around whenever I go somewhere, which isn't much. I'll make sure that I don't anywhere. He sits in the other seat. They both stay with me unless Hades calls for them."

"Sounds easy enough." BeasMastmon said and they took their seats. "So we're here until they get back."

"Yep." I smiled. "And thank you."

"No problem."

I looked at screen. A few more hours passed before they came up to the box. They changed their clothes greatly, having it all torn and muddy. I thought it was kinda funny, considering that they know what they used to make them. They also made mask for themselves, showing only their eyes. When they got the box, they went looking around. They managed to find a manuscript. "Is this it?" Killer asked in a low voice that I could pick up.

Ilpalo looked at it, "I think so, by what I can understand of it." He placed it in the bag as well. He then made the hand motions for them to leave. They were also doing hand movements for when they were talking, knowing that they were being watched. I thought that was kinda funny as they left the area. I was still on them, since I was watching the box itself. As they were drinking the honey, they moved out of the room and to a hallway that didn't have anyone there. They opened a portal before going through. Though, someone came by as it was closing. She then ran off to go tell someone, since it was obvious that it was someone trying to sneak away.

"You're not going to watch them?" BeasMastmon asked.

"They'll be safe for the day." I smiled.

"Hebemon." I looked behind me to see Hades walking over to me. "I was just called. The box has disappeared and Aphroditemon is calling for you to appear."

I got up, looking at Servimon so he knew to follow. We walked over to him, "Do you need Ilpalo too?" I asked.

"You're the only one going up."

I nodded, heading through the tunnel.

"I hope nothing happens." Servimon said.

"Don't worry." I smiled at him, "But do act aggressive, okay? Like a bodyguard."

He nodded. When we entered the chamber, I noticed that only Zeus, Hera, and Aphrodite were there. I figured that Aphrodite went to the box earlier in the morning for something, and complained to Zeus. I don't know why Hera was here, though. I bowed to them, motioning for Servimon not to follow. "You summoned me." I looked at them.

"The box has disappeared and I know you have something to do with it." Aphrodite said.

"I have not left my post." I pointed out. "And you have cameras, so you know that I'm telling you the truth."

"Cameras?" She looked at Zeus. I forgot that they probably don't know what those are. I happened to be there when the Egyptians put them in.

"What are these cameras?" Zeus asked.

"I thought that you placed boxes that would allow you to look into a room without you being there, but I guess I was mistaken." I hid from my face that I knew I was right. I wondered why the Egyptians wanted to look into that room. It was before we were punishing people, so that couldn't be it. Were they able to guess that we would turn like this?

"So, that means we have no absolute way of knowing, is that correct?" Hera pointed out.

"That is true, but I am speaking the truth."

"What about those spirits?" Aphrodite asked.

"As you can see, one of them is here." I pointed to Servimon.

"And the other?"

"He can come up if you want. That would mean that Hadesmon would need to come up as well."

"Hermesmon," Zeus looked to his side and he appeared. "Go see if the other one is there."

He nodded and went flying away. I was glad that Ilpalo suggested that both of them come. He came back in no time, "The other is there."

I looked at Aphrodite, since she was getting pissed off. "I know, bring that orb of yours. We'll see what happened." She offered.

I looked at Zeus and he nodded. I bowed before heading back. I first made sure that no one noticed that I had to lift something in order to get it, since I'm sure that BeasMastmon can't see the TV. I brought it back up with me, showing them that two hooded figures took the box. I was now glad that I was the only one that could recognize them as who they are and that they dulled the thread so that no one could tell that it was the thread that the Fates have.

"There are your thieves." I said.

"But who are they? Can you get a closer look?" She looked at me.

"Even though we've been turned into Digimon, this can't look at Digimon." Though, it was probably a lie, but they didn't need to know that.

"Well, since you are here, show us the Digidestined." Hera said.

I first showed Panther's group, since I can't say no when I'm right in front of them. Well, I could, but that wouldn't be good since Killer isn't actually here. They were giving food to Panther, who was still outside, but she wasn't accepting it, by look on Damon's face. I really wished I was back down, so I would know what they were saying.

"Where are they?" Zeus asked.

"In the ocean." I changed to Nereida's group, seeing that the two Chinese were talking to them.

"What are they doing?" Hera asked.

"They are their guides, I believe." I informed. I could tell that they were talking about the meeting. I changed it to Ceres's group, seeing that she was with Ken and they were in some building. I wished someone was here to tell me where they were. Ken was looking at stuff intensely and Ceres was talking to two people. I kinda wondered where Tim and Ryan were, but I won't look with them around. I looked at my audience to see if that's all they wanted to know.

"What are they doing?" Aphrodite asked.

"I don't know."

"Why don't you know?"

"This is a crystal ball." I pointed out.

"I know that, but what does that have to do with anything?"

"In order for me to know, I have to hear what they're talking about."

"And why can't you know?"

"It's a crystal ball."

"You already mentioned that."

"It can't produce sound."

She now looked ticked. "You should've said so in the first place." I held in my comment. "I still have a feeling that you know what happened with the box, though."

"I know nothing but what you saw."

"Find it for us." Zeus said.

I nodded, glad that I know that I don't have to use words to use this. I thought about TK, since I know that it can't local him directly. It was going all over the place, like it always does. "I guess I can't find it with this."

"Why is it doing that?" Hera asked.

"It does this when what you are looking for can't be found, so I am told." I didn't want them to know that I have actual knowledge of cases when it doesn't work.

After a moment of being dissatisfied, they let us go back.

"Everything good?" BeasMastmon asked as we got back. I placed the orb back where it was.

"Yeah," I smiled at her, turning it to Ceres. They were still talking, something about a case. I focused on Ken, seeing that he was looking through some kind of documentation, but it was written in English so I don't know what it said. I went looking for Tim and Ryan, seeing that they were in two different buildings. Tim was located in a place with dead people and Ryan was in a place that dealt with photos. I went back over to Panther, seeing that she was under her blanket and that Rootmon wasn't with her. I went over to Damon, who was steering the boat. Don and Kari were keeping themselves busy with other things. I went over to Nereida to see that some being was coming out of Matt.

"Hebemon." Hadesmon called and I changed it Panther so he wouldn't see it.

"Yes?" I looked at him from my chair.

"What did they want?" His wife was there as well.

"They wanted to know what happened to the box. They thought that I had something to do with it."

"Did you?" Persephone asked.

"No, why would I?"

"So they didn't ask why we placed her powers in there?" Hades asked.

"Nope, but I don't know if they would."

He nodded, ushering his wife away. She, also, didn't believe that I was telling the truth. Hera thought that I probably was, and Zeus totally believed me. I changed it back to Matt, seeing that the Chinese were done with them and that they were now having fun, or something.

"I thought that he was one that could be trusted, since one of your friends guards him." BeasMastmon said.

I looked at her, "To an extent. I know that we can trust him, but at the same time, he wants something from this group as well."

"And you don't?"

I shook my head, "My best friend is in this group." I brought up Nereida, "She's my best friend and I would make sure that she and her friends are safe as much as I could. I'm sure you've felt the same before."

She smiled, "I know what you're talking about. Could you do me a favor, though?"

"Sure."

"Could you find a guy name Yumaru? He lives in Japan."

I nodded, extending my hand to hers, "I'll see if I can use your mind to help me find him. This does things by images, not really by name."

She gave me her hand and I started to look as she concentrated. I was able to bring up a guy, and a hot one at that.

"You found him." Servimon said.

"Good, he's okay." BeasMastmon said.

"Why wouldn't he be?" I looked at her. He was at park, playing tennis with a group of people.

"I do have enemies." She said. "I'm a very strong Super Level so I have quite the reputation."

"So you worry that someone knows about him and would use him against you?"

She nodded, "I've been living on Earth for about five years and three of those were with him. So, I would say that Digimon would know about him."

"Okay, then periodically, I'll go over to him. Now that I know what he looks like, it would be easier." I smiled.

"Thank you." She smiled softly.

"No problem. What do you do on Earth, anyway?"

"I'm an animal control. It's a good thing that most Digimon look like animals, so it's easier to deal with them like that."

"Do you go with her?" I looked at Servimon.

He nodded, "I have to aid her."

"So how did you meet him?" I was kinda curious.

She smiled a bit, looking at him. "I was hunting down a Digimon that was on the loose. Yumaru somehow got involved so I had to save him. He treated me to dinner for saving him, and we've been seeing each other every since." She looked at me, "I've always wondered why the Digidestined never got involved with the rogue Digimon that come through."

"It's only been recently that they've come to know of this level. It was because of a family of Deities that they finally learned about us."

"Really? So wonder there were so many running around… Though, I do have to admit, I don't mind it one bit. It helped me coming this strong so that now other Super Levels know my name." She smiled.

"So Super Levels can get stronger?"

She nodded, "A whole lot stronger. Sure, we have a few basic attacks and abilities, but we're allowed to improve on those. The limit is only what you want them to be or what is naturally placed on you. Like a solely water Digimon can't suddenly fly and a land Digimon can't suddenly be able to breath under water or fly."

"I see. That's good to know."

"Shouldn't you know this too?"

I shook my head, "We never had much need to learn what we're able to do. Though, I guess I've been improving that part of me for various reasons."

"Do you know how to fight? If you ever plan on protecting someone, that's the first thing that you need to learn."

"Not too well."

She got up, "Then I'll teach you. After all, what good would you be if all your powers can't get you a hit?"

I smiled getting up as well.

"Hebemon." I heard someone call, looking over to see that it was Lethe. "I just heard that the box was stolen. What's up?"

"Yeah, it was stolen by two hooded figures."

"Do you know who, though?"

"Nope, and I can't locate the box either."

"Really? Okay."

"Could you come by later tonight?" I didn't want to ask her about the Egyptians without them around.

"Why?"

"I want to ask you something, but it's not so important that it can't wait. I'm sure you have other things to do."

"Sure, might as well. See you then." She walked away.

"Why later tonight?" BeasMastmon asked.

"I want to know more about the cameras." I said once she was gone. "I know that they were placed in because I saw them, but the person in charged didn't."

"Why is she important? Was she the one that placed it?" Servimon asked.

"No, but she likes to hang out with the people that do, so I thought that I should ask what she knows."

"Do you think they'll be back in time?"

I nodded, "I have no doubt about that."

She nodded, bringing me over to a place to teach me how to fight. I wasn't able to get it very much, being a very poor fighter to begin with. Whenever we stopped, we checked up on everyone. Lethe came back once to ask about a time. I said midnight, knowing that they would be back before then. Hades didn't need Ilpalo for anything, which was good. Yumaru was safe. Matt's group got off the train and he and Nereida were planning on stealing things. I thought that was funny, because Nereida normally complained at she's doesn't get enough excitement in her life. Sure, being a Digidestined itself was exciting, but she wanted a thrill. Ceres got into an argument with everyone. I've never seen Ceres look like she was ready to kill you in the next moment. It was actually quite frightening. Panther was still refusing to eat.

"Hey." I suddenly heard, looking over to the entrance to see that Killer and Ilpalo were coming over. They had taken off their clothes. "Thank you for taking our spots. I hope that you didn't have too much trouble." Ilpalo said kindly.

"Not at all. Good luck." She said to me before they headed out.

"Sage is trustworthy and he's taking care of her powers." Killer said once she was gone. "How is everyone else and why do you look so beat?"

I smiled. "She was training me a bit. I'm not a very good fighter, though."

"You should've said so before. We could've been training you." Ilpalo said, sitting on his chair.

"I didn't think about it until now. Oh, Lethe will be coming by at midnight, since apparently Zeus didn't know about the cameras that are there."

"Why didn't he?" Killer asked.

"Because the Egyptians put them up." And they both nodded, "Where are Endmon and Eternalmon?"

They popped out from their shirts. "We're here." Eternalmon said happily.

I smiled, "Making sure. Oh, Panther isn't eating for some reason." I turned to her. "And I haven't heard why and they don't know why."

Killer looked at her as she was looking at the moon. "I don't know why… She always eats, except when she has really bad crams, which only happens once a year."

"Ceres got angry at the others a while ago, but seemed to have gotten over it. Apparently, she got them all in some murder case that involved someone she knew." I looked at Ilpalo.

"She probably wants revenge. Why did she get angry?"

"She seemed to have taken Ken's words about the organization to be praising them."

"What are they going to do now?"

I turned to them, seeing that they were all sleeping. "I think they're going to find a way of talking face to face with this guy, since there were suggestions of that earlier."

"I hope that Ceres can handle that."

"And she's scary when she's angry." I allowed him to know.

He laughed, "Be glad that she's not always like that. So, how is the other group doing?"

"Matt is the god and they're in a city. Matt and Nereida are going to be stealing things that they need since they don't have a lot of money or supplies."

"Do you know anything about these brothers that Sage is looking for?" Killer asked.

"I know that they were taken from him for some reason and that he has images of them that were erased when they were taken and are now coming back."

"Did you know that he was 24?"

I blinked a few times, before going over to him. They were on Pegasusmon, flying somewhere. "Really?" I looked at them.

They nodded, "Yeah, I thought he was at least thirty." Killer admitted.

"Why does he speak so formally?" Ilpalo asked.

"That just how he speaks, I guess."

"Why does he need his cane?"

"Because he has a bad ankle. He doesn't need it for short periods, but he does need it." They looked ticked by that. "What?"

"We were trying to guess why he needed it, but we didn't think of that." Ilpalo informed.

"How is Sage taking care of her powers? Where is the box?"

"Back where it belongs, but apparently, he was the only one out of group that was able to handle the power. It's in the orb that's on his cane and he's supposed to pass it on once he finds a suitable successor." Killer said.

I nodded, "What did you think of TK?"

"He needs to learn to fight his own battles, for one thing. One of his friends came and attacked us, but Sage ended up fighting him so TK could escape."

"But Sage later explained that since TK's heart wasn't ready to fight his friend that it was better that he didn't. I think that Sage is a wise man, and since Ceres trust him, he can't be all that bad."

"Has she ever placed her trust in someone and been proven wrong?" Killer asked.

"Probably, but he could tell that we were testing him, and he wasn't afraid of what we knew… I know that he seems shady but I think it's because he understands things on a different level."

"I was told that he trusted Panther and Ceres when he first met them. He seemed a bit cruel at first, but not too much. And he and his friends have helped them multiple times already." I explained.

"What about these books that Seto Kaiba is translating? He's also looking for the others to bring them home." Killer asked.

"I know that TK couldn't trust his group to translate them so he gave them to Seto Kaiba. He also has a machine that we were supposed to use in order to have control over the human realm again."

"Why allow him to have something like that?"

"He hasn't used it and I was told that Matt was supposed to be the person that is now needed to activate it before other people can use it."

"I still don't like it."

"That's because you got your butt kicked by him. I even bet that you were ticked that he didn't remember you." Ilpalo said with a laugh.

"Shut up!" He narrowed his eyes at Ilpalo.

"Why are the other Digidestined attacking TK?" Endmon asked, lying on Killer's lap. "I always thought that they were a very strong group."

"We can't really give you an answer to that, but I do know that there has been friction in the old groups ever since Styxmon appeared."

"Who is that?" Eternalmon asked.

"Styxmon was once that river." I pointed to empty area. "And she was in love with Matt and had a chance to meet him before she was killed, along with her family. Since then, a few of them have sided with the decision that what they're planning on do was wrong and that has been the source of the conflicts. Since the Neo group doesn't see a problem with going to other worlds, they want to fulfill that request of having a way of travel. Though, another problem comes with controlling the Neo group. But how all of that comes up with attacking, I don't know."

"Wait, explain that." Killer said.

"Yeah, I thought that no one wanted that to happen. All the Celtics laughed at the thought." Ilpalo said.

"Styxmon first propose that there should be a way for people in the Real World to travel to other worlds so they could have a richer life." We turned around to see Lethe coming over. "She had visited the Dark Ocean, and she wanted to have less children there. She asked Zeus about it first, wanting to have his approval. He denied it, but her father liked the idea so her family went along with it, offering it to the rulers of the realms. Gennai was extremely against it, threatening to use the power of the Digital World to stop them. But they went along with it anyway, not caring about his warning. Then, Gennai gathered them up and the rest you can learn from everyone else." She looked sad.

"Her family was killed by Gennai and two other Deities were killed too because they were with them in their plan." I said, "So ever since then, Matt has been the cause of tension in the group on a number of levels."

"You wanted to talk to me?" Lethe said. Her tone was telling me to get off this subject.

I motioned for her to come closer. "Do you know why the Egyptians placed those cameras where the box was?"

"Because Zeus told them to?"

"He doesn't know about them. He doesn't even know what a camera is."

She blinked a few times. "No… I don't know why then… When did they?"

"When we were first getting everything set up."

She looked worried, "I can ask for you."

"It's not that important." I smiled, "I was just wondering if you knew of the reason. I didn't tell Zeus."

"But you mentioned it to him. Didn't he ask you who placed it?"

"I acted like I was mistaken."

She smiled, "I'm glad. I know that they're planning something, but I don't know what it is and Thoth doesn't want to tell me. He wants me to be innocent of it, but I'm really worried about them."

"Why did you go over to them, if you don't mind me asking?" Ilpalo asked.

"I don't really know… I think it was because Styxmon was actually close to her brother, who was an Egyptian, and I didn't want to feel left out so I went over there. I liked Thoth more than the others, so I hanged out with him more."

"I'll try to keep them out of too much trouble, but I can't guarantee anything." I offered.

She nodded with a beautiful smile. She was more of the punk out of the sisters, so to see this smile was like she was way above Aphrodite. Styxmon was the same way. "Thank you. I'll ask Thoth and if he can tell me, I'll have him come let you know. So, you did take the box." She smiled slyly.

"How could I?" I knew that she was trying to trip me up.

"It's only obvious, since you are trying to keep up an innocent act. I'll let you know what I find, okay?"

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

She smiled as she left. Hades came out just as she left. "I hear that Gennai is calling for a meeting."

"Really? For what?"

"I'm not sure, but Zeusmon is going to have it in the forum, so I suggest that you be there for it."

"I will be. Are you going to be with Zeus or with the crowd?"

"I'll be with my brother, the same with Poseidonmon. Only the heads for the other religions will be in the crowd, but all Greeks can be present."

I looked at Ilpalo, "Is that going to be a problem for you?"

"I should be good. After all, I'll be on center stage so I don't think that I would have to worry about being attacked or anything."

"I wasn't worried about that. I was worrying about any fears you have of them."

"None that I'm aware of."

"Okay, just checking." I looked at Hades, "Anything else?"

"That's all." He turned to head back to his chambers.

"What would you have done if I did have some kind of fear?" Ilpalo asked.

"Why would you be afraid of some of them?" Eternalmon asked.

"I was captured by one of them for many years."

"I don't really know, but we would've come up with a plan to make sure that you didn't have to be so scared of them." I smiled, "Right?" I looked at Killer.

"Of course."

"That's good to know."

In a few hours, everyone had gathered in the huge forum that we had built. We figured that we would want something to which we could huge a big lecture or something. The heads and the other Olympian deities were in the seats closest to the center. I thought it was funny that only Hades had a body guard.

"I talked to Thoth." Lethe said as she sat down next to me, "And apparently they placed those there so that they would know what was going on with the powers we were collecting. Ra was the first person to be placed into that, the same with Chaos, so they were concern."

"So we placed people in there without a trial?"

"Would that be so unlike us?"

"I guess not… but I guess that's how you established you're the boss in an area. Who else did we get?"

"Probably a lot of creators that could be contained. They weren't even sure if we placed their whole being in the box or just their powers."

"Are they planning on taking them out?"

"Thoth didn't want to tell me one way or another. Though, I think that might be safe to say that they won't. I mean, they don't have a plan cooking up to overthrow us, right?"

I nodded, knowing what she meant. "Right." I guessed that they wanted Panther for her dark powers to pull them out without letting the evils out as well. That, or have her absorbed the evils into herself as they open it. I wondered if she would go for that.

"Thank you for meeting with me on such short notice." Gennai said in his old form. He sat down in the chair that faced us.

"To what honor do we meet today?" Zeus got straight to the point. Though, to be traditional, there was a lot of food on the table and at least they were eating. Ilpalo was staying to the side, keeping a watchful eye on the table.

"I've been hearing some rumors lately, and I wanted to clear them up."

"What rumors would those be? We have done nothing but what is due to our pride and honor."

"I heard that you were planning on taking back the Human Realm, is that true?"

"That would be due to our pride, but that was quickly disregarded."

"It was more than one attempt."

"All plans were quickly disregarded."

"One of them involved a Digidestined."

There was a big silence in the room. All the Greeks knew about the plan with Matt's shuttle, though a few knew that Matt was a Digidestined. I looked over at Astraea, and she was surprised. She was really stunned. "Which Digidestined, if I may know?"

"Now, now, that is not important." Gennai smiled for some reason, "I would like to hear of these plans in detail, if you don't mind. And please remember Titanmon's mistakes."

I looked over at Lethe, and she was glaring at Gennai. I noticed that Astraea got up as well. Zeus started to tell Gennai all the plans that they tried, putting it all in theoretical terms. Deities were coming and going, though only a few stayed throughout the whole thing. Apparently, there were more plans than even I was aware of, that, or he was making stuff up to make it seem like it was all off the table now.

Gennai was listening to it very carefully. He really seemed like an old man, listening to the youths talk away about their plans for the future.

"How are you doing?" I looked at Lethe.

"I want to kill that man…"

"I would like to do the same." I turned behind me to see Phlegethon. She had this hint of regal in her posture and expression. Though, I hear that she's always in pain, but never expresses it. "I wish I could see him burn."

"Hebe," Killer whispered, "Who's that?"

"I'm Phlegethon." She wasn't looked at us. "I have eyes, you know." She looked over at him, "You're a lucky soul. You and your friend."

"Thanks?"

She looked at the floor, "Can I assume that everyone heard of Matt Ishida?"

"I wouldn't know," I said, "I wasn't here during that time. Why ask?"

"Because everyone is stunned that someone so friendly and welcoming, as Astraea puts it, is a Digidestined that follows Gennai." She looked at me, "Now, everyone is wondering if he was part of the Neo group."

"So I should prepare for questions when I leave."

"Perhaps." She turned around and left.

"Why are you staying?" Lethe looked at me, "You don't have any reason to learn all of this."

"I would feel better knowing what Gennai really wants."

"So you don't care what Zeus is saying?"

"Not in the slightest." I smiled.

"Thank you very much." Gennai said, "Now, I've also believe that a member from your group had contact with a Digidestined. I would like to talk to her."

"In one way or another, most of my group has met with a Digidestined, and most would be a woman."

"I believe she had stayed in the Human Realm for quite some time."

"That would make the number three."

"I see that you do not want me to speak to her."

"I want to be clear whom you're talking about."

"Have all three come closer and I'll let you which one."

"Once you have her, where will you talk?"

"Here would be fine, just alone."

They talked amongst themselves for a bit before Zeus stood up. Only Artemis and I were here, so we walked down. Killer obviously came with me, though I was kinda surprised to see that Hera was with us as well. I guess it was to keep Astraea's involvement with Matt a secret. Gennai pointed to me, as Zeus thought he would. Everyone then left.

"I thought I said alone." Gennai pointed out as we came down to the center.

"I don't go anywhere without him, and considering who you are, I'm not about to let my guard down." I looked at him, "So, tell me, what is it that you want to talk to me about?"

"I want to know your involvement with this new group that has surface. I have my group doing all the work for this world, and yet this Neo Digidestined gets all praises. I know you're involved."

"How do you know it's me? There are three others that had contact with Digidestined and we can't tell them apart."

"I thought you all valued things like honor and honesty."

"Are you saying that you don't? If you don't, then you might want to leave as well, since there can't be trust between us."

"Just tell me about this new group."

"We don't know much, other than their name is being spread throughout the Super Level realm, but no one is taking it seriously."

"I know you know something."

I looked at him for a moment, "What proof do you have?" I had kept my involved with Nereida very secretive so that she wouldn't be harm. She was pretty much my only contact to the others.

"A few months ago, I sent two Super Levels to test the growth of my Digidestined. One was dealt with beautifully by them. The other was first dealt with a girl before you appeared."

"Maybe I was disgusted by the idea that someone would come close to that temple with the intent on destroying it. Or, maybe I dislike the color blue, but either way, that's not telling you much. How does that connect me to this Neo group?"

"I'm going to take a guess that this girl is part of that group, since your sentencing had to deal with them, correct?"

"Tie him down." Killer moved quickly, placing him in an arm lock and had a gun to his head. "My Lord Zeusmon." I looked up towards the stairs, knowing that he and his brothers would still be there. He came down after a moment, the same with his brothers.

"What is the meaning of this?" He looked at Gennai, but made no gesture to release him.

"It seems that Gennai has placed a spy in our home. He knows about my sentencing." For one thing, only the Greeks knew that I had even been punished. If any other culture heard about it, they wouldn't even know what I was punished for. Stuff like that is something we keep within us to keep up our appearance of loyalty.

Zeus looked pissed off now, "Where is this spy of yours?" He demanded, "I will not allow such dishonor in my home."

Gennai just stared at me. I looked at Zeus, "I think my business is done here."

"It is most certainly is." Killer let him go and returned to my side. I bowed to them before leaving.

"Was that a way to avoid talking?" Killer asked.

"Of course not." I looked at him, "No one but us is supposed to know of my crime. If anything had gotten out, it would only be that I was punished. There's a reason why we can be on top and still have a few issues to work out." I smiled.

"I can tell you one thing; Gennai would think the same thing I am. I'll bet that he'll even try to kidnap you so that he knows what you know."

"That would be highly unwise of him to do so, but it's a good thing that I'm not exactly easy to reach."

"Does this old man have power over the Digidestined? That's probably includes the Digimon too." He got in front of me, "You know that I would do the best that I can to keep you safe, the same with Ilpalo, but we're still human. He just said that he can control Super Levels."

"Those two Digimon that he talked about didn't seem the type to be under mind-control. They were there to do their own thing, and nothing more. We know for a fact that he doesn't control them, because no one can truly control them. That's how they were designed." I smiled, "Thank you for your concern, and I'll make sure that Hades knows that there might be an attack."

"That's all I'm asking."

"That might mean, though, that we'll have other people around. It wouldn't be safe if that happened."

"I realized that and we'll deal with it when the time comes."

I nodded, "Then let's tell them what happened." We continued on our way down. I told them two about what Gennai talked about and what kind of information he was looking for.

"We have banished Gennai from this part of the Super Level Realm." Hades said as they came down. "The spy was one of Zeus's lovers. Can you believe that?" He started to laugh as he left.

"That means nothing for people he can send over." I heard him stop, "He was interested in what I knew about the Neo group and since I gave the impression that I found a way to avoid him, he might just send someone to come get me."

Hades thought about that. "I'll go let Zeus know.. Ilpalo, stay here."

He bowed as Hades went back. "Zeus was pissed off. I think he would've struck him down if he could." Ilpalo came over towards us.

"Zeus prizes loyalty and honor, even if it is mirrored. With Gennai knowing, it showed him that others may have found ways of seeing through our disguises."

"I see… So that's why he flipped… and here I thought he was putting on a show. Why did you call Zeus over, though? It made the whole thing looked like an excuse to back out."

"That's what Killer just told me, but I did it because I didn't know there was a spy and I wanted that Digimon out." I smiled. "I want to make sure that no harms come their way."

"I'll try my best to stop anyone that comes down here." Ilpalo said.

I smiled, "I know."

"Zeus has called for a meeting tomorrow." Hades said when he came down. "It involves the Neo group, so I'll bring Ilpalo along to rely anything."

I nodded, "Who's supposed to be there?"

"The Olympian Gods." He then left.

"Should I be weary?" Ilpalo looked at me.

"Maybe… Just remember that they'll all need a front when with the others, so don't be surprised if they don't argue against any ideas."

He nodded. "Did you learn about the Egyptians?"

"Apparently, they wanted to keep an eye on box because we sealed away creator deities or beings or states and placed them in that box. I think that they're going to use Panther either to lure out their powers, host their powers, or host the evils within the box."

"Could they make her another Pandora?"

"I don't think that's possible, unless they wanted to release the evils onto the Digital World."

"Noticed how easy it was for us to steal it? It'll be a hundred times easier for them since they have control over the cameras." Killer pointed out.

"I know you two have your ways of getting around, but Deities need clearances to go into protected areas such as that. If you're not Greek or Roman, then you need a clearance."

"So even the Egyptians would need to appear to be here for something else while someone comes and steals it." Ilpalo summed up. "So that's why they haven't tried."

"Probably."

"Why were you surprised when Lethe mentioned it?" Killer asked.

"I didn't know that we would send deities there without trial. I thought that anyone that was in there was, at least, tried before going in."

"You called what happened to Hina a trial?" Ilpalo asked, "That was nothing like it."

"There are different ways to hold a trial, and that was one of them. I realize that it isn't fair, but that's how some things are done."

They looked at each other and sighed.

While he was at the meeting, we looked up what everyone was doing. Panther still wasn't eating; Matt and Nereida were having some kind of contest with pick-pocketing; Neon and Lily Dawn were in the city; Ceres and everyone were sleeping in another place than before so we checked out the building. It had a bar and a stage.

"What's that?" Eternalmon asked.

"That's called a stripe club." Killer said. "Though why would they be there?"

"Maybe because that's where they can find the person they're looking for?" Endmon offered.

"I guess. Should we look at what TK is doing?"

I nodded, turning towards Sage. He was sitting next to TK, and TK was hooked up to something. "What can you get from this?" I looked at Killer, since Sage looked really worried.

"Something happened to them… probably a fight since Sage looks beaten as well. Though, TK doesn't seem that bad off."

"Any improvement?" Someone with blue hair entered with Patamon on his shoulder.

"No… sound asleep…" Sage turned towards him, "Are you two making more?"

"Yeah, since they're taking a few hours. I'm having him and Cody work in a part that Joe doesn't go over. So, it was taken out of them? I don't want them near TK until you give me the okay."

Sage smiled, "Yeah, Izzy and Cody and their Digimon had that spirit taken out of them." He looked at TK, "It was something… Kinda reminded me of how Matt freed Diana from her hold when Freeza took control over her."

"Really?" Patamon asked.

He nodded, "All Matt did was talk to her and managed to free her. TK did the same thing, but his seemed easier." He looked at Patamon, "Are you going to stay here, flying pig?"

"During the night. It's quite fun going around and I get to see how deliveries are done."

"What to make sure you're ready?"

Patamon nodded.

"Patamon is really quick at learning, so I'm sure he'll be nearing expert level soon." His friend laughed.

"That kinda sounds dangerous."

"As long as I don't faint, I'm good." Patamon said.

"I called your sisters and Lita, to let them know what happened to TK. I don't know if they'll be stopping by?"

"Did you tell them?"

"No, I figured that I'll let you tell them."

He nodded, "Thanks."

"No problem. Well, I'll come back in a few hours." He then left, with Patamon on his shoulder.

"Who's Freeza?" Killer asked.

"It's a being that's not human or a Digimon!" Eternalmon said.

"We happened to run into people who were looking for that being." Endmon said, "And that's how he was described."

"It can't be that easy to tell who is a Digimon and who isn't." Killer commented.

"It can be, if you know how to look." I said. "We were told that to know a Digimon is to know where it will grow up. You look at the Digimon and see that place."

"That doesn't sound easy."

"I guess. I'm not really sure how to look either since I never had to do it."

"In either case, I'm guessing that they're at a hospital and that something is wrong with Sage since there's something serious about knowing that he knows. Though, I can't really tell much more than that."

"Okay." I went back to looking at Nereida and Matt. They seemed to be having fun doing what they're doing, even though Nereida tackled me to the ground because I tried to do the same thing.

"For someone that can make Panther good, Matt sure can turn people the other way too." Killer commented.

"And what makes this funny was that Nereida tackled me to the ground because I stole something."

"Probably because you were caught. They're not getting caught." Killer laughed a bit.

"Is that a bad thing?" Eternalmon asked.

"Stealing? Yeah. But, sometimes it's justified." Killer looked at him.

"When?"

"Like… Like when you're starving and that's the only way to get food. Normally, stealing items like guns, swords, clothes or TVs aren't justified."

"So what they're doing is not justified?" Endmon asked.

"I think Matt is testing Nereida," I said, "since they're also trying to steal from each other as well from everyone around them."

"But," Ilpalo said as he came over, "stealing isn't always a bad trait to have. I've known a few times when it came in handy for me."

"So you think that Matt is giving her a tool so that she could survive better." Killer asked.

"Well, Panther and Ceres are going to be obvious choices and so are going to be watch heavily."

"But no Digimon would know that." I looked at him.

"That is true, but there are some that know of Ceres's past. Once they understand her past, then they'll know to keep an eye on them. Already, the Deities are going a background check on everyone."

"For what?"

"To better prepare for them, of course. They're planning on getting them before going after the others so they wouldn't have to deal with Gennai."

"What occurred?"

He sighed before sitting down. "Zeus decided that since Gennai came around, making a fuss about nothing important, that they should lose focus on the first groups and focus on this group. Apollo was appointed for tricking them somehow. They haven't come up with a good plan, but they're not going to use you, for some reason. Though, I would think that they would, since you openly watch them and all."

"Probably to get back at Lily Dawn." I said, "Though, I'm curious about the outcome of this. If they start to target the Neo group, then they would have to do something."

"So even if Apollo attacks them, they would fight back?"

I nodded, "You already know about Arsmon, and they would attack him if he were to attack first. The big problem is that if we cause enough trouble, they would have to do something about it." I looked at the ground, "They don't do anything unless provoked and this will provoke them. I know that we can be pretty annoying… You heard of all the attempts we've made… I'm sure that most of those weren't true, but we've been trying to get back to the Real World for so long, that we've become obsess with it. I don't know… I think that something bad will happen to where we'll have to be dealt with."

"In either case, they're going to see if they can get other Super Levels first, so that they don't have to worry about dirtying their hands for a while."

"I wonder how… but okay. It'll be fun to see how this plays out."

"You're not going to stop them?" Endmon asked.

"If I can, I probably will… I really don't know… I don't really know why I would even care what I appear to them, since I've already decided."

"Maybe because you could get your position back?" I looked at Ilpalo. "They were talking about that, since Zeus let go all his sleeping partners… though, Aphrodite doesn't like the idea and wants some kind of catch for you to return."

I laughed, "That made my decision clear."

"Why?" Eternalmon asked.

"Because there's no way that I'm abandoning Killer and Ilpalo after all this time. I won't return to my former duties just because they want honey in their cups."

"That means a lot." Killer said.

"Yeah, thanks." Ilpalo added.

I smiled at them, "We're friends, right? That's what friends do."

"So, how's Ceres?"

"They're at a stripe club."

"She does like to live on the wild side."

"They're sleeping in the building to which the club is attached."

"Oh… she must be working then… "

"Would it be connected to the guy she's looking for?" Killer asked.

"Probably. I mean, I'm sure she won't be wasting her time with a job unless it has something to do with him."

"We also found out that TK is in the hospital!" Eternalmon said.

"It appears that he and Sage got into some kind of fight, but only Sage is beaten. They were also talking about a being named Freeza." Killer added.

"Freeza?" Ilpalo asked.

"Apparently, it's a being that isn't a Digimon or a human." I said.

"Hey," I turned around to see Lethe coming over, "Would you tell me what's going on?"

"With what?"

"What Zeus and the others decided."

"They're going to lay off the first groups so they don't have to deal with Gennai."

"Really? That's great!" She smiled.

"TK is still part of Neo group indirectly."

She pouted, "I know that, but that means that he won't be targeted."

"If they attack his brother, I'm sure he won't be sitting by and watching." I smiled, "Is that it?"

"Yeah, just wanted to know that. Oh, did you hear that you're probably going to get your job back?"

"Yeah, and I decided that I won't."

"I thought that's all you wanted. Aphrodite was commenting that the reason you went to the Real World was because you lost your job."

"That doesn't mean that I can't be loyal to those I've become attached to. I may have gone to be on Zeus's good side, but now I could care less about that. I'm not about to abandon them for anything."

She sighed, "Really? I was really hoping for some nectar."

"They'll just have to find someone else to do the job."

"Even though you're the goddess of that?"

"This is how much I care about these souls."

"Wow… You've changed. I don't know if I like this side of you."

"This side better be the one you like otherwise I won't let you know any ruling considering TK."

She pouted again before laughing. "Okay, fine. I'll see you later." She walked away.

"I think you should go back to your job." Killer said.

"What?" I looked at him. Before he could explain his answer, there was an explosion down the river. Killer and Ilpalo moved in front, bringing out their weapons.

"What was that?" Hades asked, Persephone by his side.

"You might want to call someone." Ilpalo said, "There seems to be an attack."

"By whom?"

Right then, a bomb was thrown over to us, releasing gas. Killer covered my month, trying to block it out, but pretty soon he lost consciousness and I did too. When I woke up, I saw a dark man standing over me. I could feel his evil as he stared. I was tied to a bed.

"Glad you woke up." I heard Gennai say. I looked to see that he had turned young again. "Now, you have no way of escaping."

"No one likes a spy in their home." I glared.

"Though, this does give me a good chance to see how you Super Levels are." He smiled as the Digimon cut my clothes off. "This is Rippermon and apparently, he was reborn as a Digimon and he likes to kill things."

"Our immortality was changed to data. We're the same as you."

"Maybe, maybe not. Megamon has blood, even though he's a Digimon. I want to see if you're the same way." Rippermon then sliced across my chest. I winced from the pain, though nothing came out.

"Now, tell me everything you know about the Neo group and if Matt has something to do with them."

I looked at him, "You think I'll tell you anything? You've already killed my fellow deities," I was cut again.

"Don't give me an answer and he'll do that."

"You and your kind have brought nothing but destruction to the Digital World."

He punched my face, "We protect the Digital World from creatures like you! You and your kind have brought on destruction! Titanmon wanted to unite other worlds!"

"I have heard of the ancient war that you inflamed." I looked at him, "One day, this world will know of your crimes and you will lose all you have."

Gennai kept punching me. Rippermon stopped him after a while, "She is my patient. I will be the only one to kill her."

There was firing in the background. Soon, there were three other people in the room.

"What's wrong, Swatmon?" Gennai asked.

"We're being attacked, but I don't know how many." The man with a dark suit and a helmet said. "And Chainsawmon can't cut through them."

"I thought you killed things too." Gennai looked at the robot with chainsaws on his shoulders and on his right hand, though his hand had two.

"They pulled me away." His voice told you that he was murderous. That made me realizes that Rippermon had a British accent. Nereida once demonstrated them to me.

"We came here to protect you better." A girl with long, braided hair and hard eyes said. She had on a one piece dress with long sleeves and heel boots. The black pants and piece of fabric hanging from some shoulder thing made her look like she belonged in outer space.

"Leading them here won't do you any good!" Gennai yelled.

"Protectormon's reasoning made sense." Swatmon said.

There was firing at the door from the outside.

"I must kill her now!" Rippermon said, turning towards me.

"Why do you get all the glory!" Chainsawmon said, getting in Rippermon's way.

"I have no interest in you!" Rippermon moved to his side.

"I haven't killed today!" Chainsawmon started to swing at him. "I want to kill!"

"I think you two better cut it out." I looked behind me, seeing Arsmon there. The door was knocked down and Killer and Ilpalo were there.

Swatmon started to fire as the two killers stared at Arsmon. Arsmon smiled.

"Who are you?" Gennai asked.

"These two nightmare. Now, release Hebe."

"You're not a god."

"You're right, I shouldn't care. But, I do so let her go. Better yet," he looked at the killers, "do something about him."

They turned around and launched at Gennai. A shield was placed around him and around me. "What the hell are you doing?" Protectormon asked.

"My Master was the one that gave them life again."

"So you're part of that group, eh?" Gennai said, "What is your intention?"

"To bring death to the Human World and your precious Digidestined are going to help us with that. Good thing you gave them an incorrect translation to that prophecy. Now, they'll never know what hit them." As I looked at Arsmon, I could tell that he was pretty good actor; that, or at least telling lies.

"Why do you want her?"

"She's not part of the plan, but I feel like it. So, let her go."

Ilpalo killed Swatmon and Killer tried to shoot at the shield around me. Protectormon was boasting about her shield as the killers attacked Gennai. I tried to focus on getting off the table I was attached to, so that when the shield is taken down, all I had to do was get off. I found myself hating the fact that I couldn't do anything.

Then I suddenly remembered about my powers over honey. I looked at my left hand and had honey appeared. Then, I got it to be super hot. It was floating above my hand at that point, but I could still feel the heat. I poured it on the shackles, slowly getting it burned off. I remembered that Nereida told me that acid is what could burn metal, so I was wondering if the honey was becoming acidic.

Once the metal broke, I worked on the other one around my hand. When I sat up to get my legs, something was shot in my direction. I dodged it and looked to see that Gennai did something. Rippermon and Chainsawmon were on the ground. The shield was down for some reason. Soon after, Gennai disappeared.

"Are you okay?" Ilpalo asked, his swords broken.

"Yeah," I looked at my cuts, seeing them healing, "Where's Protectormon?"

"Deleted." Killer said, walking over to me, "Why aren't they dead?"

"Get up, you two." Arsmon commanded.

"Why are you here? Did Master send you?" Chainsawmon asked.

"She did, hearing that you allowed yourself to be hired by Gennai. We allowed you the freedom to kill and this is how you repay us?" Arsmon sounded really pissed off. "This does not aid the master plan, so get going before I allow Master to know that bringing you back was a waste of time!"

They got up from the ground and walked out the way Killer and Ilpalo came in. Ilpalo got the shackles off my feet and I got off the table.

"Shouldn't you be covering yourself about now?" Killer asked, reminding me about my clothes. I did so immediately, blushing since my clothes were cut to expose my body but still have it on me.

"Arsmon, give her your jacket." Ilpalo said.

"Why should I?" He asked. Right then, Killer took it off of him and handed it to me, "What the…"

"Don't you know how to be a gentleman?" Killer looked at him, "Wouldn't you do the same thing if it was Nereida?"

When Arsmon looked away, I put on his jacket. Ilpalo picked me up, "We'll try to find something better as we go back."

I nodded, wondering if this is how Ceres felt when by him. I never felt more like a mortal girl in my life. They walked out of the place, which wasn't very deep into the ground, but way outside the Super Level realm. "Where are we?"

"A long way from home." Arsmon said. "Gennai can't stay in our territory for long so he had to bring you out here."

"Did you guys come quickly?" I wondered how long I was unconscious for.

"Zeus found your location and magically sent us here." Killer said, "We met up with him as we came closer. Though, it's only a day's walk to get back."

"So, you were originally going after those two?" I asked Arsmon.

"Right, since they're two Digimon that my Master brought back from the dead in order to kill as much as they could. They're able to absorb data and souls, though I have to find them to mine them of those for the master plan."

"How can you still go on with that when Nereida is going to be involved?" Ilpalo asked.

"I told her about the plan and she told me that she'll try to prevent it. I told my Master afterwards and she told me that if Nereida does succeed to abandon the plan. So, that's what I'm going to hope for."

"Your master seems to be twisted, but has a good heart at the same time." Killer pointed out.

"Yes, but only she knows about my relationship. I have to keep it from the others so they don't think my Master's weak. They all want to take part in the destruction that she promises to bring."

"Why if she has a heart?" Ilpalo asked.

"Because she needs souls to stay alive." Arsmon sighed, "So she promised destruction so that she can get more souls."

"If she needs souls then why make some into Digimon?" I asked.

"They're all bound to her and they all have a purpose to serve. She doesn't just bring back to life anyone, you know."

As it was getting dark, we stopped to make camp. I was sowing up as much as I could as Killer and Ilpalo looked for food. Arsmon went with them since he figured that they would bring back something poisonous. For the parts I couldn't get, I used honey.

"That looks pretty cool." Ilpalo said as they came back.

I smiled, "Thanks, though I'll get something better when we get back."

"We couldn't get a whole lot, but we got some stuff." Killer said, setting down fruits and berries.

"What sweet flowers do they have out here?" I looked at Arsmon.

"I'll gather them." He headed out once his stuff was on the ground.

"You can make something with these?" Killer asked.

I nodded, "It's not much different from my time. Also, I can make us something to drink from the nectar."

"Wouldn't any flower do then?" Ilpalo asked.

"Maybe for spices, but not for a drink. It has to be a sweet flower to make the best honey."

"I brought as many as I could find." Arsmon said, laying it down near me.

I started to make a simple dish, using most of the flowers to make it sweet. The sweetest one out of the bunch I used to make our drinks. "How is it?" I asked as we were eating.

"It's good." Ilpalo said, "And it's filling."

Killer nodded, stuffing his face with it.

"I don't really eat enough to know." Arsmon added softly.

"I thought Digimon needed to eat." I looked at him.

"Super Levels run on a different system. We may require more energy, but that energy remains constant throughout one's life. We can eat, if we wanted, but it's not really necessary."

"How can Super Levels run on a different system if they're all Digimon?" Ilpalo asked.

"It's just how we evolved, I guess. That or since we are created by four beings that we hold something that they have to allow it. No one ever thinks too deeply on the matter to find out."

"So it's because Super Levels were created not by the world, but by beings, that gives them the fighting edge?" Killer commented, "Almost sounds like a plot to a bad science fiction movie."

"Maybe a bit more real than you think." We looked at Arsmon. "Whether or not our plans succeed, Super Levels are going to come after them."

"You have a point." I sighed, "Since we are already planning war on the Neo group."

"And you're planning on sitting back and letting that happen?" He asked angrily.

"I don't know how long my sentencing is and I don't want to be punished so much that I can't be of help."

Arsmon leaned against the tree, knowing my position all too well.

"I'll keep watch for a while." I told Killer and Ilpalo, knowing that they would be worried about that.

They nodded without complaining and went to sleep. I looked up at the sky, remembering the Real World's sky all so clearly. I wondered how long I would have to stay in the Underworld.

"I know someone that could fix up his swords." Arsmon said from his spot.

"Can we get to this person as we head back?" I looked at him.

He nodded, "She's a bit out of the way, but I figure he would need new ones."

I smiled, "You could also learn a thing or two from these guys."

"Why do I need to learn anything from Humans?" He seemed disgusted with the idea.

"So you can be a better boyfriend. They managed to grab two of the toughest people in that group. Nereida is learning to be tougher and stronger so she won't be the same person you once knew. When I last checked up on her, she was having Matt and Gabumon teach her how to steal."

Arsmon smiled, "I didn't realize Matt was good at that kind of thing."

"They were having a contest, it seemed, and Nereida is getting pretty good."

"I'm glad to hear that. So, what should I learn from these two?"

"How to capture a lady's heart when the lady is tough."

"But I already did."

"Not all women accept the first win to be defeat. I'm not saying that Nereida's like that, but you have to think in that way since you have an appearance to up keep. Because of that appearance, you have to keep reassuring Nereida that you love her."

"Sounds more like I need to reassure her friends than her."

"Maybe, but they also will respect her decision, knowing that it'll be for the greater good. I mean, Matt loves a deity to this day and I have a feeling that his love for her has made him be kind to us and Super Levels. I know he can be in despair, but he doesn't show it a lot."

"When I went to see Nereida, Matt got to me first. It was a bit weird, being so close to the person I will attack later, but he soon got me to relax and was able to get me regret my actions…"

"Did you tell Collect Soulsmon that?"

"Yes, but we have to continue with the plans. Even though we have the choice to abandon it, we know we can't."

"Well, I believe in them. They'll make it through."

"Nereida told me the same thing." Arsmon sighed, "And I want to believe in them too, but I know what's going on. I know every step of the plan so that it will succeed."

"You could always make one of the steps easier to defeat."

"That would be the first step since we would have to get Matt alone."

"So that's the part Nereida can prevent."

"Right, but I can't give up right away, so we'll see how it goes."

I nodded, "Why do you know so much about the planet life if you don't need to eat?"

He shrugged, "Don't really know. I eat some of the time, but I guess it's mainly because when I was created, my Master made me go out and survive in both this world and the Real World."

"Why?"

"So I wouldn't be deleted so easily. I was her only attempt of creating and she didn't want her only creation to be weaker than all the other ones. I'm also the one that brought all her henchman since I fought them all."

"Did you lose any battles?"

"I went to the Real World to learn how to fight before fighting here."

"Did you travel?"

He nodded, "Of course. Now thinking about it, I learned about herbs and stuff from that world and was able to apply it here as well."

"That's good to know." I know many were wondering about that, but too afraid to be wrong to try. "Are you the strongest Digimon around?" I knew he wasn't.

"There are plenty stronger than me; I choose not to fight them. Though I am high on that list. A lot of Digimon working for Megamon are stronger than me."

"Are you still training?"

"Not really, but I don't rest either. I'm worried that Megamon will attack my Master one day so I want to be prepared for that day."

"It's really funny how on one, but the Neo group, takes us seriously."

"Because you don't know how to use your powers and boast that you're strong. Most Digimon would attack you to see, but soon realize that there's nothing to that claim."

"How can they know when they don't attack?"

"Because all you're focusing on is getting back to the Human World and taking revenge on the people who abandoned you. With that mind set, how can you develop your powers to fight against Digimon? Hades might be able to stop my Master, as well as all the other Underworld Gods, but they don't because they don't know how and no one is going to teach you. You may have been given the abilities of Digimon, but you're not going to be handed a guidebook."

"I started to realize that while with Nereida… but I know we will one day get stronger."

"Most are too arrogant to see that. As a whole, you won't get stronger."

I wanted to counter that with something but I knew he was right. As a whole, we won't get stronger. I sighed, wondering how much we will make ourselves the fool before getting serious. Our status as deities has blinded us to what our position really is in this world. Out of pity, the siblings gave us data in exchanged for our immortality. We accepted since it was similar to immortality, but we could die. I don't know if they tried to help us or not, but we lost contact with them a long time ago.

At morning, we headed out again. They weren't really talking, the guys. I wondered if it was because anything they could talk about was something they didn't want the other side to know. I did let them know that Arsmon was taking us to someone he knew so that Ilpalo could have his swords fixed. Though, I was expecting them to argue a bit, but they didn't.

Once we got back into the Super Level territory, they all became weary. I understood why Arsmon would be, since many Super Levels probably fight him still, but I wasn't really sure on why Ilpalo and Killer were also on high alert. That made me realizes that they probably brought along Eternalmon and Endmon with them. About noon is when we got to a cave that had tremendous heat and smoke coming from it.

"Telarmamon!" Arsmon called into the cave.

After a while, a girl came out from the cave and she was covered with dust and smog. Her hair was short and very un-kept. She had a tank top and a skirt and flame style boots. She also had a big hammer in her hands, "What? I thought you didn't want any weapons." Her voice was kinda harsh. "And I thought you were a loner?"

"I'm changing my social status, but this guy needs new swords." He pointed to Ilpalo.

She walked over as he handed over the swords. She held them up as she turned them a bit, "Weak swords you got yourself. No wonder they broke so easily. Only last you one fight, if that. You only had one fight, right?"

"Right, though can you also tell the style? I'm curious." Ilpalo asked.

"I would say a Deity since you have one here, but I don't really care too much about that."

"Wouldn't that be important?"

"If you want something specific."

"I was hoping for ninja style swords."

"So strong, but light weight and short, correct?"

"Right."

"Do you want these handles?" She held up the ones in her hands.

"If you need them."

"I can make you others."

"Sure then. Thank you."

"The job ain't free, though."

"You need gold, right?" I asked and she nodded, "How much?"

"I didn't know the Deities paid."

"I'm not like the others."

"Six pounds worth of gold. Can you handle that?"

"Can we give it to Arsmon to give to you?"

"Yeah, so you don't have that on ya, huh?"

"They just rescued me."

"Arsmon rescued you?"

"As a side note."

"That's the Arsmon I know. I'm giving you until tomorrow." She looked at Arsmon, "And I'll blame you if it's short."

"Why me?" He asked.

"Because she seems reliable enough to pay the full amount."

"Fine."

"Good. Be done in an hour or so." She went back into the cave.

"How are you going to get the gold?" Ilpalo asked.

"Hades is also known as the God of Wealth. In the cave, there is all sorts of precious gems and metals."

"And you're allowed to take it?"

"Gold is currency in the Super Level world. We know that, but most don't care."

"How do you know her, anyway?" Killer asked.

"I needed metal at one point so I went searching for a blacksmith. I come back for various reasons and send Digimon to her whenever I feel like it. The best Digimon that can make anything out of metal."

"Does she make things out of the metal that the Digital World has?" Ilpalo asked.

"That's the strongest metal there is in this world, so of course."

"Isn't there another metal that's also strong that most Super Levels want?" I remembered Nereida telling me about a metal that some Digimon were mining. Some of their Digimon were involved in those rings.

"Yeah, but she doesn't like that metal. It doesn't hold any of its power when mixed with other metals. She told me that a long while ago, she had made daggers and bombs with that metal in it, and it wasn't nearly as affective as it could've been. Apparently, if she worked with the metal as is, it could really kill."

"Why doesn't she then?"

"Never bother to ask, though I'm sure she created things out of the leftovers from that time. When dealing with new metals, she always asks for more than what she really needs so she can have extra to play around with when the costumer is gone."

"That's smart of her." Killer said.

In a few hours, she came back out. She also had them in a new sheath. "Here. This will last you a lot longer than that last pair."

"Thank you." Ilpalo bowed. "What metals did you use, if I may ask?"

"ChromeDigizoid, Moonoid, and a steel alloy."

"What's Moonoid?"

"It's a metal that we can mine in the Digital World. I found out that it works best with those two mixed with it. I called this alloy the Steelchrome Moon alloy."

"I see… How does the Moonoid become better with those two?"

"With the steel alloy, it's able to hold onto its natural properties of absorbing moonlight, making it stronger as well. The ChromeDigizoid gives it more stability for making stuff with it. In its first stage, it's able to be molded to be any weapon, but it's a bit of a difficult process to do all the time, so I wanted to do something that would make it easier. So I tried an alloy that was also found in the Human World, since this metal has some importance in that world. I quickly noticed that it wouldn't be able to be made into anything that would last a fight, be it a gun or other, so I tried the ChromeDigizoid, knowing that it also the metal to hold onto its abilities and give it firmness, and it all worked out nicely."

"Thank you very much." Ilpalo said politely. I'm sure that he didn't need to know all that, and I know that we didn't need to know all that.

"Just make sure that I get paid because I don't give out charity work."

I nodded, "I will." We then headed off. I was kinda surprised that Arsmon was following us still.

"Don't think we can handle ourselves?" Killer asked.

"I don't care what happens to you know. I want my jacket back, though." He said, making me realize that I still had it on.

"Then I guess you're coming all the way with us." Ilpalo said, saying that he wouldn't want me to take it off. I'm glad that they're okay with him enough to not mind him.

Arsmon didn't say a word and the rest of the way was quiet. We got back to our territory before the sun was too far west. I didn't really care what Hades thought if I allowed Arsmon in since I wanted to change before handing it back to him. I was really glad that he wasn't around as we landed on the shore.

"I'll be right back." I said to them as I headed over my quarters. I do have them, since they probably figured that I would be sleeping, so I knew that I would have spare clothing in there. I managed to find it in the dark, wondering if there was some kind of light that I would need to use later. I also made beds for Killer and Ilpalo for whenever this adventure is over.

When I got back to them, they were all looking at the TV. I went over, seeing that Panther was losing her glow and she was in a trance, and a deep one at that. I never realized that anyone now would be able to do that. "How long has she been like that?" I asked, since I doubted she had had enough experience to perform something like this.

"What's she's doing?" Killer looked at me.

"She's performing a soul searching and connecting mediation. It's for you to talk to other people or beings. But, I doubt that she's experience enough to perform something like this. You need years and years of training to get this high."

"I think Ceres can do something like this." Ilpalo said.

"She's also an intense magick user, so I wouldn't be surprised that she could reach that high level so early in life. Though, I do know that she knows how to meditate since she did so when they were all in the Digital World at one point. So, for Ceres to do something like that and be okay is understandable since she had the practice of it."

"So Panther could be in trouble?" Killer asked.

"I hope not, since it looks like she was able to place herself in that state, but I don't really know. I'm not the expert on meditating and talking to other beings when in a trance."

"Could her not eating have something to do with that?" Ilpalo asked.

"Yes, since that helps with the purification that is needed to enter into that state. Though, there's also bathing in clear water to wash away all the evil that you have collected and incenses that are needed to relax the mind and chanting."

"That just proves how good Panther is." Killer smiled, "She was able to do this without all the extra stuff."

"Ceres could do it long before Panther could." Ilpalo glared.

"And Panther was probably just learning about it and look at what she can do. She doesn't even like her premonition powers and look at what she can do now."

"Really?" I asked.

"She would never say it out loud, but I really do think that it gives her the creeps. She never tried to develop them enough to control so they were always controlling her."

"What can Nereida do?" Arsmon asked, "I know she's learning something, since I saw her using some ritual once."

"She's learning to be the best fortune-teller." I said with a smile, "And with that, I was teaching her all the different ways of seeing and all the different rituals that can be performed. Hecate was also teaching her whenever Nereida could get away." She comes over in secret and we would head over to Hecate. I've learned quite a lot from going that I didn't know before and now that was making me wonder if Nereida will still go over there.

"Do you think she'll still go over there?" Arsmon asked.

"Maybe, I don't really know."

"Hebemon," I looked back to see that Hades was standing there, "Zeusmon wants to have an audience with you."

I nodded, heading over to the entrance as Killer followed. "I wonder if Arsmon is going to be gone by the time we're done."

"Maybe, though I'm kinda glad that you two are okay with him now."

"Yeah, I guess, but I still think he has a lot of improving to do before he can even consider himself ready for a relationship."

I laughed, "He's already in one."

"That doesn't mean that he's ready for it."

"I did tell him that he needs to learn from you two." I smiled.

"Then we better make sure that we teach him good, because there's no way that Nereida is going to be the same innocent girl she once was."

"She was never really innocent. She's pretty heavy and dark at times; she doesn't show it because she knows how to hide it."

"She is an actress, right?"

"How did you know?"

"That number she did told me that she can act." Nereida was performing to gain the money to gather a crowd and Lightningmon was stealing along with Nereida.

We came to his chamber and I knocked first. The doors opened and allowed us to come inside. I've never seen before so it was actually amazing. He was standing near his throne, looking over as we came over to him. "You wanted to speak to me?" I said before he could comment on my well-being.

"Yes. What did Gennai want you for?"

"He seriously thought that I avoided him on purpose."

"Even though you helped eradiate invaders, wasn't that your intent?"

"Not at all, because I understand how loyalty is important to you."

"Then why did you defy me before?"

"I didn't give our important information to the true enemy."

He looked at me, seeing my point, "Well, since you've been doing so well…"

"I would wish you to consider any action regarding me once the Neo group has gotten home. I would not do much for the other gods until they are."

"What?"

"They are all going back home and I would like you to meet with everyone so they all have an equal say in my course."

"I figured that Hadesmon told you." He looked pissed off, though I guess he would be since he lost all his sleeping partners, including the one that replaced me. I would laugh if that was the one that was the spy.

"Is there anything else?"

"No, you may go."

I turned around and we left. "You know," Killer said as we were heading back, "We all agree that you would be more helpful to them if you went back to your old job."

"What? I'm not going to leave you two." I stopped, making him stop in front of me, "I already said I'm not going to leave you two."

"Even if you could help Nereida by going back, you won't abandon us?"

"That's right."

He sighed, before turning towards me, "Even though both of us would go with our girls if we could go back to being alive?"

I smiled, "I would be happy for you guys and once you guys left, I would then go back to my job."

"So you don't care that we would abandon you first."

"I think your girls come before me, but Nereida is the one that taught me what friendship and all that stuff really is and I'm not about to abandon her lessons."

He smiled, "Fine… Though, you should ask that you stay in the Underworld and that I'm still your guard."

"A serving girl having a guard?" I laughed, knowing how weird that was.

"Why not? That way I can keep an eye on you. You did say that parties can be pretty wild but I know how modest you really are."

"Oh?"

He nodded, "You were blushing brightly when you realized. Also, you might be able to get more information this way. You could serve the other deities and get information that way."

"The other deities wouldn't speak about important matters with me." I said as I headed out.

"I guess you do have a point… Though, you could make yourself more appealing so that they would feel relax around you to talk."

"We'll see." I smiled. When we got back, Arsmon was still there. "I thought you would've been gone by now."

"I don't have anywhere to go. Besides, this helps me with my task too." He said with a smile.

"So what's going on right now?" I looked at Ilpalo.

"Nereida's groups just finished their meal and are going to bed. Ceres's group is still working. And Panther is still in her state." He reported.

I nodded, "How long has it been?"

"I'm guessing by the moon, five hours so far."

"How long do Humans normally go for?" Arsmon asked.

"An hour or two at most. I don't understand what's taking her so long, then."

"Maybe she's not such a quick study after all." Ilpalo smiled.

"I'm betting she's getting all she wants and more." Killer glared.

"I bet she can't find it."

"Are they always like this?" Arsmon asked quietly.

"When it comes to Panther and Ceres, they are." I smiled. "Oh, Killer was telling me that you wanted me to have my old job."

"Yeah, what do you think?"

"I'm not going to abandon you."

"We know, but we also think that you should also have the same appearance as Apollo and Artemis. It seems like the Greeks are very forgiving to their own kind since they weren't ignoring them one bit. And as you're working, you can talk to me. Though, hopefully he also mentioned that he would still be your bodyguard, right?"

"And I thought that was the funniest thing I've ever heard."

"But you won't be abandoning us."

"Let me guess, you thought this whole thing up?"

"Are you calling me stupid or something?" I looked at Killer. "I thought it up. I can see how much you want to go back to what you did before, but you're worrying that you have to go back to being the same person that you were back then. That's your really reason for not going back. You can just use us because we're part of that world that you can be yourself so we're allowing you to know that we'll always be here even if you go back to doing what you like."

I looked at the ground, seeing that he was right.

"He only brought up his game plan when we were running down the corridor." Ilpalo added, "So I didn't really add much to it. But he is right; we're not going to leave you behind either, so you might as well do what you want. When you're down here, you're limiting yourself, which is the whole point of your punishment. That's all that they wanted to show you that you don't have the power to stand up to them. But we know how much power you really have. You're able to talk to other Digimon and get them to help you. When you have the freedom to go away from your home, you can get more done that way."

I nodded, "And Arsmon, you need to learn what Killer just did."

"What was that?"

"It was the same thing he used to get Panther to leave him for another man." I smiled.

"HEY! I told her to go for him if she had…" He shut up right there.

"And that's why we referred to him as the dumb one." Ilpalo inserted.

"And he actually got me to accept their plan." I smiled. I looked at them, "So yeah, thanks."

They smiled, "Any time. Oh," Killer looked at Ilpalo, "We're supposed to teach this boy about how to handle the wild and the untamable."

"I think that Nereida is pretty tamable. Is Panther really untamable?" Ilpalo asked.

"Are you saying that Ceres is?"

"Yeah, she is when she feels like a place could be a home."

"Oh yeah, Panther can go out of control in a snap."

"I find that hard to believe." I said, "She seemed tamed by Matt."

"And I can't decide if that's because Matt is her idle or of this group or something else that I don't know."

"Why mention the group?" I asked.

"When I was brought back to life, I tried to get her to come with me. It was really weird for me to see her because I could see how different she was. I was seeing how different she was, and she really did a number on herself. You would never think she belonged to a gang and was the one that would end your life since you started the fight. I couldn't control her, no one could… I mean, I've seen her snap for no reason."

"Probably Matt." I said, "Nereida told me that Panther doesn't want to do anything that could put a bad name on his name."

"Yeah, I guess… but I'm still wondering if it's because he was her idle for so long or if there's something that he did that makes her want to be calmer."

"I guess we'll never really know." Ilpalo said. "But I know that Ceres has her senses about her, but she loves to be wild. It's not her natural state, but it's become her safety net."

"That could be it also." I said, "Maybe since you're not around anymore to stop her, she put a lock on that side so it doesn't get out."

That put a smile on his face, since I know that he wants to be important to her even though she's with another guy. "Oh," he looked over at Arsmon, "We heard about these two Digimon that a lot of Super Levels want, but I never heard of the reason why."

"Oh, you mean the two that have no high forms or lower forms or type or grade and can open portals to the Human World?"

"The last part is the only one I know of."

"Because they can open portals. Not all Super Levels know that, but the ones that do either are rogue Digimon looking for some kind of prize or are working for someone that's interesting in having a portal making Digimon in their hands."

"What about your group?"

"Some of the henchmen would, but not my Master. No one knows that they can also create portals of their own and they can go anywhere."

"On Earth?" I asked.

"Any world." He smiled.

"Have you ever hunted for them as a sport?" Ilpalo asked.

"There's no point in that. My Master doesn't need them for anything and I have no need for them. It's more exciting using the other portals since that requires more skill."

"They do hard to find. Oh, always remember to keep yourself when mixing in other's talent, especially when girls like to talk."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Sometimes, but I don't really think so. I just don't want our trade secrets to be known so easily."

He nodded, though I wondered if he knew that the real secret is how they got the girls to like them and only them in the first place.

"I'm… Who are you?" Lethe asked as she came over.

"This is Arsmon and he's similar to you but is much farther than you." I said.

She pouted, "Who?"

"This is Lethe, a River Goddess." I looked at Arsmon. He gave her a flick of his wrist.

She glared at him before looking to me, as if ignoring him, "I'm glad that you're back. I heard that it was Gennai that kidnapped you."

"Yeah, he did. He thought that torturing me would get me to talk."

"They wouldn't have stopped at that, you know." Arsmon commented. Killer knocked him down in a familiar manner that Ilpalo would do. "What…"

"Just because she's a Goddess doesn't mean she can't be afraid."

"Hebe," I looked at Lethe to see really concern on her face, "What happened?" She came over.

"Nothing that couldn't be handled." I smiled. Was I really afraid of them?

Her face told me that she didn't believe me, "You shouldn't hide something like that. If you're afraid, you should say so."

"But I'm fine."

"If your two best friends can see otherwise, then you're not." She smiled, "It's okay to be afraid since you're not an immortal anymore. No one else so far had faced death coming at them and live."

I nodded, knowing that she was right. We never had to worry about it before so we never knew what it was like to die. I guess everyone fears that in their hearts somewhere. "They didn't do anything, but you could feel it… what they wanted to do…"

She nodded, "Okay. Well, you should be safe again." She smiled.

I smiled, "Oh, and I'm going to be serving honey and."

"But…"

"I'm going to be living down here and Killer is still going to be my bodyguard."

She started to laugh, "You might as well teach him how to serve too so he can help." She said once she calmed down.

I looked at him, "Well?" I noticed that Arsmon was leaning against my chair since he was back on his, which Arsmon was sitting on.

"Sure. That sounds like fun."

"Just don't make yourself look cute; otherwise Zeus is going to make you his personal server."

"I'm too masculine to be considered cute." He said like that should put people off.

"You better make sure of it."

"I will." I smiled, "Do you think they'll allow it?"

"Only if they want to pour and make it themselves." She smiled, "You have quite the power in your hands."

"Only as big as they want me to have."

"Most of them are too set in the ways that they won't be able to handle any other way. Well, I got to get going, so I'll see you around." She then left.

"She's more social than her other sister." Killer pointed out.

"I think that's because Styxmon was raised up to be sociable so she wanted to be too."

"That's actually something I wanted to ask." Ilpalo looked at me, "Even the Celtics knew what they were up to, and the ones that don't refer to others as 'mon' still call her and her father 'mon'. Why is that?"

I shrugged, "It seems to fit better that way."

"And why was her sister raised up differently?"

"Sirenmon and Titanmon got married and since we can't have kids, they picked two growing deities. Anubis wasn't older than her since she was just created so they were naturally picked. The Egyptians didn't seem to mind too much, so there weren't a lot of problems."

"Though, I think there is a way for Super Levels to reproduce." Arsmon said, "I asked my Master about it, and she said that it's possible for us to reproduce, even with other Digimon, since we can turn that side on and off."

"Which one were you on?" I asked immediately, making the boys laugh.

"If there's a chance that she might die, why would I have it on?"

"For the chance of her living." I need to get that out to them, that way she knows. The boys rolled off their chairs, holding onto their stomachs.

"What's so funny?" Arsmon asked. But they couldn't stop long enough to answer.

"It's my reaction." I said, knowing that they were seeing what I'm really worried about. "Let them get it out of their system." I looked at the TV, seeing that Ceres got out of her state and was asleep. Panther was still in hers, and everyone else was sleeping. "If you're going to be staying, want me to get you a chair?"

"Don't worry about it. I'm not going to be a permanent resident here."

"Okay, just thought I should ask." I took my seat, watching what was going on. Once they had stopped laughing, they were teaching Arsmon their moves. Endmon and Eternalmon were in their seats, glad that they don't have to worry about Arsmon. In the morning, Panther woke up from her trance. Lily Dawn and Neon went into they city as Matt and Nereida were doing their thing. Ceres's group was still sleeping so I stayed on Panther, wanting to learn why she was in a trance.

"I thought your affect lasted for a week." Don said as they were eating breakfast. The boys came back to watch, and I learned that Arsmon could see the TV, so he was able to hear it.

"I guess where I went took some of that light away. Have you found things to use to catch the fish?"

"We're still making it." Damon said. "Finding material for it is kinda tough."

"Do we not have enough or something?"

"More like we don't know how to make a net. It might seem like a simple thing, but it's quite difficult in practice."

She nodded, "I'll help, since I'm done."

"What did you find out, anyway?" Kari asked.

"That the guy is important to bring forth light to others." She smiled, "He's also a powerful light since he can enter a dark place and not be taken over by it." I thought that was weird, knowing that she doesn't talk like that and I don't know what she's really talking about.

"Is he connected to us in some way?" Kari seemed a bit annoyed, which is weird since I've always heard of her being so sweet.

"I don't think directly. He helps a boy when they're in the Digital World at some point."

"Is the boy another Digidestined?" Don asked.

"I don't think so. It didn't seem like it. Anyway, what the guy needs to do is teach his craft to this boy and also find the people he wants to call home."

"And how will that help the boy?" Damon asked.

"I don't know. But, somehow, the boy needs that craft in order to find himself or something like that. I'm not too sure of it myself, but I know that at least it will be helpful. So, I guess all I needed to do was point him in the right direction and then let him loose. I already know that he'll be fine."

"What took you so long, anyway?"

She shrugged, "Maybe the talk took longer because of where we were. How much food do we have anyway?"

"We have enough for today and a bit of tomorrow." Don reported.

"What do you think?" I looked at Killer, since now they were going to talk about that.

"I'm not really sure. They seem to understand what she's talking about. Maybe it's what she learned from Hina."

"Maybe… She seemed to have gotten wiser or something too."

"Yeah, though I wonder who this guy is." Ilpalo asked.

"I am too… Is she fine though?" Killer looked at me.

I nodded, "A little weak from not eating, but fine."

He smiled, "I'm glad. Is it okay if we stay on them for a while?"

I looked at Ilpalo. He smiled, "We got to make sure she's okay. Plus, I want to see how much she had grown."

I looked at Arsmon, who was now on the back of my chair, sitting on the back of it. He sighed, "Fine."

They were now working on the net. They weren't talking a whole lot, but what they did talk about wasn't anything serious or too important. After they had lunch, Damon went to bed and Kari went to steer.

"Why did Damon go to bed?" Panther asked when they went back to working on the net.

"He wants to man the ship during the night."

"Oh… When do you steer?"

"I don't… The think I'm too emotional or something to keep a straight mind or something." He tried to laugh at it. I wondered what this was about.

"Are you?" She asked seriously.

"I don't know." He stopped, "I thought that I wasn't, but I guess they don't think so." Panther looked over her shoulder, getting Don's attention. "What is it?"

She got up and went over to the rim with Don following, but he looked down in the water. "Those are just sharks." She said without looking. "There's something that's moving towards us… or we're being pulled towards it."

"Another realm?"

"Maybe… I'm not really familiar with their myths and much of it has been lost."

"How are you feeling for it?"

"Because it's being attracted to someone over here. I know it's not me, because it's something of the light folk."

"So that leaves everyone else, huh? What should we do?"

"Ask Kari if there's a current that we're now on."

He nodded before heading up. "Panther! Something knocked them out!" He said as he came back down the stairs, "I'm checking on Damon." He went into the body of the ship as Panther went to get Kari and Salamon from the bridge.

"Are they okay?" She asked as Don brought them up.

"Yeah, what could have happened?"

"I think we're in the realm now."

"Then why aren't we knocked out?"

"I'm not sure… And the sun stopped moving." She went over to the side, "But the sharks are still there."

"I guess we shouldn't take that as a good sign."

"Probably not… But we'll see soon enough. They're not coming close to the boat."

"What should we do?" Don lay them next to Kari and Salamon.

"I'm not too sure. Though, we have to make sure that these guys are okay throughout it."

He nodded before looking out into the water to see another boat coming. "Is that him?"

"Maybe. Hide them so he doesn't see them."

He grabbed the blanket that Panther was using before and covered them before standing next to Panther. A man was on that boat, and he looked to be modernly dressed.

"Who are you?" Panther asked.

"I am Maui."

"Why are you here?" Don asked.

"I came to claim a new body for my spirit. I figured I would again try to gain immortality for mankind." I knew then that he was a human that had a big role with his gods.

"Many human beings don't need to live forever." Panther said, "And we've taken an eerie joy in death."

"What?" He was in disbelief. "Why would you? That would mean that you can't reach your full potential."

"Life and death are all part of one big cycle. One can't be one without experiencing the other."

"What about the gods? They can live forever."

"But now they must experience death. They have also experienced death by their religion and temples being torn down by others and by having a few believe in them."

"But not all have died." He smiled.

"Were you once a god?"

"In a sense."

"But that means that you're still human. Humans that are remembered aren't gods, but heroes and they don't count."

"Why don't they?" He whined.

"Because a deity rules over things, and are worshipped for their power. A human made divine is worshipped for the hope that they bring."

He sighed, "Well, if I'm only a bringer of hope, that's fine by me. I'll give the hope to everyone that wishes not to die!" He started to say something in his language, creating a whirlwind and entering into Damon's body. "Now watch as I take this medium to Hina! He will forever be remembered as the one that brought my people immortality!" He managed to jump into the water with him. Panther tried to stop him, but didn't have the strength.

"Damon!" Don yelled after the body. Panther started to take off her clothes. "Wait…"

"I can enter darkness. And I have a plan."

"I'm…"

"Get a line ready. I don't know how those sharks are connected to us." She handed him Rootmon, forcing Don's hand.

"Don't die."

"Never." She smiled before going into the water.

"Let's go! Get whatever else we can use to make a rope!" He ordered and they went to work.

"Arsmon, do you know how to get to the Australian Underworld fast?" I looked at him.

"Yeah, follow me." He got up and Killer and I followed.

"I'll watch them." Ilpalo yelled after us.

Arsmon brought us through the corridor, making me wonder if he's been through here before. "It's a bit far, but this is the fastest way."

"Have you been here before?"

"Not really, but I can sense for the souls."

"How are you searching now?" Killer asked.

"I'm sensing for Damon's soul, since it would be a bit similar to Nereida and I'm a more familiar with that one."

"Shouldn't they be different?"

"Souls find ways of connecting to each other, especially if they're deep. So he would have a bit of her soul in his that way they can always find each other. That's why some people can never be complete when someone they know dies. Or when they lose each other and grow apart." He stopped after a while, opening the door, "Go."

We ran in, seeing something hovering over Panther and Damon's body. Maui's spirit was about to do something. "Maui!" I called to get his attention. He turned solid as the other spirits moved away from Panther and Damon, allowing Killer to take a hold on him.

"What do you want?" He glared at me. Panther fell to the ground and she didn't look so good.

"Hina is no longer here. She was punished a few days ago and she won't be back until a thousand years."

It only affected Panther, I noticed. "Then give me her powers! I can still…" Killer pushed him to the ground with anger on his face.

"Don't you get it! She's gone and so are her powers. You have nothing now. Your last task is what killed you! Don't you dare repeat it." I was able to figure that out much from what was said.

He started to cry, finally having it sink in. Killer let him go and went over to Panther. She seemed so out of it, only noticing a few things since she didn't even noticed him coming over. "Panther?" He lifted his hand to touch her face.

She started to cry and he pulled her closer, though only her head since she didn't let go of Damon. I wondered if Panther was always like that. I walked over, figuring she needed to hear the truth. "Panther." I said, waiting for her to look at me before continuing, "She was punished because she didn't want to bring you harm. But, with everything you've done, I'm sure that she would be please with you."

She looked at Damon, nodding her head. "I need to head back. I don't want Don to worry about me."

"But Panther, you're weak as it is. Don't push yourself." Killer said.

She smiled, "I'll rest. But, as of right now, Don doesn't have my back and he's worrying. Thank you for helping me." I noticed how distant she was being, though I couldn't tell if she was truly like that or putting it up.

"Anytime." He kissed her and I could see that she was putting it up.

"Had you ever feared me?" She asked out of the blue.

"… Never. I always knew who the true you was." He touched her face and I could see how happy he was to be with her again.

She smiled, "Okay. Could you help me up?"

He did and she got Damon in a better grip before looking at me. "I'm sorry that you were taken away from Nereida."

I smiled, "I'm watching her and the others. Everyone is fine and heading home."

"I had no doubt that they wouldn't." And I could see that.

"Killer, I'll wait here." He nodded as he led her over to the portal that seems to lead to water. He pulled out his gun before stopping in front of it. She moved in front of him as he looked to be thinking. He kissed her before pushing her through and the portal closed. He then walked over to Maui, bring out his gun and shooting near his head. That made him jump from his spot, tears still in his eyes as Killer stared at him coldly.

"If you ever go near them again, I'll find a way to kill you again." He then took off, like a coward.

"What did you tell Panther?" I asked as he put the gun away.

"To be careful of the Greek gods that seems to be in their favor." He smiled.

"That's probably smart. So she was just playing distant?"

"Yeah… Man, I'm stupid… but I hoped it really did help her get this far."

"It probably did." I said as I walked over to Arsmon, who lead us back to our territory in a hurry as well.

"She's on the boat." Ilpalo said as we came over."

"I came up too fast. You shouldn't do that when under water." Panther said to Rootmon. Don and Damon were gone.

"But you had no choice." She said in her small voice.

She smiled, "It's a body thing, not a conscious thing."

"Oh…" Then Kari started to moan, "Kari's up!"

"What happened?" She asked, "Panther?"

"We had an adventure without you, to put it shortly." Panther smiled.

"Where are the boys… and why is Huskimon here?" She got up.

"Hopefully Damon is getting rest." Don said as he appeared. "How are you doing, Panther?"

"She thinks she's going to be sick for a while because she came up too fast, which couldn't be helped but her body doesn't care!" Rootmon said.

"We need to do something about that. Panther, is there something we can use to equalize you?"

"Kari, find Hina's… Hina's room."

"Why?"

"I think I should be surrounded by darkness. I think I'll be fine afterwards."

"That doesn't…"

"Kari, let's look." Don interrupted.

"But.."

"We can't argue, Kari. She could die if we don't treat her."

So they went inside of the ship. "I can't find it." Kari said.

"You're not trying, Kari." He stated.

"Of course I am." She looked at him.

"Then you would be able to find it."

"Ever thought that Panther was wrong? Maybe it disappeared when she did?"

Don got cold quickly, narrowing his eyes at her, "Seriously try to find it before you give up. Otherwise, you're no better than those who now hate us."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're wasting time with your question."

Kari turned back around, closing her eyes. I wondered what all this was about. I thought they were healing. "I can't find it, Don."

They walked away without saying a word to each other.

"Panther, Kari can't find it. I'm going to try something else. You can get back your darkness when we get back, okay?" Don said as he turned her over.

"Okay." She smiled. Don placed his hands over her ears.

"Let me know when it feels like everything has equalized out." He heated up the area around her ears.

"I guess it's a good thing that I feel like I'm baking." She laughed.

"It's a good thing that this didn't happen at night."

"It's still warm at night."

"Not enough for this.

"Equalized."

"Wow, I didn't know that you can swim this far down without a mask." I knew that Ilpalo would comment later on that. Kari also left without a word.

"It wasn't easy."

"Were the sharks still around?"

"Yeah, but the rest of the light that I had, I used it to scare them away."

"Oh, okay."

"Could Kari really not find it?"

"I don't think she was really trying."

"Maybe Matt and Ceres can help me when we get back."

"With what? She doesn't want to try, even when your life was on the line."

"She's not that strong. I know she can be, but I'm not sure how to make her realize that she can be. I don't even know why she thinks she can't be."

"Maybe you should do that first before continuing. Otherwise, she's going to start to piss me off."

Panther laughed, "Thanks for having my back, by the way."

"Any time." He smiled.

"So you let her jump into deep, shark infested water?" Ilpalo looked at Killer. "What her to join you that quickly?"

"Shut up!" Killer yelled, though taking it as the joke it was meant to be.

"Where you able to understand what she was saying?"

"Nope, so she learned something new from Hina that's really deep. Though, I like to know why they seem to understand it."

"Probably because she told them about it." I said. "And it seems like trying to make Kari stronger is bring out another side to her. I heard that she was the sweetest person you could meet."

"I guess even she can have thorns." Ilpalo said, "Though, it's weird that she didn't try. I wondered if she's focusing on something else."

"She might be."

"What about this Don guy?" Killer asked.

"I know he can be protective, but he's a hard guy to read. At least for Nereida, anyway, so I don't know a lot about him. He's a street fighter, so Panther is probably understands him more than the others, so they're close that way."

"Oh, okay. Now that makes sense. She likes it when people have her back." He smiled, "I'm glad then. Thanks for staying with her."

"We have to make sure that everyone is safe." Ilpalo smiled.

I moved to Nereida and they were just finishing up with Thor. He had just then left through a portal to come back here. I could tell that Sakuramon and Bellimon had evolved to their Mega stages since they were in their In-training form. There were also a lot of people dead and Neon was paying her respects to them. I went to Ceres to see that they were playing a card game on a plane.

"Oh, so they're going to be home first." Ilpalo commented.

"Maybe."

In the morning, everyone else was picked up as well. Matt's group was picked up by Seto Kaiba and Panther's group was picked up by Mokuba, apparently Seto Kaiba's little brother. I turned it off. "I think we all need some good rest." I got up, "I made you two a bed in the room I'm staying in."

"Sounds good to us." Ilpalo said, stretching, "Staying?" He looked at Arsmon.

"I better get going. I have my own prep work to do."

"See ya later than." I said as he headed out. Once he was gone, we went to sleep as well.


	29. Chap 28 World Tour! To Stand Alone!

[TK

I hit the desk with my fist. I still couldn't get into this stupid computer. It was getting the signal from their probes, but it wasn't printing anything out. I at least wanted to know that they were safe. I had no idea what I was going to tell their folks. There was a knock on the door, but I didn't really want to answer it right now.

"TK, it's Mackenzie-sensei." Patamon said.

I got up and walked down, wondering why she was here. I opened the door to see her standing there.

"TK? I didn't think you would be over."

"Is there something you need?"

"I was wondering if you were interested in spending New Years Eve with us, just like with the festival." She smiled so kindly… I couldn't hide it from her. I looked away from her. "TK? What's wrong?"

"They're… not here…"

"Where are they?"

"I don't know… We were attacked by two Deity Digimon and they sent them all somewhere, saying that they can never return to Japan."

She placed her hand on my shoulder, "They'll return. You just have to have faith in them."

"But they said…" I started but her look stopped me from continuing.

"TK, I know that they will return. Everyone will return much stronger than when they left."

"But they were broken when they left."

"Then this is what they needed." She smiled. "Our offer still stays for you. I can understand if you don't want to be alone right now so come over to my brother's home any time."

"Thanks." I tried to smile back.

She then took her leave and I watched her walk away.

"TK?" Patamon asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to go?"

"I don't know…"

"I think you should. There's nothing we can do here."

I looked down for a moment, "I better go do the thing I'm most dreading."

"Okay."

"I understand. They won't be coming home for a while." The Shuni's grandmother said after I told her that I don't know where they are.

"I'm sorry I don't know more." I looked at the ground.

"Things were getting tense around here," I looked at her, "This might be something that they needed. I had feared that their suppression would come out very violently."

"Why did you allow Tim to control them so strongly?" I had always been curious about this.

She closed her eyes, "Tim won't allow me to control them. Ever since their parents' death, he hasn't been the same kid. He once believed in the mystical world." I was shocked to hear that. "He was always bright, but his parents were mystics in their own right. My son, their father, was very strong in this. He could see the ghosts and his mother could host spirits. They never told him any negative story, but they did allow him to know what they did. He was able to see dragons when he was younger." I couldn't help but smiled. "Damon was much like his mother, able to host spirits. Nereida was too young and too much under Tim's wing to show what she was able to do. I have been teaching her how to tell someone's fortune, which has gone well."

"How did their parents died?"

"They died doing their jobs. My daughter-in-law was hosting a spirit, but that spirit had buried hate that was unknown. When the spirit struggled to take full control, she fought back. Her spirit had survived, but her body was really damaged that she didn't live long. Unfortunately, Tim was been watching and became terribly afraid of spirits. His father worked as hunting down rogue spirits. He was killed hunting down a very powerful one. They were so young, Damon and Nereida, that they can't remember their parents.

"Tim had told me not to interfere with his siblings. I guess he considered me responsible in someway for their death. He has never told me his reasons, but I listened to what he said because he threatened to run away with them if I hadn't."

"So Tim has been carrying unnecessary burdens all his life?"

"Yes, he has. He believes that everything has to be on his shoulders."

"So he never really learned to be a kid, huh? He had grown up when his parents died."

"Yes, so Damon and Nereida learned to be close. But I finally saw hope when they came to you." She opened her eyes. "They were all smiling and having just a good time that I thought that they will finally be able to put the past behind them."

"I think that Tim not talking about it with them has made them bitter towards him. Then, of course, the other will have to take a side."

"Yes, they had had many arguments, but none have ever been serious. I have a feeling that this fight isn't like the others."

"I don't think so."

"When they returned, they will want to work everything out. Tim loves them with everything he is. He would have nothing more than their happiness."

"Thank you for understanding." I bowed before getting up.

"TK," I looked at her from the door, "Never give up hope."

I nodded, "I want all of them to come back." I smiled before finally leaving. I was wondering why this was the second time that I was told to keep up my hope. It was kinda weird, but I couldn't really think about that right now.

Stan looked down at nothing. He was doubly worried since he has to worry about both Lily Dawn and Panther, maybe Ryan and Ceres as well. Since he knew more, I could explain what actually happened to them like I could with Mackenzie-sensei.

"I'll keep waiting for them. They have to come back home."

"I hope so too."

"TK… Letting you know that Lily Dawn was recently crushed. We found out that Apollo was really a Deity Digimon and it seemed like he wanted to use her in some way."

I was glad that it came out, but I could see that they weren't taken it like it was supposed to be taken. Apollo loved Lily Dawn more than anyone else, but I couldn't tell them that since it would reveal the story that Matt was doing, "I'm sorry to hear that. He seemed to be a really good person."

"I know. I thought she went for a walk or something since her coat wasn't here. Thanks for at least letting me know something."

"Everyone needs to know something."

"Then let me tell Ryan's father. I've known him longer than you have."

"Thanks… I need to get going. I still have two more stops to make."

"Right." He smiled as I got up and left.

Neon's mother understood and told me that she was going to tell Don's father about it. I told Ken's parents that he will be staying with me, since they don't know that he has picked back up the duty of protecting the Digital World. I figured that this was the best excuse I could give since they seem to buy this every time.

"All those went well… You're not going to tell Tai, huh?" Patamon asked.

"I don't really want to… Not with how they've been acting."

"Then what about Mackenzie-sensei's offer?"

"I'm thinking about it."

"I think you should go. It would do some good to be around them."

I smiled, "Okay, I'll go." There wasn't much else that I could do anyway.

The next day, I went to Matt's house. I was calmly looking around on the computer.

"What are you looking for?" Patamon asked.

"Anything. I want to see if there's something here that can help me." I had never looked through Matt's computers fully before, so I thought that this would be interesting. Ironically, this computer had a lot of his old music. It also had some pictures when he was performing. They were really good, something that I noticed that Kari can't do yet. I remembered that he had a computer in his basement that I had never checked out. I got up, "I'm heading to the basement."

"Why?" Patamon was taking a nap on Matt's bed.

"I remember that there was a computer down there that they couldn't really understand… or something like that."

"Oh, you mean the one that had those unexplained pictures?"

"Yeah."

He got up and flew over to my shoulder, "Let's go."

I smiled and went down to the basement. I turned on the light and I noticed the cleanness of the place, the computer and the bike. I uncovered the bike, wanting to get a look at it. It was green-blue, much like the car. I took a closer look to see that it was customized, much like the car, but I could tell that experiments were done on it. I also felt like I should know this bike, like it had some significance.

"I believe you're feeling the same way with this as with the car, huh?" Patamon said as he flew down to sit in it, "But I don't think that I've ever rode this before."

"I think… it was a gift… because the owner couldn't have it for some reason…" I placed my hand on the handles, feeling sad for some reason, "The owner spend a lot of time on this to make it their own."

"Want to see if you've ridden in it before?" Patamon flew up.

We both agreed, along with Ken and Wormmon, since the car was so familiar to us that we had to have ridden in it before then. I got on it and didn't feel the same thing as with the car. So I knew that the car was mine and this bike was Matt's, if that makes any sense. "I haven't."

"I guess that means that you just know a lot about it." Patamon dropped onto my shoulder.

"I guess… Maybe they really weren't meant for us… but given to us because the owner couldn't use them anymore…"

"You really think so?"

"I'm not sure how to explain it, but this bike feels like there would be sadness with it. Like it was a life long dream and now it can't be fulfilled." I got off and bent down to show Patamon what I meant, "These things here aren't supposed to be on this kind of bike. It's meant to go faster, but I can also see that it hasn't really been tested on. It's been driven… maybe once or twice."

"How can you know that?"

"I've been looking at motorcycles for a while for one of my novels and manga. I've also been looking at different cars for the same thing. With all these improvements, it seems to be in a realm of logic, where the car is more scientific."

"Wow… I think I finally know what Ken feels like."

"What do you mean?" I looked at him.

"I understand what you're saying… but I don't know where you got it."

I had to laugh, "Sorry." I got up and walked over to the computer. "Now let's see what this computer holds."

I logged on and went searching around. There were all the pictures and sound-bits that they mentioned in "One Saturday's Adventures". I also saw all the emails and I knew that Kitty was on the receiving end. _So that has to mean that Diana was at this computer. That she was the one that used it to contact her sister. I guess they couldn't really understand it since a lot of it was cut off. I can see that clearly. _

"Are these the emails that they mentioned?" Patamon asked.

"Yeah, and it was between Diana and Kitty."

"Who was using this computer then?"

"Diana was."

"Do they hold any clues?"

I started to read one that was pretty long,

"How can you stand him now? He betrayed you!" It was sent to Diana, this was at the bottom. "He didn't betray me. How can you say that about him?! Sure… he's with someone else, but that doesn't mean anything." It sounds like they're talking about Matt. "Of course it means something! I can't even believe that he's doing this to you, but you shouldn't have to face it! He's not worth it." It sounds like Kitty was pretty mad. "He's worth it. He's always been worth it. You understand this better than anyone else I know. You went through it before I have. Was it worth it for you to keep on fighting? How can you stand to watch him? You can see him slipping away and you're powerless to stop it. But I'm not like that, I'll keep on hoping. I'm not about to give up." Was this when Matt was dating Sora? "So you're just going to lie to him and to yourself? At least I told the truth so he knows my feelings. Do you not have the courage to do that?" I was wondering whom Kitty was talking about. "We have an agreement that we made a long while ago, before you were born. I can't blame him for anything he does pass that agreement, because that's all I had asked of him." Agreement with Matt? I wondered what that was. "So all he has to do is fulfilled that agreement and everything else is free game? What about your feelings? Does that now mean nothing? Does that photo now value nothing? Does our past with them hold no memories? You're much, much stronger than me. It's painful to see you like this." That seemed familiar somehow. That phrase "it's painful to see you like this" somehow holds something over me. "Oh, my dear, you have much more strength than I when it comes to these matters. You might not be too vocal in other areas, but you are in these." I just now became impressed that they can talk like this and know who they're talking about. "Thanks. Oh, I'm coming over, but I'll stay at my usual. See ya soon!" "Okay! Can't wait." And the email ends there.

"They can talk in code without knowing it."

"Why say that?"

"Because they never give a name for anyone whom they're talking about. I can guess at what they're talking about, if I'm right about the people involved. Diana was talking to Kitty about Matt going out with Sora."

"Oh…"

I looked around some more to see that there were documents that didn't seem to belong to Matt. It was a list of things to buy from an art store. It also had locations, but not of any art store I know. Though looking at them again, I can see that they were locations of an old art show that now is cancelled because they didn't have enough artists. I know that I wasn't interested in art when this was around, so I wondered why it was here. It could be that Diana or Kitty was interested in art so they attended this show. I wondered if Ryan had ever attended this before. Since I remember how Matt described Diana, it won't be that hard to find out. After all, how many people had silver hair back then?

But then I noticed how the pictures were taken. They were nearly the same as the ones on his computer. Not as in the same pictures, but at the same level. There is improvement, but only slightly. That means that Diana had to be really talented. I can only guess that it was her since Matt had the camera. I wondered what other things she was able to do. She seemed to be able to manage money and take really good pictures.

"Anything else?" Patamon asked.

"Yeah, I think that Diana was the one that took the pictures. I can tell since these are at a level that Kari hasn't even reached yet."

"You can tell that by looking at them? You're really good with your art."

"Thanks. Yeah, these ones are a bit better than the ones upstairs. That means that Diana is really talented."

"Yeah, that is talent. Didn't Ceres say that someone that can take a good photo is also wise?"

"Yeah, something like that. We don't know if she's wise yet, but we do know that she's able to handle a band and take really great photos."

"I wondered if her grades were okay. I mean, she seemed really busy so I wondered if she had trouble with it."

Patamon thought up something really important. If she was this good, what happened to her grades? Were they bad? Were they good? Above or below average? All these things we can't know, that or can't remember. "I wish I knew"

"Maybe in one of the emails it'll say?" Patamon offered as he flew to the bike.

"I'll see." I went back on the emails to see if any of them mentioned how they did during school. I happened to find one:

"I hate my school." Kitty started. "Then you should just run away. You always can go to his house. You know that you're always welcome there." "Oh, and I'm not at your place? If I run anywhere, they'll just find me. I'll be putting him in more danger than I would want. They would hurt him… Then there's Rini to think about…" _Rini? That's the name I used in my play._ "Who cares about her! You have very right to get out of that school. You shouldn't even be there." "But it's where I belong. I can transform like the others, so I belong here. It's the only place where I won't be thought of as a freak." "Has Rini been telling you that again? She's another thing that you have to drop like a bad habit." "Isn't that an English phrase?" "It is. Why are you asking?" "Oh, because I know that you couldn't have learned that anywhere." "Are you still going on about how we can pick up other languages better than others and that our grades are always top notched?" "Yep! You must've tried to speak in another language by now." "Sorry to disappoint you, but I haven't." "Then you must! It's a lot of fun just speaking it even though you know that you were never taught it. Not to mention that you can speak it like a native." "I do think that's interesting, but I'm not going to try. There's no need to." "Whatever you say." And it ended there.

"I now know. They had excellent grades and it seems like they don't have to study as much as we do."

"That sounds like Ceres." Patamon commented curled up in a ball.

"And Panther. Are you really tired?"

"Nah just bored."

"Then just look forward to tomorrow."

"I am."

"Well, here might be something that gets you up. They mentioned the name Rini in this email and it seems that she's the same type of character of the one that I made in my play."

"Really?" That got him up.

"Yep."

"So that is proving it even more that your memory is coming back!"

"I guess so, but I wonder why I'm remembering more and not Matt. I mean, if Diana was the one that held Virtue and Matt is the leader of this group, then why am I the one that all the memories are returning?" _Even Ken has something of Kitty and he's not remembering anything from the past._

"You can ask Date-san tomorrow."

"I guess I could… Do you think he would help?"

"Yea, he has helped out before so why should this time be different?"

"That's a good point." I could only hope that this was true. In either case, another opinion couldn't hurt.

"We should get going. Don't you have to clean your house for New Years?"

"Yea… I can always check these out later." I shut everything down, including the computer upstairs before leaving for my own house to clean it up.

"Welcome TK and Patamon. Layla told me about the others." Date-san said as he allowed me to come inside.

I smiled as I stepped inside and took off my shoes. I just realized that this is the first time, other than when he was in the parade, that he wasn't wearing something western. He was dressed in a traditional wear. I wasn't dressed as formally, since I wasn't sure how he holds his parties. I did check up on the other Digidestined, and they were still recovering.

"You're earlier than expected." Lita said from the kitchen. "OH! I just remembered that I have something to pick up! I'll be back in a bit." She took off the apron she was wearing and went out the door.

"She's living with you?" I looked at Date-san.

"Not yet." He smiled, "You already know my house so make yourself comfortable."

"I thought you were going to stay "at home"." I smiled as I went over to the couch.

"Your home is away at the moment." I looked at him, then down at the floor, "Want something to drink or eat?"

"I'm fine… How early am I?"

"It is morning." He smiled.

"Has any of those pictures come back yet?"

"Not yet, but there is some improvement."

I got up and went over to one with Patamon. There was some color for one person, but the outlines of the others were still there. I walked over to the one that had one of his brothers and it didn't have color. Meaning that this brother wasn't remembering, but one of his others were. "This is a good sign! That means that one of them is remembering more." I smiled.

"Yes, it does mean that." He smiled.

"Hey, TK, you better ask him now." Patamon said.

"Oh, yea, Date-san," I looked at him, "I have a question that I want your opinion on."

"Okay, I am listening." He leaned against the wall.

"Yesterday, I was looking through my brother's computer when I discovered that I'm remembering more than my brother. What I'm remembering has some bearing on his team so I was wondering why I was remembering more than him."

"Maybe it is more important that you know than your brother right now. One person can not know everything."

"But it's more important that he knows since it's his group that this information affects."

"It might be a way for you to know that it does not affect that group as you think it does. If you are remembering, it might just have to deal with you two and no one else."

"But it doesn't just affect us. It seems to be bigger than that. You know the last part of the play that I wrote? That seemed to be something from our past."

That put a smile on his face for some reason, "Are you afraid of what you might find there?"

"I know that two people that Matt and I care really deeply for are there… His is much easier since the person he liked was reincarnated into someone that he likes now…"

"So the person you like might, or does, affect your relationship with Kari."

"She does…" Patamon went over to the couch and curled up. I went over with him and sat down next to him. "I like both of them."

"Your heart will tell you whom you love more." He smiled.

"What if my heart can't decide?"

"It will decide. Is there anything else?"

"Not really… do you need any help?"

"Nope. Lita is making the meal and she does not want any help."

"Then what are you going to do?"

"I was planning on reading, but if you need me, just call. Otherwise, you are again free to look around."

"Okay… Hey, did you ever like cars?"

He looked at me like that was an odd question, "I do like cars. I like motorcycles more, but I do like cars. Why?"

"I was wondering what kind of car to use in my next novel."

"Oh? Do you have something that I can look at or are you going to tell me the model?" He walked over to me.

I opened my backpack and brought out the photos of the cars that I was thinking about using. "The person that's going to be using it likes to race and has a daring personality."

He took both and looked at them. He seemed to be thinking over this greatly, more than what Matt or anyone else would've done. It was like he was going to be the one writing it.

"I would say this car, but there was a year when the model was really something." He pointed to the silver car.

"Really?" I didn't really do that much research.

"Yes, I will get you a picture of it." He walked off somewhere. I wasn't thinking about it too much, but I guess I should've since the people are really into cars in my story, though this is my first time including something like this. He came back with a magazine in his hand and sat down next to me. "Here." He opened it and handed me it. The style was a lot better than the one that I was thinking about using. "What do you think?"

"I believe this is perfect. Thanks. May I keep this?"

"Sure, just return it at some point." I put it in my bag.

"Is it okay if I draw while I wait?"

"Sure." He got up and went to the table. I brought out my art things for my manga and started drawing.

Lita came back after a while, but her presence didn't interrupt anything that we were doing.

"TK, I hope you don't mind not having something to eat until dinner." Lita said.

"I don't mind."

"Good." She smiled before returning to the kitchen.

Getting closer to evening, Mackenzie-sensei and Mina arrived. I put away my manga since I didn't want Mackenzie-sensei to know that I'm doing two jobs and I'm sure that Date-san didn't notice what I was drawing. Then later, his other friends arrived. They brought something for the dinner and everyone was talking. No one seemed to mind that I was here, and they also included me into their talks. I didn't talk much though, not really feeling up to it.

"TK," Patamon whispered, "You should probably ask Rowen about checking Neon when she gets back… or something."

"She doesn't want to see a doctor about it, remember?" I whispered back. Kento was loud enough so they wouldn't hear.

"Oh yea… But it's still a good idea, right?" Patamon had been doing his own research about human births. I could understand why, since he was fond of the baby Digimon in the past.

"It could be… But that's not what Neon wants."

"But even in the past they had someone stay with the mother during her birth-giving."

"Oh.. okay… want to ask?"

"Rowen?" Patamon spoke up, having everyone turn to face us. "Do you know anything about the delivery of babies?"

That seemed to shock everyone, though I wasn't sure if it was because Patamon was asking or the topic. "I do, why?"

"Neon is getting closer to the time when she has to deliver her kids so I was wondering if you would like to check up on her when she does."

"Does she not trust Joe or Ceres?"

"She trusts Ceres, I believe and I think she doesn't like Joe too much. But I think it would be better to have an actual doctor there instead."

"Okay, I will. Just call the hospital and ask for me. Better yet," he got out paper and pen, "I'll give you my pager so you can contact me." He wrote something down and handed it to Patamon.

I looked at it to see a number on there, "Thanks." I said.

"No problem." He smiled.

Later on, we had dinner. It was peaceful in the fact that it was refreshing and relaxing. The New Year's Eve dinner I'm used to is one that's really loud and noisy. I was wondering what the others were doing right now. I was hiding my sadness, hoping that it was working.

It was a minute until midnight. Everyone was excited, also getting me excited as well. I do remember around this time that something similar happened. We had to go around the world to take out the Control Spires that were popping out everywhere and sent all the lost Digimon back to the Digital World.

"Three, two, one, Happy New Years!" We all yelled. Kento cheered as he released some streamers into the air along with Cye. Ryo and Mia were passing around the wine they brought, and they allowed me to have some. Date-san was making a small joke about Lita having too much.

After about an hour, everyone went up to a guest room to sleep. I didn't want to stay so Date-san was willing to take us home. Though we ended up walking since everyone was out by the time he realized that the buses weren't running today. Patamon drank too much wine and was now sleeping it off in my hat and coat.

"Does Patamon like babies?" Date-san asked.

"He does. He was really fond of the Baby Digimon in the past. Did everyone think it was weird that he mentioned it?"

"Yes, since Rowen figured that you would be the one to ask him and not Patamon."

"He was waiting for me to ask? Why?"

"I told him what Neon told Layla. He was worried about her wellbeing." He smiled.

"You once told me that your friends couldn't be trusted… Is this an improvement from that time?"

"It is. How they act now is what I wished they acted in the past."

"How did they act in the past?" I was getting the feeling that this was going to be similar to what we're going through now with our friends.

"They were not too keen on the idea that I was leaving the group. I was not leaving as in leaving forever, but I did not want to live with them anymore. They also hated anyone that I became friends with. They even did not like my brothers too well. But I can see now that the spirit that took hold of them has left completely and they now care about the other people that I can bring in."

"That kinda sounds like what's going on between our friends too. They don't like the Neo group members, even though they don't know that they are the Neo group."

"So in a way, it is symbolic even if they do not see it."

"Yeah… Weird, huh?"

"I consider it interesting. I am sure that everything will be fine in the end."

"I hope so for Ken and Kari's sakes."

"Why is it not the same for you and Matt?"

"Because all I have is Matt… and Matt cares a lot about this group… he can leave our old groups behind and start over if he wanted… But Ken and Kari can't. They have strong feelings towards people there that they can't leave."

"So you are not attached to anyone there?"

"No…"

"But you have spent so much time with them, there has to be someone there that you are also close to."

"Well… maybe Cody…"

"You should keep that friendship strong. I am sure that Cody needs it more than ever."

"Why think that?"

"It is a feeling that I am getting."

"Oh… But I don't like how they're acting. The ones that are older than me, minus Yolie, know about this group and they know the reasoning behind it, and they still like the person the Neo group wants to take down."

"I thought that you were apart of the group."

"Nope, I'm just there because of Matt, Ken, and Kari."

"I bet that you are still an important voice within the group." He smiled.

I know that I was, but I didn't really belong there… "I don't really belong anywhere."

"Why do you believe that?"

I looked at him, "I don't belong with the Neo group and I'm leaving the other groups behind."

He placed his hand on my shoulder, "I know that you belong somewhere. I might not know where that place is, but it is out there waiting for you to come."

I smiled, kinda glad to hear that. "Thanks."

"You do know that you are welcome to stop by any time, right?" Date-san asked as I was walking up to my door.

"I know."

"Good night." He walked away as I went inside.

As I lay down to go to sleep, I hugged Patamon lightly and allowed the tears that I held come out.

When I went back to school, I was thinking about the weird dreams that I had. My first set had Don, Panther, Damon and Kari in them. They seemed to be in some kind of trouble and I brought up some old conversation that we had. I wrote them down so I wouldn't forget them. The second had Matt, Neon, Lily Dawn and Nereida. I was doing the same thing, giving them some encouragement through old conversations we had. I didn't even realize that I remembered them. I was kinda hoping that I would have the same kind of dream for the rest, but I didn't. Patamon and I couldn't figure it out.

Though my dream with Matt was different than all the other ones. His ghost came to get me, allowed me to watch as Matt was seeing when the Dark Being had taken over him. He looked like he was losing hope, losing faith in himself. I could see it in his eyes. Gabumon wasn't with him and he was giving up bit by bit. He knew that he shouldn't be, but he was. Once he was done looking at those and called my name, she allowed me to go to him. I encouraged him again, glad to see him. I didn't know why I didn't ask when I had the chance where he was. I guess it wouldn't have mattered, being a dream and all. Then he fell as the place collapsed and I just smiled as he smiled at us. I looked at his ghost girl, and she led me back somewhere before I woke up. That was seriously weird, and for that one, I wrote down everything that I told Matt.

I wasn't looking forward to today, either way. I mean, no one would really be glad to go to school, but now I would have to face Davis and Cody and the teachers. Tai had been calling nonstop since New Years and I just knew that Davis was going to hound me today. I didn't want to face it, since I wasn't sure where they were. I mean, sure, I dreamt them, but that doesn't mean anything. The only reason I'm going is because I wanted to know if the Deity Brothers were going to be here. If they were, I would finally have some answers. If not, then I can go to their place to see if they were there. Whatever is going on with them is staying on the computer, which I don't know why I thought it would print since we have to do that ourselves.

I walked into class with only a minute to spare. I didn't want any chance of talking to Davis before lunch. That would be when I would know if they were still coming. Our Japanese teacher was surprised that the others were here. I didn't know what to say in their defense, but was really glad that she didn't ask.

Mackenzie-sensei didn't even call roll. She looked at the room and marked down who wasn't here. She wasn't even asking how our vacation was, but she didn't start teaching something new, either. She was just giving us busy work. I was really glad that she understood.

"TK, if you want to bring your lunch here, you can." She offered once the others were heading off.

"I might do that.. But I need to see if Fuhai is here."

"Okay." She nodded.

I started to head to lunch, walking fast so I didn't have to deal with Davis. When I got into the lunch room, I didn't see him anywhere. I knew a few people in his class so I asked them if he was in class. They told me that he and his brothers were pulled out. They couldn't understand it, but they figured it had to do with the fact that they were transfer students.

"TK, we need to talk." I turned around to see that Davis was there. I could see it in his eyes that he was mad, "Where are Kari and Ken?"

I walked passed him. He followed and only stopped me when we were outside of the lunch room. "TK!"

"I don't know!" I got him to let my arm go.

"You know so tell me. Tai is worried sick about his sister and Yolie is worried about Ken."

I didn't look at him. "I at least know that they're okay…" I was hoping that they were.

"Then you know where they are, so tell me."

"I told you I don't know." I took off again. I got to Mackenzie-sensei's room and closed the door. Davis opened it and was about to say something but Mackenzie-sensei cut him off.

"Excuse me, but you're not one of my students and I would appreciate it if you didn't come inside. I have to assume that this is your lunch period so please return." She said in her stern voice.

Davis shot me a nasty look before walking away. I didn't want to think of what else he might be thinking since I have to see him once more before the day is done.

"TK, are you hungry?" I looked over at Mackenzie-sensei to see that she had a lot of food. "Lita was over at my house this morning and went a bit overboard with her cooking."

I pulled up a chair and sat down, "Thanks."

"No problem. Patamon, you can join us."

He flew over from my bag and sat down on her desk. She gave us some chopsticks, as if knowing that she had to do this. I smiled as we sat with her in silence.

"TK, take this." She handed me a pass as the others were leaving to their next class. "Just incase you need to relax."

I took it, "Thanks. I'll probably use it too."

"It's my free period so you can." She smiled.

I smiled back and went over to my next class. I never realized how much I loved my classes. All but one of my classes had someone I cared about in them. I couldn't concentrate on what was going on in class, thinking about tomorrow. It was really hard to hold onto my tears in first period and I would have to do the same for lunch tomorrow.

I went quickly to PE. I knew that I couldn't avoid Davis here, since it was a free day and all. I was just glad that he got out late so that he was forced to sit down for the roll call. The other two brothers weren't here, so I knew that they were pulled out. _So after they complete their mission, they're allowed to leave. I was hoping that they were more loyal than that. I mean, they helped them out when Demeter was mad, why couldn't they stay and tell me how the others are?_

"TK, tell me something." Davis said as we were choosing what we wanted to do.

"I don't know anything.."

"By the way, why aren't the annoyances here? Now that I remember, Tai also wanted to know where Matt is. Surely you know where he is, since he is your brother. Tai was really surprised that he couldn't get a hold of him."

I didn't say anything. People were calling me over, to play with them. I didn't want to go anywhere. I wanted to get away. I wanted to find them.

"Damn it, TK, I'm not talking to a wall. Say something!"

I walked over to the teacher, "Sensei, I have a pass to go see my math teacher for extra help."

He looked at it, "Okay, you may go."

"Thanks." I went back to change. Davis didn't follow me to the locker room.

Patamon didn't have to ask what Davis was asking since he could hear from where he was. "V-mon was asking me too." He said as I finished. "I'm glad that we're leaving because I didn't know what to say."

"Neither do I, Patamon." I left the locker room.

"Hello, TK." Mackenzie-sensei said as we came in. "If you want, you could stay at my brother's house. At least until they get back."

"That's okay, but thanks." I said as I sat down.

"Okay." She went back to what she was doing.

"How do you think they are?" I asked after a while.

"I'm sure they're making their way back to you. They're also worried about the others."

"But they were split up before this."

"Why?" She stopped what she was going to look at me.

"Tim didn't want Nereida and Damon to be with the group and it all just fell from there."

She nodded, "I'm sure that it wasn't anything that a good talk wouldn't cure. I'm sure you'll see a different side to them when they come back."

"I hope so." I rested my head on the desk that I was sitting at. The bell rang then.

"Keep the pass. Incase tomorrow proves more of a challenge." She smiled at me.

I smiled back, "Okay." I got up and left.

After getting something to eat, I went home. Tai and Agumon were standing down the walk way that I take to get to my house. I wanted to go around him, but Sora and Biyomon was there on his right and Izzy and Tentomon were on his left.

"TK, we need to talk." Tai said in a firm voice.

I held Patamon in my arms as I started to back up.

"You're not going to go anywhere, TK." I heard Mimi say behind me. I looked to see that she, Palmon, Joe, Gomamon, Yolie, Hawkmon, Cody, Armadillomon, Davis and V-mon were all there. They had us surrounded.

"Tell us where the others went." Tai said as their Digimon took a step forward.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I couldn't even understand why they were doing this. It was like some nightmare that wasn't getting any better or not allowing me to wake up.

"I'm telling you I don't know where they are. I wish I did." I wanted them to get away from me. I didn't want to attack them. Sure, I couldn't trust them, but that doesn't mean that I want to hurt them.

"You know where they are, so tell us." Sora said. "Why do you want to keep something like this from us?"

"I'm not keeping anything from you! I don't know where they are! Believe me."

"Agumon." Tai said in the coldest voice I have ever heard him use. Agumon was powering up for his attack.

"Pepper Breath!" He yelled as he launched it. I moved away from it. Once it passed, I knocked down Cody and Armadillomon to get out of their attack circle and took off. They ran after me, their Digimon attacking us. I wouldn't allow Patamon to fight, so I had to believe that I could out run them. I needed a safe place to hide from them. I needed a place where they couldn't find me.

I didn't know how I ended up at Date-san's dojo. I don't even know if he was in there. I didn't know how I lost the others, but I ran to where his class would be. I opened it to see that he was there, sitting where he always does. I dropped everything on me, including Patamon, and ran to him. I collapsed onto him, burying my head into his stomach and wrapped my arms around him as I cried.

He placed his arms around me and I was really afraid that he would shun me too. "Class, that's it for today. You may all leave early today."

I heard his students doing so as if it was something normal. Once they were all gone, I tighten my grip. I cried even more as he placed a comforting hand on my head.

I started to open my eyes, noticing that I wasn't with Date-san, but in one of his beds.

"TK?" Lita asked. I looked to see that she was holding Patamon. "How are you feeling?"

"What happened?"

"You fell asleep on Date-san." Patamon said, "I told him what happened as we were waiting for Mackenzie-sensei. Once they got you here and Mina came over, they three left to go do something."

"Do you know what they're doing?" I looked at her.

"I don't. Would you like something to eat?"

"No.. I'm fine…"

"Is he up?" Date-san asked as he came into the room. He smiled at me, "How are you feeling, TK?"

"I'm good. What did you do?"

He walked over to me, sitting on the bed, "I went to go find your friends."

"Why?" I was wondering if he found them.

"I wanted to talk to them."

"Did you find them?"

"Yes, and I think that I gave them a good lecture. TK, I know that you did not need that and I doubt that they will stop."

I looked away from him, knowing that he was right. "I know…"

"You are welcome to stay here until they come back. I also mean that you do not have to go to school. It is completely understandable."

"Can I think about it?"

"Of course. Lita, let us leave them alone."

She nodded as she placed Patamon on the bed and they walked out.

"TK, why did you not take it?" Patamon looked at me.

"I wanted to know what you think."

"I say that you should. It would be better than having Davis know where to find you. No one else knows of Date-san or this place and Mackenzie-sensei won't tell them anything."

"Okay… Then we'll stay."

"I'll go let them know that we are and what to get from your house." Patamon flew away.

I turned over, wishing that they would just come back. They don't realize how much I'm feeling alone right now. I never realize how much I needed them, but I did.

The next morning, Date-san was cooking breakfast. I looked at the time, seeing that he should've been at work right now.

"Good morning, TK and Patamon. Would you like something to eat?"

"I would!" Patamon flew over to him and started to request things as he got the things to make them. "Well, ask for something." Patamon looked over at me.

I found it funny that he was the one telling me to do something. "Why aren't you at work?"

"You work this early in the morning?" Patamon looked at Date-san. I kinda thought it was funny how comfortable Patamon was around them. He was on Date-san's shoulder and yesterday he was in Lita's arms.

"I normally do because Layla has to drop me off." He smiled, "But I let them know that I could not make it in today."

"Why?"

"I had some difficulties this morning so I thought it was better if I stayed home today."

"What kinds of difficulties?" I asked, "You mean with your leg?"

He looked like he wanted to hide that fact, "Yes, it is nothing serious, though. Oh, and did you two check to see if we got all the right things from your home?"

"You did." Patamon answered. I feel asleep when Patamon left so I didn't even notice that they had gotten them.

"Thank you for your trouble." I said.

"It is no trouble at all." He smiled, "You can use that room until they get back. So, what would you like this morning?"

I went over to the table and sat down, "The same thing that Patamon is having." I smiled.

Patamon came back over to me as he started making our breakfast.

Once done, he sat down with us as we ate it together. After that, I started to organize the room so that it didn't look like a mess if someone were to come over. Patamon was staying with Date-san. I didn't find it a bother, but I did think it odd that Patamon was so comfortable around him. I guess we never allowed them to have that chance with many people because we've always kept them to ourselves, never allowing anyone else to know about them.

But still, we've only met them a few times and it seems nearly natural that Patamon can be so close to them. I looked out of the window here, and noticed that it faced the forest. I wondered how Matt could change the password so quickly. He only went up once, and it wasn't that long for him to do anything to it. It takes a while for them to start up. I wondered how he was doing.

I'm also worried about Ken and Kari. They're still recovering from their side effects. No one, but me, could read Ken clearly. I could even read how much he does hide. It's not like he's out-spoken, but he doesn't like to complain much either. I figured it was due to the fact that he thinks that he still needs to atone for what he did as the Digimon Emperor. Kari is normally shy and meek, but without her eyesight, she's even more because she's uncertain.

The others were relatively okay. Even though Ceres looked like she gotten through some major improvement, it didn't shake anything else. I lay down on the bed, wondering how the others were fairing. When I saw them in my dreams, they all needed help. They all needed something and I gave it to them a long time ago. It wasn't as if I had planned on it or anything. But when they were facing whatever they were facing, I remembered something that I once said to them. I haven't seen Ken, Tim, Ryan or Ceres in my dreams yet, but I have a feeling that I will. Maybe if I see them, I'll get to know where they are.

I looked at a picture of Neon and Don's wedding. Neon was out there somewhere and she's getting closer to when she needs to deliver. I know that she wanted this to be as natural as possible, but she could be put under some stress that could make things difficult for her. If she's not careful, she could end up delivering wherever she is.

"TK, want lunch?" Patamon asked as he came into the room.

"Sure." I smiled at him as I got up. He came to my shoulder and we headed down.

After lunch, I went back up to the room. Patamon was learning how to play chess, not doing too bad in it either. I opened my cell phone, noticing that tomorrow was Saturday. I sighed as I closed it back up. It was going to be boring since Date-san has to go back to work.

I then started to wonder why he had always been there for us when we needed some help. I even wondered why I cared about him so much. I mean, I wasn't even the first person to meet him and yet I can't seem to pull away from him. It's not like he's pulling us in, but there seems to be something about him. He cares a lot about the people around him, but I don't understand why. I don't understand him too well, and yet he's the only person I can run to. I ran to him when my friends were attacking me.

And I don't even know what made them do that. It was totally out of the blue and unlike them. I don't even understand why their Digimon went along with it. They didn't look like they were confused. It was all clear on their part. They not only wanted information that I didn't have, but they also wanted to hurt me. Or maybe they were willing to hurt me if they couldn't get it.

If the others were here, would they stand for that? Would Ken and Kari still be willing to be around them? Though, if they were here, then that wouldn't have happened. They made it seem like I didn't care about them, that they were the only ones that did. I don't know why they would think that, but I didn't care. I missed them more than anyone else right now.

I started to feel something shaking my shoulder. I was on the bed and didn't even notice that I had fallen asleep. I turned to see Date-san smiling at me, "I thought that you might want some dinner."

"They're going out to eat." Patamon added, who was on his shoulder.

"I'm not too hungry. Patamon, you can go if you want."

Date-san didn't change his smile, "Goodnight then. I will keep Patamon safe for you." He pulled over the covers for me, before they left the room.

I didn't even know why I didn't argue against him doing that. I also found that I wanted him to treat me like Matt would if I was sick. He would tuck me in and kiss my forehead like a father or something. I also found comfort in that, especially after our parents died. I don't even know why we couldn't live together afterwards. We did until I was able to pay for my own place. Matt didn't mind at all, as if somehow understanding that this is what we needed to do.

I don't understand how it could be something we needed. We still need each other. We were all we have left in the world. I mean, when I wanted to be with someone, I would always go over to his house. I normally went back there. I don't understand why I wanted to move away from him.

I then started to think about Ken. He normally tried to come with us. I would sometimes allow him if I thought it was okay. And now, it seems like I get angry if Matt pays attention to him. I know that Matt is just being himself and Ken is just being himself, but I don't like it. I don't really want to share Matt with other people. Even with Panther and Ceres, there's some tension that I know I have with them. It's like an itch with them and a scratch with Ken. The others are good at keeping their distance from Matt.

And I found comfort knowing that Panther and Ceres stay to themselves when Matt's not here. While he was in space, you could see how close they were getting. It was like they were sisters or something. They still have some secrets they keep, but for the most part, they're open with each other. Though, when Panther got sick during school and Matt came rushing over to her side, I couldn't help but feel jealous. I found myself half wishing that I got that worried over everything so Matt would be by my side, like he had always been. I don't want him to move away from me.

"TK, you shouldn't stay up in the room all day." Patamon said when I got back from taken a shower.

"Why?" I started to change.

"You just shouldn't. It's saying to Date-san that you don't care for his company."

"I don't mind his company…" I sat down on the bed.

"But you need to do more than think all day." Patamon was on the pillow.

"I can see that you're not as worried about them as I am."

"Because I know that they have their Digimon with them. They're not alone and I know that they're going to come back."

"But how can you be sure? Aphrodite said that they won't be able to."

"When has that stopped us before?" Patamon smiled, "We have done impossible things before."

There was a knock at the door. "It's open." I announced.

Date-san came inside with a smile, "Are you hungry?"

I don't know why I was finding that his kindness was annoying. I know that I should be grateful for it because I know of other people that wouldn't take the time to really care. "Not really."

Patamon pulled on my arm, pulling me down the stairs, "I thought you would be better than that." He said as he did so.

"What's up with you?" I asked as I tried to pull my arm back, but it wasn't working. I never knew that he was this strong.

"You're being rude to Date-san. All he's trying to do is cheer you up and you're just firing it all back to his face."

"Oh, so he stayed home because of us, is that what you're saying?" I finally got him to stop pulling me, "I'm grateful and all but…"

"But what? You don't want to cheer up? You don't want to stay here?" Patamon asked angrily.

"I want my brother back. It seems like Date-san is trying to replace him."

"Oh, so that's who you're worried about the most. And here I thought it was for everyone."

"I'm worried about everyone else."

"Would you be happy if only Matt came back?"

"I would be and I know we would have a better chance of finding the others."

"What about if Ken came back?"

I didn't know what to say to that. Somehow, I couldn't give Patamon the correct answer. I wanted to say, 'I would be, but not as much as if Matt came back'. That goes with all of them. I would be happy if all of the returned individually, but then I would still long for Matt to return. _Had I always felt this way?_

I ran into the nearest room, not caring what it was. I locked it, not knowing why I didn't want to speak to Patamon anymore. I noticed that I was in his private dojo before sliding down the door, crying softly to myself as I did.

I opened my eyes, seeing that I was back in the room. I looked over, seeing that Date-san was there. I didn't see Patamon anywhere. He was looking at the picture of me and Matt when I first started high school. We were having a blast that day because we did things that we wanted to do. We didn't care how much it cost or anything. It was a day just for me and him.

"It is hard to keep on believing when it seems like you have lost everything." He set it down, as if knowing that I was awake because he didn't turn to look at me. "I am sorry if my kindness was overwhelming for you." He looked at me.

"Where's Patamon?"

"He is fighting in the dojo. He could not think of any other way to get out the anger he was holding in." He sat down on the bed, "He was worried that you were not allowing yourself to believe. He was telling me of the time when you two had other fights. Your first one mirrors this one slightly, so it must have hurt when Tai attacked you."

I was surprised that Patamon had told him about it. I looked away from him, realizing that it did. It hurt when they didn't come up to me saying that they were willing to help me look for them. If I had their help, maybe they could come home faster.

"And your second fight mirrors this one too, because you got angry at him when you wanted to be with your brother a little longer."

That was true too, since we were talking about him.

"But in both accounts, Patamon has seen you when you are alone and when you are with Matt. He knows how strong you want to appear and he knows how sensitive you are about your brother. I am willing to bet that Patamon has seen those reappear when they left. He is worried about you because he can see that you were hurting when they did not help. So now, you feel even more alone than you have ever felt in your life." He placed his hand on my leg, "But you still have Patamon with you right now. I am sure you have other people you can turn to if you ever needed the help. It might not seem like it, but you are not alone."

I gripped the sheet. I knew that I was alone, but somehow, hearing him telling me that I wasn't was comforting. I didn't want to be alone. I got up and hugged him, as if he was my brother, as if he was Matt, and cried on him. He hugged me, like a brother would, and allowed me to cry on him. I didn't understand why he could bring me comfort when hardly anyone could. When Matt goes up to space, leaving me on Earth, I stay to myself a lot. I only allowed Ken or Kari to stay near me; Cody as well, when I couldn't avoid it.

But I couldn't understand why I was allowing him to get close to me. I figured that I was pushing Patamon away because I didn't want him near me either. I didn't want to depend on anyone else but Matt, and yet, I'm dependent on Date-san. I needed him near me for some reason.

"Why do not you spar with Patamon? Sometimes, fighting makes everything clearer." Date-san offered once I calmed down.

I nodded, knowing that I should say sorry at least. We got up and he brought me over to him. I noticed that the dojo was a lot heavier, realizing that the gravity machine was on. Patamon wasn't doing half bad either.

I walked in without staying a word. I didn't want to say anything as Patamon looked at me. I looked at the weapons that were out and grabbed one. Patamon smiled as he picked up another. We took a stance and went at each other.

After we had fun fighting each other, we took a bath together.

"I'm sorry Patamon." I said as I hugged him.

"It's okay." He smiled. "Just come out of the room okay?"

"I will… I guess we should practice during the day. After all, his dojo is a bit better than Matt's." I smiled back.

"Yeah! We should see if we can get that in Matt's."

"Where did you go for dinner yesterday?" I was curious.

"Oh, we went to this really great restaurant that Kento knows!" He said excitingly, "And the food there was really good! It was Date-san and his friends that went. They didn't seem to mind that I was there and I did join in their conversation. They did ask about you."

"Where there other people there?" I was wondering why they allowed Patamon to talk when there was a possibility that he could be discovered.

"Yeah. The place was full."

"Date-san promised to keep you safe."

"He did… What's wrong?"

"Why did you talk when others were around?"

"… Oh, you're right… I don't know why. They started asking me direct questions and I kinda just forgot. I'm sorry."

I then knew that there was something up with Date-san. He should've known that we don't' want our Digimon to be discovered. He had seen it before many times. Patamon knew that he shouldn't talk when in such a high risk. "Was he hiding you from other's view?" That was the only way that we would allow it.

"Not really.. I mean, he allowed me to stay on his shoulder and gave me food to eat while there."

There was a knock at the door before I could decide what I should do. "TK, there is a guy here looking for you. He says his name is Seto Kaiba."

"How did he know where I was?" I asked.

"I am not sure. Do you want to see him?"

"Yeah! We'll be out in a moment."

"Okay."

We got out of the bath and dried off quickly. I went into the room to get on something else. I remembered that Kaiba was really smart and had a huge network that we could use to find them. Not only that, but he was also with Matt when he went to the conference and I never got to find out why. I figured that Matt went to go see him, but I don't understand why.

When we got downstairs, Kaiba was at the table and Date-san was making tea. Kaiba seemed ticked off for some reason. "How did you know where I was?" I asked as I went over and sat down.

"I called your cell earlier and I got him instead." It was now clear that Kaiba didn't like Date-san, but Date-san wasn't giving off what he thought of Kaiba. "Why are you here?"

I started to tell him what happened to the others and also that my own friends had attacked me. This was the only place that I could be where they couldn't find me. When I told Kaiba that they had disappeared, he seemed really stressed, but didn't show it too much as he listened to the rest of it.

"Did Matt get any tea before he left or some rest?" Kaiba asked when I was done.

"No because he wanted to hear what was going on… The group was broken by the time he got back home." I looked at the table.

Kaiba hit the table. I looked at him, seeing that he was more stress than I was. "Do you have any idea where they were sent to?"

"I don't… what's wrong? Was something wrong with Matt?"

He looked like he didn't want to mention it, "He came over to my office when he returned at my request… He didn't look well so I had him promise that he would get some rest."

"Kaiba-san, you're not telling me something. What is it?"

"I promise that I wouldn't say." Kaiba was clearly stressed out. He hid his face with his hands.

Date-san brought over the tea, "He was really ill, was not he?" Kaiba looked at him. "You are worried about whatever he told you in your office or what you saw happened to him while he was there. You saw how ill he really was, knowing how he was playing it off as something not as serious. Matt did not want the others to worry about him, because he believed that he could get through it on his own, like he always does. I believe that Matt wanted to keep his promise to you about making sure that he got better, but circumstances did not allow it. He has a lot of pride in himself and he feels that he has a lot more on his shoulder than he really does. He would be grateful that you kept your promise of silence, but this is his brother, who is worried about him just as much as you are. I am sure that Matt is getting well, so he will be fine when he returns, but TK needs to know."

I was impressed by Date-san right there. I couldn't figure out why he was coming in, giving Kaiba such a lecture. I looked at Kaiba, seeing that he was moved too. He also seemed surprised. "Matt was sick. He told me that he had to use some powers of the Jewels to keep everyone safe. He had used Friendship, Kindness, Courage, and Reliability. As he was leaving, he was coughing up blood."

I couldn't believe it. He had used the powers while there. No wonder he was so sick and no wonder he looked so tired.

"But there is something else too, is not there?" Date-san asked. "Something you fear to believe."

"How can you know?" Kaiba got defensive quickly.

"You mentioned tea. I only know of one case where tea was used to heal someone, and that case was odd indeed, and it was not an afterthought, it was the first thing you thought up."

Kaiba didn't seem to like to be read so easily.

"It's okay, Date-san. I understand why Kaiba-san mentioned it." Date-san looked at me before nodding. "Did he tell you about it?" I looked at Kaiba, knowing that he knew about the demon within him.

"Yeah, which is why I'm worried. He told me that he needs two cups of tea each day and he had run out of tea five days before they landed."

"But he's been fine before."

"He didn't get any sleep this time. I figured that he really needs tea now."

"I do not take Matt to be careless, so did he tell you why he did not have enough?" Date-san asked.

"He said that the other crew members were drinking it too."

"Why did he need to use Kindness?" I just noticed that there shouldn't have been a reason for that one.

"The powder he was using on Gabumon ran out."

"Oh… that would explain that one then… Did you call his house?"

"I figured I would call you first. Matt told me that he would be sleeping for a while, so if that was the case, I didn't want to wake him up."

"Do you think you could find them?"

"If I knew where to look, I could."

I looked at the table, "I don't know where they are… I wish I did." I fell on the table, seeing that Kaiba couldn't help me.

"You told my sister that it was two Deity Digimon, correct? Like the one that we saw when we went to get Panther, right?" Date-san asked.

"Yeah… Why?"

"Well, if they are not in the Digital World, where else would they be?"

"In the Real World." I got up.

"Right, and since they wanted them never to return, they would have to send them far away from Japan, but also making sure that they were not that close to each other. So, what are the areas that are far from Japan?"

"America and Europe would be two." Kaiba said.

"And Africa could be another." I mentioned.

"Then those should be the first places to look." He smiled at us.

"I'll get my men on it." Kaiba got up, "I'm sure we can find them."

"It might not be as easy as you think it will be." Date-san looked at him. "Ceres has traveled all over this world so she knows the back roads to use, not to mention friends she can rely on to help her. Not only that, but she is still running from people so she is not going to make it that easy to find her. As for the others, there is a language problem they could have and if Matt has not used his status as an astronaut or any of them tried to go to a Japanese embassy, then there is some reason for it. They are using ways of getting back as if they did not have that for whatever reason."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Kaiba was looking pissed, but Date-san did have a point.

"Look for things that seem unnatural for this time of year in those regions. Surely, if they do not want them to return, they would make sure of it. And if the Gods are involved, they have the power of nature in their hands."

That seemed to hit some nerve in Kaiba, "If you're so smart then why didn't you think of this before?"

"We did not have the means in order to carry this out. I did not know that TK had such a powerful friend on his side. If you do find them, please let TK know."

"Why not say, 'and bring them home'?"

"They were broken when they left. If they have the time to think, then it is good for them. And if this also proves that they can use this to get stronger, however they need to define stronger, then that is even better."

"I'll let you know if I find anything." Kaiba said before leaving.

"Do you really think that this is good for them?" I asked.

Date-san looked at me and smiled, "In order to know what they need to do, they need to have some clarity. When I talked to them at the cabin, they all were not united then nor were they too clear on what they needed to do. They know that they are needed, but they do not see why they are. They do not see the reason for why they need to be there and fight."

"I thought it was always clear."

"Then what is it? What is their purpose?"

"It's to fight Gennai."

"Why is that?"

"Because he's not as good as we all thought he would be. He killed off Digimon that could bring everyone a better life."

"So this group's purpose is to get revenge."

"No… but the other groups didn't have a purpose to them."

"They are needed to protect the Digital World."

"And so does this one."

"Why can not the other two protect it?"

"Because they're not strong enough."

"Why can not they get stronger?"

"I don't know."

"What makes this group stronger? Is it because the symbols it bears show some greater strength?"

"I don't know… But they are stronger. They're known as the Legendary Crest."

"Think about this for a while, what makes them stronger? It is clear that they are not perfect, and that they might have more flaws than the other two groups. Each had to be found and each member had just agreed to let issues go unsolved. They were unified under an unknown idea that they knew existed and they knew that they were needed. This group has been led on with no clear path."

"But the first group didn't have a clear path either."

"But you did gain one, right? You learned that you needed to protect the Digital World. The second group just carried that feeling. This group does not seem to worry about the Digital World. It seems to worry about the Deity Digimon. They feel as if they are their enemies, not Gennai."

I guess that was true enough. I mean, they didn't have to fight against Gennai and we've been focusing on the Super Levels more. Maybe they were really needed for them. Date-san placed his hand on my head. I looked at him to see him smiling, "You have a while to think about it. Maybe if you can see it as an observer then you can tell them and give them a hope to reach."

"A hope?" I didn't understand what he was telling me.

"A goal would seem to be a too strong of a word to use. The other two groups were hoping for peace for the Digital World, and they got that. Find what this group needs to hope for and you can lead them on the path to get that hope. People need to believe in something before they can act."

That somehow reminded me of what Karu told me. He said that hope was once evil because it made humans bold, but it slowly became something good. I wondered if I could use that as a way to get idea what they needed to do. It seemed to have that theme to it. "Thanks Date-san, you just gave me something to do while I'm here."

"You are welcome." He smiled. "I will make something for you two since you did just spar."

"Thanks!" Patamon said as he went into the kitchen.

"Oh, why didn't you hide Patamon yesterday?"

"Why did I need to hide Patamon?" He looked confused.

"You know that we hide them. It's so that people don't try to take them away or get scared of them."

"It would not have been any fun for Patamon if he just had to listen. After all, Digimon are creatures with thought and the ability to speak and be understood. When someone can not speak, they go crazy because they can not be understood. Do not worry. I was making sure that nothing happened to him while he was with us, as I promised."

I never thought of that before. Yes, we knew that, but we didn't really act on it very much, did we.

After dinner, we went to sleep since we needed rest to start our search.

On Sunday, Patamon and I went to the dojo first. It was a lot of fun working out since we were able to use the gravity machine. After we had something to eat, I decided that I wanted to look at the history book that Kaiba translated for us. Though, I didn't want to bother him with that so I just wrote down everything I remembered that we learned. As I was looking at how short the list was, I knew the only way I could know for sure was to read the stories that were already printed.

"Date-san, I need to head over to my brother's place." I said.

"I am not stopping you. Do you need a ride?" He was looking at me from his book. I noticed that he was on a different book than the one he worked on when I was here last.

"Yeah, kinda. It's more like I don't have cash for a ride." I smiled nervously, "Sorry."

He smiled as he got up, "You have no reason to be. Do you mind if I come along?"

"Nope! Not at all." I smiled.

He nodded as he headed up to his room. I looked at what he was working on, not understanding any of it but what he was writing.

"This one is a Latin version of other philosophers." He said as he was walking over to the table.

"How can you speak it?" I was always wondering that.

"A few people can speak it. It is not as hard as you might think. I must be good at it, though, considering that Ceres can understand me." He smiled.

"Oh, okay…" I guess she would be a good standard for that kind of stuff.

"May I ask why you need to head to your brother's place?" Date-san asked as we were on the bus.

"I wanted to look for some reason for them to fight. I can't remember all that we learned from their past and I don't want to bother Kaiba-san with it."

"So there is something there that will help you?"

"Yep! I'll show you what it is when we get there."

He nodded, "How is Kaiba-san involved?"

"Oh, we found these books that were created during the ancient past of the Digital World. Apparently there was this place that contained a castle big enough to house a lot of Digimon. In this castle, a Digimon was so brilliant and wise that she gave all the names to all the types and learned about the powers of the Digital World, which are now our Crests. There were two books that she created. One of them is an epic like, since it's in poetry form and that's making it hard for Kaiba-san to translate it. Prophecies that we were told came from that book. The other one is the account of the Legendary Digimon and the history of the Digital World within that castle. Since she includes the Legendary Digimon and the war between the outside Digimon, I thought that I could use that as some clue as to why they appear rarely."

"How do you know that they appear rarely?"

"We don't know for sure, but we're positive about it since Gennai had confidence that he could control the Digidestined."

"Does he?"

"He does over the others, but not over Matt, Ken and Kari. Oh, and the same with me."

"When you are searching, always remember to take breaks. If you stay on it for too long, you might not see it at all."

"Do you do that a lot with your translations?"

He nodded.

The rest of the ride was relatively quiet. I was kinda surprised at how empty this bus was. When we got into the city, I was starting to realize how scared I was at being here. It was like the realization that they were also here just hit me and I know that I'm not ready to face them. Date-san placed his hand on my shoulder before smiling, "They will not get near you."

I smiled back, "Thanks."

The bus couldn't take us directly to Matt's house, but it got us close enough to walk. As we were getting closer, I realized that this would be Date-san's first time being here. I showed him where things were, including the dojo that he built in. Every time that I was looking at him, though, he was smiling. I led us upstairs. Patamon wanted to stay behind for some reason, so he's not with us.

"Matt was able to get some probes that his company was experimenting with, and he had the images that it collects sent over to his computers. He has one placed on everyone in the group and me. When Panther came into his life, he got the probes to change the images they saw into words and have each probe go into their minds so he can get their thoughts as well. I don't know how he got that done, but he's been recording everything the group does."

"Why can you not use this to find them?" He asked as I was looking through the folders I created to keep each chapter separate from each other.

"I tried when I was sent back, and he somehow changed the password to get into the computer for me to see." I looked at him, "That's why I'm as worried as I am, because I have no way of seeing if they're okay."

He nodded, "So in one of these records contains what you learned?"

"Yep, though we learned a bit at different periods, so I'm trying to remember all the ones that I need. I know that this one is one that I really need." I held up "Home Sapiens Strikes Three Fold", "Because it was when we met with a survivor of the Ancient past."

"Why is it titled?"

I looked to see that I had placed a title page for it. "Oh… because Matt described it as being a story of the group so I titled them all so far."

"Do you read what happens to the others?"

"Most of the time, but not always. Like with Panther, I sometimes have to stop because I'm following Matt's example in waiting for her to tell us about her past."

He nodded, "Is that the only one you need?"

"I don't know… but if not then I'll just come back later."

"Then let us head back."

"Right." I smiled as I closed the drawer and had the papers in my hands. When we got outside, Yolie and Hawkmon were there.

"You finally show yourself, you coward!" She yelled as Hawkmon launched his attack.

Date-san got in the way of it, his cane now his sword. I thought it was kinda cool how the pins that were nailed to it were on his star guard. "How did you find him?" He asked. Somehow, I could tell that he wanted to attack her, but didn't.

"We're watching everywhere for him." She brought out her D-3.

"Yolie!" I yelled before she could have Hawkmon Armor Digievolve, "They're coming back."

"Where are they?" She demanded.

"They're traveling, but they're coming back. I didn't know that because Matt kept it from me." I figured that was a better lie, since it was something that we figured out yesterday.

She looked at me, as if debating if she could accept it. I thought that was really odd, because I gave an answer to their question. I could feel something happening, though. I couldn't explain it and I could tell that I didn't get through to her when she had Hawkmon turned into Aquilamon.

"Blast Laser!" He called as he launched it.

Date-san placed a shield around us and the house. He looked at me for an answer. I don't know if I had the answer on my face or not, but he grabbed my hand and we started to run. Yolie was on Aquilamon as they were coming after us. I doubted that we could out run them as a car pulled right into our path. I was pushed into the car, "Take him to my house." Date-san said as the car pulled away.

I looked back to see that Date-san was making sure that they weren't going to follow. I looked at the driver to see that it was a blond hair guy about my brother's age. He looked really familiar, but I couldn't place where, but I don't know how he knows Date-san. I looked back at Date-san, only to take a turn which cut off my path to him.

"You betta buckle up d're." He said in his punk voice.

"Who are you?" I did it anyway.

"I'm a good friend." He smiled before taking another turn.

I was watching him throughout the ride. I knew that none of his students talked the way he did and none of the friends that I've seen talked like that. But Date-san trusted him, so I figured that I should too. He did look really familiar, though.

When we got to the house, I remembered that Patamon was inside, "Thanks… how did you know that we needed the help?" I asked as I tried to delay going to the house.

"I was just drivin' by." There was something in his eyes. I couldn't tell what it was though, but there was something there.

"Thank you for bringing TK here." I looked down the hill to see that Date-san was walking up. I couldn't believe that he was here and he looked fine.

"No problem." He said. "I think I need to talk to ya."

Date-san nodded, "It has been a while. TK, we'll be up there in a minute."

I nodded, hating that I couldn't argue. I went up to the house, making sure that Patamon was with me before we hid somewhere.

"How can that just happen?" The guy asked as they came in.

"I wish I knew." Date-san looked sad, "That's why Kaiba told you that." I just then realized that Date-san wasn't speaking in his formal speech.

He hit his fist. "How can ya know if da're gettin' back dir memories?"

"Those pictures over there." Date-san was out of site from me, but I knew which ones he was talking about. Did this guy know his brothers? "The images of them were erased when I lost them, and now they're coming back."

The guy moved over to them, "But only…"

"I know, he knows more but I don't understand why nothing seems to be pushing their memories all the way through." Date-san moved so I hid more. "Is everyone worried about him?"

"Yeah, but I guess if it can't be helped, it can't be helped." He sighed, "Do ya dink dat seein' Yugi would help?"

_Yugi? Is that the one that Kaiba-san talked about?_ "I don't know. It wouldn't hurt. Right now, he's not here so you would have to talk to Kaiba about setting up a meeting."

"He nev'r knew Kaiba, though."

"They've become quite the friends."

He sighed again, "I'll let the rest know, den. See ya around." He walked over to the door and left.

I got up and went over to see that Date-san was walking over to the kitchen, "What happened to Yolie?"

He looked up at me, "I did not hurt her or her Digimon."

"Then how did you get away?"

"I placed a barrier around them before leaving."

"How did you get here so quickly?"

He smiled, "Something I learned from Mina and Lita."

"Does that guy know your brothers?"

"Yes, and he is very worried about them."

"What's his name? Why didn't you ask for his help? How do you know that Kaiba knows your brothers?" I got on the same floor that Date-san was on.

"His name is Joey Wheeler. I do not need help finding them. Kaiba noticed the pictures and realized that he knew them."

I, somehow, didn't believe that. I looked at the ground, "I don't think that's the truth." I looked up at him to see him smiling. "Is it?"

"I can not say for the moment. I am hoping that you will see soon."

I couldn't believe it. Date-san didn't want to tell me something. "Why can't I know? How do your brothers affect me?"

"They do. They affect you a lot. You also might not want to go to the city by yourself."

I suddenly ran to the room that I was using and closed the door.

"TK?" Patamon asked.

"Why can't I know?" I slid down the door.

"It's not your problem, TK."

I looked at him, "Date-san just said that it does affect me. So if it affects me, why can't I know?"

"Maybe he doesn't want to involve you until you're ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"TK?" Date-san asked from the other side of the door.

"What?"

"When you feel hungry, let me know." He then went down the stairs.

"You're acting childish again." Patamon was now on the bed.

I sighed as I got up, "Whatever." I sat down on the bed.

"Well, I'm going with Date-san." Patamon got up and went over to the door.

"What? Why?" I watched him.

"For someone that's been alone, you don't see that in others." He opened the door and left.

I sighed, thinking that maybe Patamon was right. I knew he was lonely, but why can't I know about his brothers? There was something about that that seemed to get to me. I looked at the papers in my hands, nearly forgetting that I had it in my hands. I set it down on the night stand that was near the bed, not really feeling up to reading it right now. I got up and went over to Date-san. He and Patamon were playing chess. They both looked at me when I got to them.

"Sorry…" I figured that was the best thing to say right now.

Date-san smiled, "Patamon is very good at this game."

"Really?" I went over to them.

"Why not pull up a chair to watch?"

I did and sat down. I could see that Patamon was really good at this. They were going at it for hours. I was cooking dinner for us, but they didn't seem to notice too much.

"That was a good game, Patamon." I said as we were heading up to bed. In the end, Date-san won.

"Yeah! That was a lot of fun!" He smiled.

"Date-san, do you have Go?" I looked at him.

"Yes, I do. Do you want to play that when I get back tomorrow?"

"I think that Patamon would like it." I then felt something. My mind was suddenly pulled from my body and I was brought somewhere dark. I looked around, wondering where I was until I saw Ken lying on the ground. I ran over to him. "Ken!" I was by his side by the time he opened his eyes. I smiled at him, seeing that he was okay, "I'm so glad that you're okay." As I was shedding tears, he placed his hand on mine and smiled at me with so much joy. I smiled back as I helped him up. He looked around, not recognizing the place either, "I don't know where we are either."

"Maybe…"

"You can talk?" I smiled, though also quite surprised.

"I guess..." He moved his arm, "I don't feel numb or anything… TK, I'm sorry."

"Why? What's wrong?" I didn't like how he was looking.

"I can't seem to uphold any Crest… The power of Faith didn't activate." He looked at our environment. "Maybe I should just return."

"Don't you dare start thinking that way!" I yelled at him. "You don't belong here! Ken, you've suffered enough for what you did. You don't need to suffer anymore."

"Look around! Why would I be here if I didn't belong here?"

"Because you only became the Digimon Emperor because you lost your brother and because of the Dark Spore. It had nothing to do with your own will. You were lost and easily swayed. But you're not alone anymore. You have a new older brother that does care about you."

He looked surprised. "Who… are you talking about?"

I smiled, "Matt. He's your older brother now."

There was a longing in his eyes, "But I've lost both Crests…"

"You'll get them back. Maybe you just placed a lock on them because you're afraid."

"Afraid?"

"Yeah, afraid that your torment is finally over. Maybe you just don't need to show kindness and faith to others, but to yourself as well. That somehow seems the hardest to do."

"But how?" He had doubt.

"Because you have everyone else and they believe in you. Besides, if you can believe in yourself, then you're even better than Kitty. She didn't have faith in herself and neither did Diana."

"You…"

"No, but I looked up more about them. Please, give it a try just once." It took a moment, before he nodded. I smiled and hugged him, glad that he was willing to try. "Good. Oh, where are you guys?"

"We're in New Mexico."

"Who's with you?" I moved to look at him.

"Ceres, Ryan and Tim."

"Okay, thanks. Have you heard about the others?"

"No, but Ceres has someone checking on that for us. We should know when we get to the Zuni tribe."

"Okay." I didn't know what that was, but I figured it was a good start for Kaiba.

"I better get back to my body, though." He said it as if it was an after thought.

"Why?" I thought it was kinda funny.

"We were being attacked by Kenmon and the other Digital Digidestined."

I nodded and let him go, "Show him that you're not his pawn." I smiled.

He nodded and then disappeared from my sight. I got up and felt myself being pulled back to my body. I looked up to see Date-san and Patamon over me with worry.

"TK?" Date-san asked.

"I'm good… We need to call Kaiba-san!" I said as I got up.

"You just collapsed." Date-san stopped me. I looked at him to see that he was worried about me. He just stared at me and I could tell that he wanted to say things that Matt would.

I smiled at him, "I'm alright. Don't worry."

"What happened?" Patamon asked.

"Ken needed my help… so I guess I was called over to him so he could get what he needed. Ceres, Ryan, Tim and Ken are right now in New Mexico heading over to some kind of tribe there."

Date-san nodded his head, "Do you want to head over to his office?"

I looked outside to see that it was already late. The sun wasn't even out. I moved out of the bed and moved over to the window. I looked outside, seeing the moon.

"TK?" I looked back at Date-san.

"I just remembered that we need to get them back. If they can't heal for this much time, then they just have to heal when they get back."

Date-san got up. "Do you want to go now or head over tomorrow?"

"Can we go now?"

He nodded, "Are you sure you are feeling okay?"

I smiled, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay, I will get a way for us to get there."

"We can take Pegasusmon." Patamon offered.

"Okay, call him." Date-san went to get our coats as I went for my cell phone. I managed to get him, since he was at his office. I felt kinda bad that he was working so hard just to find them. I got Patamon to Pegasusmon before Date-san came back. He not only got us coats, but our shoes too. We went over to Date-san's room and headed out to Kaiba-san's office.

"TK, why can they not have unlimited time to heal?" Date-san asked.

I pointed up at the moon, "Because when the moon hits the new stage, a prophecy will take hold. They need to be here because Matt and Kari are needed. But also, they need to be there so we can get our Super Level."

"Things that give out joy come at cost."

"We know and it's not as easy as I'm making it sound. We're going to face something great before we can get it."

"But, if they do not heal before this then how affective will they be for that threat?"

"I just have to hope that if they're not healed then they'll allow their duty to make their judgments for them. I'm sorry for scaring you. We were on the stairs, right?"

"Yes, we were. I was glad that I was behind you."

"Thanks." I smiled to him.

We got to Kaiba-san's building and Pegasusmon landed a bit away from it so it wouldn't look so odd to those that don't know. We had no troubles getting into the building and one of the guards lead us to the room that Matt normally goes to.

"What is he doing here?" He didn't seem happy that Date-san was here.

"I figured that since you knew one of his brothers that it would be okay." Kaiba-san raised an eyebrow before sighing.

"We found two abnormalities in two of the regions. One was a tornado in Texas and the other one was lightning over in Russia. That's all we have so far."

"I just talked to Ken."

"How?"

"I don't really know how I did it, but we were talking through our minds, in a way. He told me that he, Ceres, Ryan, and Tim were all heading over to a tribe called Zuni somewhere in New Mexico."

"So they're heading west, if the tornado is connected to them."

"Do tornados occur during this time?" Date-san asked.

"No, they don't. The currents don't mix right to create them." I said. "And lightning in Russia is rare around this time of year as well. You're more likely to see rain than lightning."

"But are not they the ones that have Thor?"

I thought about that for a moment, "Do they?" I looked at Kaiba-san.

He sighed, "They do, but that doesn't mean they have lightning and thunder all the time there."

"I was just wondering."

"I'll see if I can find anything on this tribe." Kaiba-san said as he typed away. "They are located in New Mexico, but also a bit in Arizona. They could be in either place."

"It's a good start. We actually do need to get them back soon. There's a prophecy that tells us when we'll be reaching new stages in the Digital Evolutional process."

"How does it go?"

"It has bats, King of the Undead Digimon, moon striking the hour of between, divided powers of Peace and the holders of Courage and Friendship."

"There were two sentences after it that doesn't make sense."

"What were they?"

"Something about recycling and using another weapon." He got up, "I'll show you." He led us back to his lab. He pulled up screens and I sat down to read the legend again and saw what he meant. After "recycle", it says "to be aimed with weapons of novelty". But it didn't fit with the next piece.

"I think it's for the legend I was telling you about." I looked at Kaiba-san, "The 'recycle' part is part of the legend that we know about, so I can only assume that the next sentence is too. It doesn't make sense for the next part of the storyline."

"Then what does it mean?"

"I don't really know… I'll read the legend." I went to look at it, " The wings of the bats will blanket the sky. The rising of the once alive will summon forth by the spoken name of the King of those once living; when the moons strike the hour of between, this King will appear forth to reign over those that have summon thee. The winged humanoid protectors of Peace will shoot its divided power at the protectors of Courage and Friendship; power stages will be reached. Recycle, to be aimed with weapons of novelty. " I looked at Kaiba-san, "Why did you put moons ?" He had translated it into English. I don't know why, though, since the other one wasn't.

"I had to learn a lot about the grammar of this language, more than I cared to really know. But they seem to have markers for number."

"Why is it in English?"

"Japanese couldn't capture it right. Is it different than how you heard it?"

"Yeah… But if it's a better translation then that's okay."

"You also missed a part." He walked over, " To be seen more than once, the markings of the danger that will lie upon the land. " He read that before the beginning of the legend.

I looked at Date-san, "What do you think?"

"That means we have to be looking at the sky for the bats when the moon strikes that hour. It mentions twice that it will happen more than once, so perhaps more updated weapons have to be used."

"Did you ever come across the word for arrow?" I looked at Kaiba-san.

"Yes."

"And it wasn't in here?"

"Should it have been?"

"The second time we heard it, it had arrow in the translation."

"I do the translations myself."

"Okay… Let me know when you found anything else about them."

"Which translation do you trust?"

I smiled at Kaiba-san, "I trust yours. After all, you don't have anything to compare yours to so you're a lot more pure. I hope you're not overworking yourself, though."

"I'll get my rest later."

"Don't start acting like Matt." I got up.

"Date-san," Kaiba-san looked over at him, "I heard from an annoying monkey that I've been right all along."

He smiled, "If you mean about knowing my brother, then I believe so. He should have explained everything surrounding my brother, correct?"

"He did."

"I am glad. I hope that means that we can be on reasonable terms in the future." He kept on smiling.

"As long as I can have you under my experiment list."

He looked like he was concern over that, "We will see, though I do have to say that since TK and his brother seem to have a lot of faith and trust in you that you must not be all that bad as I first feared."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Kaiba-san, how will you bring them home?" I asked.

"I'll be sending my helicopters to pick them up as soon as we have a solid fit on their location."

"Thank you for your help, Kaiba-san." I bowed to him. When I looked at him, I could see that he wanted to say something emotional, but didn't. I smiled at him, "Let me know of anything you find."

"If you can get to the others, let me know what you find."

I nodded, "Right."

Date-san and I walked out and got Pegasusmon out once again.

"You do understand that he is more than willing to do this for your brother." Date-san said as we headed back.

"I know… He's not the emotional kind, though."

"I see… Though, it is a good thing that he is a loyal friend."

"Yeah, it is." I smiled.

The next morning, Date-san went to his dojo. Mackenzie-sensei came over to pick him up, also giving me my work from school. I got through that once Patamon and I spared. I now understood, though, why Matt always made sure that we did the work first before we trained because it really did make you not want to study.

It was noon by the time I finished with everything, including the notes on the ancient past. I was bored, since it was nearly everything we learned about the past itself in that one chapter. Everything else was either inferred or mentioned in fragments. I sighed since Patamon was learning Go from a book that Date-san left him. I realized that I should probably work on my jobs, but they were all at home. I looked over at the clock, wondering who would be out at this hour. They should all have class or a job, right? It was nearing one, so it should be safe, right?

I got up from the couch, and went over to the door.

"Where are you going?" I looked at Patamon, who was looking at me from the book.

"I need to be productive while I'm here."

"And you're going outside?"

"I need my laptop and art supplies."

"What about the others?"

"They should all be doing something by now. I should be safe. I wasn't planning on leaving you here, either." I smiled.

He placed the book down and came over to me, "Okay, let's go!" He landed on my shoulder.

I wanted to see what the gravity machine could do so I ran instead of taking the bus. I found that I was a lot faster, nearly as fast as I could go with my jewel. I managed to get to my house in no time. I went inside to get my things, since I figured I shouldn't stay here for too long incase I was wrong about their schedules. I made sure that they were secure before heading out. This time, it was Sora and Biyomon who were waiting. I closed the door. "Yolie should've told you that they're coming back." I walked down the steps with no confidence whatsoever.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" She asked, though something still wasn't right. I could see it in Biyomon's eyes.

"I didn't know until recently."

"I know you're lying." She said, getting out her Digivice.

"You think you're the only ones that have someone missing? Everyone that I care for is missing." I yelled, "Matt isn't yours anymore! He never was yours to begin with!"

That made her stop and stare at me for a while. "We've dated for years."

"But you didn't get farther than that. He loves Styxmon, in case you've forgotten."

"No.. he will love me."

That caught my attention. That just made it seem like her goal is to make Matt hers. I didn't understand why, though. Sure, he's cool and all, but he doesn't go around for a second helping in dates, considering he only loved Styxmon and Diana before her.

"Why do you want him so badly? He doesn't love you. When you started to hint at marriage, he called it off. He never wanted to go that far with you." Matt had told me about all the obvious hints that Sora was giving him. I gave him no advice on it, but told him to do what would make him happy. I also told him to not worry about the group, since this shouldn't have any bearings on it. Two days afterwards, they broke up. Matt told me that Sora took it as a defeat, that she lost something. The next day, she was back with Tai. Matt was happy for them, not bothering to hang out with them. Kari was telling me how happy they were together. "What happened to Tai? You're engaged to him. You're hurting him by still loving Matt."

"He knows that I love Matt… And he will be mine again." Biyomon then went to Birdramon.

I was kinda glad that this wasn't a crowded street as I stared at her Digimon. They seemed like robots now, something without a will. I didn't even notice that Patamon went to Angemon until he was blocking the Meteor Shower. I looked at Sora, seeing that she was holding her Digivice, about to send more power and her Crest.

"You think that Matt will care about you if you kill me?" I asked.

"Styxmon's family was willing to do so."

"You think you're on the same level as her? You're not even in the same league. She's everything that Matt wants and all that he needs." I knew that even though I was talking about Styxmon, I knew that she carried the soul of Diana, meaning that no matter what, Matt would never have to choose who he loved more.

She stood there as our Digimon took their battle to the sky. I fear that someone would capture them like that, but was more worried about leaving like this. Something in her eyes told me that they needed help, much more help than I ever thought they needed. Were all of them like this? Did my anger toward them blind me and the others to knowledge that the change wasn't their choice? "He will love me. Styxmon is dead and is never coming back. He will be mine again!" She yelled, making Garudamon appear.

"Wing Blade!" She yelled, launching the attack from her body onto Angemon. He managed to send it back to her, knocking her out of the sky and onto the road, since there were other homes on the other side. She went back to Biyomon as Angemon came back over to me.

I looked at Sora, who was still staring at me. Angemon returned to Patamon, landing on my shoulder. "Sora, get over Matt. He doesn't want you back." I said before walking away.

"Why? Because he now has two girls to please him?" She asked hatefully.

I stopped before turning towards her, "That's not even worth the effort to answer. Sora, you know the answer to that already." I continued back to Date-san's house. When I was good enough away, I made sure that I ran all the way back so that they wouldn't follow me if they were planning to.

I watched the news as I was writing, hearing about the fight that Angemon and Birdramon had. After it came on, the phone started to ring. I went over since Date-san wasn't here. "Hello?" I asked, knowing that everyone that he knows would know that he wasn't here.

"TK," it was Ryo, "What happened? I just saw the news and realized that it occurred near your house."

I, for some reason, was taken back by his consider, though knowing fully well that they all like to help us out. "I went home to get some things to work on while I'm here and one of my friends came by. I'm not sure if you know the story…"

"Patamon told us, which is why I'm calling."

"So she had her Digimon evolved into the bird like one and Patamon went to his next stage to defend against her. Patamon won and we left soon after. I don't think she or anyone else followed."

"So nothing serious happened?"

"Nothing I couldn't handle."

"Though you did make it sound like you were attacked before."

"I was… but Date-san got me out of there in time. So I can't really go back into the city without someone with me for protection."

"Do you have a pen or pencil and paper with you?"

I went over to get some, "I do now, why?"

"Take down these numbers. Incase you need to go back into the city when Date-san isn't with you, call someone to see if they can give you a ride or something."

"Patamon would be with me." I pointed out.

"What if they gang up on you? We can at least make sure that you two get away. It's more important that you two are safe."

I looked at Patamon, since I knew he could hear it from my shoulder. He nodded. "Okay, what are the numbers?"

He gave me his first, the hospital that Rowen works at and also his pager, Kento's cell phone and restaurant's phone numbers, and finally Cye's cell and vet's numbers. "I would give you Mia's, but she won't be much help against Digimon."

"Thanks, that's okay. I really do appreciate the help."

"Any time. I'll call the others so they don't start calling you as well."

"Would Date-san call?"

"He doesn't watch the news when he's working. And even so, he would ask about it when he gets back. Are you worried?"

"He was the one that suggested that I don't go out unless I had someone with me."

"You did. Don't worry about that."

I smiled, "Okay. Thanks again."

"Any time." He hung up and I did as well. I went back to typing up what I needed. Seeing that other side of Sora, the other side to them all, I was beginning to add that element to my story. I've never seen something like that before, except for when Ken was the Digimon Emperor, but that had its reasons. This seemed to come out from nowhere and was taking hold of them so completely. It's like nothing we can say would ever get them back out of it.

Date-san came back with Lita and Mina coming with him.

"I'm glad that you're okay." Mina said as Date-san and Lita were cooking.

"You watch the news while at work?" I asked.

"On our breaks. We didn't tell brother since I thought that you were okay. Ryo did call us, saying that you were, though."

"Then why did you doubt him?"

"I didn't, but I'm glad to see with my own eyes." She smiled.

"Why didn't you tell him?" I was wondering why everyone was keeping this away from him. I mean, it's not like I wouldn't tell him what happened anyway.

"He can over worry sometimes." She smiled.

"He's pretty good at reading people, though."

"I know, but I know how it works." She laughed.

"What's so funny?" Lita asked as she was placing the food on the table.

"Nothing." She got up, "So, what are we having tonight?" She went over to the table.

I saved my stuff before heading over. I helped with the setting, so once all the food was out, and Mackenzie-sensei came over, we were all eating together. It felt weird, since it didn't feel like I was out of the loop. I mean, I've been to Kari's family dinner nights and I felt so out of place. I know her family pretty well, understanding them and getting their jokes and what not. Her parents don't mind me and, back then, Tai didn't either. But it wasn't the same as now. I just noticed that eating with Ken was similar to this, that there was just something there that told me that I belonged, even though I envied him for having his parents. I remember those times when Panther and Ceres and Matt and I were hanging, eating some meal together, be it McDonalds or other, and it felt like this too. I felt like I belonged here, that I wasn't being judged or anything. I just remembered that I used to spend a quite of bit of dinners over at Cody's, and it felt like Kari's place.

After we were done, Mackenzie-sensei, Mina, Patamon and I were cleaning up. I understood that we should give Date-san and Lita alone time, since they are engaged and all. I told Mackenzie-sensei what happened, so she would know. She was glad that it was settled peacefully, and also allowed me to know that our assignments would be given to us when we returned. She explained to the school that she was good friends with Matt and that he had taken them with him on a trip as soon as he got back. Since he wanted to spend time with everyone, saying that since they were friends with Panther, he wanted it to be something she would enjoy, that they were allowed to come along and he didn't want to place any stress on her so he didn't say when they were coming back. Of course, since the school was harsh on her, they had to let this slide.

After they all left, which Lita was the last to leave for understandable reason, I wanted to know what Date-san thought about Sora.

"Date-san?" I asked as he was translating. I really think he needs glasses for it, since it would be perfect.

"Hm?" He looked over at me.

"Have you ever encountered someone that was dead set on loving someone and no one else but that person?"

"That is called true love." He said with a smile.

"I mean the opposite. When it's becomes annoying and the person refuses to let go even though the person they like has no interest in them."

"That is called lust."

"Have you ever encountered someone like that?"

He thought about it for a moment. "I was fortunate not to have met people who were lusting after a person they could not have, though I have encountered people who were lusting after power, but I know that is something that is not of interest and I am sure that you are familiar with that in any case."

"So you never encountered someone like that?"

"I have not. What brought this question?"

"I went to the city today so I could get my laptop and some other stuff that I should be working on. Patamon went with me and we met Sora. She used to date Matt, but once she started to push towards marriage, he called it off. She still wants him, even though she's engaged to someone that loves her so deeply."

"That would be Tai, right?"

"Yeah… how did you know his name?"

He looked like he was cornered, the first time that I have ever seen him like that. And in the next moment, realized what must be on his face so that whatever he would say next would definitely sound like a lie. So he ended up sighing in defeat, "Would you be able to accept that I know all of your friends' names?" His expression was also asking us.

I looked at Patamon, both of us in shock. How could he know our friends? We don't talk about them, so how would he know? As a matter of fact, how would he know what they look like? We never shown them, never had a picture of them. I wasn't sure how to take this.

"How can we just accept it?" Patamon asked. "Do you know their Digimon too?"

He nodded his head. "It was not by any means something that would show I have ill intentions towards you and your friends. I know because I had met them all at one point and their Digimon. I can not reveal much more than that, though."

"Why not?" I got up, "What are you hiding from us? Why can't we know?" This was bringing back up his brothers, who were somehow connected with us.

"If I told you now, this and more would be the reaction I would get." He said seriously, "You would not believe me, even though I told you the truth, and would distance yourself from here and my sister. There are times when it is better to wait for the answer than to have it when you think you should. The answers that are being sought are not always easy to understand when you first learn it. It might take a few tries before you can fully understand what is being told to you."

"Keeping secrets is what got the Neo group split up." I pointed out, now getting sick of this.

"Secrets and lies can do that, but only when they are kept when they shouldn't or should be told because it is important at that moment. I have told you that I know your friends and their Digimon, and that I know them through the mean of meeting them in person. So, I have let you know that I know them, not keeping that a secret, and how I know them, not lying about that either. The only thing I can not tell you is why I had to know them and meet them before, though I am promising you that you will know it one day, just not now." I found that explanation, though very precise, annoying. He sighed for some reason, getting up from the couch, "Then how about we have a match. I will fight both of you and if you manage to beat me, I will tell you everything. If I win, you have to accept what I know about your friends and want to understand the why."

I found that a lot more pleasing. As we were walking over, I felt my soul leaving my body once again. I went to Tim this time, like all the others. He was in a forest area in Japan, running somewhere. He came to an old house and there were spirits flying around, saying not to come any closer. He turned to see his parents coming down with a little him. He looked so nervous, seeming to listen to what they were saying.

"Mommy, don't go. Mommy, daddy, listen to me. You can't go." He begged as the spirits surrounded him, chanting what they were saying before.

His dad smiled to him and patted his head, "We have to." He opened the door to the house and they all walked inside. His mom went to the center of the room as soon as they were in, chanting something in a language that I didn't know. His dad was watching, getting ready for any attack that might come. I looked at Tim, to see that he was fearing over at the door. The Tim that I was with was watching this with a calm mind. I thought it was impressive, knowing what this was. Then something happened to his mom. It was like something came over her, figuring that Tim and his dad understood what this meant, since the little Tim was trembling and going pale as his dad was staring at her.

"Where's your wife?" He asked as he stepped closer to her. I wondered what had just happened, since it seemed that the person he was now addressing wasn't his wife anymore.

"She's here… and here is where she'll remain!" His mom yelled in her voice, but I could tell that it wasn't her now. It reminded me of when the dark being took hold of Matt. Some kind of energy was coming out of her.

The ghost of a woman appeared and his dad went after her as his mom struggled to keep the person she had in her under control.

Little Tim ran over to his mom. She started to scream as the female ghost went into her as well. It was a scene that no child wants to see. His dad had the gun he was using aimed at his wife. "Yuiko! Get her out!" He ordered. His mom just kept on screaming until her body dropped to the floor. The scream was heartbreaking, as if she was being torn apart. I looked at Little Tim, wondering how he was during this, and he was on a phone, it seemed. He held wild eyes, though.

The spirits came out of his mom and his dad was shooting wildly at them. They merged together and swirled right through him, like a drill through a board. He coughed up blood and fell to the ground on his stomach. The blood was coming from his month and pouring slowly onto the floor. The ghosts looked at Little Tim, who was still at the door, that fear never leaving his face and came at him. Little Tim started to glow, reminding me of the picture of Date-san and his sisters. I looked at Tim, seeing that he was surprised to see himself glowing, saying that he didn't remember this. I was wondering why this was important for him to know this. Why couldn't he be shown this before? I mean, this is probably the powers that he had that Persephone mentioned that they all had, something that was theirs that didn't have any connection to the Digital World. If he knew about this earlier, maybe he wouldn't be so against magic.

He yelled something in a language that I didn't know, which was weird since I know all the languages that they all know. He shot something from his hands toward them. The blast hit them and opened a portal to which they were sucked into. He ran over to his parents, who were still breathing, surprisingly. When he had reached them, he passed out.

We still remained here, though I knew it was because he still needed to realize something. Something that maybe I needed to tell. He walked over to their bodies and I followed. His dad was dying slowly, though I have to say that's tough since not many would be alive after having blood pouring from their mouth. I would say that he was nearing his end, though. Tim tried to touch him, but went through him. I could see it now in his eyes that this was the moment, maybe not the exact moment, but the moment, nonetheless, where he lost his belief. He started to blame everything and everyone older than him for their deaths. Was it right? Did it make the situation more able to be dealt with? I guess I might never know. But now is his chance to forgive what he needs to and start over once again.

"You know, it's easy to blame things when everything seems to go wrong." I started to say. For all the others, I was the one talking my lines. I do remember them pretty well, but the precise words I used come back to me when I'm here. He looked around, not seeing me. I smiled since everyone does this, kinda. They talk to me, as if I'm there. "I know that when I was little, I blamed myself and my parents for the divorced." He now remembered when we had this. "I bet that's how Damon feels. He wants to blame something and the clearest thing he sees is you." This conversation took place some time after Damon told Tim about how he doesn't like that Tim is governing their lives. "He seems to be like you in the fact that he cares a lot for Nereida and he has say in what she does when they're at school. So, seeing Nereida falling away from you two is worrying him just as much, but he can't blame the group because he understands them and stuff… I say don't let it get to you, because in the end, they'll always love you."

As he was pondering something, his dad died and his Grandmother came in. She was so horrified as she ran over to them. There were others with her, getting my mom and Little Tim; trying to save his dad. His mom became conscious and was able to tell their Grandmother what happened. On the way to the hospital, she died. Their Grandmother wasn't able to keep back her tears, something I can see that Tim never realized that she did. We were following them as if we were watching a movie or something. She then started to say to Little Tim's sleeping body that she would be stronger for him and his siblings, explaining why she wasn't crying around them. She also said that she would make sure that they were happy and well. She said it all with tears coming from her eyes.

Tim tried to touch her, going through her as well. Some thought came to his mind, making him look around for it. I figured it was Shendramon since normally they call for their Digimon. Even Panther before she started to run. Another thought came to him, making him realize that he needed to be back. I hoped that they were okay, seeing how panic and hurry came into his eyes.

"Tim," his Grandmother said to Little Tim, "It's in your blood to protect others, whether it be strangers or loved ones. It's in your blood, so don't let this scare you."

I looked at Tim to see that he was surprised to hear that. He then thought about it, and thought about it deeply. This is how I know they are willing to change. They care a lot about this group. Did Date-san care about us as well? I know he cares for me, but what about the others? He then came to a resolution. He looked at his mom, nodding his head. His spirit then went away, probably back into his body.

I was then brought over to Ryan. He was floating in a bubble and the new Digimon were in the same kind of bubble. The place I was floating, since I don't need to be in a bubble, was dark. Ryan sat up, seeing what I was just seeing.

"Breomon!" He yelled before floating over to him. I followed him, seeing that Breomon looked like he was asleep. Ryan looked at the others, noticing the same thing.

"They're all waiting."

We turned around to see this cat that looked like Gatomon, but could only walk on four legs and the claws were longer on the gloves. The color scheme made her look like a painted cat rather than a real one. Though, I do have to add that there was something familiar about her, like I should know her from somewhere before this time. She looked sad in a way, but very regal.

"Waiting? What can they be waiting for?" Ryan asked.

"For when they will be needed." Her voice sounded familiar too.

He looked at Breomon before looking at her, "They are needed. We're still here and we need them."

She shook her head, "They are waiting for the time when they are called to help the Digital World once again."

"I'm telling you! They're needed! Don't let them be like this! They don't deserve it." This was scaring Ryan more than he was letting on.

"I'm waiting too. I am part of this group. We need to wait until the time is right to come back."

"They're needed. I'm telling you. Let them go so they can be with us."

"They need to wait."

"But why? Don't let them be like this. Don't let them be lost."

"They are not lost. They can't be found. They need to wait."

"Why can't they be found?" Ryan didn't like that thought one bit.

"They must not be harm before their time. If they are found, then they will be destroyed."

"They found us, though. We need them. They're our friends."

"Maybe they will be your friends, but they will not remember. Once they have fulfilled their duty, they will come back here. They will wait again for the time they will be needed."

"Why won't they remember?"

"It will affect their duty. If they were to remember their past, then they will always be affected by it and will be sad for what they can't have."

"But we gave them a home." He looked at Breomon, "They chose us. Let them stay with us."

"Destiny brought you together."

He looked at the cat, "They chose us."

"It is destiny."

"How can you know? What do you know?"

"I have known it before. I was there when they were first alive and I was there when they were dying."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "You're Thunmon?"

"Yes."

"Let them go! They're your friends, right? Let them be happy."

"Happiness can only be hold by those not of us. We suffer where the others are nearly spared."

"What? That's insane."

"Destiny might be fought, but not forever. It will come." She then disappeared.

As he looked at Breomon, touching his bubble lightly, I was thinking about what she said. Our Digimon were the ones that are nearly spared from suffering. Why do ours get to be the ones that are happy? What does that mean for this group? Can they never be happy? Somehow, her saying that their memories will be erased was getting on my nerves. Why shouldn't they remember? Why couldn't they move on, though still knowing them? I mean, this is the first time that they've been outside of the Digital World, the first time they knew they had a propose to their lives.

I looked at Ryan, seeing that he was really saddened by this thought that Breomon wouldn't be with him. It was like this time, there would be no way of reuniting, like with his sister. I could see that not being remembered by people, leaving your mark so you can always know and have other people know you was something important to him, much like with Neon. Though, with Neon, she tried so hard for everyone to know her. Ryan didn't care about everyone, only those closest to him.

"People leave all the time." I started to say, "No one can stay around forever. Even those you love will eventually have to go away from your sight."

"That doesn't mean that I have to like it. I don't want to disappear."

"No one ever really dies. Because, even though they're not with you, you hold them in you. As long as you are remembered, you're alive for that moment. Even if there is no one around to remember you, your pillar will still be there. People leave all the time, but what makes them died or alive is how they impact others. No one can ever disappear."

He looked at Breomon. "Even with them? They won't forget about us?" He looked around, making me noticed that there was a horse here too. Remembering that this was supposed to be where the Neo Digidestined Digimon stay, I assumed that this was Horsemon. Though, also figuring that most of the others are of the future or their futures or their past, I would have to assume then that Horsemon won't always be of the living.

He looked back at Breomon. He smiled to himself at some thought, or maybe realization. "Breomon, I'll make sure that you have good memories with me." He, too, left the area. I smiled to myself as I watched him leave, glad that now everyone is back on their own two feet. Maybe that's all they needed.

When I came back to my body, I noticed that I was on the couch. I just right then thought that I probably scared Date-san again. I remembered being angry at him, but I kinda forgot why I was standing up. I looked over to where he would be, but only found Patamon there. He smiled at me, "I'm glad that you're okay."

I smiled back.

"I am glad as well." I heard Date-san say from above me? I then noticed that I was lying my head on his lap. I looked up to see him there, wondering why for a moment, before he started to answer, "I could not get you up the stairs this time."

"Why is my head on your lap?" I got up since I was no longer unconscious.

"You moved there on your own." Patamon said. "Date-san had you leaning on his shoulder and was about to get up when you fell onto his lap."

I thought that was weird. "Where is there a pen and paper?" I looked at Date-san.

He got up and got them for me. I wrote down everything that I learned about Tim, then about what Ryan saw. I also wrote up conclusions to them, since I would be able to ask them later about this. I went to my laptop and placed them in my laptop under their document. I didn't want to forget it as I was logging back into it so that's why I wrote it out first.

"What were we doing as I was standing up?" I looked at Date-san once I was done, seeing that Patamon was with him.

"I was about to fight you two for a deal."

I thought about it for a moment before remembering, "That's right!" But I thought about Tim, how he didn't know until now what was going on. Was it that important that we wait until we're ready? I'm now thinking probably. Our memories were erased much like our Digimon's memories will be erased one day. I sighed as I thought about the second prophecy that Styxmon gave to Matt, thinking about the last bit. "But you're right. We should wait." I said in defeat.

"Would you like to spar anyway?" I looked at him. "It seems like you are getting mad a lot."

"Can I not be mad?" I asked, now noticing what he meant. It was like Matt how when the dark being was starting to show up. "What's going on?" I looked at him.

He sat down beside me, "I am sorry that I can not do much for you, even though I understand what is happening. You might not be too fond of the idea, but you need to fight for a while. Anyone will do, just as long as you train or fight. That is all you have to do to control it."

"What's happening to me?" I wondered why mine could be known and yet Matt's couldn't. Would Date-san know what was going on with Matt when he went through his period of change as well?

He placed his hand on my shoulder, "There is an alien race that has a few survivors from their destroyed planet living here on Earth. Some of them are born with the blood in them, and the others were given the blood by the race or someone with the blood. I am telling you the truth." I nodded, "Now, when someone is given the blood, that blood has to mix with the person, because they are now given the abilities as the race. It is not a violent process, as I am told, but it can take a while before it starts to kick in. I believe someone had given you that kind of blood, and it is now starting to mix with you. Because of this, you will tend to get more unsettling about things. You would also have the tendency to fight, because it is part of their blood. They are warriors, and as long as you train, you will keep that side down."

"What would happen if I don't?" I was curious.

"Maybe you will become very violent, or you will start to transform like they do. The ones that I know has the same thing as you never allowed it to control them, but allowed it to mix into them. So I do not know if you do not try to tame it what will happen to you."

"What if you ask one of the people you know?"

"Are you not going to try and tame it?"

"I just want to know the other side, incase I can't."

He smiled at me, "You will, TK. You are not alone in this. My family is of that race, and Lita was given the blood."

I was surprised. "What is the race called?"

"Saiyan. They come from the planet Vegeta, and they were a strong race. The ones on Earth are peaceful for the most part."

"Does that make us related in some way?"

He shook his head, "No, that blood does not link us."

"So you want to fight so I can get it out?"

He nodded, "I have been told that is the best way of going at it. By the way, Saiyan skin is pretty tough, so you can go much higher on the gravity machine."

"I'm worried about Patamon."

"What do you think?" He looked at him.

"Let's make it higher!" He smiled.

I laughed, "Okay, let's." We got up and my cell phone rang. I picked it up, seeing that it was Kaiba, "Yes?"

"I just got some weird weather over the Pacific Ocean." He mentioned, "It's abnormal for this time of the year."

"Maybe that's one of them! I mean, Australia is still far from Japan."

"I'll have my men on it." He then hung up.

"Kaiba-san just might've found one of them!" I said to Date-san and Patamon.

"That's great!" Patamon said. "Where?"

"In the Pacific Ocean. I hope they'll be okay."

"They will be." Date-san said. "But anyway, I also just remembered what brought out our decision to fight. Was there something about the way Sora is acting that is making you worry?"

I almost forgot about that. "Yeah, she was telling me that she will be with him again. It's like his feelings don't matter. And that she's the only one that can be with him, but she knows of one of the people that he loves more than anything." I wondered if he knew who Styxmon was.

"So she is just refusing to let him go?"

"I guess so."

"The advice I can give now is that Matt talks to her. If she does not understand after that, then he would just have to keep his distance and ignore her. If she believes that Matt is the one for her, Tai will need to prove that this is not the case and they should be together." He smiled, "If they do not have faith and hope, then they do not have much to keep them together."

I found myself smiling back, though I didn't know why. His smile right there reminded me of Matt, like he was my brother. He's been acting like that for a while. I hit my fist to my palm, feeling like I could control this part of me that's rising, "Okay! I totally feel like I can do this."

"I am glad. How would you like the fight to be structure? I will also not go easy on either one of you." Date-san said as we headed over to his dojo.

"Battle Royale!" Patamon said.

I laughed, "Okay! Patamon, you can use your attacks. Do you want to evolve first?"

"I probably won't be able to fit if I do." Patamon flew into the dojo as we got there.

"What setting do you want it to be?" Date-san asked.

Patamon went over, telling him what level we were at and Date-san made it heavier. He also opened all the hidden parts, revealing the weapons that were there. "We will be able to pick whatever weapons we want as we fight." He said, getting into a position. Patamon and I got into one as well, before we all launched at each other.

Afterwards, we all took a bath together. It was really relaxing. I wanted to ignore it, but it was getting to me at the same time. I noticed what Date-san was talking about, at how fighting was now pleasing to me. It was now becoming fun, and I knew that wasn't a good thing. So maybe all I need to do is train so that it won't over power me.

"Date-san, does Lita still train?" I wondered if I had to train for the rest of my life, not finding that a scary thought, though.

"No, she does not. Once you have gotten comfortable with it, and it is done mixing, then you can use it for whatever you want. It does not come back if you stop training or fighting after that."

"What doesn't come back?"

"The feelings and emotions you are having right now, at least not in the same intensity that it has."

I nodded, "So I guess I just have to keep training until then."

"Right, but once it is done, you do not have to."

"Thanks." I smiled.

Afterwards, we went to bed.

"TK." I heard someone say. I looked out the window to see that it was still dark outside. "TK, wake up." I looked to see Date-san.

"What?" I asked, wondering what time it was.

"Something is outside. I have not checked yet, but I thought it was better to get you up in case it is something." He moved over to the window, making me get up. I looked at the time, seeing that it's two AM. He then opened the window, "I will be at the front door." Date-san yelled before closing the window. He sighed before looking at me, "It is Killer and someone else."

I blinked, "How can that be?"

"Get dress. I am sure you will have lots of questions." He smiled at me before moving out. I then noticed that Patamon was up too. I got dressed quickly. I remembered that he was allowed to stay with Hades and his wife. Maybe he could tell me something. I ran down the stairs, seeing him and Ilpalo at the table with muddy and torn up clothes.

"What happened?" I asked as I went over to them. "How did you get out?" I stayed standing, not really sure if I should be sitting down. I heard Date-san making them something.

"We found a portal that got us here." Killer said with a smile. "And trust us, we didn't want to do this to the clothes. Anyway, we're crashing here for the day, until we can get over to Hecate."

"But, of course, we wouldn't come here with empty hands." Ilpalo said.

"But, before you can tell TK anything," Date-san said, coming out with food, "Eat up, and the two Digimon can come out too." They looked at him and he smiled, "Patamon is out, if you are wondering how I know." He went back into the kitchen.

"I thought the Digimon were a secret or somethin'." Killer looked at me.

"He knew about them from the start. Panther and Ceres met him and he was able to see through the disguises very well." They looked at each other before nodding. Then Endmon and Eternalmon came out.

"Hi ya!" Eternalmon said, flying around me. "My name is Eternalmon!"

"He was there when we first race into them, stupid." Endmon said. "Is this guy safe?" She looked at me.

I nodded, "Yeah, he's safe." I smiled. He has never proven otherwise. I looked at Killer, and he was eyeing the kitchen particularly. I wasn't really sure what that meant, though. "Is something wrong, Killer?"

"Not particularly." He said, though not taking his eyes away from the kitchen. Ilpalo hit him on the head. "What…"

"Don't be rude." He responded before looking at me, "What are your plans for today?"

"I haven't formed anyway yet. I guess help you guys out. Do you need to rest?"

They both had a question on their faces as Date-san came out with their drinks. Ilpalo looked surprised, though, "How would you know about this?" He pointed to his drink. He set something out for me and Patamon too so I sat down. Eternalmon was already at the table, eating with Endmon.

"My fiancée and I went on a trip through Europe. You looked like you are from Spain, so I thought that this would be more to your liking than tea would."

"Yet, I'm a gangsta and you know that, so why give me tea?" Killer asked, though still drinking it.

"Panther likes tea." He smiled as he sat down. Killer looked away, being defeated. "Some of the food is from Spain as well, so I do hope that you do not mind the taste."

"Thank you very much. Yeah, Ceres never really cooked Japanese food and you wouldn't believe some of the crazy stuff we had to eat." Ilpalo laughed. I then remembered that Ilpalo was allowed to stay with them too.

"You know Ceres?" Date-san asked, making me remember that he didn't know.

"Oh, yeah. I'm her only boyfriend…" He paused before starting talking to Killer about trying his food.

Date-san closed his eyes for a moment, "I am sure she still thinks about you." He said as he opened them, "But, in either case, eat up. If you would like some rest, I will get a room ready for you."

"We could probably use the rest." Ilpalo said, "We'll explain everything afterwards."

He nodded, getting up, "Please, make yourself at home. TK and Patamon know the house, so they can help you." He went upstairs.

Ilpalo went back to cheering up Killer, who was accepting it.

"Anything you want to tell me without Date-san knowing?" I asked. "Though, he is a trustworthy guy."

"We have a Pandora's box that needs to go to Hecate." Killer said, "But, other than that, I think it's safe to say that he can know everything else."

"What does Ceres think of him?" Ilpalo asked.

"I think she likes him. When we got back from getting Panther, she had him place on her bus so she could talk to him in Latin and Ancient Greek." I only knew that because Ceres was commenting how nice it was to be able to talk to someone in those languages.

"He knows Latin?"

I nodded, "He's even been translating books that he got from Germany for some time now. He's also thinking about comparing his translation with what Ceres thinks, though probably doing so when they get back. And his sister, our math teacher, has also been kind to Panther." I looked at Killer, "When the school was hard on her when Matt left, she gave Panther a place to breathe." I figured that they didn't care about me, considering that they don't know me at all.

"And what about the others?" Killer asked.

"Um… yeah, she helps out the others too, when they need it. She's also another one that Ceres has fun with on an intellectual level. Those two have even made the course harder because she wants to challenge them."

"That doesn't sound bad to me." Endmon said. "Digimon do that all the time."

Killer still looked like he was debating something in his mind. "The rooms are ready whenever you are done." Date-san said as he came down.

"TK just told us that you know Latin." Ilpalo said.

"Yes, I do." He blinked.

He went to the bag that Killer had on him, pulling out a scroll of some kind. "Could you translate this for us?"

Date-san walked over, taking it in his hand carefully to look over it. "It seems to be a bunch of spells." He said after taking a glance at it. "Though, I guess the powerful ones would be in Greek and the lesser ones are in Latin."

"So, you can translate it for us?"

"I will have it done before I leave for work." He smiled.

"Thank you." He went back to eating, trying the Japanese food. I don't know why, but they did remind me of Panther and Ceres, making me realize that I do miss them, and everyone else, just as equally as Matt. Date-san place his hand on my shoulder and gave me a smile before heading over to the couch. I was eating along with them, figuring that I wouldn't be able to get any sleep as they did.

"Are the dead able to get new clothes?" I asked as I led them to their rooms.

"We were made these." Killer said.

"By whom?"

"The Fates."

"I thought their threads were only used for lives, though." Patamon said.

I looked at them, seeing that they were quiet now, "What's wrong?"

"Is this the room?" Ilpalo asked, pointing to the right one.

"What's wrong?" I didn't like how they were avoiding my question.

"See ya when we get up." Killer said as they walked in, closing the door.

I went over to Date-san, "Date-san, can the Fates' thread be used to make clothes?"

He looked up at me, "I do not think so.. At least, no one had ever described them as doing such. That is something that Athena would be called for."

"They just told me that the Fates made their clothes." I was getting more worried, "And they wouldn't tell us the importance of that."

"That probably means that those threads were made from other's fates." He said truthfully, "I am sure that your friends are still alive." I looked at the stairs, "Let them rest. Killer seems to suspect me of something, so this break might help him gain courage to ask me directly."

I nodded, sitting down next to him, "What does it say so far?"

"They do not invoke gods, for one thing. Though, considering where they were, I can assume that the gods would not need that. Latin parts are for commands that are within some kind of box. The Greek portion is for opening that box and allowing people to use it. There are blanks in here, though, that makes it unclear as to who controls it." He said as he was transcribing the translation to Japanese.

"Why not translate it to English?" Patamon asked, "After all, I'm sure that Japanese can't capture it right."

"And also it doesn't really matter, since they're going to take it Hecate." I informed him, since he was working so hard on it.

"It is part of their test of trust. And I do not know if they know English. I am nearly positive that they are not, but I will ask them before handing one. And you are right, Patamon, Japanese will not be able to capture it right since Japanese does not have a general plural for our words." He smiled.

"How do you know it's a test? Are you really going to work?" I was wondering if his curiosity was getting to him like it was with me.

"Since Killer does not trust me, and I know the signs of Ceres pretty well, I can see it in Ilpalo's eyes that he handed this to me as a way of testing how much I know Ceres. She trained him well at hiding his true intentions, and getting information from someone indirectly."

"Really? She does that?"

He nodded, "She did it when they first talked to me. She always does it with someone new she meets. That is how I noticed it since she did the same thing with my friends."

"And work?" Patamon asked.

"I have not made up my mind yet, though, I probably should for my students. But, if they need to get things done, then do not wait up for me. Have one of my friends help you travel. Or, if you feel comfortable around them, you can travel with them." He smiled.

I lay back, thinking about that. I knew that I could, but I wasn't sure whether or not I should. After all, there was a chance that the others would come, and I didn't want Endmon and Eternalmon to be in danger because of it. "What time do you get off?" I looked at him.

"A bit after school."

"If they wake up before that, then we'll ask one of your friends." I said.

"Okay." He finished up. "Have them check it with Hecate, though."

"I don't know if know if she knows Japanese though. Only one Deity really knew Japanese because Nereida taught it to her."

"What happened to that Deity?"

"She probably left with the Brothers… After all, they were sent here to do something for Zeus, so they probably accomplished that with this." I sighed.

"You will never know until you ask." Date-san smiled, "Go ahead and ask them when they wake up."

I nodded. He and Patamon played Go for the remainder of the time. Mackenzie-sensei came to get him. I finished my assignments and cleaned the house to keep myself busy. I also practiced with Patamon in the dojo around lunch time. When I went by their room, I didn't hear any talking, though that doesn't really mean anything, considering who they are and who they know.

Date-san came back before they woke up. I was getting kinda worried about them, so I had Date-san go check up on them. "They are still asleep." He said as he came down.

"They've been sleeping the whole day." I pointed out.

"Let them sleep. Sleep is a way of reviving yourself, sometimes." He smiled. "Even the Digimon are resting peacefully, so they must have been through quite a lot."

"I know that Digimon are after them. That one Digimon at the festival was after them." I said as I set down the food on the table.

He nodded, "I am glad that they can feel safe here, then."

I smiled, not really thinking of it as that way, "Are your sisters coming?"

"I told them that I have guests over. I do not want to scare them away." He smiled, "My family can be overwhelming with their openness, and when we are all together, it is harder to contain that."

"Why is that?" Patamon asked. "I don't think that we ever felt that way before."

"Well," He sat down, "Everyone had a sense of the kind of person I was when I talked to Panther and Ceres. And then you met Layla through school, so you got to know her as well. You two were around all three of us at one point, so you probably got some sense how we were when we were together. Of course, when we all were together for a longer period, my friends were a counterbalance for us."

I was thinking about it. That was true. Matt and I also met Mia, so we kinda got something from that too. It's kinda weird how we keep bumping into him. "It's kinda weird how our paths keep crossing." I commented as I sat down.

"I think it keeps life interesting." He smiled.

"Hey, we smell food." I heard Killer said, as they came down the stairs. Ilpalo pushed him down with his foot.

"Don't be rude." He said as he stepped over him. "How far did you get?" Ilpalo looked at Date-san as Eternalmon flew over to Date-san, sitting on his shoulder.

"I got it all translated, though, I would suggest that you take my translations to whomever you were sent to give the box to. If you would need an English version, I can also produce that one quickly, since I was not sure who among you knew English."

Ilpalo looked at Killer, who was carrying Endmon in his arms, "Do you know English?"

"Never thought it would be useful for anything."

He looked at Date-san, "Could you produce a Spanish one?"

"I am not familiar with that language." He said.

"I could give it a shot." I offered. "Panther and Ceres were teaching us Spanish since they were taking it as a class."

"Why would Panther take that as a class?" Killer asked me.

"Matt gave her the option of having a class without me, and she picked a few of them. That happens to be one of them."

"Okay, would you mind?" Ilpalo asked.

"I might not be very good at it, though." I said, since that would be the truth.

"That's okay. As long as it's not horrible, I should be able to understand it." Ilpalo smiled.

"Okay, but before that, I'll get you guys something to eat. You sure did sleep a lot." I was about to get up when Date-san got up instead.

"Ilpalo, Killer, and Digimon, what is it that you would like to eat?"

"Something from my country." Ilpalo said, taking a seat.

"What do you two want?" Killer looked at Endmon and Eternalmon, who was still on Date-san.

"I know! I know! How about that one meal that smelt very, very, very good!" Eternalmon said happily, though that didn't help any at to what it was.

Endmon agreed, jumping on the table and heading over to Date-san. "We'll help you make it."

Date-san picked her up carefully, then looked at Killer, "Would you like anything?"

"I'll have what you're having."

He nodded and headed to the kitchen with Eternalmon cheering.

"Why were you about to make us a meal when this isn't your house?" Ilpalo asked as Killer sat down.

"I'm just comfortable cooking, sometimes. I don't always." Patamon and I don't if Lita is over. Otherwise, Date-san doesn't mind that we cook. "Why were you guys sleeping for so long?"

"Just needed it. We don't get much sleep when we're down there." Killer said. "And since we got bodies, we have to take care of them for the period that we have them."

"Why not try to find Panther and Ceres? I'm sure that you would much rather see them than see me."

Killer looked away from me for some reason. "We're watching them so we're okay with just seeing you. After all, we're here on a mission so our personal lives need to be put on hold."

"Oh… Who sent you?"

"Hebe, though I think you guys know her as Heka."

I blinked, "What?"

"Yeah, she's been watching them as a punishment for not revealing the group. Another deity was punished recently because she helped Panther. So, as a reward, we're taking her powers to Hecate so that her powers can be protected."

"What happened to the brothers?" I had thought that they all just left because they were finished with their plans. Could I be wrong?

"Brothers?" Ilpalo blinked.

"There were three brothers that were living here and attended school with TK." Date-san said as he came back out with their food. Eternalmon and Endmon were helping him. "I do not know their Deity names, but one of them liked Kari."

They were thinking about that. "Do you know their Deity names?" Killer asked me.

"Thanatos, Hypnos and Aither."

"Thanatos came to us before!" Eternalmon said before he and Endmon started eating.

"Yeah, they're there, but only Hebe is punished." Killer said.

"Is Heka watching me too?" I was wondering that.

"No, but she can know how you're doing through him." He pointed to Date-san. He was eating and the same with Ilpalo. "Oh, so I guess I better give you the report." Killer ate a bit before clearing his throat, "Okay, Matt, Nereida, Neon and Lily Dawn are all traveling in China right now by train, though where they will land, I don't know. Ceres, Ken, Tim and Ryan are all in America, somewhere. We couldn't really tell what was going on. Panther, Kari, Don and Damon are on a boat somewhere in the ocean. Panther is glowing right now, so it should be easier to find her."

"Why would she be glowing?" Date-san asked.

"They have something called Jewels that gives them power. Hers is the ability to turn into a shadow, or something like that, but she glows afterwards." Killer said, as if having familiarity with it.

"Will her glow last as long as your side effect, TK?" Date-san looked at me.

"It'll only last a week."

"Maybe this should be told to Kaiba-san? After all, it would help him locate them."

I nodded, "I will," I looked at Killer, "If you want to ask Date-san anything, now would be a good time."

He kinda looked like he didn't want to, and for someone who was a gangster, I thought it was funny. "They're not always fortunate in having help with no strings, so what's your angle?"

Date-san smiled, "I am also experienced in the life style that they had picked up. I wish to aid them whenever they need it. My sister has already been a big help, since she has covered for their group many times. My family and friends are what I like to call protectors, and we all understand how little help protectors get. I am sure that TK can recount moments when guidance and aid would have been helpful, and I know I can recount many as well. So, for them not to be lost in the darkness, I am offering them a light." I don't know why that seemed to be right or even funny, but it was.

"They seem fine right now being on their own. I'm sure you're not a Digidestined." Ilpalo said.

"I know that they do not need our help always, but whenever they need it, they know where to turn for that help. Sometimes, the help is not related to group, sometimes, it is. But just letting them know that they have another place to be safe at is more comforting than actually going to that place."

"What are your strings? There has to be some catch." Killer said.

"I am still searching for my missing brothers, and they happen to know people who can help me find them. Those would be the only strings."

"Why did you lose them?" Ilpalo asked.

"There was a force so powerful that it made me nearly lose all my family. I managed to gain back my sisters and my love, but my brothers have been proving harder to gain back."

"Though, you're not doing much to find them." Killer pointed out. I don't know why I want to jump in, though Patamon made a motion for me not to.

"During the first few months since I lost them, I was searching everything I could to get to them, but fate proved otherwise. Now, I am just waiting for them to come find me, since I believe that once they are ready to remember everything, that they will come back to me."

"What if they get killed before coming back?"

There was a heavy silence in the room afterwards. Ilpalo felt embarrassed, but Killer didn't. I guess Date-san always tried to look on the positive side, never thinking that he would lose them before seeing them. "I will then go to wherever they are. I won't be able to stay, of course." I just realized that he lost his formal speech again, making it the second time. "But, if I lost all three of them, I would doubt that I would be as strong as you and Panther."

Killer was shock before looking away. "What do you mean by that?"

"Moving on, not staying where they were… I would probably join them, despite all their pleads. I don't know how you convinced Panther, but I know I'm much more headstrong and I can be more irrational than rational."

"But, you said that you have your family and friends here. Wouldn't you want to stay for them?" Ilpalo asked.

"I care about my friends, but I could so easily leave them behind again… My sisters would understand, but I don't know whether they would join me or stop me. They would be the only ones that could stop me. Lita… Maybe she could as well… If I don't join them, I won't ever be complete."

With another heavy silence, Patamon and I cleaned up the table. Date-san helped after a while, since he was getting Ilpalo's and Killer's plate.

"Is dying a bad thing?" Endmon asked as they were hanging on Date-san's shoulders.

"It is supposed to mean that you can no longer see the ones you care for. It is supposed to be the end." Date-san said in his formal speech.

"But Digimon come back all the time when they go away." Eternalmon said.

"Digimon are much different than humans, I am afraid." He smiled at Eternalmon.

"Can they be the same?" Endmon asked.

"I do not think so." With all this dread, I was beginning to wonder if he lost someone already.

"Did you lose someone?" Patamon dared asked.

"As of late, no… At least, not to my knowledge… I have also lost friends at the same time that I lost my brothers, and I have not heard from them for just as long."

We finished up, "Let's go over to Kaiba-san." I said, thinking we should head that way before going over to Hecate.

Date-san nodded, "Do you know where Hecate is?"

"I have a pretty good idea where she is. Though, I'm not really sure." I wondered if Heka thought that I actually knew. I went over to them to see that they were silent themselves. I guess even the dead reflect heavily on those they left behind. "Um." I said, getting their attention, "Did Heka give you something to find Hecate or does she think that I know where she lives?"

They looked at each other before looking at me, "You don't know?" Ilpalo asked.

"I have a general idea on where she lives, since I would think that she would live in near Heka and I kinda know where she lives." I could say that I knew where she lived, but then they would start thinking.

"We would just have to go on that, then, because it's better than having nothing."

I nodded, "Okay, let's head over to Kaiba-san then. You two can give him as much information as you can on them."

"Why would we do that? Wouldn't he ask how we know?" Killer asked.

"Yes, but you can tell him the truth. I mean, there isn't a point to keep something from him since he is trying to find out where they are so he can bring them back home."

They looked at each other and nodded, "But…"

"If you're worried about us, we can stay here." Patamon said, "I'll protect Eternalmon and Endmon, since we're not sure how trustworthy Hecate is."

"We're not worried about Hecate." Ilpalo said, "It's this Kaiba-san that we're worrying about."

"And we know that he's trustworthy. So I guess that there's nothing to worry about."

"I like meeting new people!" Eternalmon said from Date-san's head. Endmon went over to Killer.

"What do you think?" Killer looked at her as he picked her up.

"Does he know about you?" She looked over as us, though probably addressing Patamon.

"He also knows about Gabumon, Fiterimon, Plantmon, and probably knows about the others." Not everyone was present at the study session, but he probably still watches Matt from time to time when he was here.

"He also thinks of Matt as a friend, so he is trying his hardest to bring everyone back." I added, "Plus, he's also working hard on translating the books for us."

"We're wasting time sitting around." Ilpalo said, "So let's get going."

Date-san led us to the bus that we would take. Ilpalo and Killer were in one booth, with Endmon and Eternalmon with them. They kinda reminded me of Panther and Ceres at that moment. Date-san had given them the translation for them to look at. I was going to do a Spanish version, but I would have to use the Japanese version or English version that Date-san would have provided. I called Kaiba-san to let him know that we were coming, though I was going to explain everything when we got there.

"Don't they remind you of Ceres and Panther?" Patamon asked.

"Yeah, they do." I laughed, "It's kinda funny how similar, and yet different, they are." I said with a smile.

"I guess I can not see it too well since I have not been around them for so long." Date-san said, "Though, I can see traits of them within them, but I can not say that these two behave the same as them."

"Yeah, it's not always obvious," I leaned in closer to Date-san, "Though, it also helps that we can read the interaction between them when I'm not around them."

"I guess that would be greatly helpful." Date-san smiled.

"By the way," Killer asked in his gangster way, though the only way I could guess that was because it was much different from the way he had been speaking, "why don't ya have car? Ya live so far out from the city."

"I guess you two are not as insightful as everyone else." He smiled. It was right then interesting to hear the two styles of speech spoken with no hint of degrading in their voices, since Killer was more casual in his speech.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ilpalo asked.

"I am only six years older than TK." He smiled. They widen their mouths, as I kinda just gawked. I didn't think he was that young. He laughed at our expression warm-heartedly.

"So wait, why the cane then? It makes you look tens years older."

"I like it when people guess at the cause." He smiled, also hinting at me to not tell them.

They were coming up with all the wrong reasons, to bad bones, to making a statement of looks. I never knew there could be so much in between until now. I was laughing at some of the things they were coming up with. After a while, they just made it into a contest on who can get it right first. When we got there, Mokuba was waiting for us.

"Thank you for meeting with us so late." I said as we were getting off the bus.

"No problem. Follow me." He led us inside.

"Is Kaiba-san getting sleep?" I wanted to make sure.

"Yeah, he comes home every night and gets up at his usual time. Everything gets done before he works on the translating." He smiled at me.

"Good, I didn't want him to be overworking himself."

"He knows not to, but he does get done with everything faster because of it."

"So he spends most of his time on translating and looking for them?"

"Yep, but so far, we haven't found anything new, so it's a good thing that you can help."

"I want them back just as much." I smiled.

We entered Kaiba-san's room and I felt something behind me. I looked at Ilpalo and Killer, seeing that Killer was holding his face for some reason. It was like he was ready to fire back if Kaiba-san fires first.

"Who are these two?" Kaiba-san asked, though not getting up from his chair.

"This is Killer, Endmon, Ilpalo, and Eternalmon. The Digimon are part of the Neo group and the humans are the boyfriends of Panther and Ceres, respectively. They've been dead for a while, but they have been watching them since they departed?" I looked at them for the confirmation. "Yeah, since they departed, so they have a better idea on where to send you to look."

Kaiba-san looked at them, "Speak."

"Matt, Neon, Lily Dawn and Nereida are in China, heading over to the coast. They landed in Russia and started to head that way. They are protected by the Chinese Deities, which two of them are traveling with them. We don't know where the train that they're on is heading, though." Ilpalo stated. "Panther, Kari, Don and Damon are in the Pacific Ocean. They landed in Australia and have only recently been on the boat that they were on. They also have passed over a huge storm not too long ago. Panther is also glowing, so she might make it easier to spot them." And then he was silent.

"And the others?" Kaiba-san asked after a minute of silence.

"Ceres will get them home, one way or another." He stated.

"You do know that they're on a time limit, right?" Kaiba-san seemed to be trying to keep his annoyance out of his voice.

"Yes, we do, but I also know that Ceres will get them home. She has more connections where she is right now than you probably do."

"I'm a very elite businessman. I have my hands in multiple things all over the world." He stated.

"But they're not going to be using your people. Ceres wouldn't trust them."

"Are they still in America?"

"Yes."

Kaiba-san looked at me, "The epic is making me question the grammar I thought I knew, so I'm going to look at it again and maybe even redo it."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Would you like some help?" Date-san asked, "I am no expert on any language, but I am very familiar with Ancient Greek and Latin."

"I think it's in the structure of those languages, but I'm not really sure." Kaiba-san admitted. "Since I don't have anything else to find the structure for it." He went onto his computer and printed something off before getting up. "Have a look at this." He said as he walked over, handing it to Date-san. "This is the original text, so let me know if you can find anything from it."

Date-san took it, looking over it for a moment, "I will try my best to help." He looked at Kaiba-san. I, for some reason, felt like Date-san was being given another test. He looked over at me, "TK, would you also fill me in later of what you know of the history of the Digital World?"

I nodded, "Sure thing!" I smiled, glad he was asking for my help. I looked at Kaiba-san, "Okay, we have to head over someplace else before they can go home. Thank you for your help."

"Do you need us to drive you over?" Mokuba asked.

"I'm not totally sure where the place is located, and I don't want to have you guys running around for nothing." I just didn't want them to reveal about the probes.

Kaiba-san nodded, "We'll start searching for them then."

"Thanks." I said as I led everyone out.

"Why did you offer if you didn't know anything about the Digital World?" Endmon asked.

"I do want to learn more about it, and the best way to learn about a world is to look at their literature and learning their language." He smiled.

"Did Ceres tell you that?" Ilpalo asked.

"I learned that from my Greek courses."

We got off near the place where Apollo and they lived. I don't remember how I knew where Hecate lives, either by Nereida or Heka, but I could already feel the magic around here. It was quite heavy. As I looked at the place where we needed to head, since she was kinda far from them, I could feel my fear.

"I like this place." Killer said. He looked at me, "Where do we need to head?"

"That way, I think." I pointed to where we needed to go, but wasn't willing to move over there. Date-san placed his hand on my shoulder, smiling at me. I took a deep breath before heading over there. "By the way, Killer, do you know Kaiba-san?" I looked at him. "You were quiet while we were over there."

"Yeah, I know him. Years ago, I ran into him and got into a fight…" He ended it there.

"You lost to a businessman?" Ilpalo laughed.

"You wouldn't think he was a businessman if you fought him on the streets!" He said in his defense.

"That is the best thing about a fighter." Date-san said, "They can be anything they want, and you would never know what they are capable of. Even those with disadvantages can be the strongest fighter if they train themselves to overcome that disadvantage."

"What? You're a fighter too?" Ilpalo asked.

"Yes, and a very good one at that. Though, I do have a specialty for swords."

"Do you know a lot about swords?"

"I would say that I do."

"Take a look at these for me then." He pulled out the swords from his back. They looked to be ninja style since they were light and thin, but they weren't in any Japanese style that I knew of.

Date-san took them in his hands, "I see that the craftsman knew a lot about his manner. He knew to make it light and to make it short, but I can see that he could not give up his own style, the style of his learning."

"What learning is that?" Killer asked.

"One of the West, but not too modern, at least, though, the method he used made the blade easily breakable. The Japanese style, and even the Chinese style, would at least allow the sword to be able to hold a lot of pressure before breaking." He handed it back to Ilpalo, "If you ever plan on using it, I suggest that you make sure that you know you can win. Otherwise, it could break on you during the match." I was actually impressed that he could tell all that much by touching it and looking at it.

"How can you tell?" Ilpalo asked as he placed them back.

"My family comes from a samurai branch, so I happen to learn a lot about swords as a hobby of mine. Though, it has also become a hobby of my students to get swords and test me on what I know. I have students from all kinds of background, and different families, so they are able to test me from all over the world. I am much more familiar with Chinese and Japanese sword making than I am with the rest of the world, but I have practiced with all the kinds of swords out there, so I have some vague idea on which ones are better to use for a person."

"That's so cool!" Patamon said.

Then we reached her house. The feeling I was getting was coming from here. I kinda wondered if it was from her and if she knew that we were coming. I knocked on her door and it opened. I looked at Killer and Ilpalo, "Do you mind if we're there?"

"If there's room." Ilpalo said.

I nodded as I headed inside. I remember reading that she only had one room and it was up the stairs. I noticed the stairs immediately, and went up them. The only room in the house was on the left and it was opened. She was sitting there in a mediating stance.

"Welcome." She said in a haunting voice. "There's room for all." She smiled at me. I nodded, walking in and taking a seat. Killer, Ilpalo, Endmon and Eternalmon were on the opposite side of Date-san, Patamon and me. Killer brought out the box and the scroll, including the translation that Date-san provided. She looked over at them, "They are correct." She handed the translation to Killer, "You can trust him."

Killer nodded. "I guess you know what we're here for."

"I do, though, you would need something for me to place her powers in."

"We didn't bring much, though." Ilpalo said.

"Let me look at things first before I make a choice." She brought out things, chanting something as she was doing various things. I couldn't really follow too well, but she was using incense, water, salt, and drew symbols from time to time as she was chanting. I could feel something surrounding us, or floating above us. No one else seemed to be bothered by this, though. I kept my eyes above us, though not seeing anything around there. "You must carry her powers until the time comes to transfer it over." She pointed over to Date-san.

"I doubt I will live for the duration of her punishment." Date-san said, "But, will there be a way for me to know when that time comes?"

"Yes, there will be, but you must master her darker half before that time."

He nodded. I was taken back at how brave he was. I mean, it kinda reminded me of the Dark Being, but this seemed to have more weight on it. I wondered if he could handle it. "What shall we place it in?"

"Your orb. It is connected to your armor, which will be infused with her dark energy. Whenever you wear your armor, her darkness will be present and you must overcome it. If you do not, you will be consumed by it."

"Why not separate her power? Give someone the light part and someone the darkness?" I asked, after all, that's what happened before with the powers that Matt has.

"TK," I looked at Date-san and he smiled at me, "I will be fine. Powers that have been together should not be separated without a good cause." He lay down his cane near Hecate, "I will try my best to let my warrior spirit overcome the darkness that will exist."

She nodded, "You will know the time, though make sure that your successor will have the power to overcome it as well." She then took the cane in her hands, chanting something as the box opened. I could sense something horrible inside, holding onto Patamon for some reason as the box was shaking. Something that would be like a spirit without solid form came out from the cries of the box. It made its way slowly over to Date-san's cane, entering the orb. The orb glowed brightly as it was entering. When everything was done, the box closed and the feeling was gone. I looked at his cane, seeing that it was containing the power within it, being shown as a swirl of white and black. But, I only could guess that since his orb is colored green. She handed it back to him. "It is not an easy task."

"Such things never are nor should they ever be." He took it back and bowed.

"How are you two going back?" Hecate looked over Killer and Ilpalo.

"I don't think we should die again." Ilpalo said with a laugh.

"Can we stay here until the honey runs out?" Killer asked.

"It wouldn't until she reverses it."

"We'll think about that later. We would have to do it secretively anyway." Ilpalo said.

She nodded, "Good luck."

We all bowed before getting up. I found us a bus station that couldn't take us close to Date-san house, but actually there.

"Why are you willing to do this for someone you don't even know?" Killer asked as we were waiting for it to arrive.

"It is rare for a group of protectors to find help and people so willing to sacrifice themselves for that group. I would rather be one of those people than one of the people that stands by and watches. I am, after all, capable of helping out when needed." Then the bus came and we got on. "You are also welcome to stay for as long as you like."

"Thank you, but we should get back soon. Two Digimon are taking our place and we need to return the box." Ilpalo said. "By the way, is there any way to make my swords stronger?"

"What are you using them for?"

"I'm using them as protection. Not really for myself, but for Deities."

"And that would mean that you would be going against Digimon." He closed his eyes. "I would say that you should break those ones and have the person make you a new one, or coat it in ChromeDigizoid." I hid my shock. If he knew about that, then that means that he has deep understanding of what goes on in the Digital World. Sure, he can know that there are creatures call Digimon and he can know what some look like, but knowing about the metal is like being one of us.

"What's that?" Killer asked.

Before he even answered, Date-san moved all of us to the ground, covering everyone as the bus started to flip. I immediately felt a familiarity to this, and the oddest thing is that I'm sure it was from Date-san. We were on the roof of the bus by the time that it stopped, meaning that we were all on Date-san. "Are you okay?" He asked the driver, his arms around all of us.

"Yeah…" He said in a daze voice. I then noticed that they two were protecting Endmon and Eternalmon.

Date-san let go of us, sliding over to driver quickly. "Grab your seat so you don't fall." He said as he unhooked him. He looked over at us, "Move out."

We crawled out from one of the windows that Killer broke. I was getting a bad feeling about this. I looked around to see that we were in a remote place. The driver started to walk away as Date-san came over to us and I noticed that he forgot his cane. None of us had it. I looked in the bus and went back for it.

"TK!" Date-san yelled as I took hold of it and seeing a light coming over to the bus. I noticed the attack as well. Before I knew what happened, Angemon blocked it and Date-san pulled me out of the bus. "Take him back to my house." He said to Killer and Ilpalo.

"What's going on?" Killer asked.

"Finally found you!" I heard Davis say from the sky. I looked up to see him and XV-mon there.

"X-Laser!" XV-mon said as he hunched to power it up, blasting it at us. A shield of electricity formed around us, protecting us. Angemon then took them out of the sky, making them land far away from us on the ground. I had the immediate instinct to go see if Davis was okay, but Date-san had his arms around me.

"Can you find where my house is?" He looked over at Killer and Ilpalo.

"What are you going to do?" Ilpalo asked.

"Make sure that he does not follow. Can you make it back?"

He looked at Killer. "Maybe. I'm not familiar with that area."

"Hide for now, then." He pushed me over to them as XV-mon got up. "Angemon, I can take care of it from here."

He nodded as he floated lower to us. Date-san jumped onto the bus, making me realize that I still had his cane. "Keep it with you so I can find you. After all, Killer knows the back alleys." He smiled at me before looking straight ahead.

Ilpalo grabbed my hand before forcing me to follow them. I didn't like how I was leaving Date-san to fight my battles. Was I really not strong enough to face them?

Killer was leading us, and Angemon turned back into Patamon so that he wouldn't be so obvious. We were taking back alleys, though I didn't like how they were so narrow. I was then beginning to wonder how they can find me. It's obviously not so easily since they don't attack once I enter the city, but I haven't been able to avoid them the times I've been in the city since their initial attack.

"What was up with that?" Killer asked when we stopped in an old building. "That was a Digimon right? So that means he's a friend of yours."

I looked at the ground, "I really wish I knew what's up with them…"

"Why is Date-san fighting your fight?" Ilpalo asked.

"Even though they are willing to fight against me, I don't want to. And he knows that so fights them for me.. whenever he's around, of course."

"You should learn to fight your own battles." Killer said, staying near the window. "It makes you a lot stronger that way."

"I'm sure he already knows that, Killer. It's not easy fighting against your friends though."

"Of course it is. If they attack you, you have every right to attack back. That's the way that world goes."

"If your heart is not into it, then you should not do it." Date-san said at the stairs. "It will do you no good if you attack when you do not want to."

I brought him his cane and he smiled. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"I am." He took his cane. "I do not know how safe it is, though."

"We're safe right now." Killer mentioned.

"Yes, but does nothing for us when we get out of here."

"We can travel through the Digital World and then bring you two back here." Endmon offered. "Though, it would have to be tomorrow since Eternalmon already used his power to get us here today."

"We can only do the traveling once a day." Eternalmon said happily.

"And I'm sure that as soon as we enter the Digital World, we have to head back. It's the only fair thing to do." Ilpalo said.

"But, there are portals that you can use. They're supposed to bring you close to a Digidestined." Killer added.

I thought about it for a moment, knowing that Date-san was waiting for my answer. I know that I would like to go back to the Digital World to see how everything is going, but what is worrying me is that they seem to know when I come away from Date-san's house, so it is a good thing that I go into the Digital World where Gennai can watch me? That was something I didn't know, and I didn't have an answer to ease my mind of it, either. "Okay, let's go." I smiled. I wanted to see Kitty anyway, so this was probably my best chance to do so. Endmon closed her eyes, creating a portal, similar to the ones that the amulets create, in front of her. Ilpalo and Eternalmon went in first. Patamon and I went in then Date-san came through before Killer and Endmon.

"What are you two going to do?" Killer asked.

"I'm going to go look around. I know a few Super Levels so I can ask them about the portals." I answered.

"They don't sound too easy to find, though." Ilpalo mentioned.

"It'll keep me out of their way for a while." I smiled. "Stay safe."

"We will." Killer said before they started to head in some direction.

"You did not want to tell them about your trick?" Date-san asked.

"With the Jewel? Not really… I actually want to check out the Primary Village. And we can also visit Horsemon." I did remember where we landed and where we got out, since Ken reviewed it with me when we got back.

"Okay, then lead the way." He smiled. I thought it was kinda funny how he made it seem like he knew what I was talking about, but I knew that he had no idea. I remember him showing a lot of faith in Panther, wondering if he had that kind of faith in me and my abilities around here.

I brought out my jewel, "DigiArmor Energize!" I yelled.

"Patamon Armor Digievolves to………………………………… Pegasusmon! Flying Hope!"

I got on him then Date-san. Pegasusmon headed off, away from the Super Level area. "We're heading over to Horsemon. He's a very old Digimon that knows the context in the books. He's also the Digimon of Faith."

"Digimon of Faith?" He asked.

"Yeah, he's the original Digimon that had the Crest of Faith. Patamon is known as the Digimon of Hope, and all of our Digimon are called that, since in the ancient past, they were the carriers of those Crests." Though, even though I'm sure that they're not really called Digimon of the Crest, that's my name for them. "In the book, I think they're called Champions, instead."

"TK." Pegasusmon called, "Do you know where I need to head?"

"Yeah, it'll be over there." I pointed to the west. I had a lot of reference points from Ken.

"Alright." He headed over there, and was going really fast. In no time, we were coming upon the wall. I didn't realize that it was that high, though I was kinda surprise that you only notice it when you're about to hit it.

"See if you can go up." I suggested, glad that Pegasusmon could stop before hitting it. He headed up, getting tired before even reaching the top, though we still couldn't see it. Then I noticed that it was much lighter so I looked to see that Date-san was floating next to us.

"I will carry you two the rest of the way." He smiled.

"How are you doing that?" I asked.

"I can do this with my energy. Mina and Lita taught it to me." I took his hand and Pegasusmon went back to Patamon. I took him in my arms and Date-san got a better hold on me. He then moved much faster than Pegasusmon was, reaching the top in a few seconds. I looked out towards where we came from, I could see much farther and it was quite the sight. He went over the top and started to fall head first. It was much worst than a roller coaster. He started to slow down when we got to the trees, coming to an easy landing. He let me down afterwards.

"Horsemon." I called, not really wanting to get lost in here.

He came from our left, "How did you get inside this time?" He asked.

"We managed to get over the wall this time." I smiled, "How should we come in?"

"I now made it so that only the Generals and those at the Midnight Meeting can enter here. So, that means that Lord Patamon can come inside and you have to be touching him in some way to come inside too. The same way for leaving."

"Thank you. Oh, this is Date-san. He's not a Digidestined, but he's a friend of ours."

"My name is Horsemon, and I protect this land." He looked over at him.

"Thank you for allowing me to enter." Date-san bowed. He then brought out the paper that Kaiba-san gave him and walked over to Horsemon, "TK was telling me that you might be able to read this?"

"Only the Consul could read what my mother created." He said without looking at it.

"Can you provide us how your language was structured, then?"

"What do you mean?"

"For example, Japanese sentence structure is that the subject of the sentence comes before the verb; the direct object of that sentence comes in between the subject and the verb. In English, the direct object is after the verb."

He closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them, "It's an SOV language."

"Thank you. What words are inflected?"

"Nouns, verbs and adjectives, though, do note that word order isn't very important, and I'm sure that mother used that rule in her story book than the other one."

"How are they inflected?"

"Nouns have number and gender; adjectives have gender; verbs have number, person, tense, voice and mood."

"What are the genders?"

"Digimon and things that aren't Digimon, though adjectives have different endings to denote the two."

"Please explain the verbs."

"Number is singular and plural; persons are first, second and third; tense is present and future; voice is active, passive and middle; mood is indicative, imperative and subjunctive."

"Thank you very much." Date-san bowed. Though, they kinda lost me after Date-san asked about inflection.

"Is that all?" Horsemon looked at me.

"How are you holding up?"

"I'm still going strong. You don't have to worry about me for a while." He smiled.

"That's good. Okay, we better get a move on. I don't want Gennai to know that this place is still here." I said to Date-san.

He nodded, looking over at Horsemon, "Were Digimon able to have babies in the past?"

He shook his head, "I call Thunmon mother since she took care of us."

"I did not know Thunmon too well, but I had seen her before. She does seem like a caring person." I looked away. It was really starting to get to me that he knows so much inner details about the Digital World then just knowing who protects it and who their Digimon are.

"She is very caring. Don't stay too long here."

I walked over to the wall, soon having Date-san touch my shoulder as I walked through with ease. I wondered if there was a sense of awe when Tim first learned that he could walk through things. I was getting that feeling as I looked up at the solid part of the wall. I kinda wanted to stop to see how it would feel like, but it wasn't just me walking through so I didn't stop. When we got outside, it was really late. Though, as we were flying over, the sun was setting. I looked at Date-san, "What do you want to do?"

"Let us move away from here before we rest."

I nodded and brought out my Jewel again. "DigiArmor Energize!"

"Patamon Digievolves to…………………………………… Pegasusmon! Flying Hope!" We got on and Pegasusmon took off.

"Do you have anything to do tomorrow?" I asked, since I figured that he would probably need to work.

"Work is the only thing that I have tomorrow. But, do not let that stop you from accomplishing what you need to do here."

"Would you mind if we don't rest then? We can head over to the Primary Village to check up on the progress there."

"That would be fine." He smiled.

"Pegasusmon, can you handle that?" I looked at him.

"Yeah, so Primary Village it is." And he took off faster. As we were approaching it, there was something in our path. As we were getting closer, I noticed that it was my Digital clone. He was on his Angemon Digimon. We stopped a good distance away from him, not wanting to lead him to the village.

"So, we finally meet, TK." He said with my voice. It was kinda creepy since it was pretty similar to mine. "I only came here to talk." He had his hands up.

"I doubt that." I was looking around carefully, remembering who else was with his group.

He smiled, "He's not here. I came on my own."

"What do you want?"

"Like I said, I just want to talk. Letting you know, I was the first one that Gennai created. We were supposed to be your replacements."

"So why create clones of Davis, Cody and Yolie?"

"Everyone was going to be replace, why would they be any exception?" I thought that was weird, since they were loyal to Gennai still. Did that mean that Gennai thought that everyone would turn on him? "And as he was making the others, I had a chance to go watch you."

"Why would you want to? If you were supposed to follow Gennai, then it didn't matter if you acted similar to me or not."

"I was curious about my original, that's all. I was wondering why Gennai wanted us to be your replacements."

"When did he start this project?"

"Does that really matter in the end?"

"Is there anything important you want to mention or are you trying to get me to let my guard down?"

He smiled, "I'll be back to put a damper in your life. You see, as I was watching you, I noticed how carefree you were. You seemed to have everything you ever needed right with you. I mean, I know that you weren't all cheer and smiles, but at the same time, you were able to keep your sanity. Even now, you have your sanity."

"Why don't you?"

He started to laugh, "You want to know why? Because I was incomplete. There's something about the Crest of Hope that you can't quite copy. You would think that Light and the others would be the same, but no. It's only Hope. At first, I thought it was because I didn't have a partner like Patamon, so I had Gennai create us Digimon. Once we had them, it still wasn't enough. So, I went searching around to see if anyone had the answer. I learned from Megamon that you all have things that we don't, things that could make me feel whole, so I convinced Izzymon that we should try to absorb you into us. Unfortunately, the idiot talked to Gennai and he didn't like the idea, saying that it was our mission to destroy you all. I didn't want that, so I told everyone what I learned, convincing that they were all incomplete. You know the rest, right?"

"You joined up with Megamon and are working for him so you can have a chance at getting at us."

"You are smart." He laughed, getting me worried. He also wasn't acting like he was insane, but you could get that feeling from his words. "Now, tell me, I must know. I convinced the others that we needed you all for your Saiyan blood, or whatever other abilities you have, but I know that that wouldn't make me complete. What allows you to hold Hope? Tell me what makes my Hope so incomplete from yours? I was created from your Crest, so tell me, what separates us? Ken looked like he had an answer to this, so tell me, what is it?"

"How am I supposed to know? All I know is that this Crest chose me when I was little and that I was destined to have it. I don't know what makes me able to have it completely and not you. Maybe it's because you're a clone that you can't have it completely."

"No, they all are complete. I can see it. I know that they're complete. They have no doubt, they have no torment. I'm in pain from this incompleteness." He seemed to mean it. I mean, I could kinda feel it. He looked at me, "I will come for you later, but for now, I'll let you go. Since you don't know the answer now, I will let you reflect on it. Rest assure that I will return." He then took off.

"TK," I looked at Date-san, "Do not worry over this. Someone will be with you whenever he returns. You will not have to face him alone."

I smiled, "Do you think he meant it? That he's really incomplete and he just wants to know?"

"I know that he is pain because of this, but whether he would convince the others to stop after he learns the reason is another story. I do not believe that he would have them stop."

I looked at the ground, "Should I learn all I can about him before I decide something?"

"Sometimes, that is the best choice to make." I looked at Date-san, "But, on the other hand, that is your choice to make. If you are curious enough and you want to learn more about yourself, then maybe it is best. If you care not to know, then you probably should not."

I nodded, "Okay, we should head over to the village." And Pegasusmon took off.

Artmon and Biyomon greeted us warmly. We were told that the Digital World was getting calmer. Super Levels were still causing trouble for the lower levels, but there was a rumor running about a big clash. They were now choosing either to pick sides, to stay neutral or to be our friend to be on our good side. Also, the name Neo Digidestined was circulating throughout the Super Level area, and slowly seeping into the lower areas, thanks to the Baby Digimon that get sent to their villages. I thought it was good that their name was getting out there.

"Letting you know that most are partnering up with Megamon or are forming their own groups to fight you guys. The Mysterious Group has put out a claim that they have a plan that will soon take fold, so everyone is waiting to see what that is. It's supposed to be really big and kill most of you." Artmon stated.

"All the lower levels want to come to your defense." Biyomon added. "They know how much you suffered to protect our world."

"Thank you, but you should convince them not to. We don't want you to die. Super Levels are powerful as it is. It's hard for us to defeat them."

"We're not afraid of Super Levels!" A Tsunomon said. "We're ready to fight them any time!"

"It is best to know when to fight and when not to fight." Date-san said. "It is great that you have the spirit and the courage to fight a foe greater than you, but you must also have the wisdom and the patience to know when is the right time for you to fight."

"Why?" A Koromon asked.

"It does not hurt to get stronger to make sure that you can defeat your foe. Also, giving yourself time allows you to know what it is that you are fighting for. I know that it seems clear right now what the cause is, but it could become cloudy."

"Are you suggesting that we don't fight for our home?" A Tanemon asked.

"Of course not. Your home is the most important thing that you must always protect. But, is it not their home as well? Are not the Super Levels Digimon as well? I understand that you have seen evil Digimon trying to overtake this world, but the evils in the Super Level area seem very capable of doing so without much effort, so I doubt that that is their goal. It is honorable that you wish to help the Digidestined in their hour of need, but it might also be important for them to have that hour with only themselves for strength. They carry the symbols of the Digital World itself, so you will be with them in spirit, and that can give them the edge they need to win."

I was moved by what Date-san was saying, and so was everyone else. I mean, I know that we could use the help, but we wouldn't want the lower levels to help because we don't want them to die for us. We've experienced enough of that as it is, and I don't want to go through it again.

"Thank you." Artmon said once we were in our sleeping quarters. She created this for us, incase we needed it. "I've been trying to convince them to not fight against the Super Levels. I might be one myself, and I'm not saying that I'm loyal to my kind, but I know that most don't care what happens to those that get in their way. I don't want to see them get hurt for being so rash."

Date-san smiled, "Sound wisdom and the right combination of approving their courage and giving another outlet for their courage are all that is needed to keep those you love in safety. But, also remember that they should not always be in safety."

She nodded, "I can tell you this much. Megamon isn't gathering a group of low power with no potential. The other groups aren't hiring either."

"Why is Megamon gathering a bigger group when he already has a large group as it is?" I asked.

"For more security? I'm not really sure, but I do know that he's planning something big as well.''

I nodded, "Night."

"Night." She left.

"Are you going to talk to Kitty?" Patamon asked as we got in the bed.

"Yep." I smiled.

"Let me know how it goes then." He yawned before curling up.

I smiled as I closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes, I saw a girl that looked a lot like Matt and Kitty. She had silver hair and had a soft presence about her. She smiled at me kindly, like a sister or a mother would. "Hello TK, I'm sorry that you won't be able to talk to Kitty, but her host is not sleeping and it is a bit more important that you help Ceres right now."

"Ceres? Why? What's up?" I figured that this was Diana, since she knew about Kitty, though I wondered how she knew that I talked to her if she's supposed to be a ghost or not even here.

"Just like the others needed help, she does too." She extended her hand towards me, "And you're one of the people that can help her."

"Why one of?"

"She's a stubborn one, and knows that she needs more than the word of one to believe it."

I took her hand, realizing that my questions were getting in the way, "Well, if I can help her, then let's go. I shouldn't be wasting time with my dumb questions."

She smiled softly before making us fly really fast. I looked around me, wondering how she was able to do this. When we got to Ceres, she was thinking about how she hated the fact that everyone was getting better. She was also thinking about Panther and how she seems to have all of Matt's attention. I had to admit, even I notice that. But, when I needed him, he was always there for me. He was there for everyone. When she thought about his return, and his tone with her, I decided that I should get her attention. I never realized that she could be hurt that much.

"Ceres." I called, having her look up and noticed that she was no longer where she once was.

"Where am I?" She stayed in the position she was in when we came to her.

"I think we're in your mind." I smiled, figuring that's where we were since that's where I went for everyone else.

"Who's that?" She looked at Diana, though there was a look in Ceres's eyes that I've never seen before.

"This is Diana."

"Diana?"

I nodded, "I'll give you more when you guys get back. Oh, are you guys still traveling in America?" I thought that I should give Kaiba-san a better report, if I could.

"… Why?" She got suspicious of me.

"Kaiba-sama is looking for everyone so I want to know how fast he can get you guys."

Ceres was about to speak but then looked a bit annoyed. I noticed that she was looking at Diana, rather than at me during this. "We're in Los Angeles, but we're doing something so I don't want to head back just yet." Her tone said that she was annoyed.

"Okay. Oh, the reason I'm here is to help you."

"I don't need any help." She looked away.

"Everyone needs it. As a matter of fact, you're the last one I need to get."

"I'm fine, TK. Take your noble act somewhere else." She looked at me with an attitude in her eyes, like daring me to push her.

"I don't think it's possible for a rain check, so sorry." I smiled at it, "I'm sorry I can't get anything about… Well, I don't remember any dialogue that Matt had, but I'll explain him after Panther." I did that for everyone else, but I know that I didn't have any direct dialogue with her about this topic. She really did keep a lot to herself, so it was hard for me to see what she needed to talk about. Plus, she hardly talked to me unless someone else was with her. We rarely had one on one talks.

"Why would I care about those two?" She tried to play.

"You do. Okay, these ones with Panther are when we went to get you." I looked over to my left, seeing that the image was forming. I was using my memory to form it.

"_We better get Ceres back before any war breaks out here. Not only for her own safety, but for everyone. I don't remember if I told you guys this, but she has the power to unite or break up any group she wishes._"

"_Ceres would never allow herself to be used like a puppet! She's stronger than that so don't you ever think that Ceres can't handle herself._" Panther yelled. I was, at the time, very taken back by that. There was real anger in her eyes, none that I have ever seen before with her.

"_I believe in her, Panther. I really do. I have every confidence that she can escape her kidnappers, but even she can get tired._"

"_Don't start thinking about a big war then._" Panther calmed down a bit.

"_I was just stating their motive for taking her._"

Then we came to the entrance to the tunnel. "_This is as far as I can take you. I wish you luck on your journey._" Persephone said.

"_Thanks for all your help._" I said.

"_We wish for you to bring peace to this land, Neo Digidestined._" That reminded me that I should tell everyone that their name is being spread across the Digital World. I kinda wondered what they would think of that.

"This next one is when we were fighting Maeve." I mentioned as I changed to that scene.

"_Power here? Hun, I'm talking about all over. I have learned of her abilities and I'm not about to let the Greeks have her._" Maeve said.

"_She's not an item that you can use and toss away!_" Panther yelled, and again that same look in her eyes when she yelled at me was there.

"And now for Matt." I looked at her, not really wanting to see that look in Panther's eyes. "He wouldn't have gotten you into the school and given you a home if for a moment he didn't want you apart of his life." I smiled, admitting the truth, "You felt like you didn't get the same feelings that Panther got from him because you allowed yourself to be closed off from them. He cares about you just like he cares about Panther." Though, this was making me wonder how much he cares about them. It's been obvious from the start that these two had some special spot in his heart the moment he met them.

"He's the same to everything though." She pointed out.

"No, because not everyone needs that. He's kind to everyone, but he's not the same towards everyone. You'll see when you guys come back that I'm right." I could see how she could think that, but Matt hasn't changed that much. I knew that there was still a part of him that held people at a distance from him. Ceres looked over at the image again, since I was allowing it to play. I looked to see that it was at the part when we were fighting Maeve. "Another thing too. Panther has also gotten a lot closer to you now. Lily Dawn is quite jealous of you." I did manage to read some of what happened at the cabin.

"What?" Ceres was in disbelief, like she couldn't believe that someone could be jealous of her.

"Yep, Panther tells you things that are on her mind, but she doesn't tell Lily Dawn or Ryan like she used to in the past. So you're not rejected by them in any means."

"But that doesn't say much about the group." She pointed out.

"True.." I didn't realize that she also wanted the group to accept her, "Well, Lily Dawn's anger isn't a group related thing, and it doesn't really affect the group on the whole."

"Whatever, it's not like they would care."

Diana went over to her before I could counter. She placed her hand on Ceres's shoulder, "Ceres, didn't they all come to get you?"

"They probably…"

"No, you saw it in their eyes. They consider you their friend, and a dear one. Do not fear them, and don't close them off. You need them as well, maybe now more than ever."

"I've been alone my whole life…"

"But you found happiness once, and you want that again." I wondered how Diana knew this. It was just as creepy when Date-san was able to give detail information about the Digital World.

"I'm not allowed to have it anymore. I'm a murderer and everything else that's bad." I noticed how she was talking. It was becoming something like a child.

"Ceres," I got her attention, "Panther was in a gang. She was known as the toughest gangster around, and look where she is now. What makes you think you can't have the same thing?"

"Ceres," Diana said, "You deserve so much more, not because you suffer more or less, because you're a human being, and human beings always deserve more than what they have. It's their character that tells them which end they should get. And we all know that your heart is pure and noble and just, so you don't need the negative end."

"How would you know what's me?" Ceres didn't sound angry, as I thought she would be, but more curious.

"I know a good heart when I see one. And you still have that good heart. That's why you're hurting so much." She was kinda reminding me of Date-san. I wondered if Date-san and her had met before. I'm already having hints that I should know Date-san, considering he knows the stuff that I'm heavily involved with, and they were apart of that adventure.

When Ceres lowered her head, Diana pulled her in a comfort embrace. It took Ceres a moment before she rested her head on Diana's shoulder, as if being totally safe at that moment. I don't think I've ever seen her so at ease before.

Ceres lifted her head after another moment, "How does that make us alike?"

"It's one way, but there are other things. Virtue is complete, but unity is the ultimate oneness. I bring the others into the bigger circle, and you are the center of that circle." She had something in her hand that was in front of her body so I couldn't see what the item was. Though, by Ceres's reaction, it was something awesome. "Before I died, I completed this. This one was given to me by my father. He told me that this was my destiny. And this one was when I learned about my deeper connection to everyone. And the last ring connects me to you guys."

"It's beautiful. But why did you remake it?"

"I wanted something physical to remind me where I belong. But now, I know where I belong, so I'll give this to you so you can always remember."

Ceres looked at it before looking back at Diana. "But it's important to you, right?"

"It won't do anyone any good if it stays with me. It would honor me if you did. You don't have to share it, because I'm only giving this to you."

Ceres looked at it again before taking it, "Thank you."

"I'm always here."

Ceres nodded before looking at me, "Thanks."

"I just wish I knew when it would be okay to get you guys." I said with a smile.

"I think I have a way. Just tell Kaiba that he needs to keep his lines open for Pegasus and that the password will be 'Mon, mon Digimon, Digi-mon, mon'."

"Pegasus?"

"He knows."

I nodded, getting used to not knowing everything, "Okay. I'll see you when you guys get back then." I then was heading back.

"TK," Diana said as I stopped, "Do not let this discourage you. Even though everyone can rely on you when they need help, you have them as well whenever you need it."

"You seemed to have handled that better than I did, though." I wasn't jealous or angry, just stating it.

"But I couldn't have done so without your help. I was just watching her before I came to get you, so I knew what not to say, that's all." She smiled, "TK, just remember that you're not alone."

"Can I talk to Kitty now, though?"

She closed her eyes for a moment, "Her host is still awake. I am sorry."

I sighed, before nodding, "Well, at least Ceres is healed. I'll see you around, Diana." I smiled before heading back to my body.

I woke up and noticed that the sun was coming up. I looked to where Date-san was and he was already up. He looked over at me and smiled, as if knowing that I was up. I looked at Patamon, who was still asleep. "I'll need to head back to Kaiba-san."

"Do you want to leave now?" Date-san asked.

"I kinda don't want to wake up Patamon."

"He has been up the whole time."

Right then, Patamon moved towards me and smiled. I smiled back. "Why do we need to head back there?"

"I talked to Ceres instead. I need to tell him something that she told me."

"Did she give her location?"

"She said that they were doing something so she didn't want to be brought back yet. But, she apparently knows someone in America that knows Kaiba-san that she wants him to keep an open connection with."

"Then we should head out." Date-san said, getting up from his bed. I had to admit that he didn't look to be in his twenties.

I got up and we headed out. Artmon was already there, playing with the baby Digimon. I'm glad that we found her, and also glad that she's enjoying her job. She turned around as the babies were running over towards us.

"Where's Biyomon?" I asked over the little voices.

"She always checks around in the morning." She smiled, "I'll let her know that you say goodbye."

"Thanks. See everyone later." I smiled at the babies. They then started to say their goodbyes as we walked away.

"I am glad that no matter what, babies are always cute and can bring a smile to your face." Date-san said.

I smiled, "Yeah." I brought out my jewel, creating a portal once we were faraway. I hoped that it would bring us to Kaiba-san. Date-san went through first, and then we did. We did end up at Kaiba-san's building. We were able to meet with him when we walked inside. I told Kaiba-san what Ceres told me.

"She knows Pegasus?" He asked.

"Apparently. Who is he?"

"He's the creator of Duel Monsters." He sighed, "Have you had any chance to figure out the text?" He looked at Date-san.

"We happened to visit a Digimon that was live around the time that they were created, and told us that only a selected few were able to read this language. Also, their sentence structure is similar to Japanese, but a bit more similar to Latin because it has no strict word order that it always has to follow. Nouns, verbs and adjectives are inflected."

"How are they?"

"Nouns denote things that are Digimon and things that are not. My guess, since all Digimon names end in 'mon' that that is how they denote whether something is a Digimon or an object, meaning that the names of Digimon could also be a noun on its own. Adjectives also show Digimon and non-Digimon, but they have different endings to do so. Verbs have person, number, tense, voice and mood. Persons are first, second and third; number is singular and plural; tense is present and future; voice is active, passive and middle; and mood is imperative, indicative and subjunctive." I should probably make a mental note right here that I have no idea what he was talking about, but it seemed that Kaiba-san did since he nodded his head.

"I was able to figure out the nouns and the adjectives and some of the verbs. Can you get the morphemes for those as well?"

"If there is a chance to meet this Digimon again, someone will ask."

"Shouldn't the translation thing help with all of that?" I asked, knowing that it probably should.

"It's more like a sound dictionary. It has words on there and their relative meanings, but nothing on their grammar or on Digimon names." Kaiba-san explained, "And some of the words in the poetry book can't be matched up to anything."

"Have you been able to retranslate any of the other ones that were translated by someone else?"

"Using those translations were a waste of time, so I don't know if I have or haven't."

"TK," I looked at Date-san, "We should start heading back as well. I do have work to go to."

"Oh, I'm sorry." I looked at Kaiba-san, "Thank you for your help."

"I'll have my guards give you a ride." He said as he picked up the phone. We were ushered down afterwards, getting into his limo. I didn't feel right about this, but I guess it might be better than a bus. They dropped us off at Date-san's place so he could get his things, but I knew that was just his excuse to make sure that I was alright throughout the trip.

"How's your leg?" I asked, since I'm not sure how well it was because of everything we've been doing.

He looked at me with a smile, "It is fine."

"Okay. I thought that maybe all the things we did might've strained it."

"It would be noticeable if that occurred. Well, I must be off."

"See you when you get back." I smiled and waved as he headed out. When he was gone, Patamon and I went to train. After taking a shower, we were laying on the patio. "Patamon."

"Yeah?" He asked. We were enjoying the fact that it wasn't really cool outside.

"Did you think it was creepy that Date-san knew all that he did about the Digital World?"

"He said he knew of the Digidestined."

"But knowing who they are and knowing about the Digital World are two different things. He knew about the metal that exist and about Thunmon. I mean, we're just learning about her and he met her before. How does that happen?" I looked at Patamon.

"He could be the missing link." Patamon offered. "To remembering your past."

"Maybe…" I looked ahead, "But does this mean that we can trust him?"

"Again?" I looked at Patamon, "What has he done that would make you doubt that he's trustworthy?"

"Because he knows things, things he shouldn't know. I don't know why you're not crept out, but I am."

Patamon sighed, "He hasn't done with anything with that information. He knew that we were alive, and with this that means that he knew we were Digimon, and he didn't do anything with it. He even played along with it when we were around them. I don't understand why you think he can't be trusted."

"It's creepy. It's like he has all the answers, but for some reason, he's not telling me them."

"You can always ask him, you know."

"I guess so…" I got up, "Want something to eat?"

"I'll help." Patamon got on my shoulder and we headed inside. When Date-san came back, he didn't look so well. "Are you okay?" Patamon asked a he headed over to him.

He smiled, "I'm okay. My leg is just hurting a little."

"Then it wasn't fine this morning, was it?" I asked, wondering if he was lying to me then too.

"I promise that it was fine this morning. It was just acting up again." Before I could say anything, his phone rang. He went over to pick it up, seemingly not caring that Patamon was with him. "Thank you. I will be there shortly." He placed down the phone before looking at me, "Rowen has something for me, and you are welcome to come if you want."

"What is it for?"

"It considers my leg."

"I'm going." Ironic, isn't it?

He smiled, "Let me call Lita before we head out."

I nodded as he picked up the phone again. I headed upstairs to get dressed. When I was downstairs, Date-san was waiting near the door.

"Is she here?"

"She will not be able to come since she just got into work."

I nodded, "Was she there before?" I asked as we headed out.

"Yes." We got onto the bus.

"Why not wait for her?"

"I suggested that we would do such a thing, but she did not mind not coming this time." He smiled.

I nodded, wondering why. If I was being checked up, I would want someone else with me. Though, I guess since I'm going, Lita might feel that she doesn't really need to go… But they're engaged, so it doesn't make sense… _Grr…_

So we got to the hospital without any troubles. Rowen took Date-san to a private room. I thought that this was kinda weird. "What do you think they're talking about?" I asked Patamon as we waited outside.

"About his leg." He stated from my head.

"I wonder if he'll tell us."

"Maybe.. though, I think Rowen only did this because we weren't there at the first check up."

"Probably…" And then they came out. I stood up and Date-san smiled at me. For some reason, I got the feeling that this wasn't a happy smile, but I couldn't really see that on his face. "Well?" I asked as they came over to me.

"The knife hit a sensitive nerve that causes spasms every once in a while." Rowen said, but it was obviously a lie.

I looked at Date-san, "Can I know?"

He sighed, "Let me think about that… I will tell you, but I am not sure if you should come before Lita."

"If it were me," he looked at me, "I would probably tell Matt first before Kari, but since I'm not related to you, I say that I can come after your family." I smiled. "Something as important as this needs to be told to family and close friends before other people."

Even though what I said was meant to be encouraging, it didn't seem to work the way that I wanted it to. He even had a sadder smile under his mask. "Okay. Let us head out, then." He moved down the hallway.

"Did I say something wrong?" I asked Rowen.

"Not really… Be sensitive for a while, will you TK? It is something very serious."

I nodded, "I will. Have you been looking after him since his accident?"

"Only recently, I'm afraid. Hurry up, I don't think he's paying much attention to his surroundings."

I nodded and went after Date-san. He seemed to be thinking pretty hard on something serious as we walked back. I figured that he wanted to have the time to reflect. It was silent. I wondered if whatever I said made his situation even worst. It seemed to be that way, anyway. Did I take something away from him?

"TK," I heard Izzy's voice call when I was going to say something. I stopped to see that Izzy, Tentomon, Cody and Armdillomon were beside us.

"And Date-san is with you, perfect." Cody said as he brought out his kendo sword.

I looked at Date-san, seeing that he didn't seem to care too much that they were there. It was like he was in a daze or something. I got in front of him, staring them down, "What is this really about? Obviously this isn't just about the others disappearing."

"It's all about that." Cody said.

"I don't understand how that could be. You're not even that close to the ones that disappeared, Cody. Sure, you would be worry over them, like everyone should be, but not like Tai should be, or Davis, or Yolie. Izzy has more reasons to be worried than you do." Cody just stared at me, as if dumbfounded. I looked at Izzy, "And if your concerns do lie in their safety, then why not believe in them? Why not believe that wherever they are, they'll come back home?"

They were just staring at me now. I remembered that TKmon told me that I have something within me that makes Hope work. Maybe I could use that to advantage now. I did lose hope in them, and then they all started to turn this way. Maybe I needed to believe in them again. I smiled at them, fully believing in the person that they were. "Guys," I extended my hand to them, feeling my Crest shining within me, "don't let go of your hope for their return."

Right then, something came out of them and they fell to the ground. I ran over to them, wondering if they were alright. Before I could reach them, TKmon spoke, "Now that's what I'm talking about!" I looked beside me to my right. He was alone up as he floated there. "That's what I don't have. So, I guess I better find out what that is." He smiled as he flew right at me. I managed to dodge him, surprised that I could move that fast. I looked over to Date-san, seeing him fighting his Angemon Digimon. Patamon was helping him too.

He managed to pin me against a building. I was bit far from the others, now. He smiled at me, "Now, tell me what you were doing. I need to know."

"I'm not about to tell you."

He leaned in closer to me. "Then I guess you'll just have to suffer my torment. Let me know when we meet next how eternal insanity feels like, okay?" He said in such a happy tune. He brought out a needle and jabbed it into my neck. "Sweet dreams, TK."

As the liquid went inside me, I could feel it taking affect immediately. I started to scream, feeling it taking over me.

When I got back my senses, I felt really weak. "TK?" I heard a familiar voice call. I opened my eyes to see Date-san. He looked really worried again, so I smiled at him to let him know that I was okay. He gathered me up in his arms, pulling me tightly close to him. It took me a moment to realize that words couldn't express how relieved his was that I woke up. I looked around, seeing that I was in a hospital room.

"Why…" I wondered why I felt so weak.

"Whatever TKmon did to you," Date-san didn't move from his position, "it made you lose your mind. All you thought about was killing everything in sight, starting with the strongest and aiming for anything that got in your way… Rowen and Izzy managed to find something that got you to calm down, and back in control, but how long it will last, they wouldn't know."

I lay my head on his shoulder, "Sorry for worrying you."

A tear escaped him, "How do you feel?"

"Tired… and extremely hungry." I laughed a bit, "How long have I been out for?"

"Two days." He said as he lay me back down, smiling at me. I wondered where his tears went. "I'll go let Rowen know that you're up. Patamon is with him and Izzy."

"What happened to them?"

"You freed them. That mist that came out was that spirit. It might've gone into someone else, making them more hateful, but at least these two are completely freed." He brushed some of my hair out of my eyes, "You have quite a power within you."

"It's that power that TKmon wants, though."

"And that should make it less impressive?" He smiled, "Powers can be used for good or evil, depending on whose hands they are in. And since they're in your hands, I know they'll always be used for good."

"But what if this can make him an ally instead of an enemy?"

He shook his head, "Giving evil what it wants doesn't make them kind. Showing them how they can be and help them become that is what turns evil good." He removed his hand, "Take a nap as I get them, okay?"

I nodded, closing my eyes for a moment. In another moment, I felt something. It was so frightening that I stood up, panting. Somehow, I knew this raw emotion, this senselessness and uncaring for everything was me two days ago. Could I really be that kind of person? I then felt that urge to kill, to destroy anything I could get my hands on, anything I lay my eyes on. I looked at my hands, wondering if I did kill someone before they could stop me.

"TK?" I looked up, seeing everyone walking in. Date-san sat down next to me, "What's wrong?"

I curled into a ball as he lifted up his hand, "Don't touch me!" I yelled.

He pulled me over to him, hugging me, "Shh.. it's okay, TK. It's okay." I started to cry, wrapping my arms around him. "No one got hurt, TK. No one got hurt."

"What do you remember?" Rowen asked gently once I calmed down.

"I'm not remembering anything…" I said as I didn't move. "I was feeling some raw, mad, killing feelings… like anything that my senses could pick up, I wanted to destroy it."

"Maybe we should make a stronger batch." I heard Izzy suggest. "It might resurface if he's feeling it now."

"But too strong might not be too safe either, since we don't know what this will do to him otherwise." Rowen argued.

"TK," Date-san interrupted them, "What do you want to do?"

"How long will it take to make more?" I asked.

"A few hours." Rowen said, "Of the one that we've been giving you, we made a good amount, but if you feel like you can't rely on that, then we'll go ahead and get a stronger one made."

"Do you know what was injected into me?"

"No, and since this is a Digimon's doing, I probably will never know, but that doesn't mean that I won't try to find out."

"And I'm going to be helping too." Izzy said.

I smiled, "I'll see how this one holds out, okay? If I need something stronger, I'll let you know… Don't tell the others, okay?"

"I won't." Rowen said.

"Why don't you want them to know?" Cody asked.

"I don't want them to worry… I want to be able to handle this, if I can."

"Do you want to eat here or do you want to get out of here?" Date-san asked after a moment.

"Leave, if I can."

"I'll take care of the release form as you change." Rowen said before standing up. They all walked out, except for Date-san and Patamon.

"Did I really not hurt someone?"

"I was able to prevent you."

"But doesn't that mean that I hurt you?"

"You didn't, though. Nothing I couldn't heal from in a day."

"… Did you tell your family whatever Rowen told you?"

"Not yet. I didn't want to leave your side until you woke up… I didn't get my leg injured in an accident. I was protecting one of my brothers. The metal that was used is supposed to kill Saiyans, but since it was an alloy I believed I was spared. But, since it's so deadly to me, it has been slowly killing me from the inside. My attacks are my cells fighting off the radiation that's coming from that wound. It seems that particles are still in that wound, so that's why it's going slowly and why it has never healed over."

"How long do you have?"

"That can't be determined… But I guess until I find a successor." I could feel his smile. He wrapped his arms around me better, "I'm a fighter, and I'm not about to let this beat me, okay? I'll be around for quite some time."

I closed my eyes, feeling his fear. "I know. And I won't let you give up either."

He nodded, rubbing my head, "I'll get your clothes."

"Are they in this room?"

"Yeah, but I don't want you to stand yet." He let go of me before standing up. He grabbed my clothes from a bin, placing them on the bed. "Do you want me to tell Layla?"

I nodded, "Incase something happens at school."

He touched my head, "Where did all that hope go?"

I smiled, "Nowhere."

He smiled back. Once I got my clothes on, the IV was taken out and I was able to walk fine. Rowen drove us over to a place so I could eat. I didn't want to waste a lot of his time, so I didn't order a lot. I figured that I would eat more at Date-san's house. Izzy was going to stay to monitor me for a while. With him doing so, I felt like a lab experiment.

"Why are you going in there?" Izzy asked as Patamon and I headed over to the dojo.

"So I can a big, strong boy!" I said with a smile before recoiling. That would be something that Ceres would say. Sure, I can kinda act like her sometimes, but I wouldn't say that.

Izzy stared at me for a moment.

"Shouldn't you fill your stomach before hand?" Date-san asked.

I went over to the table, really fast too, "Yes! And add lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of candy!" I said with a smile and in a child like manner before standing up. "What's wrong with me?" I went back to normal.

"TKmon told us that even if we cured you," I looked at Date-san, "That you still will not be whole… It could be that and the antidote." He smiled, "But being like that is not a bad thing. Ceres does it all the time, does she not?"

"And you can act like her sometimes." Patamon added.

"But you don't seem to be in that mode all the time." Izzy stated. "How are you feeling right now?"

"Stressed out." I looked at him.

"How about when you were in the other mode?"

"Relaxed.. normal… like how I normally am."

"So maybe only when you're in an extreme or out of your normal state do you have normal control."

"It'll stress you out to a breaking point if you tried to stay in the extremes, TK." Patamon stated, as if reading my mind. "So don't do it."

"But then they'll know."

"You're pretty wild sometimes, so this won't be too different from that. If you need to be serious, I'm sure you'll go to that emotion naturally."

"Patamon is right." I looked at Date-san, "If you wear yourself out, you might just make the antidote's effectiveness shorter."

I nodded, took a deep breath and sat down. "Are you going to be giving me more later?"

"If you're at school before I can hand them to you, then Cody will."

I nodded, "Are you going to stay?"

"Date-san is a really good cook." Patamon said with a smile.

Izzy smiled, "Okay, we will." They came to the table and Date-san started to make something. I was becoming comfortable with this side of me. It was like I wasn't really in control of myself, but I was at the same time. I was coming up with jokes, taking life as something wonderful and worry free. It was quite the feeling, I must say, though. Like everything that happened over my life was slowly going away into something more positive, something that I could just laugh at and be glad that I'm here right now. Maybe this side effect wasn't so bad after all.

Tentomon was surprised to be included so much, something that Date-san held mostly on. I could now see that, in reality, he probably didn't know all the Digimon personally, and maybe even some of the others too, since he was asking a lot about Izzy himself as a person. Though, I guess there's no other way of himself, since he isn't an alien. After dinner, they left, and they seemed a lot more at ease.

"So you really don't know them too well, huh?"

Date-san looked at me, "Did I ever say I did?"

"You gave that impression more than once."

He smiled, "You found secret number one."

"There are more secrets?" I asked in an eager way.

"Yep, but they come with patience."

"I'm not Panther." I jumped on his back, "So tell me now!"

He laughed, "If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret, now would it?" He started to walk up the stairs. "So, are you too wired from your sugar high to sleep?"

I smiled, "But it was the best kind of candy ever!" He had made it all from scratch, which was impressive in itself since I know that Matt never did something like that.

"That doesn't mean you didn't get high from the sugar." He sat me down once we were far from the stairs. "What do you think, Patamon? Is he too high on sugar?"

Patamon looked at me in deep thought, with me making signals that I was no such thing. "I think he's not. He looks so tired. I guess that means that he can't stay up and watch a movie with us."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Date-san said, looking at me, "And such a shame, since we were planning on watching a mecha anime too."

"I want to watch too!" I whined.

"Nope, you're too tired. I can see you dozing off." He started to push me over to my room. "You must go to bed."

"But I want to watch the giant robots!!" I yelled before the phone rang. We all raced down to it, with Date-san getting to it first.

"Hello?" He asked with a bit smile on his face, "You did? That is great!" He looked over at me, "Kaiba found them. All of them are coming home."

I stared at Date-san, "When and where?"

"When will they be arriving and where will they be landing?" He asked. "By his private runway. He's sending people to pick us up."

I smiled big before getting off the floor, hugging Date-san, "Thank you, Kaiba-san!"

"Just hurry up and get ready." He then hung up.

A knock came to the door, "Let's go. We'll deal with your things later." Date-san said.

I nodded as we went over to the door. I couldn't believe it. They're coming back home.

I got out of the limo, half noticing that it was pulling out once we were out. I looked at the sky, wondering who would arrive first. I saw two helicopters coming in and I started to notice a plane as well. The airplane touched land first, coming to a stop nearly close to me. The helicopters landed right beside it.

"TK!" Kari yelled as she held onto the inside of the helicopter. Once it was safe to jump, she did and ran over to me. I ran over to her as I was seeing that everyone else was coming out. "TK!" She jumped on me, hugging me tightly and buried her head on my shoulder.

I hugged her back, "Kari." She then started to cry. "I'm so glad you're back."

Kari nodded. I looked up, seeing that Panther, Lily Dawn and Ryan were hugging each other. The siblings were crying on Tim. Neon and Don were in heaven. I noticed that Matt was hugging Ceres and Ken was near them. I could tell that something was still not right with Ken. Kari could see.

I started heading over to them, "Ken?" I asked as I got closer.

He gave me a smile, one that told me that he was okay. I touched him, and he blinked for a moment, "My voice is back…"

I hugged him, "I'm so glad." Someone else touched my shoulder, and for some reason I thought it would be Date-san. I looked to see that Matt was smiling at me.

"I'm glad you're alright."

I smiled, "Yeah…" I looked where I was, seeing that Date-san wasn't there. Everyone was looking our way and I made my way back to Kari.

"Is everyone alright?" Matt asked, looking at everyone.

"A few good days of rest should do the trick." Panther said. She looked at Ryan, "Don't you agree?"

He narrowed his eyes.

"What?" Lily Dawn asked, "Not going to agree."

"Ryan used his Crest powers." Ceres said to everyone, "And apparently his two best friends want to torture him for it."

They laughed, "It's not everyday that he can tell a lie, you know." Lily Dawn said.

"Kaiba-boy." Someone said. I looked at the plane to see someone coming down from there. Kaiba and Mokuba were already out of the helicopters. Was that the person that Ceres was going to contact? "It's so good to see you again."

"What are you doing here?" Kaiba looked pissed off.

"I invited him." Ceres said. "I know you're not on good terms, but he wanted to meet everyone."

He smiled. I then remembered his name. It was Pegasus. Kaiba sighed, "Fine." He looked at Matt, "I'll get everyone home." He picked up his cell phone.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked Kari, the only one in real danger. I haven't freed Tai.

"I'll go with you." She said with a smile, laying her head on my arm, "I really missed you."

I smiled at her, touching her face. In the end, only Kari and Ken came with us. Everyone else went home. Everyone had grown, I could see that. Kari went right to sleep when we got back, I was kinda wondering why they all didn't.

"Patamon," I looked at him, "Did you see Date-san leave?"

"No… should we go back over to his house?"

I sighed, "We should…"

"TK," Matt came over, "How did you hold up?" He sat down beside me, "I was worried that you wouldn't have turned to anyone for help."

I smiled, "I did alright. Izzy and Cody went back to being themselves so I was with them a lot." I placed my head on his shoulder, "I'm glad everyone is back, though."

He wrapped his arm around me, "I'm glad too." There was a knock on the door and before Ceres could get to it, Matt got to it first. "May I help you?"

"I'm hoping to see Ceres."

She moved away from the kitchen. "Mother?" Panther, Ken, and I also moved over to see who this person was. She was really beautiful. There was another lady with her, someone not equally beautiful, but beautiful nonetheless. Ceres was hugging the stunning one, but they looked nothing alike.

"Please, come inside." Matt said as he stepped aside.

"Do not worry about the Digimon." She looked at Matt, "I've heard everything about them."

Matt just smiled, "That's good to hear." He closed the door, "Would you like anything?"

"Tea, I believe, is the specialty." She smiled as she sat down.

Matt went over to the kitchen and Gabumon went with him. Ceres brought them over to the table. "What brought you here, mother?" She asked.

"This is Hiwatari Miako, one of my daughters that's about to have a son."

Ceres bowed to her, "Congrats."

"Thank you." She bowed back.

"So I guess some fortune-telling is wanted?" Her mother nodded, "Panther would be much better at that then I would."

Her mother looked at Panther, "Would you mind? Just something for a name and nothing more."

"Why look at all?" Panther asked.

She looked at Ceres before sighing, "I guess our appearance doesn't make it obvious. We're geisha. I'm sure you've heard of such rituals as naming, and I would like to make sure that his name is accurate to his life. You only have to look enough to know how many strokes we need."

All of us looked at Ceres. She smiled at us, "You never asked. So, do you want to do this for her?"

Panther got up and walked over to her. She smiled at the girl before touching her swollen stomach. Panther pulled her hand away quickly, but I knew that we all noticed that there wasn't a shock like there normally is. "I'm sorry to say, but you're not going to see your kid grow because you die at childbirth." She said with a sorrowful look.

Hiwatari-san looked terrified, but holding onto most of it. "And… my son?"

Panther closed her eyes, "He'll live." She opened her eyes, "But now knowing, you might be able to change that."

She placed her hands on her stomach. "I don't want my son to be alone… like my mother…"

"I could take care of him." Matt said as he brought out the tea, "If you don't have any relatives that you trust."

"That might be a good idea." Ceres's mother suggested. "I know that he's trustworthy and will raise him well."

"You should name him, though." Panther said, "That way he'll still have something that you gave him."

She looked at her stomach. "I'm giving him my family name, right?" She looked at Matt.

He nodded, "He also will know what happened to you, though I don't know much."

"When he is ready, he can come visit." Ceres's mother said, "So what do you want to do about the name?"

"Give him something that deals with fire… I have a feeling that he'll be quite the trouble in the future." She smiled.

Matt nodded, "Though, I really hope that you can make it through."

Hiwatari-san looked at him and smiled. "Thank you."

"Now, relax and enjoy yourself. After all, it's not everyday that we get to meet someone that Ceres knows."

So, they stayed for a while, with all of us talking. I could see that Matt just wanted to ease Hiwatari's fears about giving birth. As it was getting late, they took their leave. Ken was staying in Ceres's room and Ceres was sleeping with Panther. I, of course, slept with Kari, who was still fast asleep, along with Salamon. Right before I fell asleep, my cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Sorry for waking you," Lily Dawn said, "But I wanted to tell you that you're not to tell Matt about the prophecy."

"Why?"

"We don't want to worry him about it. None of us told him about it while we were traveling with him. So, please tell Panther, Ceres, Ken and Kari so that they know."

"Okay, I'll try to get them in the morning."

"Thanks, I'll let everyone else know. Night!" She hung up and so did I.

"What was that about?" Patamon asked.

"Lily Dawn just told me not to tell Matt about the prophecy." I curled back up with Kari.

"Is that a good idea?"

"I don't think so, but they don't want to worry him."

"I guess that's a good point, but once he's done with the others, we should probably tell him."

"Agreed."

"So, you're not worried that this new addition is going to take Matt's full attention?"

I looked at Patamon and smiled, "I think I'm over that, finally."

Patamon smiled, "Good, because I would hate you if you hated a baby."

I giggled a bit, "I guess I should be grateful that you're not like Gabumon?"

"That's right." He curled up, "Night TK."

"Night Patamon."

In the morning, I told everyone what Lily Dawn told me.

"That doesn't seem fair though." Panther said.

"That's what she told me. I figured that once he gets things cleared up with everyone else, that we could tell him." I was also putting up a heavy seriousness since I didn't want to act up right now.

"I would agree with that," Ken said, "After all, he could probably reason with the older Digidestined better than we could. He might be able to figure out what's up with them."

"Fine, but I still don't like it." Panther said.

"Ceres?" Kari asked.

"Well, we have to make sure that we have another look at that prophecy anyway. Apparently, Collect Soulsmon's group has a different translation that we do." She sighed.

"Unfortunately, Kaiba-san needed to look at it again since he started to question his translations. But, as for the prophecy part…"

Right then, the phone rang. "Hello?" Matt asked from the top of the stairs. "We'll be there." He hung up and came down the stairs, "Miako is having her son." He said as he went to the door. Ceres and I got up. Panther had told us this morning that she had done similar things with people in her gang, so she didn't really want to go see it. Kari and Ken didn't really want to see it either. I probably would've joined them, but I wanted to see the new addition to our family. I figured that Ceres considered Hiwatari-san someone close since they come from the same geisha house.

Matt got us there quickly, and the nurse took us to the window to see the birth. Ceres's mother was there as well. She looked at us as we came up to her.

"How's she doing?" Matt asked.

"She's in a lot of pain. A lot more than what she should be in." She looked back into the window. "But, she told me that she will not give up on her life."

"I'm glad." Matt looked inside, "I hope that I don't have to look after her child."

"Let's hope for that."

I looked inside, wondering if my powers could help her. I wondered what Date-san would've told me to do if he was here. In that moment, her baby came out, but he was covered with blood.

"That's too much blood." Patamon whispered. As they were cleaning her baby, they were trying to save her. They had cut her open, but apparently, that wasn't enough. She held on long enough to hold her baby and smiled at it. She said something to him, and passed him to the doctor. She then closed her eyes and her vitals signs were a line. There was a heavy atmosphere now.

"Gushitaka-san," the doctor came out once the baby was placed in the caring unit to be looked after, "Hiwatari-san told me that you two had made arrangements incase something like this happened."

She nodded her head slowly, "Unfortunately, yes… Her son will go with Ishida Matt."

He looked at Matt and nodded, "I would… need you to fill out some papers, so you could be the legal guardian."

"When should I do that?" I could tell that Matt was being very sensitive to the situation, not that he wouldn't have been before.

"She requested as soon as possible."

Matt looked at her body in the room before nodding, "Okay."

"Follow me." He started to walk and Matt followed.

"Matt is a very kind fellow." Ceres's mother commented.

"Yeah, though I think he likes taking care of people." Ceres said, though I was kinda surprised to see nothing on her face. She was reminding me of Ken when he was mute. "Want to go look at her son?" She looked at me. I nodded, seeing a deep scare in that face. We paid our respects to her first before heading over. Her son seemed to be doing well. "What are you going to do with her body?" Ceres looked at her mother.

"I'm going to find the family to which her mother belonged to. They would probably like one of their family members to return back home."

"Why weren't they an option?" I asked.

"She didn't know them and she didn't want her son to be alone." I could see that there was something more that she didn't want to tell us. That wasn't really a good answer, for one thing.

"How is he doing?" Matt asked as he came up.

"He's fine." Ceres's mother answered. "When will he be able to leave?"

"In a few hours, though they advised that I bring him here every few weeks."

It was clear that her mother didn't really like that idea too well. "Tell them that we have our own personal doctor that he can see." I looked at Matt.

"We do?" Matt gave me this odd look, like saying that Joe doesn't know anything about babies.

"Yeah… One of Date-san's friends is a doctor and he has agreed to do Neon's check up when she delivers so I'm sure that he wouldn't mind checking up on him as well. In fact, you already met him. He was the one that took care of you when you were sick. I'm sure it would be easier for us to see him than to come all the way back to Kyoto, anyway."

"I will let the doctor know." Ceres's mother said, leaving without letting Matt the chance to respond.

"So, when will I meet this Sensei?" Matt looked at us. I couldn't tell, though, if he was jealous or not. "And who do I have to meet?"

"Well, we pretty much know all the people that are close to him, except for his brothers." Ceres said, "And it's much easier to call him Date-san than Sensei, since you can confuse that with its other meanings."

"Then I'll call him Date." He smiled, "So, why is your mother so against her family knowing about his birth?"

"She's going to give her body to her family, so I'm sure she'll tell them."

"It seems like she's trying to hide him from someone."

"I write to her. She doesn't write back."

"The doctor has agreed." Gushitaka-san said as se came back. "And you may bring him home sooner than a few hours. He's in perfect health."

"Why are you trying to hide him?" Matt looked at her, "I'm not going to break my promise, but I'm curious."

"Her father wasn't a very kind man. Her husband is one of his clients that got promoted to a higher status once her father knew that she was pregnant. She also didn't want her father to have her son, so was very grateful to you, Matt. I couldn't have kept him since he knows where the house is."

"But…"

"I lied about when she got pregnant." She smiled, "I am one of Ceres's teachers, after all."

Matt smiled, "Okay, so I'll make sure that I do everything I can to keep Kai out of his hands."

"That's a fine name for him." She reached into her kimono and pulled something out. She walked over to Matt, "This is an image of the guardian to our house." She opened up her hand to show us a pendent with a phoenix on it, "Let him keep that so he knows where some of his heritage lies."

Matt took it, "I will. Does the guardian have a name?"

"Dranzer."

Matt nodded, "Okay."

She went over to Ceres, giving her a hug. When she pulled out of it, she smiled to us before leaving without a word. In a few more moments, Kai was released to us.


	30. Chap 29 Destruction, Power Araises

Hi!!!!! I'm back, as you already know. I've decided not to look into what was going on with the others, since I figure that I'll see the change that had occurred. It's much more fun this way. Also, as we were heading back home from picking up Kai, we went shopping for him too. It was quite rough, since I wasn't sure what I should be getting. Luckily, Ceres and TK were there to help me decide, and also Ceres is breast feeding Kai, saying that he's more related to her than to anyone else. When I saw Ceres taking responsibility for someone else, it made me realize that I shouldn't keep Kai all to myself. I think that it would be good if a lot of people took care of him every once in a while. Panther was happy to see him, though seemed fearful to touch him for some reason. Ken and Kari stayed at my house until they had to go to school, though I think only I noticed that TK was purposely keeping them here for some reason. Panther also told Lily Dawn and Ryan about the addition, and it was spread to everyone else. They decided that they would see him when they came over after school. So yeah, that's what's up so far… Ah, so I guess this is a good starting point.

"Matt?" Ceres said as she knocked on my room. I walked over after typing my sentence. Gabumon was sleeping with Kai, since it was really early in the morning.

"Yes?"

She seemed a bit bashful, something that I have never seen her look before me before. "Could you please not read my probe during the trip and now?"

She seemed ready to fire something back if I opposed, "Okay." I smiled.

She blinked for a moment, "And I know that you need to watch Panther and all, but also don't read hers."

"Something big going on with you two?" I asked.

"Maybe… I just don't want things to be found out before their time." She got defensive before softening her approach.

I smiled at her, "Just let me know when, okay? It's no fun spying if I can't spy."

She smiled back, but it wasn't one that was a mask, but quite genuine. "Thanks."

"No problem." I heard stirring. I looked inside to see that Kai was starting to make grunting sounds before settling down. "I need to figure out how I'm going to feed him while you're at school."

"At least for today." Ceres said, "But you could always have him drink milk from a cow or a goat."

"Don't have a secret jet." I smiled. "I also have to stop by the school to see if it's okay."

"Do so after Neon has her kids."

"Why?"

"That way you have more of an excuse. Kai's not my son." Ceres wanted to keep breast feeding him, even after Neon had hers. I thought that was kinda odd, but was really glad that Ceres was doing so. She had learned of a technique to make her milk come out, saying she learned it for the mothers who were having trouble having theirs come out. Not that breast-feeding itself disturbs me, but for some reason, it does when Ceres does it so I have her do it with me facing another way.

"Good point." I said, "Are you doing okay?"

"Yeah, why are you asking?"

"No reason." I smiled. I'm really worried about that guy that Lily Dawn found coming here.

"Uh ha, sure. Is Kai hungry?"

I walked over to Gabumon, seeing that they were both asleep. "He's still asleep."

"Oh, okay. Well, I'm up now so call me over when he whines."

I nodded, "Get a nap in or something."

"Right." She smiled at me before leaving. I so wanted to know why her attitude towards everything changed. I sat in front of my computer, now wondering why Hota hadn't emailed me anything over my "vacation". It was kinda weird, but I figure that I shouldn't really bring it up just yet. It could be that there was nothing for me to really do, since they had to do a lot of experiments on Earth as well.

I looked at my cell phone, the one that I left here since I didn't need it when I was in space. Izzy had text me yesterday night that he would like for me to come over whenever I got the chance. I wondered what it was all about, since the last that I heard, TK was mad at everyone. Even though TK said that Izzy and Cody went back to the way they were, I got the feeling that it wasn't as immediate as he was trying to portray it. Though, that made me wonder why he wanted to hide it from me. It wasn't like he was forgetting me or anything by staying with someone else.

"Izzy text you?" TK asked as I was making breakfast as Ceres was feeding Kai.

"Yeah, any idea as to why?"

"I think it'll probably have to do with me…" TK seemed nervous for some reason.

"You okay?" I touched his shoulder.

He smiled at me, "Yeah, though, he's probably going to tell you how all the information is now gone."

"Don't worry." I smiled at him, "I'll pretend that I don't know anything."

TK nodded, "Is Kai going with you?"

"Gabumon is the only one that could watch him. I can't exactly leave Kai at the school, now can I?"

"Though, I bet that Ceres wouldn't mind that."

"Yeah, and that's a good thing." When we got off the aircrafts, I noticed how she was looking at everyone, with Ken by her side. I was a bit worried that she would've left and entered the world once again, so I was glad to see that she came back. "I could tell that everyone grew a lot during the trip, though I would never know if it was more than the time when I wasn't here."

"Did I as well?" TK asked.

I rubbed his head, "Of course you too."

TK smiled and we brought out the food for everyone to eat.

"Can't we just skip today?" Ceres asked.

"You need to get back into the rhythm." I said with a smile, glad to see that Kai was comfortable in Ceres' arms.

"Besides," TK interrupted, "Mackenzie-sensei has been covering for everyone, so we owe her."

"She has?" Panther asked.

TK nodded.

"Have you been attending school?" Kari asked with curiosity.

"I went on the first day, and then waited for you guys to come back."

"Why did you go the school?" Ken asked.

"I wanted to see if the brothers were still attending, since I didn't know what happened to you guys."

"So they're no longer there?" Ceres asked.

TK nodded, "I figure that they were called back since they were no longer allowed to stay in our world."

"Maybe they were part of the plot?" Kari offered.

"I thought so too, but then I rethought about it. It wouldn't make too much sense for them to up and leave like that, since I'm sure there are other missions they could be useful in as well."

I looked at the time, "Well, you all better go before you come late."

"I'll help you clean up." Panther said.

"I'll get Kai dressed." Ceres said, getting up and heading over to the stairs.

"I'll be going out today, so make sure that he's wearing something warm."

She nodded before heading up. Panther helped me gathered the dishes and brought them over to the kitchen.

"I'm glad that everyone seems to be a lot better than when I left." I commented, knowing that Panther felt ashamed before our trip occurred. "And thank you, for keeping the team together while I was gone."

That put a smile on her face, "Though, I know of one person that needs to get a lot stronger." She said as she was drying the dishes.

"Who?"

"Kari… I've gained a new way of looking at things, and with this new way of thinking, I know that Kari can be a lot stronger than what she currently is… Is she afraid of being strong?" She looked at me.

"I'm not really sure. I considered her a strong person, even as a little girl. Are you trying to force her to be stronger?"

"I'm trying to help her… I'll tell you later what I've learned, okay? Both you and Ceres and the Digimon."

I nodded, "Can't wait to hear." I smiled.

She smiled back, "You also seem to be a lot better. You're not being all virtuous."

"I've learned that I really don't need to be. I learned that I can still be me and upkeep both Crest. Apparently, upholding the higher one doesn't automatically uphold the lesser one."

"Really?"

I nodded, "So, I'm going to keep trusting people, but not as completely as I was forcing myself to be before."

"That's good to hear." I looked at her, "Because, with you being all virtuous, you were neglecting a very important side to you."

"Sounds like that comes from your new ideology."

She smiled, "It is. Oh, we were thinking about holding a party for the Chinese New Years."

"That would be cool. Bring it up with everyone and see what they say. And anyone who wants to come can come." I wanted their math teacher to come. I had a feeling that TK was keeping something from us, and I had a feeling that she was connected to it somehow.

Panther nodded, "Okay." She dried her hands before handing me the towel, "See you after school."

"Have fun." I announced to everyone as they all headed to the door. "Letting you know," I looked at Ceres as she handed me Kai, "that Panther wants to tell us her new ideology."

"That's cool… Did she give a hint as to what it was?"

"Only that with it, she knows that Kari can be a lot stronger than she is now."

"Interesting.. I'll see if I can pick it up while at school. Bye." She waved to us before leaving with the others. Gabumon and I relaxed for a bit, since there wasn't a rush to head over to Izzy's place and he didn't give me a time to be there.

[Ken

I pulled TK ahead of everyone else, since I could tell that he was neglecting to tell us stuff. It was clear on his face that there was something else going on. "You were with Date-san, weren't you?" I asked once I was sure that the girls couldn't hear us.

"How did you know?" Patamon asked, though I got the sense that he was asking in a joking way, which was odd.

"I could tell that TK was holding something back. So, what's up? Why not mention that?"

"A whole lot of crazy stuff happened while I was with him… Not too much that I couldn't process it all, but I'll let you know that he knows things that he shouldn't."

"How so?" I looked back, noticing that Kari wasn't looking all too happy about being with Ceres and Panther. "Are you staying at Matt's place tonight?"

"I haven't decided yet… Though, I don't think your parents mind if you're with us."

"How about you spend the night over at my place? I don't want my parents to worry about me, even if they don't mind."

TK nodded, "Sounds good." And I got the sense that he was trying to suppress something.

I decided to not comment on it, since I was planning on getting the whole thing out of him later anyway. "Good. Now, I think Kari doesn't want to be near the other two for some reason, so you ought to go save her."

TK slowed down and talked to Panther and Ceres, wrapping his arm around Kari in all one smooth motion. It was quite something, since it didn't seem to be force or anything. "Patamon seems more carefree." Wormmon commented.

"Yeah, which is kinda weird." I admitted before joining in as well.

"Glad you guys came." Ryan said as we entered the classroom. Everyone else was already here and it was clear that they were all glad to be back. "Ceres, are you still wearing it?" He looked at her.

Ceres blinked before laughing, "I do bathe, you know."

"Aw man." He pouted.

"There were opportunities for you to take a picture, you know." I said, knowing what he was referring to.

"How was I supposed to know that she would turn into a cat?"

"You turned into a cat?" TK asked, looking at her.

"Figuratively." She corrected, "Was I that amazing?" She looked at Ryan.

"No one dared moved." He smiled at her.

And, for once, Ceres blushed a bit.

"What did she do?" Panther asked, catching her blush and was eager to know.

"There you are!" We all turned around to see Davis and I noticed how defensive TK got. He was holding Kari in a protective embrace, though he looked like he was ready to fight if it called for it. "Man, were have you guys been?"

"You actually cared about us?" Panther asked. "I'm touched."

"I wasn't talking about you. I was talking about Ken and Kari." He shot a fiery glare at her before looking back at us.

I walked over to him, pushing him out of the classroom, "Long story short, we went to find ourselves." I said once we were outside and out of their ear shot.

"Why didn't you guys tell us anything? Yolie was sick from worry, and the same with Tai. Was Matt gone as well?"

"Yeah, we all went. Oh, and I should, some day, be able to open the Mental of Kindness." I could sense that there was something not quite right here, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

"That's awesome." He placed his hand on my shoulder, and I could feel that something was coming from him, "I knew that you could do it."

I smiled, "Thanks."

"Well, let Kari know that Tai would like to see her, since she's back and all. When did you get back?"

"This morning." I lied, somehow sensing that I had to.

"Wow, and you still came to school? I would've skipped."

"We knew that you guys would be worried."

"Next time you got soul searching, let someone other than TK know, okay?" He then walked away. I went back to the others, seeing that they were eagerly waiting for me. TK was less defensive when I returned.

"Well?" Panther asked, seemingly ticked off.

"Something's wrong with him, but I can't tell what." I said honestly. I looked at Kari, "He also said that Tai would like to talk to you, though judging him, I think it would be safe if you keep your eyes weary."

"Tai's my brother…" She started.

"I know that, but something is seriously wrong with Davis. When he touched my shoulder, I could tell that something not good was coming from him." I noticed that TK looked worried now. "Nothing got in me, but I'm just mentioning it so you know."

Kari nodded, somehow didn't really like the whole idea. That, or didn't like how I did something, but was hiding it for the most part. "Date-san once told me that there is a spirit that's probably in them." Panther stated, "It was probably that."

"What kind of spirit?" Ceres asked.

"He said that it was like a hate spirit, and that from what he could tell from Cody, that they probably had it.

"Had he seen it before?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Yeah, his friends had it before it was removed from them. He doesn't know how it was removed, though, since he always thought that it was a part of them that he just didn't know about." Then the teacher came in, looking at us before heading over to her seat. I wondered what Mackenzie-sensei had told them in order to cover for us.

We learned that it was the day that I would have to run into Davis twice. So, once we got our stuff from her to catch up, I had forced myself to go to civics.

"Is it really that bad?" Wormmon asked.

"I hope not." I said honestly before heading in.

[Ceres

Mackenzie-sensei only smiled at them as they entered. All the other students were looking at them, as if they were celebrities. Ceres figured that she would set up a meeting through her.

"I'll catch up with you guys." Ceres whispered as the bell rang for them go to lunch.

Panther and TK looked at each other, making Ceres laugh a bit, knowing the true relationship between them. "Why?" Panther asked.

"I want to talk to Mackenzie-sensei about something."

Panther shrugged, "Okay, be careful coming over, though." They left together as Ceres went up to her.

"I'm glad that you all made it back safely." Mackenzie-sensei said.

Ceres smiled, pulling up a chair, "Thanks. I was wondering something, are you a Saiyan?"

Mackenzie-sensei blinked for a moment, "Who told you that?"

"A person told me that your sister was, so I was just wondering."

Mackenzie-sensei was silent for a moment, "I am."

"Do you happen to know about the organization that's out to get us?"

"Us?"

"I'm one too."

"Oh?" She was surprised, "I don't know much about them. Mina would know more than I would. Lita would as well. Do you need to talk to them?"

Ceres nodded, "And the same with Date-san for a different matter."

"Why him as well?"

"I need some clarification, and I was told that he has them."

"I'll let you know when they're available. Do you want them to come to your house?"

"That's okay. I can meet them wherever."

She nodded, "Is that all?"

"I figure that no one else will tell you guys, so I might as well. Two days ago, Matt adopted a baby and his name is Kai. His mother died during childbirth and Matt volunteered to raise him."

"I'm sure that Matt will do an excellent job."

"Once he figures out how to take care of a kid." Ceres smiled, getting up, "Matt likes kids, but I doubt he would be able to raise him on his own. Oh, we're also going to be holding a New Years thing on the Chinese one, if you want to come."

She smiled, "Honored, but I have something that I must do on that day."

Ceres nodded, "I better go before Panther comes back." She left, glad that she wasn't feeling anything while she was walking down the hall.

"I wonder why she except that answer." Fiterimon pondered.

"Probably figures that I'll tell someone." Ceres went into the cafeteria and looked around for her friends.

"About time they left you behind." She turned her head to see that Davis was standing there.

"Can't find them?" Ceres asked with nothing in her tone.

"I know where they are."

"Then don't bother us." Ceres smiled before walking away. She spotted them near the corner with Panther in the darker part of it. Ceres came right up to them and easily joined the conversation.

[Me

We went over once Kai was feed his lunch. The food was still from Ceres, though I don't really want to know the details about how she was able to get it out of her. When he opened the door, the first thing he noticed was Kai. I had him in a sling thing, since it was easier for me to carry him around in. "You wanted to see me about something?" I asked.

"Yeah, come on in." He stepped aside to let me in. I took a seat at the table. "Want anything?"

"Some tea would be good." I took Kai out of the sling, not really liking it when he isn't in someone's arms.

Izzy went into the kitchen as I was playing with Kai a bit. "How have you been, anyway? And everyone else?"

"Letting you know," he said as he came back out with tea for everyone, "TK took the books and someone stole all the information I had on my computers."

"What?" I knew about the books, but I don't think that I knew about the second part, "Why did he take the books?"

"I'm not really sure." He took a sip from his cup, "Though, he had been acting weird while you were gone."

"How so?" I took up my cup, and Kai looked like he was trying to reach for it.

"He was getting angry a lot for no real reason, it seemed." Izzy started, and I shook my head at Kai. "It was like anything that had the possibility to tick him off, did." Kai started to whine, now making a noise. I didn't think he could be that conscious at this early of a stage. "So, I'm sure that TK took the books because he was mad at me for some reason." I set my cup down and handed him my hand, with Kai just grabbing it with his tiny hands. "And are you sure you should be a parent?"

"Why shouldn't I be?" I looked at Izzy.

"For one, you're already taking on too much. You have to take care of Panther and Ceres and TK, then you have to worry about the Neo group and the Digital World. How did you come across him, anyway?"

"His mother died while giving birth to him. I promised her that I would raise him."

"Did you know the mother?"

"Not to any great extend. I met her before she died." That just reminded me about Killer and my question for Panther.

"Do you have experience raising a kid?"

"Only the little that I had with TK and the stuff that I learned for one of my members."

"Well, any one of us will tell you that you're taking on a lot. You shouldn't be giving yourself more than you can handle. I'm saying this as a friend, and I'm not going to tell you to leave him with someone else, but you should take it easy. I have a feeling that a lot of stuff is going to happen, and you could be overwhelmed."

"I'm glad that everyone would be concerned, but I'll be able to handle it. I wouldn't really want to give it up, anyway."

"Just be careful, okay?" Izzy asked before taking a sip, "What are you going to do when you have to go into the Digital World?"

"Either leave him with someone or take him with me. I'm sure that I'm going to have to take him with me more often than not, since I'm sure that my member who is also going to have babies will need to do the same thing."

Izzy sighed, "Then I better not see you do something reckless."

I smiled, "I won't. Gabumon'll stop me if it comes down to that. Right?" I looked at him and he nodded.

"Good to hear, so, tell my about these experiments."

I blinked before remembering that I normally told him what we did when I come back down. I started to tell him, with Gabumon adding his own bit since I allowed him to walk around and to try out his own experiments so we would know how a Digimon handles space. Izzy was then coming up with his own testing, figuring that I would want Gabumon there as well and to get Digimon out into space. I was glad to see that he was fine. At least, that's what it seems like to me. I was adding my own comments about his ideas, since he can have some pretty wild ones. It felt like how it always was; something that could last forever. I really hoped that TK was able to trust him again.

Kai started to fall asleep, so I decided that it was time for us to head back. "Oh, how has TK been?" Izzy asked as I was getting on my shoes.

"He's been fine. Why?" I looked at him.

"Oh, no reason." He said with a nervous smile, "He was just stressed out a lot while you guys were gone, so I was just wondering."

I blinked for a moment, knowing that he didn't really know that for sure, "I would imagine, but he's fine now."

"So he's how he has always been? Not overly doing anything too much or acting weird?"

"No… why?" Izzy looked like he was worried about something.

"He was like that when he was with us." He said, "So I'm just want to make sure that everything's okay." I could tell that my answer, though, didn't make him more at ease.

"So he was acting weird when you were with him? And it's not a good thing that he's acting normal now?"

"He was a bit unusual when he was around me, but it's a good thing that he's back to normal now." He was lying about it.

"Okay, I'll ask him." I smiled, knowing that he wouldn't tell me anyway. Besides, I could probably get it out of TK anyway. "See ya." I said before leaving.

"You're just going to leave with that?" Gabumon asked.

I nodded, "He won't tell me and he was trying to hide it as best he could, so I figure I'll get it out of TK."

"What if he doesn't stay tonight?"

"I know his cellphone number." I smiled, "Though, letting you know that Izzy wasn't being any different than how he was before I left, so I hope that TK has come to trust him again."

"If he stayed with him, then shouldn't that mean that he trust him?"

"I guess… But I don't think that TK did stay with Izzy and Cody, as he claims."

"Why?" We got into the car.

"Izzy would've known about Seto having the books. I know that Seto had contacted TK to let him know that we were coming, so Izzy would've known about the books." Kai stirred and we headed back home.

[TK (HA!)

When we came back from lunch, there was a note on my desk. I opened it up as Mackenzie-sensei was going back to teaching. She told me that they got all my stuff back to my house. It made me really ashamed that I didn't thank them for all that they had done for me. Though, I wondered why Date-san didn't stay. I didn't really need to wonder how he got back to his house on his own. "TK." I heard her call and I looked up, "how would you solve this?" She asked with a smile. I looked at it for a moment, and I was able to answer it correctly. Oddly enough, it came as if it was second nature. I would normally have to think about it for a moment before I would be able to solve it. Right then, all I did was look at it and I knew the answer. She went on teaching, and with each new problem, I was able to solve it so fast that it was surprising me. Before, I wouldn't have been able to solve these so quickly.

That reminded me that I needed to train and to find Cody. I hadn't had the antidote for a few days, and I have been keeping myself in an extreme when I start to feel myself laxing. I know that I shouldn't be doing so, and Patamon has been telling me so, but I haven't felt myself wanting to kill everything.

As class ended, I bowed to Mackenzie-sensei before leaving. "What was that for?" Panther asked.

"I wanted to thank her."

"Why was she looking at you a lot?" Ceres asked.

"I wouldn't know. Was she looked at me weird or something?"

"Not really… it was just odd."

"Anyway, if you want to thank her, you should do so that she knows why you are." Panther said.

"I didn't want to hold you guys back." I smiled as we went into our history class. The teacher didn't look please that Panther was back in her class. "How are you guys?" I asked Don and Neon.

"We're good, though, I probably shouldn't train today." Neon said, looking really tired.

I nodded, "I would agree."

Then class started.

[Kari

It was really weird to know that Fuhai wasn't here. We had the other two brothers in our last class, so I was sad that I wouldn't see them. I mean, I wasn't supposed to like them, I know that, but they didn't really do anything bad, other than put a spell on me. And I hated how Ken advised me to be weary of my own brother. Tai wouldn't do anything to hurt me. I believed that. I also didn't like how he stole TK away and gave him back, like he could control him or something. He allowed me to stay near Panther, something I want to avoid now. She wasn't saying anything about making me stronger, but I knew that thought lingered in her mind. I looked enough times to know.

"Are you feeling okay?" Ken asked in a whisper.

I nodded my head, "I'm fine."

"Talk to me later." He turned his head forward before Mackenzie-sensei turned around. "So, what's up?" He asked as we were walking along to PE.

"It felt weird without Fuhai."

"I guess… It'll probably feel weird when we get to PE as well. I guess I can understand that. We did become their friends before they left and we didn't have a chance to say goodbye."

I looked at Ken, "I…"

"Hey!" We turned around to see Davis coming our way. He wrapped his arms around us, and I could feel what Ken was describing. I started to cough before he could say anymore, being scared as I was. "Are you okay?" I managed to hear from Davis, moving closer to me. I then couldn't breath anymore.

"Kari!" I moved away from Davis, being wrapping in something very soothing. I coughed again, but this time since I had air in my lungs. I fell to my knees, and noticed that arms were around me to keep me steady. "Are you okay?" I heard TK's voice ask me. I looked to see that he was there. I nodded, though afraid to speak. TK picked me up, something I was quite surprised about, and carried me to PE. I noticed that Ken and Davis were following along, with Davis looking really ticked off for some reason. I lay my head on TK's shoulder, noticing how a warmth came over me. I really hoped that this didn't get to Panther.

The teacher allowed me to skip today, allowing TK to look after me. I had a hoarse voice while I talked, as if my voice was being sucked away from me. Though, I felt like it would return as long as I was with TK. I imagined what Karu would do if he saw us like this.

"What happened?" TK asked after a while. "I saw Davis standing near you and you looked like you were ready to pass out." He wrapped his arms around me.

"I don't know." My voice still had little strength. It sounded like it would hurt to speak, but it really didn't. "I felt like I was choking."

TK wrapped his arms around me more, "I'll go with you when you go home."

"Why?"

"Tai… Tai has the same thing as Davis… I'm not sure if Davis has a stronger one or not, but Tai has it as well. I don't want something to happen to you just because your brother was trying to help you."

I touched TK's arm. I knew that Tai would want to talk to me alone so I knew that TK couldn't come. "I'll be okay." I smiled at him. His face told me that he was still worried, making me glad that it was there. "I'm trying to be a lot stronger." I figured if I sound like what Panther wanted of me that I could convince him that I was serious. "I've grown a lot as well, so I'm a lot stronger than before."

TK rested his head on my shoulder, "You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Okay.. Gatomon, call me if something happens."

"I will." She said, though by the look in her eyes, she knew that I was lying. I was just glad that TK didn't catch it.

[Ryan

"There!" I said as I finished with the last touch. I had Ceres posing for me, the way that she was when she finished the song. Panther was doing something else so that she would see the finish product. Though, I asked the teacher if we could go somewhere else so that I could get the muscle tones right. I also thought it was really funny how Ceres was blushing the whole time, but I didn't ask her take off her bra. We then heard the bell ring.

"Show it to me later, okay?" Ceres said, putting back on her clothes as a bigger blush crossed her face.

"Are you sure you want Matt to see it?" Panther asked, putting away her stuff, "Along with everyone else."

Ceres stopped for a moment, though I could sense that it wasn't because everyone else would see it. It was because Matt would see it. I didn't know why that mattered, though. "I'll see it now, then." She finished putting on her clothes and walked over to me. Panther leaned over to see what I had done. "That's me?" Ceres asked with amazement. I had drawn her the way that she looked that night, as if I had taken a picture. I remembered what the guy looked like, but he wasn't the subject of my work.

"Wow.." Panther said, "You look beautiful."

I nodded, making Ceres blush more. "Stop it."

"You don't think so?" Panther looked at her, "It's like you're really in touch with yourself and that you're ready to attack. Do you need to show this to our teacher, Ryan?" Panther looked at me.

"I don't remember him saying that I had to." I blinked.

"I don't want more people looking at it. Just among us is fine." Ceres said.

"Come on, Ken and Tim would love to see this." I said, "I promise that I'll keep it among us."

Ceres was still blushing, making me realize that she could be a girl with the right situation. It was almost funny.

"We should show everyone." Panther said, "It's not fair that only your group sees it."

"But, only our group will understand it's meaning." I picked it up, "I'll leave it in the classroom for now, and Ceres can decide who sees it." Panther pouted as she got her stuff and they both followed me to classroom.

[TK

"TK." I heard Cody call. I looked to see that he was running over to us. Davis was still with us, and it was making me nervous since I didn't want to leave Kari around him.

"I'll be right back." I whispered to her, looking at Ken before heading over to meet Cody. He stopped when I came over to him. I pointed to a hall where Davis couldn't see. "This is dangerous. What if Davis catches on?" I asked, not wanting them to be in danger because of me.

"You let me handle that." Cody said, "How have you been?"

"He's been out of normal for a while." Patamon said, "Though, he says that he hasn't had any of the feelings return."

Cody nodded, handing me the needles filled with the antidote. "Then I guess take them when you need them. And don't worry about us, okay? We'll be okay."

I smiled, "That's not going to stop me from worrying. Though, they seem to be okay since Ken and Kari are back."

Cody nodded, "Though, I know what you mean. Yolie recently talked to me and it wasn't her at all… Everything was the same but her feelings. And Hawkmon was lifeless… It was so weird."

"I'll try my best to save them." I promised. If we could have them back, then everything would be okay. That's what I now wanted to believe.

Cody smiled, "Okay. If you need help, you know where to look."

"Right." I smiled, glad to have my partner back. I placed the stuff in my pocket and we walked out together. Cody went back in the direction he came and I went back to the others.

"What was that about?" Davis asked in an accusing voice.

"They are friends." Ken said, "That shouldn't be so unusual, right? TK told us that he hadn't been to school in a while as well." I wished I had a better cover for Cody, but I wasn't able to come up with anything. Davis was scaring me more than usual and with how everything was set up, it would appear that I was going against him. I wasn't near Kari or Ken. Ken suddenly moved over, placing a hand on my shoulder, "We better get going, right? I doubt anyone would want to miss the study session." He smiled at me.

I looked at him before nodding. I looked back and Kari was waving bye to Davis. Her voice still wasn't all that good. I wrapped her in my arm and we walked away. I was really glad that Ken managed to get us out of that without trouble.

"What took you guys?" Damon asked. Nereida and Lily Dawn were there as well.

"There was some trouble that we had to take care of first." Ken said with a smile.

"Neon said that they're waiting near that café that we went to before." Lily Dawn said, "So once the last three come, we should head over."

"Sorry we're late." Ryan said as they came behind us. "I had to do something for one of my projects."

"What was it on?" Lily Dawn asked as we all walked together.

"Ceres." He said proudly. I looked at her, seeing her blushing again.

"So, you finally got that image?" Ken asked with a laugh. "Did you like it, Ceres?" He looked at her.

"It was amazing!" Panther said, "If she was like that, then she must've taken the whole room."

"I'm sure I wasn't that amazing." Ceres said, for some reason being really modest.

"You're normally a lot more confident than that." Nereida said, "Are you that embarrass?"

Ceres looked down, "What was drawn was…"

"Was Ceres showing off moves that were magical." Ken finished. Ceres looked at him before nodding.

"I would say." Ryan said. "But, if you want to see it, you have to beg Ceres. She's really shy about it." He looked at Ken, "Our group gets to see it, though."

"Can't wait." He smiled, making me wonder what they were talking about.

"Well," Nereida said, "your group isn't the only one that has a secret."

"Really?" Panther looked at Lily Dawn, who sighed.

"It's not like we can't tell it. I'm sure that it'll come out one way or another."

"Yeah, like how we can totally kick butt now." Nereida said.

"You can only claim that if you actually fought a Deity." Damon said, rubbing her head, "So don't go all high and mighty."

"Huh, we never did fight against a Deity, did we?" Ceres said more to herself.

"I'm sure it was because we had protection that they didn't come after us." Ken said.

"You had Deities protecting you too?" Nereida asked.

"You could say that." Ryan said, being a bit cold for some reason.

"I'm glad to see that everyone is in a good mood." Neon said since they were outside of the place. Tim, Lightningmon and Huskimon were with them.

"I got to draw Ceres." Ryan said with a proud smile.

"I have to see it then." Tim said with a smile.

"I wasn't that amazing, was I?" Ceres asked, blushing again.

"Sorry, but you were."

"I'll show it to you tomorrow. I'll be at the school early." Ryan said.

Tim nodded, somehow he seemed different. I couldn't place my finger on it. We all went over to Matt's house together, making me really happy that everyone was back home.

"Welcome, everyone." Matt said with a big smile on his face as we set inside. There was a meal on the table already.

"Where's the baby that we've heard about?" Neon asked as everyone took a seat.

"Gabumon." Matt said with an unusual smile. Gabumon came out from the kitchen, carrying little Kai with him. He was stirring a bit, but it seemed to be in a happy way. Gabumon brought him over to Neon, allowing her to hold him in her arms.

"So.. this is what it'll be like…" She commented to herself.

"What do you think?" Gabumon asked.

"I like it." She smiled before handing him to Don. Kai seemed to like the attention. Don looked at him, smiled a bit before looking sad.

"I bet that your children will be happy to see you, just like little Kai." Panther said. Don looked at her and nodded.

"Even more so, since you'll be their dad." Damon added. Don smiled at him.

"The bond will be endless." Kari said in her normal voice. Don kept smiling.

"He's adorable." Lily Dawn said.

"Would you like to hold him, too?" Neon asked.

She blinked before nodding. She got up so that they didn't have to. I noticed that Matt was smiling to himself. She picked him up carefully from Don, and Kai was waving his tiny hands. Lily Dawn smiled to herself. "Nereida," Matt said, "would you like to as well? You would be the only girl that hasn't."

She looked tense for a moment, "I've never held a baby before."

"I'll teach you." Neon said. Nereida got up and was being taught the proper technique to holding one. I never knew there was one. Once they were done, Gabumon brought him over to Ceres.

"Was the trip helpful to everyone?" Matt asked as we were all eating, not caring about the homework we were given.

"Oh yeah." Ryan said with a huge smile on his face.

"He got to travel more than he normally does." Ceres said, trying to hide her blush.

"A lot of growth occurred in ours as well." Tim said.

"The same with ours." Nereida said. "What about yours?" She looked at Damon.

"Of course." He said, though, for some reason, I wasn't really buying that. It seemed like there was still some tension, by the way that Kari has been reacting.

"I'm glad to hear it." Matt said with a smile, "Though, I really do hope that when a problem raises that it can be talked about openly. It doesn't have to be directly at the person or event, but at least with someone else."

"First off," Tim said, looking at everyone, "I want to say that I'm sorry to everyone. Everyone could see what kind of person I was, and all knew what I was trying to avoid. I now see that I was being foolish with my actions, and I hope that everyone could forgive me for starting the spiral."

"You're forgiven." Panther smiled. Everyone else nodded.

Tim smiled, "Thanks."

"And I want to thank the Digimon." Matt said, "Since I'm sure that you had to get your partner to come when I called."

"It wasn't that hard to do." Huskimon said and everyone laughed. Afterwards, we were all enjoying the fact that we were all together. I let myself go into a normal state, having Ceres to help me cover for it. Though, I found that once I'm in this state, it was hard for me to get out of it.

"Call me if you need the help, okay?" I said to Kari as Ken and I were dropping her off at Tai's house.

Kari smiled at me, "I will." She kissed me before turning around to go inside. Once she was inside did we walk away.

[Kari

Sora answered the door, and I could feel the same thing that Davis had. I didn't show that I was noticing it, since TK would've run over to be with me.

"I'm so glad that you're back." She said as she led me to the living room. "Does that mean that Matt is back as well?"

"And Panther and Ceres." I said, hating how she was only considered for Matt. That made her stop for a moment.

"That's great news. Tai should be coming back any minute."

I nodded before taking a seat. There was something really off within the house. "I hope you're feeling that." Gatomon said.

"I am."

"Kari!" I heard my brother's voice. I looked to see him hugging me with his arms, and I could feel his relief that I was back. "I'm so glad that you're back."

I wrapped my arms around him, "I'm sorry for worrying you."

He stayed like that for a moment before moving to get a look at me. He hugged me again, "And you can see again."

I smiled, "Yeah."

"Sora," He called into the kitchen, "we'll be out for a while."

"Okay." She said, though I didn't like how it sounded. We got up and headed outside once we got our coats on.

I was so glad that I didn't feel anything from Tai. Sora had what Davis had, but Tai didn't. I was glad that I kept my distance from her, so I wouldn't start coughing again. Tai brought us to the park, getting Gatomon and I something warm to drink, "So, what happened? TK didn't tell us anything."

"I think it was because you scared him…" I said honestly, "He was fearful of Davis today."

"How did we scare him?" Tai asked.

"He hasn't mentioned anything that happened to him while we were gone… Do you remember anything? TK did went to school for one day."

"To tell you the truth," Tai looked at Agumon, "we don't remember what happened… All I remembered was that mom called, saying that you haven't been home for a while and that she couldn't get a hold of Matt or TK or anyone in your group and then everything else until I just saw you has been a blank."

"The same for me too." Agumon said, "Tai told me what your mom said and that was the last thing I remembered."

"You two need to be careful, then." I said, "Davis was acting really weird this morning and the same with Sora. TK said that he stayed with Izzy and Cody, so I'm sure that they're back to normal too."

"How was Davis acting weird?"

"When Ken talked to him alone… Do you remember if you talked to Davis before coming home today?"

"I don't. Why?"

"Davis said that you wanted to talk to me. And Sora seemed to be expecting me."

Tai looked back at the place we came from. "I was surprised to see you sitting in my house." He looked at me, "What about when Ken talked to Davis?"

"Ken said that he felt something from him. When he later came near me, I suddenly couldn't breath."

"And Sora?" Tai asked with concern.

"I didn't get too close to find out, but I felt the same thing."

Tai came over, hugging me, "Don't go near them, okay? Who else is TK afraid of?" He looked at me.

"I'm not really sure… Why?"

"I don't want you get too close to them. If there is something there, then I want you to avoid it as much as possible."

I nodded, "Tai… I think they're connected to something dark." I finally admitted.

"Why think that?"

"Panther… she learned that there are elements to people and she knows that I'm a strong light person… I don't think I can be any stronger than what I already am, but she thinks that I can be… When I was near a dark Deity on my trip, I also was suffocated by his darkness…"

Tai placed his hands on my shoulder. I looked at him, seeing him smiling at me, "Kari, I'm sorry that I pushed you so hard before. If Panther is doing the same thing, then let her know, okay? When it comes to this new group, I'm on whatever side you're on." He brushed some of my hair out of the way, only to let it fall back again, "I know that I should let TK protect you, but I can't seem to let that job go."

I smiled, nodding. I then told him everything about my trip, spending most of the night recounting what had occurred.

[Panther

"We're ready whenever you are." Matt said as we were sitting on the couches.

"Okay… There are mainly two kinds of people in the world." I started, "Light folk and Dark folk. Currently, there are more light folk than dark folk. Though, there are a few people of both types who are particularly strong. I'm one of the people that's a strong dark person. Ceres, TK, and Kari are strong light people. Matt," I looked at him, "since you have that dark being within you, you're also a very strong dark person." He nodded, "In our group, there are only three dark people. Ken is the third one. Everyone else is of the light. That's my ideology. I can now have a clearer idea on who is of the light and who is of the dark, and I believe that I can use that to help me better aid those around me. I've seen a lot of people throw themselves over the edge, losing their way easily and never be able to climb back out."

"So you never thought that happened to you?" Ceres asked.

I shook my head, "No, because I was comfortable were I was… My original plan was to stay with the gang as well as go marching into the Digital World…"

"Which brings me to my question, actually." Matt said, "Not that I'm against anything you do, but why are you dating again?" I was kinda shocked to hear that. "I know that you love Killer more than anyone else, so why are you dating someone else?"

I looked at the ground, "Killer wanted me to forget about him…"

"And so you accepted that without a second thought?"

I shook my head, "No, I wanted to stay with him… But he allowed me to go back into the sun." I looked at Matt, "I still love Killer. I always will, no matter what."

"Then why? It doesn't make any sense."

"Even I agree." Ceres said, "If you love only Killer, why hurt Stan?"

"I guess for some stability? Don't worry, I won't hurt him." I vowed to myself. Though, I already felt myself moving on. Chrono appeared in my mind right then.

"You already are by holding onto Killer." Ceres said before sighing, "But, I guess if he never catches on, it won't do him any harm. I never liked him all that much, anyway."

I smiled, somehow glad to hear Ceres speaking the truth. She was really a different person when she does.

"And I want to meet this Stan." Matt said. "Did you learn anything new, Ceres?"

"I learned that I shouldn't wear my pain as a badge." She smiled. "And you?"

"That I don't have to be perfect and that I can't hold up Friendship if I only hold up Virtue."

"Were you okay when you came back to Earth?" I asked, remembering that he didn't look well at all.

"That's right!" Ceres looked at Matt as well, "What happened?"

He smiled, "I had used Courage, Kindness, Reliability and Friendship while I was up in space. I also ran out of tea while I was up there."

"You got some while on the trip, right?" We both asked together.

Matt laughed, "I did. The others made sure of it. Oh, I'm also a God of Death."

We both looked at each other for a moment, "From what religion?" Ceres asked, looking at him.

"Apparently the highest one that's out there. He was the one that gave darkness its name and all the underworld deities have some of his powers."

"Is he connected to the dark being?" I asked.

"I don't think so, but since I've become emerged with that being, I think we're all right now one entity." Kai then started to stir, as if uncomfortable. I had held Kai once, but saw what he would look like in the future. I didn't want to know about it, so now I don't want to hold him. My powers have grown, and keep growing that it's starting to scare me. "I believe that's his way of saying he wants to go to sleep." Matt said with a smile. "Oh, and just because Kai is sleeping with me, don't let him stop you from coming into the room if you need me for anything."

We both nodded and we all headed up to our rooms.

[Ken

"Welcome home." My mother greeted us, "Would you like something to snack on?"

"We just had dinner, so we're good. Thanks mom." I said as we stepped inside. I was glad that they were relieved that I was back, but I might never understand why they never minded that I was with TK a lot. "Though, we're probably going to be up for a while, so can you make sure that we wake up for school tomorrow?"

"Of course. I'll make some tea for you as well."

"Thank you." TK said with a bow before we went to my room. TK sat his stuff on the ground and I placed mine on a chair. I sat down on my bed.

"So, start talking."

"I want to know what that painting is." He said with a smile, sitting down next to me.

"It's when Ceres was facing someone that she was always afraid of. Well, not really him, per se, but who he knows."

"And it was really awesome?"

I nodded, "Incredible. I don't really know why she's so shy about it, though."

"Maybe she doesn't like herself in anything." He lay down on the bed. "And we were with Date-san… he knows stuff about the Digital World that he shouldn't."

"Oh?" That caught both mine and Wormmon's attention.

"Though, TK seems to forget that Date-san hasn't done anything with the stuff he knows." Patamon said in a ticked off tone.

"I think he brainwashed you." TK looked at his partner.

"I can't be that easily controlled." Patamon said with pride.

"What does he know?" I asked.

"For starters, he knew about Thunmon." TK sat up, "I know that we knew her, since she's connected to Diana and Kitty, but he said that he had met her before and that he didn't have a chance to really get to know her. He also knows who the other Digidestined are."

I thought about it for a moment, "And you don't wonder why he knows that, Patamon?" I looked at him, since I would be interrogating him with just that, and I could tell that there was more.

"He had known that we were alive and that we were Digimon long before we admitted it to him. He doesn't go telling people things that they shouldn't know."

"What else is there?" I looked at TK.

"I'm somehow affected by his brothers and Kaiba-san now knows who they are."

"Should we ask him?"

"I don't know if he would tell us, but I figure that we should wait and see what happens."

I nodded, "Anything else?"

"I found out that I'm a Saiyan." I blinked, "And that my blood was mixed into me, so I have to train to keep my anger down… I think that feeling was what was getting me more ticked off at everyone than they otherwise would have."

"It's that strong?"

He nodded, "The only way to keep that side down is to train or fight. Lita's blood was mixed so she knows the signs."

"What happens if you can't?"

"She never let it control her to find out. Date-san, Mackenzie-sensei and Mina are all Saiyans as well."

I nodded, also knowing that Ceres is one as well. "Are you related to them?"

"Nah… Date-san is a very kind person, though… When I didn't want to fight, he would fight for me…"

I placed my hand on his shoulder, "I think we all knew that he was kind." I smiled, "Is there something else?"

TK looked worried for a moment, "It's funny. I didn't want anyone to know about it… but it seems like you can see through me a bit." He smiled, bringing out something from his pocket. It was a needle with something inside of it. "A few days before you guys came back, I had a run in with TKmon. He told me that he was the first one to be made and the one that convinced the others to leave Gennai because he didn't feel whole. And since I couldn't give him an answer on how to be whole, he gave me something that turns my whole being into some kind of killing machine." He looked at his hands, seemingly ignoring the fact that he was still holding something, "It's a terrifying feeling. When I woke up, I could feel it. It was like anything that I could sense, I wanted to destroy it. It didn't matter what got in my way, as long as it would be gone in a matter of moments… Izzy and Cody made me some antidotes, along with Rowen, so it should be able to be held off for a while… But I never want to go through it again…"

He placed his head on my shoulder. I moved my arm so that it would be around him. I noticed that Patamon looked worried a bit, that or sad, "I know that I should tell everyone else, but I want to appear like nothing had happened."

"Shouldn't the antidote help with that?"

He shook his head, "Not really… When I'm in a normal state of mind, I start to act like Ceres. I know that I can be like her, but never more than her. If I was in a normal state, I would be able to surpass her in what she normally does."

I understood that. If TK did anything that was similar to Ceres, but having nothing to cover up, then we would know that something is up. Since we all came to know her more, we understood that she was happy and carefree because she wanted to hide her pain. And I know TK well enough to know that he would only act like her in small ways. "I'll keep it for as long as I can, okay?"

"Thanks."

There was a knock at the door. I got up to get the tea, finding that mom didn't stay too long to hand the tray to me. I thought that was odd, since she normally waits until I get the door. I placed it on my desk. TK had his eyes closed as he was laying on my bed. I smiled as I walked over to him, "You tired?"

"It's really hard to keep up hope." He said before looking up at me, "It must be harder with Faith."

I smiled, "Why is it hard for you?"

"In order to get that spirit out of them, I have to believe in them. I lost that… It was really hard to push out everything that Cody and Izzy did just so I could free them."

"You're not alone on that crusade." I said, laying down next to him, "We're back and we'll help you. I would much rather have them on our side than against us."

"Do you want Yolie back that much?" He asked with a smile.

"Not really." I looked up to the other bed, "Davis said that Yolie was sick from worry, and I didn't even care… It was like she was just someone that I didn't have any attachment to." I held my amulet, "I don't think I lost faith in her return. I just think that I don't care for her the same way anymore."

"Who's in there now?" TK seemed eager to know.

"I'm not really sure." I knew it was Kitty, but I didn't want to tell him that for some reason.

"That's cool." TK moved a bit as well, "I'm glad that my love for Kari hasn't changed, even with knowing that I once liked Kitty."

I nodded, "That's good." I got up and brought us the tea that my mom got us. We were all talking about anything, though it mostly was recapping what we did during our time apart. I didn't tell anything personal about Ceres, saying that I wanted her to feel comfortable telling it to everyone.

[Tim

I dropped off Nereida and Damon at school so I could see the painting that Ryan did. He was in their first period class, waiting patiently enough.

"Great!" He said, getting off the desk. "Follow me." He said happily. I followed him to his art classroom, where he went into a closet that had his name on it. He brought out a canvas and I smiled at the image on it. It really did look like he had taken a photograph of that moment. Though, I wondered if we would be the only ones noticing that Mr. B was showing his excitement and worry and that we were in the background, waiting for the chance to help her.

"Nice foreshadow." I smiled as he put it back.

"Thanks. It was just that good of a moment." Ryan smiled.

"And she's embarrassed about this because?" I asked as we headed out.

"I'm not really sure since you would think that being shown half nude would be nothing after being half nude. Though, I think it's because she doesn't want Matt to find out."

"Because she knows that Matt treats her like a daughter?" It wasn't that hard to see how he treated Ceres and Panther compare to the rest of us.

"Maybe.. I'm not really sure of the reason, though that's what I think."

"I see… I guess we'll just have to ask her."

"Have you apologized to your grandmother yet?"

"I'm trying to come up with a good way of saying it."

"Just don't take forever." He smiled as we stopped. "Try telling her today."

I nodded, "I'll try. Oh, I think something's up with Nereida, but I can't quite put my finger on it."

"She did grow without you."

"I know… but it's not that… I think she's hiding something. I know she can hide most stuff from her training, but she can't keep it up forever."

"I'll see what I can get, though you're probably better waiting for her to tell you."

"I just don't want to be left in the dark like last time."

"Oh, okay. I'll look for you, then."

"Thanks. Ask Ken for help too."

He nodded, "See ya later."

"See ya." I said as he went back to his class. I went back home since I didn't have any classes today. I was helping around the house along with Lightningmon and Huskimon. As I was helping with Grandmother's garden, I noticed a white fluff falling in front of me. I looked up to see that more snow was falling. I looked around, seeing that most of the spirits were starting to gather.

I went inside to make sure that the house was warm enough for them. Once I made sure, I went back to the door, "I'm sorry for how I was before. I know that I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you. Please, come inside to stay warm."

They talked amongst themselves before coming in. They were all very happy, and some even thanked me.

"Tim?" I looked beside me to see Grandmother there. Her eyes were watering.

"Grandmother…" I went over to her before she hugged me.

"I'm so, so glad." She said, weeping on me.

I wrapped my arms around her, "I'm sorry for how I was before."

"That's alright."

[Neon

It was snowing pretty hard by the time our first period was over. "Do you think this is natural?" I asked as we were walking over to our math class.

"There was a report this morning." Lily Dawn said. "Though, I guess we really wouldn't know since we haven't been here for that long."

"Are you feeling something?" Don asked.

"Not really… It's just that we only had one normal snow fall. And now that we're back, they could be trying something."

"Welcome." Mackenzie-sensei said to us as we walked in. She held a smile for us. I took my seat next to her and Don and Lily Dawn took their seats near the front. "It's good to see you again. How have you been holding up?"

"It wasn't easy." I said with a smile, "But I managed."

"That's good to hear. Oh, Rowen would like to check up on you when you deliver. He knows that you don't want to go to a hospital, but he would like to make sure that you and your babies are safe since this is your first time."

I was kinda surprised to hear that. "Did someone tell him?"

"Patamon asked." She smiled and then the bell ranged. She then went on teaching.

I was thinking about it as she lectured. I mean, I guess it wouldn't hurt. I just didn't want to go to a hospital since it would cost too much and doing it old school sounded fun at the time. I thought it was funny that no one thought that money was an issue. They really did a lot for us, for which I'm really grateful for. But, I guess if Rowen was willing to help us, then why not take it.

I then felt something where they were, but below my children. I placed my hand on my stomach before I noticed that something wet was escaping my body. I froze, knowing that they weren't supposed to arrive so soon.

"Neon?" I heard Don asked. I looked over at him, not really sure what was on my face. I then curled, holding onto the pain that was now present.

"Don, come with me. Lily Dawn, contact TK." I heard Mackenzie-sensei say as I was being picked up. I was suddenly feeling a bit better, since the pain was less intense. She rushed me outside of the classroom. "Breath slowly and allow them to come out." She said to me in a soothing voice. I nodded, doing what she was telling me. I was really glad that it wasn't as painful as I had imagined it to be.

When we were outside, I noticed that the snow was already high, too high for a car to drive. "Don, get on my back." Mackenzie-sensei ordered. She then jumped over a great distance, landing on top of a car. The snow quickly melted around it and they got in. Mackenzie-sensei was with me in the back. "Can you clear a path?" She asked.

"We will." He said, turning on the car and started to drive. As we were heading over, the pain was coming back.

"We're almost there." Mackenzie-sensei said. When we parked, Mackenzie-sensei picked me up again and Don opened the door.

"What's…"

"They're coming." Mackenzie-sensei interrupted Matt. I screamed a bit, the pain a bit too great. Mackenzie-sensei rushed forward, laying me down on something soft. "Do you want me to stay?" She asked quietly. I nodded my head, before I screamed again.

[Don

Matt and I waited outside of the room. I just stood there, hearing her crying out. I never imagined there would be so much pain. "How did you get through the snow?" Matt asked. I noticed that he looked more nervous than I did.

"Aero Dinomon used his attacks to get us through." I said, looking back at the door. "Is she going to be okay?" I looked at him, "You saw a birth before, right?"

Matt looked at the ground, "We didn't see it beginning to end… And it was at a hospital."

Right then, the door flew open and Rowen came running in. He didn't even stop to ask where she was, since she was still screaming. He opened the door and closed it again.

"What's he doing here?" I asked.

"Mackenzie-sensei said that he would look over her delivery." Gladiolusmon said from my shoulder. "She didn't seem to mind the help."

I nodded, looking back at the door. Matt got me to sit down after a while, offering me tea and stuff to calm me down.

"How is she?" Nereida asked. I didn't realize that time went by that quickly.

"We don't know." Matt said, her screams could still be heard.

"Is it supposed to hurt that much?" I looked at Ceres.

She nodded, "Though, it does sound like she's having relief from that pain."

"Has the snow cleared?" Matt asked.

"Ceres did a counter spell that lessened the amount that would fall." Panther said. "So enough was cleared by the time school was let out."

"I would've had us here sooner, but I can't control that much and look like I'm paying attention." Ceres explained.

Panther walked over to me, "I'm sure she's doing fine."

I nodded, knowing that she was trying to cheer me up without really doing so. She sat down beside me, making all the others follow. Again, no one was doing any work, even though we had a ton of it to do. I felt as if they were waiting for this to be over.

"Oh," TK said, looking at his brother, "Neon is going to be contracted under your old producer. He would like to know if you would be interested in one last show for her debut." I had nearly forgotten about that.

"Sure, I'll talk to the others later then."

"You don't mind?" I asked.

"For Neon, I don't. I haven't lost complete interest in creating music, but it's more like a hobby now."

"Where's Kai?" Ceres asked.

"Gabumon is keeping him away from the screams."

She nodded. "Has he eaten anything?"

"Gabumon has the bottles.. They're in my room."

Ceres got up and went upstairs. Later, Neon's mom and my dad came by. Neon was still screaming, but there was another wailing sound that could be heard. The door open and Rowen stepped out, "We need some clean water."

Matt went into the kitchen and came back out with a bucket full of water. He gave it to Rowen, whose hands were bloody. I was hoping that nothing was going wrong as he went back inside.

"Who was that?" Neon's mother asked.

"That's a doctor who volunteered to look over her delivery." TK said. He smiled at her, "She's in good hands, don't worry."

"How long has she been in labor for?"

"Nearing twelve hours." I said. "Is it supposed to take that long?"

"I never had a natural birth so I don't know."

After a while, Neon stopped all sound, but we still heard a wailing sound. I got up and went over to the door. I opened it up to see that Mackenzie-sensei was washing our second baby and Neon was holding our first. I rushed inside, going beside Neon. She smiled weakly at me. "Are you okay?" I asked, taking hold of her arm.

"She'll need to rest." Rowen said, "And she and the babies are doing fine."

I nodded, looking back at Neon to see that she had fallen asleep.

"Is Neon okay?" Ceres came to the door with little Kai in her hands. Gabumon was right behind her.

"She's doing fine. The same with her little ones." Rowen repeated. "Is there a room where she can say in for the day?"

"Neon was told to rest for a whole month." Nereida said, "So we should move her to a place where she can rest for that much time."

"Who told her that?" Rowen asked.

"Chinese ladies."

Rowen looked at Mackenzie-sensei. "Resting for a whole month isn't a bad thing."

"I am terribly sorry," Neon's mother looked at Matt, "I don't want Don to miss out on his school work and I can not stay home for a whole month."

Matt smiled kindly, "No problem." He looked at Rowen and Mackenzie-sensei, "I have a room upstairs that she can use. Should we move her there?"

They nodded and Mackenzie-sensei handed my baby girl to me, as well as my baby boy. I looked at them for a moment, smiling at their tiny bodies. They were still wailing, but I knew that wasn't a bad sign.

Rowen and Mackenzie-sensei were careful about moving her to that vacant room. Afterwards, everyone else left so that Mackenzie-sensei could clean her up a bit. I stayed with her, "Who came out first?"

"Your son." She smiled, "Though, I'm worried that the world wanted to keep your daughter unborn."

I looked at her, "Why say that?"

"It was much harder for her to come out than your son. But, since they are now born, their destiny has just begun."

I looked at them again, remembering what I saw. I haven't told Neon about it yet, because I didn't want to admit that it would be true. "Yeah."

"They will still love you, no matter what their future holds." She smiled at me, as if that was my doubt. She got up, "I'll let your families come inside as well." She went out and in a few moments, our parents came in.

[Panther

"They're underweight, but otherwise there isn't anything wrong with them." Rowen said as Mackenzie-sensei and Don were inside, "Though, Neon did seem to have some difficulties, so I want to come back here tomorrow to check up on her."

"I'm grateful for your help." Neon's mother said, "But why are you doing this for my daughter?"

"I heard that this was going to be her first delivery and that she was planning on not going to a hospital. I know that it's dangerous for a first time mother, so I volunteered to look over her. Don't worry, it's not costing anything." I was really glad to hear that, since I remembered that Date-san said that he once couldn't trust his friends.

Mackenzie-sensei came out, "You should go in." And their parents hurried inside. "She's resting peacefully." She smiled to us.

"Were you doing something to help her?" Lily Dawn asked.

She nodded, "A calming spell and a pain reliever spell. It helped a lot during the actual labor, though."

"It didn't sound like it."

"It could've been a lot worst. And who is this?" Rowen asked, looking at Kai.

"This is Kai." Ceres said with a smile, holding him up a bit. "Matt adopted him four days ago."

"Does he already have a doctor?" Rowen looked at Matt.

"Currently, no. Let me guess, you're willing to look after him too?" Matt didn't seem too happy about this for some reason.

"Only if you want me to."

Matt looked at Kai before looking at Rowen, "I'll be making appointments."

He nodded, "That's fine. Page me if I'm needed." Rowen patted Patamon's head before walking down the stairs, followed by Mackenzie-sensei.

"What was that?" Gatomon asked from Kari's arms.

"I have his pager." Patamon said with a bit of gleam.

"Anyway, let's leave them alone." Matt said, ushering us all down the stairs. "We should let Neon rest and everyone has a lot of work to get done."

So, we got our work done, with Ceres and me giving out a lot of the answers to whatever they needed so we could get it done faster. Ceres and I also did Neon's and Don's. The two classes that we couldn't do anything for, they didn't have any written work for. After we got all of our work done, we trained a bit. It was a lot different than how it normally is. I think it was because everyone didn't have to be so stiff around each other. Though, it was really interesting to see Ken and TK fight. It was like it was on a different level or something.

"Matt?" I asked once everyone left, minus Don's family. "Why didn't you want Rowen to look after Kai?"

He sighed, "There seems to be something there. Out of the blue, no one is that kind. I'm weary of his reasons for helping us so willing."

"So what made you accept?" Ceres asked.

"I thought about what his mother would've wanted. She probably went to a hospital as he was growing inside her, so I thought that she would want to make sure that Kai remains healthy. I'm still new at this, so I wouldn't know how to properly tell."

"Do you realize that doctors are really no better, right?"

He smiled, "But they do have a lot more experiences to base things off of."

"I guess… Don't get too distracted because you have a lot more babies around you."

Matt laughed, "I'll try not to."

Ceres handed Kai to Matt, "I'm going to be bed. Night." She waved to us and headed upstairs.

"She is very different." Matt commented. "Don't you think?"

I nodded, "Very different… I don't think that Date-san's friends are doing anything evil." I got up as well. Rootmon was sleeping on my head.

"Really? Then why does it feel like I shouldn't trust them?"

I shrugged, "They've helped us in the past, and I'm sure that this time won't be any different."

"I still don't like it. I mean, there is something there. It's like they understand it and are trying not to make it so obvious, but it's obvious enough to bother me."

"It's probably because of Date-san." I said, leaning on the couch, "He's the one that kinda started it all."

"Why are you calling the doctor by his first name, anyway?"

"We're allowed to. Obviously, we can't call Mackenzie-sensei by her first name since that would be showing favoritism, but we can call everyone else he knows by their first name."

"Really?"

I nodded, "We only call him Date-san since he doesn't want us to know his real name."

"I see… Has anyone asked?"

"Ceres did, and she was denied. He said that it was really important that it remains a secret until he finds his brothers."

He nodded his head, "That still seems weird, though."

I shrugged, "Everyone has their thing."

"I guess so…" He sighed, "Are you heading up too?"

"What are you going to do?"

"I was going to watch something. I've been neglected of TV for quite a while."

"You're not going to let Kai stay up, are you?"

"I'll have the volume low."

I shook my head, "Babies need their sleep. Besides, we have a guest so you should get some sleep." He pouted. "That's what you're getting for being a father."

He sighed, "Fine. I'll head to bed."

"And don't watch anything on your computer either. It's bad for your eyes." I said as I headed over to him. "Night, Kai." I whispered to him before walking up the stairs.

"You seem a lot happier." Rootmon commented as I lay her down on the bed.

I lay down beside her, "Yeah… I really am happier being here… And it's a really good feeling." I smiled, rolling over to look at her, "And it's because of everything that has happened here that I love it so much."

She smiled before we started to fall asleep.

[Me

"Thank you again." Rio-san said as I was making them breakfast.

"Not a problem." I smiled to her, "How is she doing?"

"A lot better. The babies have so much energy to them." She smiled to herself.

"I'm glad to hear it." I got Neon and Don's food made, "Here you go."

"Thank you." She bowed as she took it, taking it up to them. Don's father had already left by this time.

"And here I thought I would be making breakfast." Panther said as she came down, "Oh well."

"Don's father woke me up."

"Have they said anything about what they're going to be doing?"

"I haven't heard of anything yet."

She nodded. "So only us for the table?" She was bringing out the plates.

"Yeah."

"Is Ceres up?"

"And feeding Kai as we speak."

"Not going to let Neon do it?"

"I figure that as long as Ceres wants to, it's good. Neon should focus on feeding her kids anyway."

"Okay." She set out the plates and cups, "It's kinda weird how Ceres could get the milk out."

"Would you want to do the same thing if you could?"

"Kinda…" She said honestly, "Though, I probably shouldn't."

"Why's that?"

"… I wonder what they are."

"Huh?" I noticed that she switched subjects, something that she normally doesn't do.

"Kai, Jade and Krypton. I wonder what kind of element they are."

"I can always check, you know." Ceres said as she came down.

"Check with Kai, first."

Ceres held her hand over Kai, allowing her hand to glow with no real color to it. Then, it suddenly turned red and Kai was trying to reach for it. "He's a fire element."

"What kind was that?" Panther asked, not sure if that settled what she wanted to know. She shook her head, "Okay… When Don comes down, do the same thing to him."

"Why?" Ceres raised an eyebrow.

"Because I need to know if that tells what I need it to tell or if it tells something different."

"Oh, it's your whole light and dark folk philosophy?"

"Yep. There are people who are also of the other elements, which is rare, and they can be either dark or light and they can also switch between the two easily."

"I would think anyone would be able to." I commented, setting some of the food out as Gabumon was helping.

"When they switch over, they would appear to have always been that way." She thought about it for a moment, "Okay, say that Kai here turns out to be someone of the dark and he fully embraces it. Anyone who sees him during this period would think that it's natural for Kai to be like that. Then say that something happens that changes his mind about darkness and he becomes someone of the light. Anyone who sees him while he's a light folk would think that it's natural for Kai to be that way."

"And for people that are either light or dark?" Ceres asked.

"They can't really switch that easily. The best way for me to describe it would be for me to use my gang as an example. Since they're more light folk in the world, you would have to wonder why the light joins something that is dark. It's because they lose hope and get sucked into darkness. The dark folk can't ever reach the light, but they desire it. So, they either cover themselves up or become someone who is obsessed. I guess it's easy to tell that they are something that they're really not and they can never hide that fact well."

Gabumon and I sat down, "We better eat before it gets cold." I smiled as they sat down, talking about something else. I noticed that Kai was still trying to reach for her hand that she used to find his element. He is such a cute baby.

Rio-san left first, and Don left with Panther and Ceres. I went up to see that Neon was playing with her kids. "How are you holding up?" I sat down on the bed. Gabumon went over to the other little ones, allowing Kai to know them.

"I'm good. I'm going to be resting for a while, though. Don wanted to use his powers, but I thought that I should at least heal naturally on my own for a while." She smiled at me, "I'm so grateful to everyone. Without them, I don't think I would be as lucky as I am right now."

"Why say that?"

"We're not rich." Neon smiled, "And raising a baby takes a lot of money. Now times that by two and you have my case. I know you know what I'll be talking about soon… Also, regular visits to a doctor would cost money as well." I finally saw what she was talking about and why she chose this method. She didn't want to burden her mother with bills she couldn't afford. I'm assuming that Don's family is in the same position, so with us paying for everything and people allowing her to get things for free, it's all great for them.

I smiled, "Well, we're happy to do it. We want to make sure that you're okay and that they're okay as well. Oh, I was told that you're going to be hired by my old producer. I'm going to talk to my old band members later today to see when would be a good time to do one last concert."

She looked at me, "Meaning?"

"That we're going to perform one last time and allow you to shine. Though, that would mean that I would want us to sing a song together before I let you go all at it. What do you think?"

She smiled big, like a child herself, "That would be awesome!"

"I'm glad to hear it." I looked at the kids, "Seems like they're having fun too." They were all making noises at each other.

Neon nodded her head.

[Ceres

"Did Rowen say anything about them before they left?" Don asked as they were heading over.

"They're underweight, but that's about it." Panther answered.

"And it seems like you have to ask Patamon for Rowen's pager." Rootmon said.

"Why Patamon?" Don looked at her.

"He seems to have it."

"Okay… Though, would he be able to get out of work in time?"

"Lily Dawn talked to me and I told TK. Patamon then managed to seek out." Panther explained.

"I see… okay."

"You worried about something?" Ceres asked.

"Not really." He said nervously.

"Do you really not want the others to know yet?" Panther asked.

"I haven't even told Neon about it yet."

"Oh… okay."

"Talking about it is only making me curious." Ceres pointed out.

"Have you been giving out more of the stuff you learned?" Don looked at Panther.

She nodded, "I'm telling both about it, but I don't think that it'll sink in as fast as it did with me."

"Well, we weren't much better." Don laughed.

"Though, I wasn't really explaining it so that it would be understood."

"Oh, so we were forced to know it?"

"Pretty much."

"Have you found out what Kai is?"

"There is a high possibility that he's a fire element. Ceres used something to determine that."

"She was also wondering if it told her what she wanted to know." Ceres interrupted, "So, do you mind if I do the same thing to you?"

"Go ahead." Ceres moved in front of him, placing her hand in front of him as she allowed her hand to glow. It then turned silver before she pulled it away, "Well?"

"You're air, my friend." Ceres smiled.

"Then it doesn't tell me what I need to know." Panther said, sighing, "Though, it's kinda funny that you're wind."

"What if I'm one of the elements?" Don asked as they kept walking.

"I'm sure that Hina would've been able to see that."

Ceres put her hand up to Panther. She looked back when her hand stopped glowing. Ceres put her hand down, "You're the spirit."

Panther smiled, "I'm more dark than light, though. Are you the same?"

Ceres nodded, hiding her anger. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you're one of the most powerful light folk I know."

That took Ceres back for a moment, since she wasn't really expecting that.

[Me

"I'm heading out to meet up with my band members." I said as I brought up Neon's food.

She nodded, "Do you want me to watch Kai for you?"

"That's okay. I don't know how good of a father I'll be, so I want to spend a lot of time to get use to the idea."

Neon nodded, "Should I do the same with Don?"

"If you think you need to."

She nodded and as she ate, I played with her babies. I could tell that there was something different about them, but I didn't know what it was. Once she was done, Gabumon and I left to meet up with them.

"Wow, when did you have a kid?" Taijen, our drummer, asked. We were meeting up at our old practice place, since that was the easiest place to meet (Oh, Rowen did stop by before this, I just didn't want to have it up since it didn't seem that important).

"I got him a few days ago." I smiled, "His name is Kai."

"Is there a mother that we weren't introduced to?" Rosho, our lead guitarist, asked.

"She died giving birth to him." I sat down, knowing that they were silent now, "And I only met his mother a day or so before she died."

They were glad that it wasn't someone that I married, I could see that much. I also noticed how they were unsure how to act around me when I mentioned that she was dead. "So, is he going to be this new singer you were talking about?" Rejo, our keyboardist, asked.

I laughed, "She gave birth yesterday; otherwise I would introduce you to her."

"Why can't we see her now? I'm sure she's resting, so why not?"

I didn't see a problem with that, "Okay, but try not to test her singing, since I'm not sure what has been done to her voice."

"Okay, we won't." We got up and we headed over to my house. I remembered when I first met them, realizing that something seemed empty about it. I knew that I heard them playing as we entered middle school. I thought it was really cool, how they sounded. It was like a rock sound with techno mix into it. Though, I don't really remember why I sang for them or how I came to know the base guitar. I think they wanted me to do something with my hands as I sang. I ended up being the leader since I was able to sing better than they could. I don't know what kept me going, and I'm not sure what really had me leave.

Every once in a while, we meet up to talk about whatever. They're all doing stuff that relate to the music industry, so I follow it as much as I can. They're all great in their job, producing stars like they were making cars. I knew that they would've been great without me even being there.

I led them upstairs, knocking on Neon's door.

"You're back early." She said from behind the door, "You can come in."

I opened the door, seeing her with her sleeping children in her lap. "Meet the other members of the Teenage Wolves." I let them come in.

"I'm Rejo." He smiled to her.

"Taijen."

"And Rosho."

"I'm Neon and it's an honor to meet you." She bowed to them from her sitting position. "You can sit on the bed, they should be sound asleep."

They did so. "What are their names?" Taijen asked.

"Jade is my little girl and Krypton is my little boy." She smiled at them. She was already dressing them in the outfits we got them.

"Have you ever heard us play before?" Rosho asked.

She nodded, "Not all your songs, but I have heard them."

"What do you think?"

"They're good. I know that if you wanted to, you could be at my level." She smiled, reminding me that she was still a fighter at heart.

"Oh? So you think you're better than our star singer?" Rejo asked.

"I haven't heard him sing yet, so I can't say, but I can say with confidence that I surpass him before I was his age."

"I think we need to hear this." Taijen said.

"Want me to sing something then?"

"Shouldn't your voice be messed up?"

"A normal voice would be."

"Sorry Matt." Rejo said, "Go on."

She nodded, taking a deep breath before she started to sing one of our popular songs. She really was amazing, and I knew that she was really incredible just by the way she was able to sing our fast beats into something so soft and soothing that it was putting Kai to sleep. I guess that she wasn't training herself for this for nothing. No one said a word as she continued, and by the end, Kai was fully asleep. I know that it's hard for me to get him to sleep, since he wants to be so active, so I think I just found my way.

"You're going to be great." Rosho said, "And that is way above you when we started out." He looked at me, before looking back at her, "You're way above everyone I've ever encountered in my job as well."

"Are you saying that I'm below Matt right now?" Neon seemed to want to know this, as if it has been her goal to out-best me.

"I've always use Matt as a standard when I hear a new voice. I'll tell ya, Matt was the best this country had to offer when he was in music."

"So I'm still below him?"

"You'll see when you sing with him." He looked at me, "You two are singing together, right?"

"Of course. It's going to be a new song though."

"That's totally fine." He looked at the other two, "Right?"

"Yep." Rejo said and Taijen nodded.

"So you better come up with a totally rock'n song." Rosho looked at me, "And do you need something for your songs?" He looked at Neon.

"I wouldn't mind it, though I never came up with background melody."

"That's fine. Matt's actually good at that stuff. And, in either case, we're also good with picking something up on the fly."

"So, I guess the question becomes when do we want to have this." I said.

"How about before school is over with?" Rejo suggested, "That'll give us a few weeks to work out everything and to put on a smashing show."

"The only catch is that I still have to go to school." Neon said.

"Then we'll come back in a week to get something down. Can we use your house as the practice place?" Rosho asked.

"Sure, we can use the basement. It should be big enough to hold all the equipment."

"Great. So we'll hear your songs then and see what to do with them." They all got up, "See you guys in two weeks."

"Oh, I'm holding a New Years party, if you guys want to come?" I said as they were coming towards the door.

"Didn't that already pass?"

"Not the Chinese one."

"When is it?"

"Two days."

"I have some late night plans that day." Rosho said.

"I have family coming over that night." Rejo said.

"I have to leave early in the morning for a trip up north the next day." Taijen said. "Apparently, there's someone up there that wants to come to one of the schools down here, but doesn't have a way of getting here. Though, what time does it start, and I'll be there for as long as I can."

"Around five is when I'll start preparing food, and I haven't planned for a set time for the party."

"I'll come around seven, then."

"Okay. See you guys later, then." And they all left.

"Do you want me to ask my mom to help you?" Neon asked.

"I was going to see if everyone would want to help. I know that you guys have your own traditions, so we're going to see if we can combine them all."

She smiled, "Awesome. So, are you really that good?"

"I'm not really sure… Though, I guess I must be, since Rosho is good in his field. They all are."

She nodded, "I'm glad that I'll have a chance to sing with you guys."

"Thanks." Kai then started to wake up. He looked like he got a good nap in. "Kai's going to be hyper tonight."

"Does he not normally take naps?"

"Nah, he doesn't like to be asleep. Gabumon and I both try to get him to take naps, but nothing worked before."

"I bet he'll have an ear for music."

I laughed, "I'll bet. He'll definitely have one by the time he's old enough to understand the words."

"You're going to sing to him?"

"Why not? It works so might as well use it, don't you think?"

"Is he going to be there for the party?"

I sat down, "I don't like the idea that he's sleeping without me, so he'll be there. So, I'll have to make sure that he has a long nap before hand."

"I'll have them do the same thing, then."

"You don't have to copy me." I said with a smile.

"If one baby gets to stay up, then they all should."

I laughed, "Okay." Kai was looking at me weirdly. "Don't like naps?" I smiled at him, "I guess when we're getting the house set up, they can sleep with you." I looked at Neon.

She nodded. "That sounds good to me." She smiled.

The phone rang then. I let Gabumon hold Kai as I went to get it. "Hello?"

"I'm glad that you're home." It was Tai. "I was wondering if you could stop by tomorrow."

"I could, but why?"

"I talked to Kari a while ago, and I want to know some things that she couldn't really explain. I figure that you'll probably have the answers for me."

"Okay… I'll see what I can do."

"Great, I'll be home most of the day, so stop by when you have the chance."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye." And we hung up.

"Who was that?" Gabumon asked as he let Kai be with the other two babies, who were still trying to sleep but Kai didn't want them to be.

"Tai. He wants me to come over to his house tomorrow to talk to me about something that Kari told him."

"You could always ask her what she talked to him about." Neon said.

"I could, but I figure that if I really don't have the answers he wants, then letting that be the truth should do it."

"Sounds like you just want an excuse for not answering something." She smiled.

"Not at all. If I can't answer it, then I can't answer it. Knowing it and then holding it back would seem like I'm hiding something, and I don't really want to have any problems right now."

"Are you going to invite the others to this gathering as well?"

"I would like to, but I don't know how well that will go over."

"Well, TK was losing a lot of trust in them. We all have our own opinion of them, and I'm sure that Ceres and Panther's are particularly strong."

"I guess I have to see how far I can trust them… I think I can trust Izzy, so I guess I'll find out if I can trust Sora and Tai tomorrow." Though, that made me remember that Kari once told me that Sora still has feelings for me. I really hope that it's no longer there.

When they came back from school, Panther and Plantmon were helping me with cooking. Gabumon was getting the table ready as Ceres was hanging with Neon.

[Neon

"What should we do for New Years?" I asked as she feed Kai. I thought it was really odd that she would volunteer and would keep it up even after my kids were born.

"We have to look at the prophecy again, though. Apparently, there is a deeper meaning to it than we originally thought." She looked at me, "Though, why shouldn't we tell Matt? TK told us what Lily Dawn said."

"We didn't want him to worry about it coming up. Though, Nereida knows something more about it than we do." I figured that that's why Arsmon went to go see her.

"How? Did she see it or something?"

"I doubt it." I said with a small laugh. "We promise to keep it a secret how she knows about it." I told Lily Dawn about it as we were traveling around Shanghai, and we both thought it would be a good idea to hide that we knew.

"Do you know what she knows?"

"All we know is that it has something to do with that prophecy and she and Lightningmon will try their best to prevent it from occurring."

"I need to ask TK if he learned anything new while we were gone."

"Why?" I thought that was weird.

"Kaiba is translating the books, so maybe he got to that prophecy."

"Shouldn't it be the same as the one that we heard?"

"Maybe, but maybe not. That's why I need to see."

"Okay." I looked at the clock, "They should be coming soon."

"Do you want to come down?"

I looked at her, "I shouldn't walk all that much."

"Oh.. I can levitate you down."

"Okay." I smiled. I wanted everyone to see them, since I knew that they didn't get a good chance yesterday.

Ceres got up once Kai was done and chanted something. I was immediately lifted up and being brought down with her. I thought this was really fun.

"Oh, you're going to be joining us?" Panther asked as they were finishing up.

"I want everyone to see them." I smiled.

She nodded, "I'll get your plate, then."

In a few more minutes, everyone came in and looking at Jade and Krypton. Then we went right to the homework and eating part of the gathering.

[Hebe

"Hebemon," I heard Hermes call. I looked back to see that he was right beside me, "Hadesmon wants me to tell you that you have a visitor waiting for you below."

"I'll be there." I smiled at him. He then turned around and was gone, thanks to his shoes.

"I wonder who it is." Killer said as we were heading back. I serve the other gods up above, and Killer comes along with me. Ilpalo comes along as well, if Hades doesn't need him for something. Today, Persephone wanted him to do some kind of preparation work, though we're not really sure what kind of work it is.

"Probably some Digimon… Arsmon?" I looked at Killer as we were walking down the stairs that lead to the Underworld.

"Probably… I mean, who else would come visit you that Hades would feel comfortable telling another Deity."

"Why aren't you here anymore?" We heard as soon as we came to the River Styx. Arsmon was looking pissed off at us.

"I'm no longer being punished." I informed him. "And why are you mad?"

"Hades was giving me roundabout answers to your location. Anyway, I wanted you to know that you should keep an eye on what's going to happen in two days. It's when we execute our plan."

"Want me to see the world come falling down?"

"I thought I should just let you know. Do with it what you will."

"Thanks." I smiled and he left.

"Does the crystal ball still work?" Killer asked.

"It does, so we'll be watching it then. We also have to tell Ilpalo so we can all watch it together."

Killer nodded and we headed back to the upper plane. Endmon and Eternalmon went to the Real World a while ago since they said that they would want to be there when the event happens, and not simply watch it. We let them know that they could always come back when it was done, since they know that we can protect them. I also think that they got attached to Killer and Ilpalo.

[Nereida

Lightningmon and I stopped by the spot where we met up with Heka before. The wind was blowing, making it colder. I looked up at the sky, looking at the night sky. I closed my eyes, "In two days, Lightningmon."

"Are you nervous?" I looked at her, nodding. "We'll make sure that we succeed."

I smiled, "I want to succeed, so that Arsmon doesn't have to feel regret later."

She nodded. I was really glad that she agreed with me. I looked at the sky again, "How do you think she's doing?"

"I'm sure she's doing fine."

"I hope so… Let's go home." I looked at her and we went over to the nearest bus station.

[Panther

"Kari?" I asked as I looked at him. Ceres was heading up to bed as well. "Is there something wrong?" I know she has been avoiding me indirectly ever since we got back, so I decided not to push anymore.

"There's nothing wrong, really. It's just that Tai wants me to talk to him tomorrow and it has to do something with what Kari told him. I just want your thoughts on what you think it might be."

I sighed, glad that there was nothing wrong with her. "I guess it's my new logic." I smiled, "I was pretty forceful with her after I learned what I learned, so she probably told her brother that."

Matt nodded, "Okay, just wondering. So, what are your thoughts about the others?"

"They need to learn that we decided it to be our duty to watch over them and that we're not to be controlled by them." Ceres said firmly. "We know that you guys care about them greatly, and that's okay with us, but we just won't stand by and let them do what they want when they want."

"Panther?" He looked at me, though not ignoring Ceres's comment.

"I agree. Though, I'm sure that most of them have a problem with me because of my past more than my involvement with this group. It's not that we hate them and that we won't help them out when they need it, but we're not under their wing. We're under yours, so what they think of us doesn't really bother us."

He blinked a bit before smiling, "Well, I guess I should start owning up to the responsibility that I created."

"So, you're going to be our leader?" Ceres asked.

"I'll give you that answer tomorrow." He smiled at us, with Kai moving his arms towards Matt. Matt smiled at little Kai before looking at us, "But, it'll probably be a yes."

"Why do you want to have Tai's permission to lead us?" Ceres asked, getting annoyed for some reason, "This is your group, not his. He didn't find it and he didn't build it. He's not even apart of this group so why care what he thinks? He's only concern should be about Kari's wellbeing, right? He doesn't care a damn about the rest of us."

"When I was forming this group," Matt didn't raise his voice, even though Ceres did at the end, "I was told by Styxmon that if there wasn't a leader among you that I would have to let Tai be. I'm not a leader myself, and I was probably weary of having so much responsibility that I wasn't ready for. I also told that to him, so he probably thinks that all he needs to do is wait for me to hand over the reins and follow his lead like I used to do."

"I doubt that you ever followed his lead." Ceres looked away for a moment before looking back. "So, you're going to let him know that you aren't going to hand them over. That you're now willing and able to handle the horses."

He smiled, "I'm now more than willing to do so, but I want to see if I have to."

Ceres looked angry before walking off to her room.

"What was that about?" Matt looked at me.

"I don't really know… Go to bed before Kai gets mad." I said as I went over to Ceres's door. I allowed Matt to walk to his room before knocking on her door.

Fiterimon opened it for me and I walked inside. Ceres was sitting on the window still, looking outside. She looked to be really upset. "I want Matt to be our leader too, but if he thinks that he can't handle it, then we shouldn't push him towards it."

"I know he was handed this role. I know that he was handed that Crest of his… But he's much stronger than that." She looked at me with a lot of intensity in her eyes, something I haven't seen before. I know that before, she would have never shown this to anyone. "He was given this responsibility because the universe knows that he can handle it."

"Matt doesn't care what the universe thinks." She looked at me, "Matt could care less what the universe thinks. What he cares about is what those closest to him think and that's being redefined all the time. Before, he thought he had to care about what Tai and the others thought, because they were the closest to him. Now, he has to care what we think and soon he will start to care what Kai thinks. And now that he has Gabumon back, he cares about what he thinks. See?"

She sighed, "It just seems like he doesn't want to be apart of this anymore. That he just wants to forget about us."

"He would never to do that." I smiled, "Styxmon is far too important to him for him to forget. Styxmon was his driving force to get this group, and now that he has gathered them up, he's allowing all of our desires to drive him forward."

"Do you think he's waiting for something to get him moving along as well?"

"Maybe, maybe not. You think he's lost?"

"Without his memories, he will be lost."

"Then he's probably waiting for them to return."

Ceres looked outside, "I wonder if he's waiting for a particular person to come back."

I remembered what I saw of his past. I remembered about Diana and their deaths. "One day, he'll know…"

"Know what?" I could feel Ceres looking at me.

"That the person he wants to come back will never be able to."

"Why do you think it's impossible?"

I closed my eyes to stop my tears, "I just know…"

I felt arms coming around me, "It's okay." I rested my head on her shoulder, allowing this comfort to wash over me.

"One day, I will have to tell him what I know…"

"I'll be right beside you when you do."

I nodded, staying like this for a while before going back to my room.

[Neon

"So, you're leaving?" I asked Matt when he came to my room. It was nearing lunch time, so I figured that Matt wanted to eat over there, or with Tai, if he could get the chance.

"Right, and we were wondering if Gabumon should stay with you."

"Why?" I looked at Gabumon.

"I know that you can't move around all that much, so I thought that I would have to stay behind to help you."

I thought about it for a moment. I would need to get some food soon.

"I'm not much help at the moment." Gladiolusmon commented, "So, could you stay?"

Gabumon nodded, "Good luck." He looked at Matt.

"Right. See ya when I get back."

I nodded and Matt left. Gabumon came over to me and was playing with my babies.

[Me

I felt really weird not having Gabumon with me for support. I would've left Kai with them, but I wanted everyone to know that I had another kid that I'm taking care of. I was getting a bad feeling about allowing him to come along, but I could see that he wanted to be there for me as well. Well, I'm not really sure about that, but I could see that he was doing things to get me to smile.

"I'm supposed to make you smile, little Kai." I said as I touched his nose, which got a giggle out of him.

I got to their door, and I could feel that something wasn't right. Kai was also quiet, making me think that there was something else about Kai that was very different from other babies. Was he able to sense the same thing that I was? I kissed his forehead, "I won't let anything happen to you. I promise that." I whispered before I knocked on the door.

Sora opened the door, and I could tell that there was something lingering around her, "Matt!" She looked the same, but there was something off about her expression. She was about to come towards me.

"I'm here to see Tai. We were going to eat lunch together today." I moved a bit back so that she wouldn't come close.

"Why not eat here?" She took a step towards me and Kai started to cry, and loud as well. I lifted Kai up more so that he was closer to me, and stared to sing to him. "Who's that?" I heard once I got Kai to a whimper, though he wasn't about to give up on crying.

"This is Kai." I looked at her, "Could you get Tai for me?"

"Why don't you come inside? It's quite cold out."

"If you get Tai, then we'll be able to get to a building faster."

Her expression was cold as she went back inside, leaving the door open. I remembered how she was happy for me when I showed her Styxmon. I could see that she was truly happy for me, and even when I wanted to learn more about her. So why did she have to change? What made her change into this person that looked like she would want to kill anyone to get to me? I looked at Kai, hugging him a bit and wiping away the liquids that were coming from his face, "I promise, Kai. She will never get to you. No one will ever hurt you as long as you're with me." I kissed his forehead again, "I promise."

"Matt." I looked at the door to see Tai coming out with Agumon. "I'm glad that you could come. Who's that?" I was really relieved that Tai didn't have the same aura that Sora had.

"This is Kai. I adopted him a few days ago."

He walked over to Kai, "Did Sora try to do something that scared him?"

"Sora tried to approach us, but that's as far as she got."

Tai nodded, looking back at his house before going to the door, "We'll be back in a bit, Sora." He closed the door and sighed. "Where do you want to eat lunch?"

"Anywhere is fine." I smiled, wondering why he seemed to understand what was going on.

"Okay, let's get something good then." He smiled back and we headed off. "So, why did you adopt a son? Two daughters not enough fun."

I noticed that Kai was now going back to relax mode, meaning that he can sense things, "I met his mother through Ceres's mother. You know that Panther can see into the future, right?" I looked at him, not really sure who knows.

"Kari told me and about her own growing powers."

"Panther looked into her future to find a name for Kai and saw that she was going to die at childbirth. I volunteered to raise him."

"I never knew you were a family man." He smiled, "You never looked like it."

"With being in a rock band and all, right?" I smiled back.

"I wonder when I'll become that." Tai looked up at the sky. I was really glad that he loved Sora that much.

"Is there something wrong with Sora?" I had to know.

He sighed, "There's something wrong with the others as well. I think the only ones that don't have something wrong with them are Izzy, Cody and me."

I looked at him, "Why think that?"

"Kari is trying to avoid direct contact with Davis right now because he was causing her to suffocate when he was near her. Sora was giving her the same feeling." He looked at Kai, "So, I'm going to advise you to keep Kai away from Sora as well, if he was crying when she was close."

I nodded, "There has to be something that we could do to get them out of this, right? We can't just leave them like this."

"I'm not sure what can be done. I can't really feel it, but I know that something isn't right. I can tell by the way that Sora just stares at me as if she was talking or listening to me. And right now, she didn't even call me over when you came. I had to ask her why she was over at the door."

I nodded, "Maybe we can all find out what's going on. I'm sure Ceres and Panther can find out what's wrong. They've both have gotten stronger at sensing and understanding this kind of thing."

"Is Panther planning on pushing Kari? I know that I did that to her to make her stronger, but I think it probably had the opposite affect."

"I think Panther gave up on that plan. But, I haven't really asked her. Is that what you wanted to ask me?"

"Not really… I'll explain as we're eating."

I nodded. He asked me to talk about my trip to space so I did. I could see that he didn't really want to talk about his time when I was away for some reason, but I figure that it would have something to do with what he wanted to talk about. After a while, we reached the restaurant he wanted to eat at.

It wasn't an expensive place. We both ordered something and sat down. I was still holding Kai, feeding him first before I ate. Agumon was sitting in between us.

"Where is Gabumon?" Agumon asked as ate.

"He's staying home since we have someone else that delivered two days ago."

"Neon?" Tai asked.

"Yeah. You knew about that?"

"Kari gave me a lot more information when she came to see me."

I didn't really like that idea, though I didn't say anything about it. "So Gabumon is staying to take care of her since she doesn't have a lot of strength to move around."

"Oh, okay." He went back to eating.

"So," I looked at Tai, "What do you think of this group?"

"I believe that they need some direction to them."

"Direction?"

"They don't seem to be focus on what's important. We had them help us twice while you were gone, and they weren't all that thrilled to help us."

"Meaning?" I wasn't getting what he was saying.

"They don't care enough about the Digital World. I'm not even sure what they really care about, but it's not really about the Digital World."

"Didn't they stay with you guys though? I mean, they didn't not help you, right?"

"It wasn't their first option, it seemed."

"Maybe it was the way it was asked or the way that it needed to be coded?"

"Why would it need to be coded?"

"I still have some urk-ness with Yolie and Davis and Cody, though I'm sure that Cody is probably fine right now. Everyone in this group knows about it and make sure that they don't know that this group exist. If Ken, TK or Kari were near them, I'm almost positive that they would've told you want you needed to know while coding it."

"Then that's exactly why I should lead them." I was surprise that he was bringing that up now. The look in his eyes was serious too. I kinda knew that it was going to be this, but I also didn't want it to be this. I kinda wanted him to help me, to give me advice on how to be the leader that I need to be. "If I were to lead them then they wouldn't have to hide."

I looked at Kai, who was looking at me. He looked like he was also waiting for my answer as he was drinking. Why did I feel like the whole world was waiting for my answer? I didn't really want to be a leader. I wasn't good at it at all. I focused on Kai again, wondering what he would say if I just handed over this title to Tai. "Do you trust them?" I had to know this before I decided, but I wasn't going to look at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Can you believe in this group? Can you let them choose what they need to do to get their job done?"

"Are you saying that theirs is different from ours?"

I nodded, "I don't know that for sure, but I'm nearly positive." I just remembered that everyone is expecting me to take the reins and lead, but I wasn't sure if I was ready for that.

"Then I would just lead them in a way that would make their duties similar to ours." I looked at Tai, really surprise to hear that. He was still serious. "If they think that they can just be different because they are people that normally go against the rules, then I would just lead them in a way that would bring them with the group."

"What if they knew that they couldn't follow the other groups?" I don't know what Tai was thinking, but I could tell that he had put a lot of thought into this.

"Didn't your leading lead them to be dysfunctional?"

I stared at him for a moment before noticing that Kai was done, "Everyone…"

"Don't you think that what you're about to give me is an excuse? You're trying to rationalize their actions when you weren't even here."

I looked at Tai, "I believe in them. They may not be perfect, but I don't consider that a bad thing. I know that they'll grow and I know that they will become a solid group of friends."

"Isn't that what you wish to happen? How can that be when there's no direction to them? You gathered this group to satisfy your void for losing Styxmon, didn't you? You don't care what happens to this group now, as long as that prophecy doesn't come true so you can see her again, right?"

"It stopped being that ever since I got Ceres." It was true. When I woke up from the hospital and Panther cried to me about Killer, I could see that this group wasn't just about Styxmon anymore. It was about me being there for them, and more importantly, for Ceres and Panther. I know that TK still needs me for a few things, but I also know that he's slowly relying on Ken. "Do you really think that I can't handle the title leader?"

"You were so reluctant to take it." He pointed out, "Are you saying that you can now?"

I looked at Kai, who was still waiting for me to finish up, "I still don't want to, but," I looked at Tai, "if you can't believe in them, then you can't either."

"I thought…"

"I know what Styxmon said, and I know what I said to you, but this group is important to me. I gathered this group together because I was told to. If I don't start to take responsibility for what I've done, then I don't deserve to be a father."

"You consider that your own flesh and blood? Or them for that matter? You only have them by default, you know."

"I do consider them mine because I choose to have them."

"But they're not related to you in any way. Panther is just there so that you didn't have to sneak her out of jail every time you needed to go to the Digital World."

"If you really think that then you're proving to me more and more that you're not fit to lead this group."

"So you're not going to give me the title?"

"Why do you even want it? Is it actually because you think I can't handle the job or because you have some greed for power?"

He started at me for a while, though there was a sign that he was actually thinking about what I asked him. I guess he never allowed it to cross his mind before. Kai stirred in my arm so I looked down at him. He looked like he was getting bored. I knew that the others wouldn't all be leaping with joy that I have him. I noticed with Panther that they were all started to question my judgment, but that didn't matter anymore. It doesn't matter if they're of my blood or not. All that matters is that I love them all greatly and I want nothing more than their happiness. Isn't that a feeling a father should have? "Can I take it that you don't understand why?" I looked at Tai, noticing that Agumon was looking at Tai since he was quiet for so long, "Then could it be that you're really worried about Kari's well-being that you want to be present to protect her?"

"You think that I don't trust TK to do that for me?"

I smiled, "It's not a matter if you trust TK or not. It's about letting her go while knowing that you're always important."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I can see that TK still wants me around, but he's not as depend on me as he once was. He's slowly moving on to relying on someone else, and I'm okay with that, because I know that when he seriously needs my help, he will come ask me about it. I also know that he'll lightly keep me informed so that I can be there better."

"Are you saying that Kari isn't strong enough to move away from me?"

"I'm saying that you're not strong enough to let her go."

"Do you believe that since Panther believes that she can be stronger?"

"I've watched her too. I know Kari pretty well, I would like to believe. Kari has always let herself rely on you for strength, and she also did the same thing for TK. But when she needs to be strong for herself, she becomes stronger." Though, it seems like it normally happens when she's thinking about protecting someone or when she wants to reach someone, but we all need that pull to get us where we need to be. I'm sure that Panther is trying to pull her up because there is some amount of respect there. "She isn't someone that seeks power and strength, so she allows herself to reach for it when she needs it, and not before."

"Are you saying that there are people that are seeking power?"

"I shouldn't really need to answer that. I would think that's obvious."

"I mean within the groups."

I was thinking about it for a moment, "Maybe… Not like they want power all the time, but I think I know of a few that would reach for it if they wanted it." I tried to think if anyone in the other groups would want it, but the only I could think of would be Davis and Tai, "Pretty much all the people in the Neo group." I said with a smile. "Though, I think they like to find themselves and better themselves, so they actively search. That's probably why we've gotten stronger, because they pull us along."

"So, only them?"

"You and Davis would probably search for more power as well, but I don't think that you would always or something.. I don't know how to describe, but your seeking isn't the same as theirs and it's not a bad thing."

He nodded and then Kai stirred again. I looked to see that he was getting even more bored. I lifted him up, making a face at him and he laughed. "So," I looked at Tai, "what are we going to do about the leadership issue?"

I looked at Kai, "I already know what everyone else will say, so I guess I'll ask Ken, TK and Kari at some point what they think." I made another face at Kai and he laughed, "Though, I'm right now leaning towards me leading them, but you might prove me wrong and actually trust them one day before I lead." I smiled at Tai.

"A leader should be able to lead without advice."

"I guess, but it doesn't hurt to have a second opinion on these matters." I looked back at Tai, "Can I guess that we're done?"

"You haven't eaten yet." He pointed towards my food.

I laughed and started to eat what I ordered. Kai wanted to have some too, but obviously I couldn't give it to him. He started his crying face every once in a while, and I then got him to stop by making him laugh.

"I can say one thing." Tai said as we were heading back over to his house.

"Hm?" I looked at him, with Kai being all happy again.

"No one can every say that you don't love the people you adopted." Tai said with a smile, "It's so obvious that you care a lot about them, as if you were their father."

"A bond doesn't have to be formed by blood." I smiled back, "As long as there is enough love and caring between the two, then that's all you need to start a family." I touched Kai's nose, making him giggle, "Isn't that right, Kai?"

"Though, are you going to tell him about his birth?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I don't want him to be in the dark like Izzy was. Though, I'm not going to bring it up right away, since I want him to be ready for the answer. Also," I looked at Tai, "I'm going to allow him to choose what he wants to be."

"Meaning?"

"I was thinking about allowing him to call me Matt-otoosan, so that when he learns the truth, he can either call me by my name or father. Though, I'm hoping that he'll call me father, but I want him to make a choice."

"What if he calls you Matt?"

"Then I know that he wants to be with his own family, and I would allow him to go with them."

"Are you sure you would be able to let him go?"

"I'll know when the time comes." I smiled, kissing Kai's forehead, "But, that's a long way into the future, so I won't dwell on it."

"Does he have your last name?"

"Not really… On the official records, he has his mother's last name and mine, but unofficially, he has his mother's name."

"Why? Does it go back to that choice thing?"

"His mother wanted him to have her name, as a way to remember her by. Though, he can also have a choice on that too."

"I think that's a lot of responsibility for a little kid to make." Agumon said.

"I hope that it won't overwhelm him, and I'll let him know that he can still be with us no matter what he chooses." I smiled at Agumon, "But you are right, that is a lot of chooses that a young kid has to make once he understands."

"Probably by then, you'll learn how to ease the blow." Tai said. I was really glad that he was encouraging me, allowing me to know that he probably just doesn't like my judgment with the group because Kari is also in it.

I stopped before we reached Tai's house, waving bye before going towards mine. I didn't really mind walking all the way, but Tai didn't want Kai crying or Sora doing something to him. So, as I was riding the bus back, I was playing with Kai, who was enjoying it very much.

"So, you forgot to tell them that they're invited." Neon pointed out when I told her what happened.

"Oh… Yeah…" I pulled out my cell phone, texting TK to ask whomever he wanted to come to the party. I also told him to ask Kari and Ken and the others as well, so that it would fun and not get tense. "So, what do you think?" I asked once I was done.

"I say that you should be our leader, but, if you think that you can't handle it, then don't worry about it." She smiled, "Leading takes a lot of courage, especially when you're not use to it. Though, you have done a pretty good job so far."

"I don't really think so, but I'm glad no one else thinks that." I smiled.

"Just so you know, I think we're able to have everyone agree to a decision when the time comes for it. So, if you can't be our leader and Tai doesn't trust us, we'll be fine. That's what we were doing while you were gone. We all decided what we needed to do for the group as a group."

"So even though you guys were having issues with each other, you were still able to work together?" I looked at her.

She nodded, "Because we didn't want it to be known and I think Panther wanted to show you what we were able to do while you were gone."

"I figured that she would." I smiled, "I asked her to keep this group up for me while I was gone… Though, it did seem like nothing was worked out until now."

"We all probably needed that leashing out before it went through our heads." She laughed. "We're all stubborn in our own right. Oh, and Rowen stopped by today to check up on them."

"What did he say?"

"That they're looking healthy. He would like to bring them over to the hospital just once to make sure that everything is okay. I also let him know that he was invited to the party, and he said that he needed to do something that night."

"Mackenzie said that she couldn't come either, so I guess that means that I won't be able to meet her other family members." I sighed.

"You want to meet them?"

"I've heard so much about them that I want to see who they are too." I smiled, "It's not that I feel left out, but I feel like I need to see them for some reason."

"Why not just go over to his house or to the place he works?"

"I want to have a reason to go over there. I mean, if it ends up being curiosity, then I want to have a way of getting out rather than creating an awkward moment."

"You think there's something there?"

"I have a feeling that there is, but I'm not sure what it is."

She nodded, "Oh, he also said that you should ask Patamon for his number whenever you want to set up a meeting for Kai."

I nodded, "Though, it's kinda odd that Patamon has it."

"Patamon has also been acting different." Gabumon said, "We all notice it, since it seems like he's happier."

"I always thought he was happy." Gladiolusmon commented.

"It's not like he's over doing it or anything, but he's a lot more sly with his comments." Gabumon thought for a moment, "He's a lot more sinister with his remarks, when before he would be more reserve with his remarks."

"So, he would make fun of you the first chance he gets?" I summed up.

Gabumon nodded, "I can tell that he's trying to hide it so that he doesn't appear like he had changed."

"But it's obvious enough for you to notice, right?" I smiled. "TK also seems to be hiding something from me, though I'm not really sure what it is."

"Do you think he told someone what it is, though?" Neon asked.

"Probably Ken, since they weren't really training when everyone else was. They were sparing. I also noticed how much TK enjoyed it, though he was trying to hide it as well."

"Do you think he'll tell you?" Gladiolusmon asked.

"When he thinks he should, he will. I don't think that he would want to keep me out of the loop for that long. I also don't think he can hide that much from me now, anyway."

"Really? All because you're being more like yourself?" Neon asked.

"Maybe, I'm not really sure. I was normally able to read him, so it's not like that had changed."

"That's awesome. Don can't hide anything from me either." She smiled softly, "I was always able to read him. It's not like he's that honest, but he was so open around me that I was able to read him."

"Then you'll probably have no trouble with the babies." I smiled.

[Kari

"Why would I want to go to something like that?" Yolie asked when I called her. As we were walking back towards Matt's house, we were calling up the others to see if they wanted to go.

"I called incase you wanted to come, since we weren't able to be here for the actual date."

"Why would I want to go over to Matt's house for something like that? If it was at someone else's house, I would go, since I know that Panther won't be there."

"Are you really that against her?" I thought she would ignore that fact that there would be people there that she wouldn't particularly like just to see us.

"You shouldn't have to guess that. She's dangerous, and I've even warned you about her."

I looked at Panther. They were all talking amongst each other, since they said that they wouldn't care who else comes. They understood that this was not only for them, but for us as well. Yes, she was pushy, but she knew to let go actively when we got back. Yes, she was dangerous, but she has not done anything to show that she would go back to that life. In fact, she has done everything possible, until now, to prevent it. I sighed, "Fine, I'll talk to you later." I hung up. So, I had talked to Tai and Sora, and only Tai wants to come. I guess that's fine, though I would think that most of them want to get together so that we could have fun like we always had for New Years. "What's the total?" I asked as sighed again.

"Izzy and Cody are coming." TK said.

"Davis doesn't want to come, and only Mimi wants to come." Ken said with a sigh. "I really want to know what's up with them."

"So it's Mimi, Izzy and Cody?" Panther asked.

"Tai is coming too." I said.

"So four of the eight people are coming." She looked at everyone else, "Are your families coming?"

"Our Grandma is coming over around noon to look over what we need to get. Then, we'll be running around to get the stuff she needs to make it." Nereida said with a smile.

"Neon's mother is coming to help with the cooking, and my dad is bringing over some things to drink. Oh, so should we bring some sake?"

"Yeah, it is a party." Ceres said with a smile.

"My dad is just coming over with my art stuff. Normally, I have an auction where his business people come to see them, but they won't come over. I already asked Matt if we could hang them up for some decorations." Ryan said.

"Would…"

"No, I'm not putting that one up." Ryan smiled at Ceres.

"My dad can't come, but Stan will." Lily Dawn smiled. "Though, he doesn't know what to do about it."

"How about desert? Or something for after New Years?" Panther suggested.

"Sure, we can bring something, though we won't be able to make anything."

"How about bring over some recipe and we'll go around getting the stuff to make it? Then, Stan and Matt can make it." Ceres offered.

"You're making it sound like Matt needs to know Stan or something." Damon stated with a laugh.

Ceres winked, "Maybe. Anyway, we'll get the house clean very well. Neon is going to watch the babies as we get everything ready."

"Should someone get some music?" I asked.

"We could go get that." TK offered, "One of Matt's old band members is stopping by for a while, so we should get something good."

"So we have food, snacks, drinks, music, decorations. Anything else?" Ken asked.

"Party supplies!" Nereida said with a smile. "After all, we should make sure that we have some stuff to throw at each other when the whole thing is done. Oh! Can I put on my play as well?"

"Oh yeah," Damon looked at us, "Every year Nereida puts on this play where she does all the roles."

"I wouldn't see why we couldn't have that." Panther smiled, "What play are you going to be putting on?"

"I was planning on doing something from Hamlet. I've been practicing that one for a while."

"Oh, you mean the one that I used as the basis for my play?" TK asked.

"Yeah, that one."

"Should we assign who does what tomorrow?" Ryan asked.

"We'll decide that when we get there, since Matt would probably need to be informed." Ceres said.

When we got there, Matt had brought Neon down to the table, and we went straight on asking him about the party. We told him who would be coming among the old groups. We then assigned ourselves what we should do. TK and I were going to go around to get the music and to create a good mix from the stuff we get. Panther and Ceres were going to clean the house while Matt was taking care of the food stuff. Ryan is going to do the decorations and get something set up for Nereida. Neon and Don are going to watch the babies. Nereida, Damon, Tim and Lily Dawn were going to get the ingredients for whatever they would need. So, Stan didn't have to prepare something ahead of time. Ken offered to help cook since he didn't want to come along with us to get the music. I normally thought that TK and Ken were becoming so close that they would do everything together. Though, this would allow us to be by ourselves, so I didn't mind it.

[Panther

"So, what's the answer?" Ceres asked once everyone left and Neon and Don were upstairs.

"As of right now, Tai can't be the leader of this group." Matt said with a smile. "Though, that doesn't automatically make me the leader."

"Why?" Ceres was back to being pissed off again.

"Because I seriously don't want to have it and I don't think I'm the best suited for the job. And any one of you guys could just as easily lead this group, so I don't think that I need to be."

"Of course you need to be." Ceres nearly yelled. "You gathered us together, didn't you?"

"That's why I'll be the leader for now, but once there is someone more suitable to lead, I'll let them lead."

"When are you going to get it? There is no one else coming to take your place." Ceres looked really angry about something, and I could tell that it wasn't really this. It was related to this, but it wasn't this per se. "You're the only one that can lead us now…" She grew quiet again.

I looked at Matt, seeing that he wasn't showing what he thought of her outburst. "What makes you think you can't lead this group? Or Panther for that matter?" Matt didn't raise his voice or have a particular tone in his voice. "Surely, you're all capable of handling yourselves, and you all where able to function just fine without me being here. Do you really need a leader?"

Ceres stood up and went upstairs. She closed her door, as if repeating what happened last time. I looked at Matt, seeing that he was now showing sorrow. "Matt…" I asked softly. He looked over towards me, "I think something else is bothering her."

"Like what?" He seemed like he wanted to know.

"I'm not really sure… But, I can see that she does know something and is angry at some unknown meaning that your actions are saying."

Matt got up and walked over towards me. He sat down next to me, pulling my head onto his shoulder, "I'm not angry at her, Panther. I'm worried that she had placed a high hope for me and I'm now telling her that I'm not comfortable reaching it as I appeared to be before."

"What makes you think that I don't have the same thing?" I asked with a smile, liking this feeling. I wondered if this is how a family should feel like.

"I had you a bit longer than Ceres, so I know that you understand me a bit better than she does. Besides that, you were also my biggest fan."

I nodded, smiling more. That reminded me that I was always connected to Matt. I felt sorry for Ceres, since she was traveling all over the place as I stayed behind. "Someone should go talk to her, though. She normally keeps things to herself."

"I'll go talk to her. Mind watching Kai for me?"

"Gabumon's going with you?" I looked at him, since right now Gabumon had him.

"I just thought that you would like to spend some time with Kai."

I looked down, "I should have a long time for that." I didn't want to see what was in his future.

"Every bit helps, but if you don't want to, that's fine." He patted my head, "Though, I would advise getting him to bed, at the very least."

"I thought you wanted him to sleep with you." I looked at him as he got up.

"I'm going to figure that it's going to be a long night with Ceres, so I don't want to keep Kai up since he's going to be up tomorrow night."

I nodded, "Alright, I'll help."

He smiled, "Great. Good night." He said as he made his way towards the stairs. I looked at Gabumon before moving over to him. I wasn't very good at singing, though I had Rootmon backing me up, so it wasn't that bad. Kai seemed to be enjoying it too, as Gabumon was rocking him to sleep.

[Ceres

She couldn't hear what they were talking about, but she saw what Matt did. For his attention, Panther was still winning. She wondered if she was destined to be alone, even from her own family.

"You're jealously is showing." Fiterimon said in her uncaring tone.

Ceres looked at her before smiling, "Can't I feel jealous?"

"Not when it's your sister and father." Ceres had told them about what Diana had told her. She would've just told Ele, but figure that Ele would've told Fiterimon anyway. Ceres also thought that Fiterimon sometimes didn't care about what she was commenting, but learned that she says things in that way because it's her way of showing that she notices it.

Before Ceres could come back, there was a knock at the door, "Ceres? Can I come in?" It was Matt.

"Whatever." Ceres said, now knowing why she was acting like a kid right then, and not minding it as much as when she talked to Diana.

Matt came in, but Gabumon wasn't with him. "I was wondering if you wanted to talk. We could go somewhere else if you want." He asked with his smile.

Ceres studied it for a moment, seeing that his smile right then was hinting at his fatherly presence, and was more of a brother. Ceres wondered if he was confused of his own feelings, since most fathers she had known were always fathers. They were never brothers. She nodded, "Sure. Where is Gabumon?"

"He's helping Panther and Rootmon put Kai to sleep." He smiled, "I'll get our coats and we'll head wherever you want." He left to head downstairs.

"I guess pouting works for you." Fiterimon said with a hint of laughter. "Do you want us there?"

Before Ceres could answer, Ele went over to Fiterimon, climbing onto her head. Ele looked at Ceres and she nodded, "I'll be fine. You should probably help with Kai. He doesn't like to sleep."

She nodded and they all headed down. Ceres saw Matt over by Kai, "Good night, Kai. One of your big sisters needs to talk, so your other sister is going to be with you tonight." He touched his nose, making him giggle. Matt looked over by the stairs and smiled, "Ready?"

Ceres nodded, hiding her embarrassment from everyone. She blew a kiss to Kai before they headed out. It was pretty cold outside. "Where should we head?" She looked at Matt as they walked.

"Anywhere you want. I'm not sure what's really open at this time of night, so we might just have to deal with vending machines."

"I think I know of a place." Ceres smiled to herself, moving a bit ahead of Matt, "Follow me." She started to run.

"A night club?" Matt asked once they got to it. Ceres was breathing pretty hard since they ran all the way here, though Matt didn't seem to be affected.

"Yeah, it's warm and has lots of drinks." She smiled.

"Kinda a loud place to talk, though. Oh well, lead on." Matt smiled.

Ceres went inside and Matt followed. Matt paid for them to get in and Ceres went to the top floors, where there was less music blasting in your ears. Matt got them something to drink as Ceres got them a table. "Here you go." Matt said as he placed her drink down. Matt couldn't get tea, so he was having water. Ceres, on the other hand, was having something from the bar that they had. She suddenly felt bad for drinking in front of him. "Does this place only have techno?" He asked after a moment.

"It can have other things too."

"Oh, okay." He smiled, "So, why don't you like the fact that I'm not confident in myself?"

Ceres looked away, "It seems like you're not taking responsibility for what you've done." More important, it seemed like he was disregarding Diana.

"Is there something else?" Ceres looked at him, "Because I think I've shown that even though I don't want it, I'm in that position because I know that I'm responsible for bringing everyone together."

"But you don't want it. That Crest was the leader in the past…"

"Ceres," Matt interrupted her, "The past needs to stay in the past. Yes, learn from it, but don't make that your standard."

Ceres blinked, "Huh?"

"You were about to say that since this Crest," He held up Virtue, "was the leader of the Digimon in the ancient past that it should be the leader in the present time. What if the holder of this Crest wasn't as strong as someone else in the group? What if the holders of Trinity are more able to lead than the one that holds this one? Would you still want Virtue to lead, even though it's obvious that it shouldn't?"

"I'm sure that the one holding Virtue would grow to be the leader. Some things just can't be denied."

"I realize that, but the past shouldn't be a standard. Just because someone else did the same thing while bearing the same name doesn't mean that everyone else bearing that name has to do the same thing. People are different from each other, so they shouldn't even try to compare."

Ceres wondered if that's what Matt was doing before. Was he subconsciously comparing himself to Diana? "Okay, so I should say that you are the strongest person in our group and the most able to keep this group together."

"Isn't your Crest stronger than mine?" He asked with a sly smile, something that Ceres had never seen on his face before. She also remembered that they had told Matt before they were separated what her Crest name was. "Are you saying that you can't keep the group together?"

"I could, if I wanted to, I guess…"

"But you also don't want the responsibility, right? You don't want so many people depending on you for the support and guidance that they would need."

"Do you?"

"At the beginning, no; I didn't want everyone to rely on me when I didn't want to be relied on. I was still learning how to deal with Panther, who was still fresh out from her gang. I'm not saying that she was wild and rebelling, but I didn't know how to raise someone and especially someone who had already grown up and was around TK's age. I wanted to focus on her before I had other people to worry about."

"And now?" Ceres had always thought that they hit it off pretty well. That they naturally clicked and that's why they were so close. Did something happen that changed one of their minds to allow them to have the relationship they do now?

"In order to be a parent, I need to let others rely on me. I need to get in as much practice as possible. Plus, I want to know everyone and make sure that they're alright. I guess what I want is for the little babies to call everyone else their family."

"You consider us your kids?"

"I know it's strange to consider someone who is as old as my brother to consider them kids, and that in normal case, they wouldn't need to be adopted, but I try to think so."

"Try?"

He leaned back for a moment, "I know that I can't be your father all the time, since it would be weird. So, I try to be a brother as well so that it wouldn't be as weird. I'm good at being a brother, so I try to be that a bit more than a father." He smiled.

So now Ceres knew. She wondered if there was a struggle between what his heart knew and what his mind registered, and there was. Though, she thought it was funny how he was able to come to the conclusion that he just needed to be a different kind of family member rather than being something different. "You think we need a family that much?" She asked with a soft smile.

He nodded, "Panther lost hers at a young age. I'm not sure how close she really was to them, but I don't doubt that left a mark on her. All you had was a mother that allowed you to travel, so you didn't really get that much chance at a normal family life, right?" Ceres looked down at the ground before nodding, deciding to be honest. "So, I figure that I ought to try to give you something that you hadn't had a good chance at having. To give you that sense of belonging that comes from being a family."

Ceres smiled, knowing that this was how he was able to rationalize his feelings. "So, with Kai you're going to give him the same thing?"

"Kinda… How can I put this… With him, it's more like I'll try to make sure that he's happy. He lost his mother at birth and is adopted by someone that won't be able to tell him anything about her. I don't know how that will go when he comes to realize it. And he still has family out there, so he might want to go with them instead. I've decided that when he comes to realize all of this, that I'll allow him to go wherever he needs to go rather than keeping it from him."

"Do you want him to go with his true family?"

"I don't think so… There's something really special about him that makes him even cuter." Matt smiled at some memory, "I don't really want to give him up to anyone, and I doubt that's going to change."

"The same with us?" Ceres wondered. After all, they were a bit older than Kai. "Would you not want to give us up to anyone?"

"Well, I think I already lost in that department." He smiled, "You both have boyfriends that are waiting for you to return. But, if it doesn't hinder your future, I would like you both to stay."

"Is that how a father is supposed to respond?" Ceres really wouldn't know.

"Sounds too cliché to be?" Matt asked with a smile. "Honestly, I don't know how a father is supposed to act like, but then I figure that even fathers don't know how they're supposed to act like. I figure that as long as I can keep you guys happy and smiling that I'm doing a good job."

Ceres smiled to herself, "Though, you do know that you can get mad at us, right?"

"Maybe with Kai, but I can't with you two."

"Why?"

"Because I didn't raise you. You two grew up on your own, so the things you do and the way you do it is all a result of surviving in the world you created. How can I get mad at something like that?"

Ceres laughed a bit, "I guess you have a point. Is that why you don't mind coming here?"

"Wouldn't be my first choice, but I guess anywhere else we go would've closed by now anyway." He smiled.

"Hey," someone came over to them, "how about you leave this old geezer and have some fun with us?"

"Not interested." Ceres said without even noticing who else was involved. She wondered if Matt could hear this or not. "Bye." She smiled at them.

The guy then took his leave, "Who was that?" Matt asked.

"I don't know." She shrugged, "Though, they considered you old."

"Guess I should feel insulted?"

Ceres laughed, "Don't mind being called old?"

"Not my fault if they have a sight problem. I better track them down, then, so I can tell them that they need some glasses."

"And ruin their bad boy image?" Ceres asked with a smile.

"Trying out the look is already doing so."

Ceres laughed, "Do you want to go dancing?" It felt weird being here and not dancing.

"If I go down with you, I'll probably start a fight." He said with a laugh.

"Why?"

"Because I'll probably be more of a father than a brother down there, and that will cause problems. I was already having a problem with that guy talking to you."

Ceres laughed before getting up and giving him a hug, "You're the best!"

Matt laughed a bit before hugging her back, "So all I have to do is refuse to dance and I'm the best?" He smiled at her.

Ceres sat down beside him, "Pretty much." She smiled. She was really glad that Matt was comfortable with his actual role and he's fighting to be that side more often than not. "So don't ever lose that side of you."

"What side is that?"

Ceres leaned into him, glad that there was a sense of peace at this moment. Was this a feeling that a child got from a loving parent? Was this the feeling that a daughter got from her father? "The side that's a father. I have lots of brothers already."

Matt patted her head, "Sure thing."

"Ryan is, surprisingly, a gentleman." Ceres stayed where she was, liking the feeling she was getting.

"Why surprisingly?"

"I don't know… I kinda figured that he would be a bit crude since he hanged with Panther for so long, but he has a big complex when it comes to his friends."

"Are you saying that Lily Dawn is crude?"

"I could tell that she had a strong opinion of me… Not like one where she hates me personally, but one that said that I hate your relationship with my best friend."

"Really?"

"Yeah… Though, there are certain things that can only be done by them, so she doesn't have to worry about that."

"Would you want to be apart of it, if you could?"

"Maybe… Probably, though I know that I could never be on the same level as them." She doesn't know if a sister had a higher level than best friend. She knew that sisters could be best friends, but she didn't know that if they weren't, who was higher. "But, Ryan surprised me while on the trip… The last place we were at before getting on the plane was a city that one of my friends lived at. She didn't know the organization that's after me, but I pointed out stuff that would most likely to be them. Because of that, when she saw something that could be them, she decided to help out the police. She was then killed, because she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time… The organization didn't kill her, though.. Anyway, as we were tracking down one of the big wigs in the area that was part of that organization, Ryan was being very protective. At first, I thought it was because I was in trouble, but then saw that he was willing to protect everyone. I mean, everyone was going to protect me, but he was the one that was ready to jump in the moment I needed it. I guess I kinda feel closer to him because of it."

Matt placed his head on my head, "I'm glad. I'm also glad that you didn't leave."

"Huh?" Ceres looked at him, though he didn't move his head. "What do you mean?"

"Well, every once in a while, I kept wondering if you would leave to go back into the world. I was worried that when we all returned, you wouldn't be apart of that."

"What would you have done?"

"Probably try to find you. I know that I'll probably have to let you go one day, but I didn't want it to be so soon."

Ceres rested her head on the same spot where she was before. She was also smiling to herself. "Okay."

So a few more hours, they were just talking about anything that came to them. Before the place closed, they had left to return home. Ceres really felt like she had made her mark on Matt, that she was now his daughter and he knew it. Ceres could see it with how he was now behaving around her. He had stopped with all his brotherly actions and was being a father to her without losing his fun side. She wondered how her life would've been like living under this.

"What are you still doing up?" Matt asked as they entered the house, seeing that everyone that was supposed to be watching Kai was up.

"You're the only one that can put him to sleep." Panther said.

They walked over, with Ceres noticing that it was nearly two in the morning. Kai was making noises saying that he was happy to see them again.

"What are you doing?" Matt asked in a bit of a baby voice. He picked up Kai from Gabumon. "Are you being a bad boy right now?"

Kai was making noises, as if refusing to accept this. Ceres then thought she got want Matt was saying. Babies weren't that responsive around his age.

"What happened?" Matt asked as he started to rock Kai, which wasn't making him all that happy.

"Okay, so it went like this." Fiterimon started, "Panther was singing him to sleep, but it wasn't working. We thought it was just her singing, so we went to have Neon sing to him. He was falling asleep until the moment before he was actually asleep, to where he started to cry his little heart out. It was enough to wake up her babies, so we came down here and Don helped us get him to calm down again. So, we've decided that we should see if you can get him to go asleep."

Matt looked at Kai, "You bad boy." He smiled at him before he started to sing. Kai was then out, like he was staying up just so that Matt could sing him to sleep.

"That's really weird." Rootmon said.

"I guess even he has his limits." Matt laughed a bit, "I wonder if I should keep him with Neon later today."

"See what happens. Maybe he'll sleep all day." Fiterimon offered.

"I don't think Kai would like that idea too much."

"You're making him sound like a child, not a baby." Panther pointed out.

"He has a lot of personality for a baby. I mean, I felt like I could feel what he was saying, as if he had a consciousness."

"You mean more than the basic 'I want food and diaper change'?"

"Yeah." He looked at me, "You saw it too, right? Like right now, he was saying that he wasn't being a bad boy."

Ceres nodded, "It looked like he was refusing the statement, though he doesn't act like that around me."

"I only noticed it when I was talking to Tai."

"Did you guys notice that?" Panther looked at the others.

They shook their heads. "Well, in either case, it's late so let's get some sleep." Matt stated as they all headed up to bed.

"So, what occurred?" Fiterimon asked.

"He's now being a father to me." She smiled.

"Okay." And they fell asleep.

[Damon

The next day, everything was going smoothly. We were running around like we were supposed to, getting everything in a timely fashion for them to make their stuff. Matt didn't seem to be too hard on Stan, which I guess is a good thing. We even bought little outfits for the babies to wear. Once the food was made, the other Digidestined showed up since they weren't going to help with the preparations. Matt's table wasn't big enough to fit everyone, so we weren't going to use it since he didn't have a bigger one.

I noticed how Panther was minding her own business, though I wondered if she could feel the same thing I was. I was glad that Mimi was talking to us, since she didn't seem to like us all that much before. Cody was even surprise to see us here, though he didn't question why we were here. Anyway, with Tai and Mimi, there was something inside of them. I could only tell because I think I could feel it. Panther and Don eventually told us what happened to me when we were knocked out, and I guess having him inside of me for that long awakened something inside of me. I could feel when spirits are around and I think most want to possess me too. Theirs was trying, but I stayed near my Grandmother since that was keeping them at bay.

"Is something troubling you?" Tim asked as he got me to help him get more drinks. We were keeping them in the kitchen, so that it isn't near Matt all that much. "You've been hanging out with Grandma all this time."

I hadn't told Nereida and Tim about it yet, more afraid that Tim wouldn't understand. Though, I haven't even told Grandmother about it, either. "There's something about Tai and Mimi that is getting to me."

"Like what?" He looked at me. I knew he had changed, but he hasn't really display what he thought of our powers yet. I didn't know if he wanted us to keep it hidden like before or not.

"… I think I'm a medium for spirits…"

"You are?" He asked with surprise before coming over to me, "Since when?"

"Um… I guess I've always been, but on the trip is when it finally came out."

"Were you okay? Did anything happen?" He had concern all over his face.

"Panther made sure that nothing happen and I was safe."

He let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad… So Tai and Mimi have something inside of them that's trying to get into you? Does Grandma know?"

I shook my head, surprise to hear this from the former non-believer.

"Tell her so that she knows what she's doing." He looked around for a moment, "I'll see what I can do to keep some level of calm around here." He patted my head, "Mom was a medium too." He walked back out to the others.

I stood there for a moment, unable to gather this all in.

"Is there something wrong?" Don came up behind me with Krypton in his arms.

"I… I think Tim believes now…" I looked at him, "He just told me that my mother was also a medium…"

Don looked at Tim, seeing him talking to Ceres, "Why did it even come up?" He looked at me.

"Something inside of Tai and Mimi is trying to get into me. I've been staying near my Grandmother for that reason. It doesn't seem to want to get near me when I'm near her."

"But there's nothing in Izzy or Cody?"

"Right."

He nodded, "I'll let Panther know, though try to stay safe."

I nodded and headed back out with him.

[Don

"Gotcha." Panther said with a smile. "I wonder what Tim needed Ceres for, though."

"Probably something that only their group knows." I offered.

"I guess..."

"Are you feeling anything?"

She nodded, "But if Kari is okay around them, I figure that it isn't that bad… Though, it does feel like something really dark is going to happen."

I nodded, "I'll keep my eyes open."

She smiled, "I will too."

[Nereida

"It's getting closer to midnight. What are we going to do?" Lightningmon asked. Matt was hanging around his band friend most of the time.

"We have to do something to keep him here." I said, now trying to think of something. "I know! We should start stealing stuff."

"What? What if Panther or Ceres sees?"

"Then we have to be that good."

"Then there's a possibility that Matt won't see."

"Then we'll just have to steal something that he will notice as a starter before going to other stuff."

"And if he asked?"

"Say it's practice." I smiled.

She sighed, "I guess that works. Okay, let's do it."

I smiled before we headed over to him. I was trying to think of what we could steal that would start off this whole thing. I then noticed that Kai was in his hands, the perfect starter. I made sure that I had a path that went to someone else, finding that Grandmother and Damon were the easiest ones to go to; perfect excuse to steal Kai. I went in for the steal, with Lightningmon ready to come in if my plan didn't work.

I managed to get Kai in my hands without Matt noticing him missing. When I took my next step, Kai started to whine. I stopped to look at him, wondering why.

"Why do you have Kai?" I looked behind me to see that Matt and his friend were now looking at me. He looked at Kai for a moment before giving me a 'why are you stealing him' look.

"I was going to have my Grandmother look at him." I said without any hesitation.

"Uh huh, and when was I going to know?" His eyes told me that he was going to keep an eye on me.

I smiled, getting what I wanted, "When I gave him back."

"Then make sure that Kai wants to go. I don't want him setting off a chain reaction."

I looked at Kai, who was now wiggling in my arms. "How about it, Kai? Do you want to see my Grandmother?"

He moved in my arms, as if trying to get away. I looked at Matt to get a translation. "He doesn't want to go." He walked over to me, plucking Kai from my arms. Kai was then more comfortable back in Matt's arms.

"He has a lot of spirit." I commented.

"I've been noticing that too. I don't think it's a bad thing, though."

"Probably not. Well, since he didn't want to go, I'll leave him with you." I smiled before walking off. Once Matt was getting relaxed again, we started to steal stuff up until it was midnight. I noticed that everyone else was trying to hide their worry about the prophecy as we were getting excited about being together on New Years. I was glad that Matt wasn't catching on.

When it stroke midnight, we were all cheering and an amazing feeling was noticed. It didn't matter at this moment with our group what had occurred and any other lingering trouble that might be around. We were all glad that we were together. I actually felt that, for once, we were the group that we were meant to be.

I could see that the Digimon were all glad as well. They seemed to have a transcending experience as well. I couldn't tell whether it was some memory of the past that they were all rejoicing over, or if they just love the fact that they're with us now.

"Should we still be stealing stuff?" Lightningmon asked after a while.

"Yeah, we should make sure that it won't come true."

She nodded and we went back to what we were doing before.

[Hebe

"I hope they succeed." Killer commented as we were watching the events unfold. It seemed like Gabumon was the one that was mainly stealing the stuff back, though Matt was watching them. He looked like he wanted to know why they were now stealing.

"Though, if it's after midnight, do they still have to worry?" Ilpalo asked.

"Yes." I said, "Because the time on the clock doesn't mean that the moon is in its highest placement at that point." I went outside, seeing that the night was still rising to that point, "It'll be there in an hour. As long as she can keep him inside for that long, then they'll be fine."

I turned it back to the inside of the place, watching everyone since we could do so.

"Why did you come, anyway?" Tai looked at Mimi.

"I thought it would be fun. I mean, they did just come back."

"Why didn't Joe come as well?" No one else was around them, or at least talking to them. They were going into the kitchen for some more drinks. Nereida had also performed her play, which was really awesome.

"He's taking Sora's side." She said with a sigh before realizing what she said, "Oh, sorry."

Tai looked at the table, "I really wish I knew what was up… Though, on what issue?" He looked at Mimi.

"The one that says she should just come live with Matt. Seriously, I thought she gave up on the idea the moment he rejected her… And now that he has Panther, Ceres and Kai living here… Plus, I know that he never loved her the way you do."

"Never?"

Mimi nodded, "Matt and I are close, which is hard to see sometimes. When I heard that they broke up, I called Matt and started to ask about it, since I thought that Sora was the one that broke up with him. When Matt started to tell me everything that led up to it, I asked if he had ever loved her the way that we all know you do. He flat out told me no."

"Why did he even date her, then?"

"He told me that he couldn't remember clearly, but it was something dealing with her cookies. You know, the one that she made him all those years ago. And when he was showing us Styxmon, you could tell right then that he was in love with her before even he knew about it." She sighed, "But, I don't agree with Sora, and so that's an issue we're arguing over a lot nowadays."

"Why is that causing problems?"

"He seems to have the attitude that he's willing to go the distance to help her out, which first meant that he would find a way to seek her into his life again, but now I'm worried what that could mean."

"You really think he would do something to Kai? You think Matt loves him that much?"

"We all know how he gets when something is said about Panther or Ceres, and then times that by a hundred and you'll probably get an estimate at how he'll be with Kai."

"You've seen him around babies?"

"All you got to do is watch him for a moment to see how much he loves that baby. I know he doesn't care if he's blood related, it's all about the bond that gets created."

"I hope you two are enjoying the party." Matt said when he came in.

"We are." Mimi smiled, "Kai's not with you?"

"He got hungry so Ceres is feeding him."

"Why is Ceres feeding him?" Tai asked.

"She wants to so I let her."

"Why can't you?" Mimi asked.

"Because I don't have boobs and I can't watch because it's a bit disturbing."

"Don't you need to be pregnant to have the milk?"

"And why is it disturbing?" Tai asked.

"She knows some technique that allows it to flow out without that occurring."

"I got to see this." Mimi walked out.

"And I just can't stand the sight of Ceres doing it." Matt explained to Tai as he walked over, "I know I don't have an overall problem with it, just when it comes to Ceres."

"Maybe you don't want to see something that would normally mean that she's not a kid anymore." Tai said with a laugh, "I probably would have a hard time imagining Kari doing something like that."

"I think all the girls are thinking about what they would do if they have kids. Everyone was heavily involved with thinking up ways to raise them old-school, so I'm sure they're thinking about what they would use as well. Oh, I was told that everyone used their Jewels. How did that go?"

"It wasn't great once the side affect came in, but it wasn't that bad to use. Sora's only last as long as she is conscious, and I don't know how long it took her to be unconscious. We can also give it to our Digimon, but they also feel the side affects."

"Really?"

"Davis and I did that with our Digimon, and it worked just the same."

"That would be good to know in the future."

"Yo, Matt," the unknown guy came into the kitchen, "I need to head back to my place."

"Okay, I'll walk you out a bit." I took a quick look outside, seeing that the stars were nearing that hour. I went back inside just as quickly, "Nah, he needs to go to bed soon anyway."

"Okay, so I'll meet you at the door." He went back out into the group, allowing us to know that Nereida needed to keep his butt inside now.

"Oh," Tai said before Matt was about to head out, "I think we need to seriously talk at some point."

"About what?" Matt didn't seem to like the idea all too much, but I was glad that he was getting distracted.

"It doesn't have anything to do with your group." Tai said with a smile, "It's a bit more personal than that."

"If you're having problems with TK…" Matt started before Tai started to laugh. "What?"

"Man," Tai said as he calmed down, "If only Sora could see our order of importance…"

Matt looked away a bit, but not in shame, but in sadness. I looked at Tai, seeing that he was now becoming sad as well, "I don't know when my work will start up again, but we can meet, if you want." Matt finally said.

"Yeah… I understand…"

"You're welcome to stay tonight if you don't want to go back."

"Maybe… we'll see when you end your party." Tai said with a smile. "Anyway, you better hurry up."

Matt nodded, though walking out with no really joy on his face for a moment. He walked over to Ceres, who was done with feeding Kai. Nereida was stealing something right then as Matt met up with Gabumon.

"Should we do something about that one?" Gabumon asked.

"Yeah, I'm about to head out so let them know that they better tell us why they were doing that as we're all heading to bed."

"Okay, though do you think maybe it's for practice?"

"There's a reason for it, because she's doing it so that only we notice it."

"I think more of you than me, since they only steal stuff when you're looking for them."

"Then I would definitely like to know why."

"Maybe it's for that prevention thing she has to do?"

"Yeah, like stealing my stuff is going to prevent the world from collapsing."

"Good point." Gabumon sighed, "I'll go let her know." He started to head over to them, though doing so in a way that wouldn't make he seem all that alive.

Matt went over to Ceres, who was allowing Mimi to hold Kai at the moment, "Ask who wants to stay and get the baby ready for bed."

"Where are you going?" Panther asked, who was with them as well.

"I'm walking out with Taijen since he's leaving for a trip."

"Just remember that Kai will only go to sleep with you."

"Really?" Mimi asked.

"Yeah, we tried to get him to go to sleep while Matt was out yesterday, and it didn't work." Rootmon said, making me realize that the Digimon were mainly in hiding, though also not trying all that hard by this time to be hidden.

"So he only goes to sleep when you're around. How cute." Mimi looked at Matt.

"I'm not sure if I could deny that or not." Matt said with a laugh, "Anyway, I need to get going so he doesn't miss his train so I'll see you when I come back."

"Hurry back." Ceres said before Matt headed over towards the door. We were looking at Nereida, who was busy talking to Cody and Damon about something as Matt went out the door.

"So we lost." Ilpalo said as we watched Matt and his friend talk about whatever as they headed on their way.

"Maybe there's still a chance. If Matt himself doesn't allow it to occur, then it won't, right?" Killer looked at me, "Because Arsmon needs to do something to Matt, so he would have to get close enough to do so."

"Normally, mortals don't have the power to change their course."

"But Matt is a god himself, so he might be able to."

"You're hoping for a lot." Ilpalo pointed out.

"This is the guy that is protecting my girl and someone she has idolized ever since he started his band. Of course I would want him to be safe."

"We'll just have to wait and see." The two waited by a bus station, making me remember all the times I would walk with Nereida around before seeing her off at a bus station so she could go home. A piece of my heart ached with the knowledge that I would probably never have the chance of doing so again. I looked at the stars to see that they were now at the position that they would be when it was the middle of the night. "Here it comes."

[Me

The bus pulled up the station and Taijen got on. I waved to him as the bus pulled away and started to head back since Kai needed his sleep. I looked up at the sky, remembering what the Earth looked like from way up there and how vast everything seemed. It's hard to believe that I am a god that is ruling everything. Well, maybe not everything, but I am a god that is part of the universe hierarchy.

Having the others there reminded me that I probably need to tell Mimi the stuff that's been going on. We've always been close friends. I'm not even sure as to why, though. I guess it might be that she had become witty or something and I was the only one that gave it back.

I'm now thinking that it was funny that she was the only one that called me to ask why the break up occurred and seriously thought that Sora broke up with me and that I was probably hurting. Everyone else was consider for Sora, expect for TK and Ken. But yeah, I need to talk to her too about what's going on.

I sighed, "Man, what's going on with Sora?" I didn't want to deal with this. This part was supposed to be over and done with. I have other things to worry about than her.

_You know you're not the only one._

I looked up to see who said that. It was more of a whisper than a telepathic voice. I noticed Arsmon was standing in front of me.

"Hi Arsmon." I said with a smile, walking towards him. "There's a party going on at my house, if you were looking for Nereida. You're welcome to catch the end of it, if you want."

He looked down at the ground, making me stop. "I'm sorry." He said before suddenly appearing in front of me. He moved his arm as if to punch me with his palm open, and something started to enter me.

[Nereida

"You two need to tell us why you're stealing stuff." Gabumon said as he got the items back.

"Of course." I smiled, before looking up. "Where's Matt?"

Panther and Ceres yelped, making everyone look over at them. They were glowing for some reason.

"What's going on?" Ryan asked, walking over towards them.

"Don't know…" Ceres said.

"Maybe…" Panther started before something crashed through the window. I couldn't see what it was, but then a whole lot of bats were flying around. I looked around with horror, seeing that Matt was no where.

"What the hell?" I heard someone say as we made our way towards the door.

"Nereida!" I looked back to see Tim calling for me, "What are you doing?"

"It's the prophecy and Matt's in the middle of it." I cried, knowing fully well that I had failed Arsmon.

"You guys need to call the others and come with us." Kari said, looking at their old group.

"What's going on?" Tai looked at her.

"We don't have time to explain." I said, "We'll do so along the way, but we have to hurry." I then remembered what Arsmon said his master wanted. She wanted death and carnage. We had to stop that. We had to do something to set Matt free.

Ceres did something to the door and we all headed out. I looked up at the sky, seeing that the bats were blanketing the sky. You couldn't see a star anywhere.

"This is reminding me of the prophecy that we were told." Mimi said as we were all running. "What's going on?"

"The prophecy that we were told was wrong." TK said, "The prophecy isn't supposed to happen once, but multiple times so that Digimon can get to their new stages of higher power that is normally hard to obtain."

"How was it wrong?" Tai asked.

"It doesn't deal with the sun, but with the moon; and the King just rules over stuff, not appear in a true form." Ceres said, "Though, we were told that we needed to look at it again for some reason."

"Are you saying that Myotismon is rising again?" Cody asked.

"It's probably not him, since he's already a Super Level and that's the stage that everyone needs to reach." Ken said.

I looked up at a building, seeing Arsmon standing there. He then started to jump over the rooftops. I then started to run faster after him, knowing that he was leading us to where Matt was. The bats were getting thicker as I could feel something was happening around here. I had lost sight of Arsmon about this time too, but figured we were in the right direction before I was pulled to a hauled.

"Let go of me!" I said, struggling in Tim's arms. "We have to go in there."

"Something's really off about it!" He yelled back, wrapping his arms tighter around me.

"What are you sensing?" Ceres asked.

I stopped, hearing the seriousness in her voice. "There's a lot of other spirits around there, and the kind ones are fleeing. Get us on a roof so we can see what's going on before we do something."

I looked over at her as she nodded, closing her eyes and chanted something which got us up on a roof top. Tim let go of me then and I went over to the edge. I looked down to see that there were people fleeing and creatures chasing them, killing them in cold blood. Some were burning buildings, and we now heard the screams of the people down below. _This is what she wanted?_

"This is the prophecy?" Izzy asked.

"How is Matt involved?" Panther asked.

I started to cry, knowing that all of this was my fault. "The Mysterious group knew about the prophecy and knew who the King of the Undead was." Lightningmon was explaining for me. "That King is Matt, being the ultimate God of the Death and Darkness."

Silence fell over them, as they saw what that god was able to do. "But… He didn't want any harm to come to Matt. How could he be doing this?" Neon asked.

"A member is able to host souls and that is what is needed to bring out this side."

"How are we supposed to defeat a god?" Ken asked.

"They're one person," Lily Dawn said, "We saw the god before, and we know that they're one person."

"Matt would never let that happen!" Tai said.

"Standing around isn't going to help us." Panther said, "Okay, so we need to find Matt and we need the other Digidestined here." I then noticed that the people that were killed were now walking again.

"How do you know about them?" Cody asked, reminding us all that they don't know.

"We're Digidestined too." She said without any hesitation, "No one told you because we're the group that Styxmon helped found and Matt knew how much you, Davis and Yolie opposed her. Now, we need the others here because of that prophecy."

"What about Matt? You're not going to forget about him, are you?" Tai asked.

"You let us worry about getting him back, because we will."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because we've all been waiting for him." Ceres said, "He's our leader and we'll fight to get him back." I looked at her, seeing that she was touching her amulet, "And we don't care if you think he's not fit to lead, because we know that he is. Now, we're wasting time. People are dying."

Tai pulled out his cell and called someone. Mimi, Izzy and Cody did the same.

"Since we're dealing with a god.." I said as I slowly stood up, getting some courage from what Ceres said, "we have to let them be in a formation."

"Why?" Kari asked.

"The angels of Peace are needed, so we should be closer to Matt." TK said.

I shook my head, "We only have one shoot at this. We can't take chances." I looked over to see that Don was healing up Neon, now making me worry about Lily Dawn. I also noticed that Kai was with Panther. "Panther, since you have Kai, you need to see if you can bring Matt out long enough to be shot with an arrow…"

"What do you mean you can't come?" We all looked at the others, seeing that each one was now mad.

Ceres started to chant again and suddenly they were all there with us. "Take a look down below!" She yelled at them as they were all dumbfounded. "People are dying! It might not deal directly with the Digital World, but Matt is involved and your home town is involved. Don't you dare tell me that you don't give a damn about one of those two!"

They looked over and I could see that they now finally understood. I could see that they all saw the horror that was still occurring down there. The screams weren't ceasing.

"What formation do you think we need?" Ken asked, as if trying to focus on the battle plan.

"We should use the one that I was shown when we were looking for the jewels." TK said, "That's probably the best one since it was used to show me how Patamon would evolve."

"What was that formation?" Kari asked.

"Clockwise: Tai, Davis, Matt, me, Izzy, Cody, Joe, Ken, Mimi, Yolie, Sora, and Kari."

"Should we be in a formation too?" Neon asked.

"I wouldn't know what kind." I said.

"I have one." Ceres said, pulling out some kind of charm that had three layers to it. "All we need to do is find Endmon and Eternalmon and we're able to get this done."

"But we don't know where they are." Ryan said.

"We're here." We heard a voice behind us. We looked to see that they just came through a portal. "We knew that you guys would need us." Endmon said. "And the group that caused this has appeared as well."

I was stunned, but remembered that his master wanted death. She even wanted ours, if that was our fate. I pulled myself together, "Then we have to get this done." I looked at Ceres, "What's the order?"

"Clockwise: Matt, Kari, Don, Lily Dawn, Panther, Ryan, Neon, Ken. Tim, Damon and you are to be near Ken and you two are near Kari. I'm in the center."

"Okay, we'll do that." Tim said.

"Yoh," She looked at them, "Do you know who has Miracle and Destiny?"

"No one really has them." Ken said, bringing out something from his pocket, "but we can use these." He opened his hand to show the jewels of those Crests.

"Miracle goes with Kari and Destiny goes with Matt." Ken gave one to Kari and the other to Panther.

"Are we ready?" Ryan asked.

"I think so…"

"This can't be happening…" We heard from behind. We looked to see Yolie fall to her knees in disbelief at what she was seeing. I didn't want to look. We were high enough to not see the details, but we will have to witness it first hand when we go down below. Right then, something with wings came from below and came right at us. Ceres did something to stop it and Panther came right up to it, sticking something in its throat without getting Kai in danger. They then kick the creature back below, though I didn't want to know if they killed it or not.

"Why would there be demons?" Ceres asked, looking at me.

"I don't know… maybe because Matt is connected to both this world and the Digital World… I saw people that were killed come back to life as well." I said, now trembling at the thought that this was all happening because I failed to do what I said I would do.

"Then we have to keep them contained as well." She closed her eyes for a moment, "Matt's over that way." She pointed to east. "So we'll spilt up according to our placement and contain the demons that are lose as well as the Digimon."

"Since Endmon and Eternalmon need to be near me, you two should come with us." Kari said, looking at them. They nodded. "And we'll take care of this area."

"I'll go with Panther to make sure that she can make it to Matt." Ceres said.

"I'll go with Tai and Davis." Don said.

"I'll go with TK." Lily Dawn said.

"We'll help Sora and Yolie." Damon said.

"Then Mimi will come with me." Ken said.

"Then that leaves the rest with us." Neon said, with Ryan nodding.

"I'll go with TK and Lily Dawn." We looked to see that Izzy was walking over towards us, "if that's alright."

"Then let's spread out and make sure that everyone is in their right position." Panther said before her and Ceres jumped off the roof, heading towards Matt.

"Let's move out!" Don said, heading over towards Tai and Davis. Most of them were stun, and I couldn't blame them, but this was no time to not be a hero.

"How can you be so…" Yolie started but Don picked her up by her shirt.

"We're not. We're afraid just like you, but we know that we need to fight to stop this from continuing. Now, get off your ass and fight." He pushed her to stand. "You two are coming with me." He looked at his people.

"Who…"

"Now's not the time, Davis!" Tai said, looking at Don, "Lead the way."

Don nodded and they headed off.

As we were getting ours, I noticed that TK kissed Kari on her forehead before leaving with Lily Dawn and Izzy. I looked out to where the carnage was taking place, and knew that my love was in there somewhere. It made known clearly that life can't be understood and that I probably didn't deserve to understand it.

[Ceres

They were fighting demons left and right. Gabumon came along with them, and Panther was holding Kai protectively. Ceres was amazed that he wasn't crying or making a fuss, as if knowing that this was important. As they were getting closer, the demons were getting stronger.

"There's no way in hell that I'm letting them stop us." Panther said as they were running towards them. "We're getting to Matt, one way or another."

"Agreed." Ceres stopped and summoned a vortex that would send them back to an underworld. She was breathing hard afterwards, wanting to rest. She looked up to see that the people who were killed were walking towards them now, all murmuring something as they made their approach. Ceres looked upon them with horror, sensing that they were people that were killed by her own hands. Ceres could no longer stand, feeling the slime of blood that was on her hands.

"Ceres!" Panther pulled her up to her feet, "Get a hold of yourself."

"It's not affecting you?" Ceres looked at her, "It feels like they're crying, trying to escape the loneliness of death and seeking revenge."

"Whatever they want, they're not going to get." Panther said firmly. "And it's not affecting me as much because this is my world, my side of the spectrum. Now, we need to go through."

Ceres nodded, gathering up her courage before they went forward. As they were near, they were showing their lifeless desire for life, as if following some zombie movie. They also heard their murmur. They were calling for Matt, saying his name as if trying to find him. Panther sliced one of their throats without a second thought, "He'll do nothing for you!" She yelled before going at them, to make a path.

Ceres was following after, hacking away at the ones that were trying to separate them. It seemed like eternity before they reached the building that Matt was on. "Go up and we'll keep them at bay." Ceres said, turning around as Fiterimon got on the ground now.

"Good luck." She said as the rest went up the stairs.

The zombies were walking over towards them again.

"Are you sure you can handle this?" Fiterimon asked.

"Yeah, I'll manage. I can't let my family down."

"Good."

Right then, demons appeared, making the zombies stop in their tracks. "What's a Saiyan doing here?" One asked, though Ceres couldn't place where they were from. They were all of animal nature, though they didn't appear to belong to a particular religion.

"Maybe she's the guard for the one that set us free." A female sounding one said. Ceres then noticed that they weren't really speaking in Japanese, but another language that she had learned once.

"You're all from the Underworld that's still in contact with our world, right?" Ceres asked, speaking in their language now.

"Oh? So you know of that world?" One of them laughed, "I'm impressed, little missy, since only demons can get out alive."

Ceres took in deep breathes without letting them know that she was afraid, "I guess I'm a lucky one." She said with a sly and confident voice.

"Maybe we ought to test her out, eh?" Another asked, almost begging. She wondered which one was the leader of this small band. They weren't in any particular order. She then noticed that the zombies were all calling for Matt's name louder.

"We should just find this Matt fellow." Another said, looking at the zombies that dare not move. "He must be the one that sent us here."

"If you want to get to Matt," Ceres said, summoning a sword, "Then you'll have to go through us first."

They all smiled and launched without any commentary. Ceres was only caught off-guard for a moment, since most battles she fought in had some kind of comeback that was said before a battle occurred.

[Panther

As we were going up, I could feel something twisting and turning all around us. I can also swear that I could feel what was going outside as well. Even though all of this was going on, I decided not to pay any mind to it. If I was TK or Ceres, I probably would take a moment to let it sink in, but I figure that Matt is more important and not letting Kai be exposed to such things so early in his young life when I don't know which element he is. Though, I probably shouldn't let him be exposed to such things anyway.

As we were racing up the stairs, I was glad that I didn't have to worry about holding Kai and that he was light. I'm used to running with just Plantmon on me. Plantmon had wrapped herself around Kai and was clinging to me tightly as she pressed Kai onto my stomach for protection.

As we reached the end of the stairs, we were able to see that something was off yet again. Instead of a door being there that we had to open, it seemed like we were just in some long tunnel that led to the upper world. When we went through, I felt like I was at the center of everything and I could again feel what was going on with everyone else. I looked around to see that Matt's body was standing at the edge of the building, looking down.

"Matt!" I yelled, making him look our way. This was reminding me of the demon, since you couldn't tell that it was someone else and not Matt. I wished that they would change a lot so I would know that it wasn't Matt.

He smiled over at us, "You should come watch this."

"Let Matt go!" I yelled.

"You think that since you're of my world that you can order me around?" He started to laugh. "He's been mine from the start."

"He's stronger than you! I know he is."

He got off the edge, "Only one person," he started to walk over towards us, "was able to save him from me and this world. That person has been long dead, and he knows it." He stopped a meter away, "Now, tell me, what can you do to save his broken soul?"

"I don't know what we would do, but I do know that he wouldn't want this."

"He has been allowing his heart to be covered in darkness all these years."

I stared at him, knowing that meant that he was allowing himself to be swallowed by his own darkness. "He has TK."

"He has been slowing allowing darkness to enter his heart as well. It's because of Kari that darkness has not completely overtaken him. And Kari herself has never allowed her light to be strong, as you well know. All the lights that he remembers have darkness around them now."

I looked at the ground. I didn't know that Matt was giving up his fight. I thought he was always stronger than that. I didn't want Matt to give up. He needed to be there for us. He needed to live through this pain, and get stronger. I looked at this side of Matt, "Let me talk to him. I know that I'm darkness to, but I'll try to give him back his light. I have that part within me too."

He looked at me, before smiling, "I'll allow you to, but you only have one shot. I will do everything I can to keep him in my world, so you know."

"If you're so kind," Gabumon asked, "Then why not allow him to escape?"

He looked behind him, as if knowing that something was going on beyond our eye sight, "The child needs to know how to stand," he looked back at us, "And I can see my presence is needed for something grand. So, I want to see what that is."

I remembered the prophecy. I looked at Gabumon, "We're going to do this."

Gabumon looked at me and nodded. "Right."

"Only one may enter." This being said. "After all, only one person was able to bring joy before. One person should be enough to get him out."

"Just because one person was able to before doesn't mean that only one person ever can. He depends on everyone now to fill that void of losing her." I looked at him angrily.

"Fine then, the Digimon will stay here. Those will be the rules."

"He cares what they think too. They're apart of the whole that he needs."

"They are indeed, but the person wasn't a Digimon, and only one person was apart of that world. So, only you and Kai will enter my world, unless you want to go in by yourself."

I looked at Kai, wondering what to do. I couldn't leave him out here, since I don't know what I've been exposing him to as it is. "Panther," I looked at Plantmon, "now isn't the time to think."

I nodded, glad I had her approval. I looked at this being, "We're ready." I was suddenly moving really fast stopping just as fast in a space that was full of darkness. Kai only then started to stir a bit. I looked around, wondering where Matt was. I noticed that he was over some ledge, looking into a vortex of something. I could only guess what was there, by the expression on his face. Was this his soul ever since Diana died?

"Matt!" I yelled over the vastness of space, "Don't look down! Don't become part of that world!" A piece of the ledge broke, "Stop looking at it! You'll fall right into it! You'll be part of the sacrifice!" I was worried that he wasn't listening to me since he didn't move. Kai then started to cry, "Whatever everyone might think, I think we're lost… we can't… I know that I'm so lost without you." I started to cry, knowing that this was what I felt, that this was my true feelings, that this was the real me.

Suddenly we were pulled out of the space that Matt was in. Before I knew it, we were outside again, and I was laying on the ground. The being was yelling, holding his head as if in pain. "You can do it, Matt!" I yelled, knowing that he was showing the being what kind of leader he really was. Right then, I felt this sudden peace coming over me. It was nothing I've ever experienced before.

"Pan… ther…" I looked at Matt, seeing that he was looking at me.

I sensed something from behind us so I looked to see Angemon with a laser gun! I looked over where Tai should've been and saw Angewomon with the same thing. Before I had time to process the logic behind it, they shot their weapons at the holders of Courage and Friendship.

[Kari

Before we departed, TK told me to follow his lead with our part of the prophecy. If I had known he wanted us to shot our brothers with laser guns, I probably wouldn't have agreed, but it was too late by the time I saw Angemon. After the shot, there was this eerie silence that fell over us.

"Is this supposed to happen?" Endmon asked.

"I don't know…" I said, glad that Angewomon didn't go far from us. I looked at the zombies before us, seeing that they had stopped as well. They all looked back in the direction that Angemon was at, as if waiting for something. I felt something resonating in my pocket, taking out the jewels that I had.

"What's going on?" I looked back to see that Endmon and Eternalmon were now glowing at the same time with the jewels. Then they all shot up a beam of light. I followed the path to see that they were all going over to where Matt was, but not really. There was one jewel that was straight up, meaning that it was probably Ceres that they were all gathering around. Then they stopped for a moment before a beam shot up from her and open like an umbrella over us.

When it had reached us, I could feel the unity that she was giving us. That we were no longer separated from everyone, that we were all one entity now with no quarrels. It was a feeling that I wanted to have for the longest time.

"Angewomon Super Warp Digivolves to………………………. War Angelwomon!" I looked up to see another angel with a more warrior look to her. She had a few more wings and a winged bow on right arm and an arrow laying on top of her left. I could barely look away from her, she was so majestic. I forced myself to see what happened to Endmon and Eternalmon, and they also evolved. Endmon turned into a powerful panther or something and she had some kind of design on her head. There was a small jewel like think on her head and golden lines came from it that made some kind of design. Eternalmon turned into a humanoid bird person, but he had more pull to him than War Angelwomon. He was wearing some kind of armor on some parts and he had a design on his forehead that could barely be seen under his bangs. A jewel was in the middle of it, but I couldn't decide if it was also supposed to show his Crest or not. He was also wearing a golden mask around his eyes and a cloth covered his mouth. He had two things attached to his waist armor piece and his feathers were falling out all over every time he flapped.

"Good." I looked up to see shadows looming over us. One of them looked a lot like War Greymon, which meant that these were the Shadow Digimon. "Now we don't have to sit back and watch the demons have all the fun." Shadowdramon commented.

I looked around first as the Digimon got into a stance. The zombies were again walking towards us. "War Angelwomon!" I looked up, "take care of the zombies!"

She moved back a bit as Endmon and Eternalmon launched forward. She pointed her arrow at the walking dead and blasted them with some kind of laser. There were none left by the time she was done. At which point, something came up behind me and pulled me into a place that was totally dark.

[Ceres

She was laying the ground, almost completely immobile. Fiterimon had gone to a female human with a black and white dress, gloves and mask. Ceres heard the name Meianmon yelled, though she couldn't move from where she laid. The zombies had walked off somewhere else, and the demons were fighting against Meianmon. When she had gathered all the Crests into her, an overwhelming sense of wanting overcame her. It was released back over everyone and then their Digimon evolved. She was already tired from fighting against the demons and using up a lot of magical energy to do so, so she hoped that this fight will end with their complete defeat or their retreat.

"Meteor Shower!" Someone shouted and glowing balls of fire came ascending down on the demons. Ceres looked behind them, unable to clearly to see who it was. There were five, that much she could see.

A shock wave came as a bell was ranged from those five. One demon took it before falling to his knees. "Seems like you live today, girl." And they all disappeared.

"Ceres!" She heard Mackenzie-sensei yelling. Meianmon was looking at Ceres, making her smile. She could feel Ele on her body now. "Ceres!" The voice was now above her and she was being picked up.

"Panther… Matt…" Ceres said before an ease flowed over her.

"What happened?" Mina asked, but beside her. Was she so weak that she couldn't open her eyes? But Meianmon was so clearly looking at her.

"I'll… explain later…" Ceres reached out her hand to her partner. "I can't… let her go… alone…" Whatever strength she needed, she would get it from her mother and her gods, like she always did.

She was raised higher, "Mina, would you mind staying down here?"

"We'll keep whatever else away."

"I'll bring you to your family." Mackenzie-sensei said before they started to move into the building.

[TK

"Why did you choose a laser gun?" Lily Dawn asked me as we were now facing down demons and zombies.

"I thought it would be cool." I said with a smile. I don't know why I'm in a normal state, since I should be really focused. I hoped that Matt and Tai were okay with my choice and I was glad that Kari went along with it. Maybe she always wanted to have Tai shot with a laser.

When I realized how stupid that reasoning was, I began to hope that this will all end soon so that I can get those shots from Ken. I gave it to him for safe keeping. I figure that if I went crazy that he would be able to stop me. But, now thinking about it some more, that was probably stupid of me to think of that since Date-san couldn't really stop me so what made me think that Ken could?

"TK!" I heard Izzy yelled. I looked up to see that demons were coming over to us. I felt a smile creep on my face as I launched at them. I could feel the pulses, but I could no longer tell if it was my Saiyan instincts or my murderous instincts. Lily Dawn was staying near Izzy since he couldn't fight like us. Everyone went to their Super Level forms. The angel that I saw Patamon turned into was now here. Bellimon turned into a lady that was from a jungle like place. Her headdress was of grass like things, her green tube shirt was torn and her green skirt was tied at one side and also torn. Her hair was pink and she wore green shoes. Her new name was Ishmon. Tentomon turned into a stronger looking Kabuterimon called Super Kabuterimon.

I just remembered about the Digimon being spotted before, but we hadn't run into any yet. I wondered if that was just our good fortune or not.

"Gan Tessai!" I heard being yelled and the ground cracked in two and swallowed all the zombies and demons that could not escape. I looked at the source to see Kento there.

"Kento!" I said with a smile.

He gave me a smile before launching at the remaining, impressing me with how easy it was. "Hey kid, how have you been?" He asked when he reached us.

"Couldn't be better." I smiled, "Are the others here too?"

"Yeah, they went to other sections. What's going on, anyway?"

"It's all too much to explain right now."

"Too bad we won't give you eternity." I looked behind Kento to see Gigimon there. He aimed his gun at us and the new battle started.

[Don

Aero Dinomon turned into a humanoid person with the mask of a Pterosaur and the wings and tail of one as well. His chest, hands and feet were golden, for some reason. His name was G Aero Dinomon. Greymon turned into a ninja, called NingaGreymon, and his skin even got darker. XV-mon turned into a more metallic Flamdramon, called Metal Flamedramon. We were fighting demons before Armormon showed up. I was really glad that our newly evolved Digimon could handle one matured Super Level, but it also showed that they needed training since three had to take care of it. I looked towards where Panther went, and wondered what was going on with the others.

"Soo En Zan!" We heard and a pillar of fire came over to Armormon. He blasted at it, almost getting all of it. I looked where it came from to see Ryo there.

"Who's that?" Davis asked.

"He's here to help us." I said, now knowing that everyone would be okay.

[Damon

It was totally awesome how our Digimon evolved since we knew that they couldn't evolve otherwise. Huskimon turned into a much bigger wolf and had an ice cube under his chin, name Wolfmon. Shendramon turned into a lighter green dragon without wings and a fluffy blue like tail end, name Icedramon. Lightningmon was the most impressive since she turned into a girl with yellow spiked hair and wings with lightning shooting across them. She was wearing tank top that stopped at her boobs and a long skirt that was connected to her tank top by two clothes on the front. She also had on golden gloves and boots. Her eyes were also a slit, making her look really awesome. Her name was Lightning Goddessmon, really befitting I think. Aquilamon turned into a more humanoid bird that had a headband and less feathers than before and no horns. He still had wings on his back. His name was Mega Aquillamon. Garudamon turned into another humanoid bird, but not as warrior-looking. She had on a helmet that covered her upper head and that was about it. Though, I do have to say that by the way she stayed arched, that she might've been more comfortable with being four legged. Her name was Dovemon, but she didn't look it.

We were protecting Sora and Yolie as our Digimon were fighting the demons and zombies. Though, as soon as they were in their Super Level forms, our Digimon swiped them out without any trouble.

"We should find the others." Sora said once we saw that others weren't coming.

"We shouldn't leave our post." Nereida said. "Just because we got rid of these, doesn't mean that more aren't going to come."

"Something's coming our way." Tim said, looking out towards nothing, "And it's not zombies or demons."

"So a Digimon?" I asked, knowing that both Nereida and I didn't know how he was getting his information. He even told us that the Date-san's friends were here, but we haven't see any. "A number?"

"One… Here it is." We looked to see that it was Bellicosmon. He smiled at us before he started to attack. Our Digimon were taking most of it, showing us that they would need training when dealing with Super Levels. We then heard screams from behind us. We looked to see Evanescentmon had taken Sora and Yolie. Before we could think of something and before he had a chance to say some demand, a beam of something came right at him, making him release them. I looked to see that Rowen was there, getting another arrow in his bow.

"Shin Ku Ha!" He yelled as he shot again, getting Evanescentmon again before he had gotten up.

"I guess you were right." Nereida said, "You got to teach me that."

"Maybe." Tim said with a smile.

[Ryan

Zudomon turned into a huge, water, long neck creature that seemed okay being on land. It also had wing like things on its head and a symbol of one on its head. His name is Locknesmon. Ankylomon turned into a two legged, super football player body build, spikes on his forearms, legs and on a ball thing on his tail. His name was Mega Ankylomon. Sakuramon turned into human-height lady with a beautiful headdress that had a blue veil coming from the back; gray hair; a small jacket looking thing that stopped underneath her chest; a long skirt that was tied around her waist by a single piece of bronze string that wrapped around her twice before being tied in the front; the skirt even had long slits in them that started from her upper thigh; gray Chinese fighting shoes; and green forearm gloves. Her name was Calendulamon. And all Flarmon gets is a pup of brown fur with a little white fluff around his neck and tip of his tail. His name is Eemon. What kind of name is that? Sure, he would win the cute contest, but what was all that about? He was mainly staying with us, making me wonder why those siblings gave him that. Couldn't there have been something better that he could've had? Like turning into some really awesome dog that could do everything all his other stages could do plus some?

After we took care of the zombies, we had demons to deal with. They weren't all that strong, and I had a feeling that the stronger ones were aiming for Matt. I was also wondering what the Digimon were doing, since we hadn't run into any yet. I was wondering if they were just randomly killing like the demons were doing, or where they just waiting. They had enough to send them to everyone the first time they appeared, and this time we hadn't spread out that much.

"Cho Ryu Ha!" We heard before a wave of water came over the lesser demons. Cye was behind them.

"What are you doing here?" Neon asked.

"I should be asking you that question." Cye said, "You should be resting."

"Don healed me up the rest of way." She said.

"I've been keeping an eye out for her." I said with a smile. "But how did you get here?" Were we not protecting all exits as we should be?

"Layla got us here. She sensed that something was going on so we all came."

"I see that you got someone new with you." We looked behind Cye to see Flashmon. She smiled at us before disappearing.

"Strike! Firestorm!" I heard Eemon cry, combining Joltmon and Flarmon's attacks. It struck her, revealing that she was aiming for Neon. _I take back all I said, minus that he would win the cute contest._

[Panther

Gabumon turned into a creature that looked like Garurumon, but only with shape. He had more stripes on him, and he had some spiky looking hair at the top of his head. Bladed wings and some kind of three clawed shoulder plate were above his front legs. His name was Mega Gururumon. Plantmon turned into a humanoid Digimon. Her hair was green and it had thorns on it. Her green shirt was a bit long sleeves, stopped at her stomach, and had a long, slighter leaves coming from the top. Her green skirt was torn in a diagonal direction and she had laced green boots. Her eyes were really weird, since the color part of her eyes was spiked and the center was green. Her name was G Plantmon. I wondered what the "G" stood for.

Matt's body was breathing hard after the whole thing was done. I was still holding Kai as we looked upon Matt, wondering which side won. I was hoping for Matt. Then he smiled and started to chuckle. "Good fight, good fight." He said as he stood. "But he wasn't strong enough." He smiled his victory. He looked over his side, "And it seems like some demons want to have a word with me."

"How did you win?" I asked, worried about Matt. He did appear, right? That's how the prophecy was able to be completed, right? Don't tell me the lasers…

"I fought him and won." He smiled, "He's still alive."

"Let him go!"

"Haven't we been through this before?" He asked and then Kai started to cry. He started to look annoyed, "You think that a baby who has absorbed a lot of darkness already wouldn't be crying about it."

"What?" I asked, looking at Kai.

"Ever since Matt held him, he's been stealing my darkness. I don't know why he's crying about it. Anyway," I looked up to see him getting into a stance, "I want to see for myself how powerful these levels are."

I wondered if we should comply or not. Mega Gururumon was the only one that stepped forward, allowing me to know that he was dong so because of loyalty. He smiled, launching at Mega Gururumon and their battle began.

Mega Gururumon wasn't doing all that bad on his own, but I wished I knew how much of a difference it was. If I knew that, then I could better judge what needed to be done next. Kai was still crying, and it was now becoming the same thing as when we were trying to get him to sleep. It also reminded me that he hasn't gone to sleep yet.

"Panther." I looked at G Plantmon. It was weird to hear a more human like voice coming from her, "What should we do?"

"I wish I knew… I guess the best course is to find out how strong he is." Right then, some flying demon came behind the being and Mega Gururumon. The being didn't pay any mind to it, and so it came launching at us. Kai's cry was magnified and he was glowing red. Something came from him in a bird like shape, launching at the demon coming towards us. The demon burst into flames and fell onto the roof as ashes.

"And here I thought I would have to do something." I looked at the being to see that he and Mega Gururumon had stopped their battle and that he looked like he was going to attack. He smiled, "Seems like he has something going for him already."

Kai was still glowing and crying. I held onto him tighter, "Try anything…"

"I won't, I won't. That would make him come out faster." He smiled, pointing to his head. "And I still want to have my fun."

A blast came from the side of us, making him take a step back. I looked to see that Mackenzie-sensei, Ceres and a new Digimon had just came from the same set of stairs we did. Mackenzie-sensei had a bell in one of her hands and holding Ceres up with her other.

"So I see that you finally came." The being said, smiling even more, "What's up with your brother? I thought that he would be here, at least."

"Questions needed to be answered." She set Ceres down on the ground, but it seemed like all she could do was sit there.

"And here I thought he would be more considered." He sighed, "That just goes to show…" Mackenzie-sensei swung her bell again, making him move to dodge. She then moved over towards him at a fast speed. Mega Gururumon laid down when they made contact. As they were going at it, I made my way towards Ceres.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

She smiled at me weakly, "I fought hard. So, we couldn't get Matt out?"

"He came out for a moment, for the prophecy part."

She looked at the battle and then Mackenzie-sensei jumped back. "Fine, then I'll keep all of my secrets too." The other being smiled.

"What other secrets?" Mackenzie-sensei asked.

"Ah, ah, ah, it's not fair that you get to know everything." He looked over towards us and Mega Gururumon jumped towards us. G Plantmon stood in the path and was about to do something when something was happening with Kai again. He shot up the same thing again, and his forehead was now burning with a bird symbol. The bird shaped blast was lighter in color and heading straight for Matt's body. It hit him before going all the way through, becoming black as it flew straight into the sky and out of sight.

Matt's body fell and Mackenzie-sensei caught him. Everything was still and the only noise was Kai's crying. He had also stopped glowing by this point as well.

"Seems like I need to take the baby." I looked behind us to see Arsmon there. We all had told each other what the Digimon we encountered looked like so that we would know when we ran into them again. He smiled at us, "Hand over the boy."

G Plantmon launched vines from her hair. Mega Gururumon launched a blast of something icy. The vines stopped him from moving right before the blast hit him. I gave Kai to Ceres and got myself ready as the smoke was clearing. I could tell by G Plantmon that he was still there.

There was a shield around him, though it was invisible or something. He smiled as he grabbed the vines and threw her into Mega Gururumon. Fiterimon started to do something her hands. Arsmon fell to the ground, as if suddenly weak. He got out of the vines before they had recovered, "He will be ours." He jumped off the building by doing a back flip.

"How's Matt?" I looked at Mackenzie-sensei.

"He's fine. Is it safe to leave this area?"

"Not… until…" Ceres got up slowly. I went over to help her, "the Digimon have left."

She nodded.

[Kari

I was suddenly released from the darkness. I didn't know how long I was there for, but I came to realize that I was probably captured by one of them and was suddenly released.

"Sorry for scaring you." I heard a new voice say. I looked around, seeing that I was somewhere else, but not seeing the body that belonged to the voice. "I just thought that you would get hurt."

"Who's there?" I asked, looking franticly around.

"I'm…" I looked behind me, hearing the voice coming from there. I noticed that my shadow was moving on its own. It started to move up the wall, growing larger as it was looming over me, "Shadowmon!" My shadow suddenly shrunk, taking a shape of a normal human, I guess. "Tada!" He said with a smile by his eyes.

I got up, glad that it was a Digimon and not a demon. "Don't scare me like that." I got myself up, "I thought you were a demon or something."

"You're not scared of me?" He seemed to be hurt by that.

I smiled, "I'm a Digidestined. Where are we?" I hoped that he wasn't a henchman or something.

"We're here!" He said with a smile.

"Where's here?"

He looked around before pointing down in the spot where he was floating, though it wasn't encouraging that he looked confused the whole time, "Here."

I sighed before walking passed him. He got in front of me again, but with his arms out, "Yes?" I asked, already knowing that that's where I needed to go.

"You mustn't go that way."

"Why?"

"Because there are others there."

"Perfect." I said before running around him, I stopped at the intersection of something, realizing quickly that I was tricked. I looked behind me to see him rolling around with laughter. "I need to get back."

That didn't stop him from laughing. I looked around to see what else I could use. The sky was the same starry night, but I couldn't find any ladders that I could use. I wondered if I was still in Japan. I walked back towards him, going the other way to see if my luck would be any better. I wondered why I couldn't hear anything of the fight, either.

"What's your name?" He asked me as I was walking through the maze now, hoping that I wouldn't get lost.

"Kari."

"What's a Digidestined?"

I looked at him, "You don't know?"

He shook his head, "I've been living here for a long time."

Were there other Digimon that are the same way? "A Digidestined is someone who knows about the Digital World and protects it."

"From what?"

"From all the evil Digimon."

"Aren't they Digimon too?"

"Yes, but they want to destroy the Digital World."

"So you prevent them from destroying their home?"

"Right."

He thought about it for a moment. "I don't understand, but I also don't understand why you try to devour each other, but okay!"

I raised an eyebrow, wondering what that was about. Was he talking about the zombies? "Why did you take me anyway?"

"Because I saw those shadows before they attacked you. They seemed to like to kill things, so I thought they would do the same to you. I couldn't save the other humans…" He seemed sad about that.

"I had other Digimon to protect me." I smiled, "But thank you for your concern."

"Wait," he put his hand in front of him as if trying to stop me from walking, "they were protecting you?"

"Yes, they were."

He looked serious with his arms crossed across his chest, "Well, they weren't doing a good job!" He said, waving his arms. He disappeared before I felt something going through my shoulder, "If it weren't for me, you would've been attacked from behind!" I looked behind me to see him stabbing me with a shadow knife.

_I thought I was for a moment there._ I stopped, "Are we still in Japan?" He nodded his head. "Near or far from the battle."

He shrugged. I sighed, wondering if there was some way for me to get out of here. I looked up in the sky and saw something black, but having red bits falling off of it, shooting up to the sky. I got a feeling that that belonged to us so I started to run in a path that led me in that direction.

"What was that?" He asked me as he floated beside me.

"I'm not sure." I said as I kept on running. I started to hear a battle going on, glad to know that I was getting closer.

"I don't think it's safe." Shadowmon said, but I ignored what he was saying. I got out of the alley to see TK fighting the shadow Digimon all by himself. I smiled for a moment until I noticed that there was something different about the way he was fighting. I looked to see that Endmon, Eternalmon, and War Angelwomon were just standing around. The Super Level form of Patamon was also around, but he wasn't doing anything.

The Shadows were knocked into the ground. "We'll be back." Shadowdramon said before they disappeared. TK seemed like he was going to go after them until Ken suddenly appeared and round house kicked him in the face. TK fell to the ground pretty hard.

I ran over to them, "What the hell are you doing?" I yelled as I made my way over to them.

Ken went over to TK, holding him down for some reason. By the time that I got to them, Ken was getting off. "What are you doing?" I asked, grabbing hold of Ken seeing that TK was now asleep. I then noticed a needle in his hand, "What's that?"

"You got to trust me on this, okay?" Ken said, "It's for his own good."

"How the hell could shooting him with something be good for him?"

He looked at TK, "I can't tell you yet." He moved away from me and went over to TK.

I got in the way, "Don't you dare go near him."

"If what I gave him doesn't work, I don't want you to get hurt."

"TK would…"

"He would. I promised TK that I wouldn't tell anyone because he doesn't want everyone to look at him. So, I'm begging you to trust me on this. In case something goes wrong, I don't want him to feel regret later."

I wasn't getting this at all. It wasn't making any sense.

"Kari," I looked at War Angelwomon, "who is this Digimon?" She pointed to Shadowmon, who was floating near the entrance of the labyrinth.

"That's Shadowmon. Apparently, he kidnapped me so that I wouldn't get hurt. I think he's alright."

"So," he appeared behind me, "does that mean we're friends?"

I blinked unsure how to answer that. I mean, I was kidnapped by him, after all. "Sure." I said with a smile, "Just don't go kidnapping me again."

"YAY!! My first real friend!" He said as he gave me a hug. "Can we do that thing that you humans call sleep-overs?"

I wasn't sure how to answer that, "Maybe." I looked at Ken, "What was that light just now?" I asked, still not letting him go to TK.

"I'm not sure myself, but it was where Panther and Ceres went. I also don't know if it's safe to head over there."

"Shouldn't it be since TK came here?"

He looked at Patamon, "What was your area like before he came over here?"

"He sensed that something was wrong with Kari so that's why he came over here. Though, it came after that black thing went into the sky."

"So you were still fighting something before coming over here?"

"Right, and I don't know how well we were doing, either."

Ken thought about it for a moment, "Kari, go to Izzy and ask him about their situation."

"But he…"

"I'm going to bet that Lily Dawn would be fighting or needs to concentrate more than Izzy would."

I sighed, since he was acting like Panther. I closed my eyes and went over towards Izzy. I then remembered that I have the power to see what was happening right now, so I decided to use that instead. I saw that they weren't fighting anymore and that Kento was with him. I looked over the others, and everyone was resting, with a few of them having one of Date-san's friends with them. Date-san himself was with Mimi. His siblings were near Panther and Ceres, and Matt was lying on the ground, unconscious. Ceres also looked really weak. "There is no danger near our areas." I opened my eyes once I looked at the area in-between. "And all zombies and demons are gone."

"Then let's go to Matt so that we can get out of here." He said with relief. He looked at Endmon and Eternalmon, "Are you two going to follow?"

Eternalmon shook his head. A portal opened up next to them and they went through.

"Do they have new names?" He looked at me.

"I didn't hear any."

"Just wondering. So, do you want me to take him or Super Patamon up there? Either way, you're not going to touch him until he wakes up."

"Until I get an explanation, you're not touching him." I said firmly. Patamon came down and picked him up. Ken moved away from me and went over to his new Digimon. War Angelwomon picked me up and we all headed over to where all the light shows were coming from. I looked behind me to see that Shadowmon waving us bye before disappearing. "Call me!" He yelled before disappearing. I closed my eyes, _Everyone, it's safe to leave your areas. _

I opened my eyes to see that we were heading over to where Mimi and Date-san were.

[Ken

Date-san and Mimi were waiting for us. I went down so that we could pick Date-san up. "We're heading over to where all that light was coming from." I explained to Mimi.

"Is it safe?" She asked, wanting to make sure.

"According to Kari, which is pretty good."

She nodded, "Are the others heading there as well?"

"They should, since all the Neo group understands what Kari can do. I'm assuming that you heard her, right?"

"And it was really weird."

"We don't think it is, so they know to head there."

She nodded, "I'll head over to where Joe is to make sure."

"Okay." Thornmon picked her up and they headed over that way. I was kinda surprised that her kimono wasn't getting in the way, or her shoes. "You didn't use your armor, did you?" I asked as Archealmon picked Date-san up.

"I had no reason to." He said with a smile. I just realized then that he wasn't speaking formally with me.

"You're dropping your formal speech?" I asked as we headed over towards Matt.

"Only with certain people. So, he did lose control?" He looked at TK.

"Yeah, but it was hard to see it at first. That's probably why he didn't catch it."

"You should probably ask him when he wakes up. After all, he's the only one that would know why he had lost control."

I nodded, knowing that he was right. We got to the building at the center of everything, seeing that Mina, Lita, Mia and Yuli were all down below. Once they saw us, though, they headed inside the building. When we landed, we noticed that Ceres was looking weak and Mackenzie-sensei was over where Matt was. Panther was holding Kai, and their Digimon were around Panther and Ceres.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked as we landed.

"Yeah, for now anyway." Panther answered. "How is everyone else?"

"They're all heading this way." I said, looking at Matt. Date-san was heading over there, probably to talk to his sister. "What was that last light show about?"

"I'll explain it later." Panther looked at Ceres, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, though I don't know how well I can stand."

"Don't worry about that." Panther smiled.

Soon, everyone one else landed on the same roof. I never realized that we were such a big group until now. Rowen went over to Matt, checking to make sure that he was still alive. Kai had started to cry by this time, though it seemed that no one was trying to make him stop.

"He's okay." Rowen said, "He should rest at his house, though."

I noticed a look in Date-san's eyes. It was as if he wanted to carry him back. I also don't know why, but it also seemed like he was asking me for permission. "The Digimon should downgrade when we get back to Matt's house, just incase. So, Date-san, would you mind carrying Matt and would the rest of you mind playing look out for us?" I looked at his friends. I'm glad that no one from the Neo minded.

"Sure, we don't mind." Ryo said and then we headed off. Ryo and Rowen were leading us and Kento and Cye were behind. Date-san was riding back on Gabumon, and they were kinda in the middle. I was also noticing how at worried Date-san looked, though trying to hide a lot of it. It made me wondered if there was some connection there that I didn't know about. I looked away, remembering that he knows things that he shouldn't.

When we got back, we had to explain to the parents what was going on as Date-san got Matt into his room. All of the Digimon had returned to their In-Training forms, minus Huskimon and the other two, now knowing that this is how much energy it took for them to keep that form. The kids weren't really sure how to explain it, and the older group was just hanging around. Well, the ones that weren't here before. Date-san's friends were trying to help, as if they understood any of it. Ceres was on the couch with Kai, laying down because she was so weak. TK was on another couch, resting up as well. Panther was playing hostess, so why did I feel like I had to play peacemaker?

Date-san came down with Tsunomon on his head. He looked like he could cry, which made me forget what was going on down here. "I am sure that they did not mean to keep it a secret." Date-san said to the fathers that were having a hard time accepting that they were being lied to. The Shuni's Grandmother was getting over the surprise that they're not spirits. "They probably did not want to get you involved because they cared about your safety. It should show you how much they love you." He said with a smile. It gave a calm atmosphere, which was needed. He walked over to me, giving me Tsunomon and patting my head, "We will see everyone later." He said and all his crew left. I was impressed, if no one else was.


	31. Chap 30 Eye of the Storm

I'm still unconscious at this time, but I came back to here so that I could write it up. At the point that I'm writing this.. well, I'll point it out when it comes up. Last night was a rough night, huh?

Hebe

"That was very dangerous." Ilpalo said. We were watching Sage's friends purifying the area and taking care of the dead.

"Do you know who those demons were?" Killer asked.

"Earth is in danger, that's all I know." I didn't understand the language they were saying, though it would be hard to ask someone else about it. "I'm not an expert on demons, but I'm sure that it's not a good thing that I didn't understand what they were saying."

"Ceres once told me," Ilpalo started, "That she ran into a world that was very foreign to her. She said that she was watched constantly and that she was taught their language. Maybe they're from that place."

"Though, we know that they're strong, right?" Killer asked.

"It would seem so, though I doubt that Ceres was using her full power. She doesn't want to use all of it since she doesn't know how what will actually happen if she can't control it."

"Not to mention she was the focus of the whole thing they did." I sighed, knowing that this was going to be a headache. "Things are going to get crazy down here."

"Hebemon." I heard Hermes calling, knowing that my troubles were starting.

"What do you want?" Killer asked for me, though we all knew what the general topic was.

"The realm wants to know what you saw." He paused.

"I thought that no one knew about her punishment." Ilpalo pointed out.

"News about the release of so many Digimon caused Lord Zeusmon to reveal that you have a way of watching the protectors of this world. There's a meeting right now, since everyone knows that there was something happening above."

I shook my head before getting up. Killer and Ilpalo also came along, and I was glad for their support. Hermes gathered us in a sphere and teleported us to where we needed to be. I looked around, seeing that all the major heads of the religions, including Americans, Japanese, and Chinese.

"You may speak." Zeus ordered. I then noticed that Akba was also within the crowd.

I took in a deep breath and knew that this was going to be a long talk.

Tim

The whole room was in a state that wasn't right. Maybe it was because Matt was upstairs unconscious, or maybe because we had a few of our members knocked out (TK and Ceres), or maybe it was because there was high tension that was coming from the older group. They were hanging around the house. Neon's mom and Don's dad had already left. Our grandmother was staying around since Kai was crying a lot. Ceres didn't have enough energy to care for him and Panther didn't seem comfortable taking care of him. Grandma did get Kai calmed down and he's now sleeping (Grandmother's touch?).

Panther was running around, trying to be a good hostess. Mimi and Joe were upstairs, making sure that Matt pulls through. Jade and Krypton were playing in their room with their parents and Nereida. It seems like Nereida was trying to keep something off her mind. I never thought that she would be able to hold something in like this. Damon saw it as well, but Grandma thought that we should give her some space. Stan was still here, but I wasn't sure which one he was still here for. Kari was keeping Ken away from TK, though Ken was keeping the older ones at peace, so that wasn't all that hard. Damon was staying near Grandma.

"Here's lunch." Panther announced as she lay stuff down on the table. Ryan and Lily Dawn were helping her. I just remembered that most of our Digimon were sleeping. It seems like the Super Level takes a lot of energy. Tsunomon was up with Matt.

"I'll bring these up." I said, grabbing two plates for Mimi and Joe. I headed upstairs, noticing how weird it was without Shendramon on my shoulder. He was staying with Grandma since he wasn't feeling well. In fact, Huskimon and Lightningmon were also feeling the same way.

I knocked on the door, "I'm bringing up your food." I announced.

The door opened and Joe was at the door. "Thanks." Joe smiled at me.

I handed him the plates, "What are you noticing?" I looked at Matt, seeing that he was still asleep.

"Nothing much. He's breathing is regular and the same with his heart rate."

I nodded, looking at Mimi to see that it was true. "Okay."

Joe held the door when I started to close it. I looked at him, "How are the others?"

"Ceres and TK are sleeping still. Kai is fine." I smiled. The spirits that I asked to watch Matt were saying to not reveal anything. One was on my shoulder, "If they wake up, I'll let you know." I headed down the stairs. "What's up?" I really did miss Shendramon, I noticed.

"They've been arguing all the time they've been there. The girl is defending him." He told me in his tiny voice.

"How is he doing?"

"We're healing him, since there is still some negative energy around him that isn't his own, but he's coming around. We think he's exhausted, mostly. Maybe if you get someone else around him. I don't think they help."

"As soon as his son wakes up, we'll have him up there."

He nodded, "Babies always help." He went back to the room, going through the door. I looked at the table, seeing that the older ones were at the table and our team was eating on the couch. I could tell that Ken wanted to get away, but knew that he couldn't.

There was a plate on the table near the edge. I figure that I would help Ken out. I grabbed it and headed over to him, since Davis was only on one side.

"How's Matt?" Izzy asked. I could also see that Tai, Cody and Izzy were there for some front.

"He's still sleeping, though nothing unusual. How are the other two doing?" I asked, knowing that Izzy is keeping an eye on them.

"I don't know why Mimi and Yolie can't heal them up." Sora said. "They are good."

"I'm sure that they wouldn't want that." Ken said, trying to keep his cool. He looked grateful that I was here.

"So," Yolie looked at me, "how long have you been existing?"

"Longer than you, by a few years." I said with a smile. Ken was hiding his smile. "And are you a scientist? That sounds like a biologist pick-up line." Ken was holding in his laughter, knowing the true irony in what I was saying, and also probably knowing how I would know scientist's pick-up lines.

Yolie shot a hot glare at me. _Good thing that looks don't kill._ "That's not what I'm asking." She said without trying to raise her voice.

"Oh, so that wasn't a pick-up line? Sorry, I get that from younger girls. So, what was it you were asking?"

"How long has your group been around?"

"As far as we can tell, since the beginning."

"But you weren't around helping us." Davis said. "And why are Ken and Kari involved?"

"It's something we like to call destiny. It's something that we can't change and it's something we can't deny."

"Ken?" Yolie looked at Ken, and I could now see that Ken didn't love her in the same way that Kari and TK love each other, or Neon and Don loving each other. Did our trip change him this way as well? I didn't know how they reacted towards each other before, but I'm sure that this wasn't how it was supposed to be. Yolie looked like she wanted control.

"Everything will probably be told once Matt wakes up." Ken said firmly, "because he's not awake and we're not all conscious ourselves. So, we'll wait until our leader and members are awake before we give everyone the information we know."

I noticed that Yolie was having a problem with accepting that. She was about to throw the plate, but I made it sink enough so that she brushed the table. She was about to hit Izzy since she didn't control her arm when it didn't hit its target. I made her arm loose so that it would go through Izzy. By the time that all of this took place, everyone was shocked and the plate was back. Ken wasn't looking at me, and no one from our side was saying anything either, but everyone knew what I did.

"How the…"

"Hey." I interrupted Yolie, "We have babies in ear shot of your voice. Watch your language."

"They're all asleep." Yolie looked pissed off as she looked at me.

"That doesn't mean they can't hear it. Would you mind taking a seat?" I gestured to her chair.

"Please, Yolie." Ken said before she said something to me, "I'm sure that Matt wouldn't mind telling everyone, but we have to wait for him."

"Why are you even helping them?" Davis asked. "They could be dangerous to the Digital World."

I kept my mouth shut. Ken caught on to not mention of how we babysat them all this time and the oldest ones didn't say anything either. "I've been around them all this time. I promise they're not."

"Are you guys done?" Panther asked after a while. I looked up to see that she and Stan were gathering the dishes. Yolie gave it to her, not eating anything of it. Sora was forcing herself to eat it and Davis didn't seem to have any qualms about eating it. Stan gathered theirs as she went upstairs. I wondered what torment Panther was facing alone right now.

Panther

I got Mimi, Joe and the Digimon's plates before leading Stan in the kitchen. We started to do the dishes as I reminded what I've seen. Matt is being healed, I could see that, but there was something else in that room right now. I remembered that Damon said that Tai and Mimi weren't cured, so I was worried that she was so close to him still.

"Hey," Stan touched my shoulder, "everything will be okay."

I smiled before looking at him, "Thanks."

"Panther," I looked at the entrance to see Don coming in with their plates. "That was great."

"Thanks." I smiled, knowing that he was worried about me.

"What was happening out here?" He gave me the plates, and I noticed that he was kinda ignoring Stan.

"They were talking to Ken and Ken said that we're going to wait for everyone to be up. Tim used his powers." I said with a smile.

"Wow, that's a big change. Our kids are happily playing with Nereida." He said before heading back out.

"Why did I get the feeling that I was ignored?" Stan asked, looking at me.

"Don and I came to an understanding." I smiled.

"What kind of understanding?"

"One that a fighter understands and one that's honored to the end." I looked at the dishes, "Between us, we're not going to sugar coat what's going on and we're going to have each other's back."

"Are you saying that you don't want things to be sugar coated for you?"

I looked at him, "It's fine to have that, and we know that everyone else will do so. That's why it's okay for us to say it like it is to each other. I wouldn't do the same thing for Neon or anyone else." I wrapped my arms around him, "So, don't worry about it."

He wrapped his arms around me, "It seems like I need to keep you close so I can know you again."

I leaned up, kissing him. I noticed how it wasn't the same, and ended it with that thought, "I'm still me." I went back to cleaning, hating how right Ceres and Matt were.

Me (weren't thinking that, huh?)

(and you're right!) Damon

I noticed how Panther was worrying, but trying her best to stay calm about it. She was staying near Lily Dawn and Ryan, so I figured that she was really stressing. I looked at our Digimon. They were all sleeping. Huskimon, Shendramon and Lightningmon were all exhausted. Lightningmon was leaning against the wall near Grandma. Huskimon was near her feet and Shendramon was on her shoulder. Kai was in her arms, sleeping peacefully. I looked over at the table that Tim and Ken were monitoring, seeing that the spirit before was being contained.

"It'll be alright, Damon." I looked at Grandma, "Trust me."

I nodded, "Okay." Kai started to stir and moan. I could tell that everyone was on alert. Kai opened his tiny eyes and seemed to be searching as he woke up. He started to whine more and Panther went into the kitchen. She came over with a bottle in her hand. "See if he's hungry."

Grandma took it in her hands, "Hungry, Kai?" She asked, lifting it up to him. Kai was whining more. "He doesn't need to change."

"Maybe you should bring him to Matt." Tim offered, "I mean, he's probably worried about not seeing him for a long time."

Panther took the bottle and Grandma got up. She walked upstairs alone. I looked at TK and Ceres, wondering if they would wake up.

Me (I'm serious this time)

I felt something on me. I couldn't figure out what it was, though soon I noticed that it was touching my face in an odd pattern. Once I became conscious of my body, I winced. My whole body hurt, and badly.

I slowly was remembering what happened as the person was still hitting my face. Arsmon pushed a damn amount of spirits inside of me and somehow that brought out the god within. I also remembered hearing a voice while looking into the demon world before Panther came in and got me out. Though, none of those explained why my body felt like it was burnt.

The hits stopped and pinches came. I forced my eyes open, looking to where the source was to see that Kai was grabbing my face. He made a happy noise as he went back to hitting. I smiled, finding it was hard to move my hand to touch him.

"I'm glad that you are awake." I heard the Shuni Grandmother say. I looked up the arm that was holding Kai to see her there. "Everyone was worried."

I nodded before looking around, seeing that Mimi and Joe and Tsunomon were watching me. "I don't think I can move." I said honestly.

"Did you break something?" Joe asked.

"I'm more sore than broken." I smiled. "I guess everyone knows, huh?"

"Nothing has happened." Granny said, "Everyone is waiting for you."

_Damn leadership position._ "Well, I'm conscious so I might as well get the headaches started. Though, I'll be needing help getting down the stairs."

"Shouldn't you rest first?" Mimi asked, "I mean, we don't know what happened to you."

"If there wasn't a threat of inter-protector fight, I would rest."

"You really think that Yolie, Davis, and Cody are that bad?" Joe asked.

"We have been keeping something big from them. Now that we can't be a secret, most cards should now be shown." After all, not all things should be told.

Kai was hitting me harder. I looked at him, seeing that he wanted to be held by me. I smiled at him, which made him stop. "You better have been a good boy while I was sleeping." I looked at Mimi, "Can you help me up?"

She came around, getting me to sit up with a lot of pain going through my body. Sitting allowed me to move my arms in a way that it didn't hurt as much, so I gathered Kai in my arms. He giggled as I kissed his forehead, giving me the biggest internal smile I've ever felt.

"I'll have Damon help you." Granny said, ushering out Joe and Mimi.

"Where are their Digimon?" I looked at Tsunomon, who now hopped over.

"Everyone that could devolve went back to their In-training stage. We're all pretty drained."

"Why?"

"We got our Super Level forms." He said with a proud smile.

I smiled, rubbing his head, "I guess I was in the middle of it?"

"You'll get to hear all of it when we go downstairs."

"What, no previews?"

The door opened and Damon came in. He smiled of relief and joy was something that was heartwarming and soothing to see. "Man, and here I thought that Kai couldn't get you up. How are you doing? Grandma told me that you needed me."

"Yeah, I'm still too exhausted to move on my own. Whatever you guys did really did a number on me."

"Well," he said as he lifted us up, "just a heads up; Panther, Tsunomon, Rootmon and Kai are the only ones that know what happened to you to any full extend." He moved us out as if I was walking. Tsunomon ended up on my head.

"You're showing your powers?" I just wanted to know what kind of trust was gained.

"Tim demonstrated his first. Though, I don't think that anyone caught on to it."

I nodded, now understanding the ruse. Everyone turned to the stairs as we came down. I smiled at everyone, though immediately grew worry that Ceres and TK were out.

"Ceres just exhausted herself." Panther explained before I even reached the ground floor.

"TK?" I looked at Kari and Ken, knowing that one of them would know.

"Ken can't say." Kari said, though trying to hide her hate for his actions. _Well, at least they're all being honest._ "Maybe you can get him to talk."

Damon got me to a chair. Panther came over and handed me a bottle before going back to Lily Dawn and Ryan. "Should we wait until they're up?"

"Izzy and I should be able to cover to TK's movements." Lily Dawn said.

"And I can cover to Ceres." Gelidardormon said from Ceres' chest.

I nodded, "Okay, so, let's start from when I left." I noticed that Nereida was looking away with just her eyes.

"Tell us what happened to you, first." Yolie said.

"I was walking my friend to the bus station. As I was heading back, I was ambushed by something and it forced a lot of spirits inside of me. That was the last thing that I remembered." I could see that Nereida was grateful that I didn't mention Arsmon, though I think most of our side understood that he was one that did this.

"Panther and Ceres started to glow some time after you left." Ryan said, "And as they were going down, bats broke in and were flying everywhere." He pointed to the window. "Nereida realized that it was the prophecy and we all headed out. We were following her until we reached the border of epicenter. Ceres gathered the other Digidestined that weren't there and we quickly arranged ourselves into a formation that would be the most affective for the prophecy. My group was aided by Cye. And I'm going to say this now, Eemon, which is Espomon's Super Level form, will now and forevermore win the cute contest." Ryan said with pride.

I laughed, since it seemed out of character for him. "I think Kai would win that one."

"And don't go saying that my babies aren't cute." Neon said with a motherly anger.

"I don't see them being cute and having awesome attacks." Ryan said with pride still.

Neon pouted, "I'll find a way to make them surpass Eemon."

Ryan laughed, "I'll be waiting for the day to come." I looked at Espomon to see that he was happy with what Ryan was saying.

"My group," Don said, "Was aided by Ryo. We ran into the Mysterious group Digimon, though I think they were more of testing the Super Level's strength."

"You could be right." Tim said, "My group was aided by Rowen and we found out that our Digimon would probably need practice in their new form before they can really be a threat to the groups we need to worry about."

"We were aided by Kento." Lily Dawn said, "And TK was fighting evenly with our Digimon, though he suddenly left after the light show."

"Ceres was accompanying Panther until they reached you." The seal said, "As soon as we reached the building that you were at, Ceres stayed behind to fight off zombies and some powerful demons that appeared. I don't know what they were saying, since they were speaking in another language. They were serious about getting to you, though. When the prophecy occurred, all the light gathered to Ceres and she released it to everyone else so that we all could evolve. I think that's what really drained her, since she couldn't get up afterwards. Mackenzie-sensei and her sister were the ones that aided us."

"I was with Endmon and Eternalmon, which they also have Super Level forms," Kari said, "Endmon turned into a bigger, stronger black cat and Eternalmon turned into a human with a mask and wings of a white bird. They were also very strong, which I was glad for. TK had told me that I was to follow his lead when it came to the prophecy, which was why Angemon and Angewomon had laser guns instead of arrows. I also was protected by another Super Level Digimon that has been living here for a long time."

"How did you know that?" Davis asked.

"He told me that he didn't know who the Digidestined were."

"What was his name?" I asked.

"Shadowmon!" A voice said out of no where. Kari looked around her, though looking more on the ground.

"Where are you?" She asked.

A thing was moving behind the couch, though taking on a form of something scary looking. I was keeping Kai from looking, not wanting him to cry. "Here…" He said in an evil voice.

"That's not helping." Kari said, one of a few that weren't afraid.

He shrunk to a human like form. "Spoil my fun." He said in a pouting face.

"By the way," Ken said, "Sleepovers are for girls."

He changed his shape into Kari's shadow, making Ken laugh. "It's nice to meet you." I said, "My name is Matt."

He hid behind Kari. "What's wrong?" Kari looked at him.

"He's the one that started everything."

"Do you want to stay here and listen to what we have to say? I promise that I'll explain it later."

"How can you trust him, Kari?" Yolie asked, "How do you know he isn't tricking you?"

"You have a lot to learn, Yolie," I said, "about the Super Levels themselves." I looked at Shadowmon, "Sorry for the horrors I made you see." He didn't seem to trust me still, which was okay, I guess.

"When I got back to the battlefield, TK was fighting against the other two Shadow Digimon. Ken came when TK was going to deliver the final blow and shot him up with something."

"As Gelidardormon was saying, we went to you." Panther said since Ken was silent. "I was carrying Kai with me as well. We found out that another being, who was claiming to be a god, had taken over you." I was wondering why Panther was speaking like that. I told them that there was a god within me. "Kai and I entered your mind to see if we could free you. It worked and then the prophecy occurred. The being didn't leave, and Mackenzie-sensei fought him mostly before he sent Mega Gururumon at us. Kai glowed and shot some kind of fire bird through you, which caused it to turn black and fly off to the sky. Someone from the Mysterious group noticed and has made a claim to take Kai."

I nodded, looking at Ken. He had his eyes closed, though I knew that he could tell that everyone was looking at him. "We were aided by this Date-san." Mimi said, "He looked pretty battered by the time we got to him, though we couldn't tell if the humanoid Digimon was the cause or not. We got him to rest before we saw TK and Patamon flying over ahead. Ken went after them before they came back for us. Date-san did accompany us back here and dropped you off in your room before they left. The parents that were here were settled down thanks to him. And that brings us to current."

I nodded, seeing that Ken wasn't going to talk about what he did. Kari looked angry, though I wondered if it was because she was left out. I didn't mind, since I figure that it was a good thing that TK was trusting Ken enough to tell him something that he doesn't want us to worry about. "Thanks everyone. I'm glad that everyone cared…"

"Don't get the wrong idea." Panther said, "The ones that weren't here for the party didn't want to come save you. Ceres dragged them off their asses so that they would come."

I blinked, looking at the ones at the table, "Is that true?" My happiness was fading. I know that I wasn't all that close to them, and I have been rather cold towards them, but I thought since I was apart of them that they would come for me. The ones that hurt the most were Joe and Sora.

"We thought it was some joke." Yolie tried to hide the truth. I looked at Kai, who was looking at me. I wished that Kai couldn't see my sadness. "We…"

"That's enough." Tim said, making me know that my team saw it as well.

"How were we supposed to know that you guys weren't pulling our legs for a laugh?" Yolie asked angrily.

"We told you guys that Matt was in trouble." Mimi said angrily. I looked up, seeing that she was pissed off, "We told you guys we weren't joking and that we needed you guys there for the prophecy. Why the hell do you think we would joke about something that serious?"

Yolie was shocked. "You think we would believe that at face value? If you weren't with Panther, then it would've been understandable… And why weren't we told about you being Digidestined?" She looked at new group.

"Because you didn't like me all that much and you three were so against Styxmon." Panther said, not even looking at her. "Not only that, but we have a different mission than you guys do."

"What mission is that?" Davis asked.

"We're more involved with the Super Levels than you guys are." I could tell that she didn't have a solid mission, but I remembered that everyone knew that it was dealing with the Gods, though she didn't want to tell that to them.

"The reason that the others knew," I said, "was because Styxmon told me that if I didn't find a leader among this group that Tai would be that leader. I also didn't keep it from them, since they believed in what she was doing."

"I guess that means that Tai's the leader, huh?" Davis said with a weird smile on his face, "Because I know that none of these guys are leadership material."

"Are you saying that Ken or Kari can't be?" I shot back, making it clear who was apart of this group.

He looked at his DNA partner, "You're part of this group too? Is TK?"

"TK isn't, but because the people he cares about the most are involved, he knows just as much as any one of us." Ken said, though not looking at him.

"So that's why you believed in Panther." Yolie said to Kari.

"I believe in her more than because we're on the same team." Kari looked at her, which made Panther smile, "Just because we're on the same team doesn't mean that we automatically had that trust. We had to gain that trust."

"As for the leadership," I said, knowing that I was going against my better judgment, "I'm the leader." I said without wavering in my voice or my stance. I noticed that Tai smiled, which was something that I needed right then.

"You're not leadership material." Yolie said, though now her words meant nothing. I was really glad that Tai believed in me. I already knew that everyone else was happy as well.

"I'm much more than you." I looked at her with new found confidence, "I have people that I need to take care of, so that makes me a leader." I looked at Kai, smiling at him to see that he was glad that I made a decision. At least, I was hoping that he was glad that I made up my mind.

"I bet that you won't be able to handle being an adoptive father." I looked at Yolie, who was now being dragged out by Tai. "What are you doing?" She looked at him as he walked towards the door.

"How dare you say that Matt won't be a great father! If I were Matt, I would punch you right then and there."

"Before you throw her out," I said, since I needed something to be done before anyone left. Though, I was really glad that Tai was on my side, "I need you three to keep this group from Gennai."

"So you are planning on taking over the Digital World." Davis said.

"We already know that he isn't." Cody said, "Remember, it was just the clones."

"He wants us to keep a group of Digidestined from Gennai! How can that be anything but a takeover?"

"How about we know something about Gennai that makes him an evil man?" Neon asked. "We don't trust Gennai so we don't want to be in danger from him, since he has you guys under his control."

"Why should we keep anything from him?" Yolie asked, "Maybe we should tell him."

"Ken and Kari will also be in danger if you tell." Panther said, though not looking at her, "Or is your hatred of me so great that you would risk their lives to get at me?"

"How will they be in danger?" Davis asked.

"Try to guess which side we'll take if a battle takes place?" Ken asked. "Because it isn't going to be with Gennai, definitely not after all the innocent Super Levels he wanted us to kill."

"So you won't be with us?" Yolie looked at Kari. Kari shook her head. Yolie looked pissed off before storming off towards the door. "Fine!" She said as she slammed the door behind her. Kari sighed as Tai went back to his seat.

"I'm sorry Matt." Mimi said, "I'll talk to her later about it."

I smiled, "Don't worry about it. I just hope that her 'fine' was a good 'fine'." I looked at Davis and Cody, "You can leave as well, if you want to. Though, you're also welcome to stay."

Davis got up, "Ken, we'll need to talk later." He said before leaving.

"That reminds me." Ken said when he was gone, "You probably heard about the clone Digimon." He looked at me, "There are clones of us with partners that are Super Level. According to TK, they were created by Gennai, and they want to absorb us."

"Where did he get that information from?" Joe asked.

"He got it from his clone. Apparently, his clone was the first one that was made and convinced everyone to go along with the plan."

"What would they gain?" Izzy asked.

"Most of us have something special going for them, so they want that for themselves since all they have are our Crest powers."

"I thought Super Levels were able to adapt." Koromon asked.

"They can, but I guess they can't since they're created by Gennai as our replacements. I'm sure that he wouldn't want them to get more powerful than him."

"So we have to be careful when we go into the Digital World." Tai summed up.

"We have to be careful outside the Digital World as well." Ken said. I could only imagine how serious he was since he sounded serious. "We were attacked multiple times as we were getting back here. The Super Levels have a way of getting to our world by portals that are connected to our Crest. So, they have an easier access to us through those. The only good thing is that they don't seem to have a lot of unity to them and they'll argue with each other to get the right to fight."

"How much do they know about us?" Izzy asked.

"Megamon, the future Digimon that you created, has them as his legions. They probably know more about us than we do, because of him. He supplied them the information that they would need, though they don't know the process of absorbing, so I'm sure that he can't give them technology or there isn't a way."

"Do they know about your group?" Mimi asked.

"No. Apparently, we weren't existing in the future. Obviously, we would be there in the future, but we didn't come together and form this group."

The whole room was quiet. Obviously, there was something about this period that was different from the future that was supposed to happen. "Could Megamon being here be that fact?" I asked, since most of us were thinking about it.

"He well could be." Ken said, "Or it could be something that has nothing to do with us. You never know with time traveling."

"Joe, do you have to work tomorrow?" Tai looked at him.

"No, why?"

"I was thinking that we should meet tomorrow." He looked at me, "To talk about everything, since it's all hard to digest at once." I could also see by his eyes that he also wanted me to tell everyone that needed to go to school tomorrow. "We'll meet… here around noon. Is that okay, Matt?"

"Yeah, that's fine by me."

"Great." He got up, "Well, I need to get some sleep so I'll be heading out. Kari, are you coming over?"

"I think I need to handle this sleepover thing first." She smiled, bringing back to our attention to Shadowmon.

"Okay, Sora?" He looked at her, though I now knew that he was trying to act as if nothing was wrong.

"Yeah, I'll go." She smiled as she got up.

"See ya tomorrow." Mimi said as her and Joe walked out as well.

"Can we come over tomorrow to hear what was discussed?" Cody asked.

"Sure, since we have nothing to hide anymore." I smiled, "So if you meet up with Yolie, let her know. I don't know what kind of meeting Tai is intending tomorrow."

He nodded before getting up. "See ya. Call me when TK wakes up." He said before leaving. It felt good that I didn't have to argue with him anymore.

"Do you want to stay over, Izzy?" I asked, since he didn't seem to moving to leave.

"Yeah, if you don't mind."

"Not at all. Who else wants to stay?" I looked around.

"We'll be going home." Neon said, saying that we have a room free. "Don had to heal me before we split up, so I'm good." She smiled.

Lily Dawn looked at Stan, making me held my breath for my rejection. Kai started to make giggling noises, though only I could tell. He looked at me, "Is it alright?"

_How do you reject one and keep the other?_ "Sure, that's fine."

"I'll wait for TK's answer." Ken said.

"We should head home." Tim said, "And if I can come tomorrow, let me know, Matt."

"Sure thing."

"I'll head home." Ryan said after some thought.

"Can you move?" Granny asked me.

I moved my leg, "I think I'm good." I smiled at her. "And since it's just us, is there anything you guys wanted to say? Or, I guess anything you want rely tomorrow."

"We're sorry that we didn't tell you about the prophecy revision." Lily Dawn said, "We didn't want to worry you when you looked worried as it was."

"That's fine. I mean, if it was destined to happen, then it would've found a way."

Ceres started to stir. "About time." Gelidardormon said.

"Is Matt up?" She asked, trying to get movement control back.

"I am, indeed." I said with a smile.

She looked over at me and smiled. "You look crippled."

"I was for a while. How are you doing?"

"Like my head hurts."

"Were you okay fighting those demons?" Panther asked.

"Yeah… Kinda… Were they killed?" She asked, though there was alarm in her voice.

"No, they weren't. Why?" Gelidardormon asked.

"Damn." She sat up, "Those demons are serious business. Did everyone was able to kill the demons that you ran into?" She looked at everyone.

"By the time the battle ended," Kari said, "All of the zombies and demons were gone."

"You only looked at the area we contained, right?"

"Yeah, since I would assume that we got them all."

Ceres sighed, "Now we have another problem to worry about than Digimon."

"Are they strong?" Tim asked.

"The ones that I was fighting and the ones that were close to Matt, yeah. The ones that I fought were of another realm all together. I went to their realm once, by accident, and saw how cruel and powerful they were."

"Are you saying that we'll need help with those?" I asked.

"Yeah… most likely… And I'm sure that not all of them came out, so they'll probably want to bring their comrades out as well. Not only that, but this realm is where all the strongest demons dwell and they have never appeared on Earth before."

"Are they connected to Earth?" Panther asked.

"I don't think so. I didn't stay long enough to find out its history."

"Maybe we should ask Layla to help, since she was the one that helped get rid of the ones that were after you." I offered.

"I'll ask her tomorrow." She looked at TK, "Why is he out?"

"Ken gave him something." Kari said, "And he won't tell us why or what he gave."

Ceres looked at Ken for a moment before looking around, "What happened to everyone?"

"They left. I'm going to be meeting with most of them tomorrow." I said.

"Oh, and you got your wish." Panther said, "Matt admitted to being our leader."

"You won't go back on your word, would you?" Ceres looked at me.

"I don't think he could." Neon said, "Not after his whole parent reasoning." She smiled.

TK start to stir as well. Everyone looked at him, as he opened his eyes. "TK?" Kari asked.

TK (I'm going to do something different this time)

I heard Kari calling my name. My eyes came back into focus, and for some reason, I was a bit sadden that Date-san wasn't the face that I saw. The memory of losing control was all too fresh that I just wanted to curl up next to Matt and act like a child for a moment. I smiled at her, remembering that I sensed that she was in trouble. I noticed that a shadow thing was attached to her shoulder, "Got yourself a new friend?" I asked with a laugh.

She hugged me and tightly, "TK!" She cried.

I wrapped my arms around her, noticing that the shadow thing didn't seem to have a solid body. Though, I guess that's what I should expect from a shadow. I rested my head next to hers, "I'm alright, Kari." I whispered into her ear.

"How are you feeling?" Izzy asked. I looked up to see that he and Ken were looking at me. Ken gave me his private signals that he didn't tell why he did what he did to anyone.

"Better." I smiled at him. I would have to tell him what happened later, I guess.

"What did Ken do to you?" Kari asked, moving so that she could face me.

"He kicked me, if I remember right." I said with a laugh. I didn't want to worry her.

"He gave you something."

"Since you're up," Ken said, "I'm going to head out."

I looked at him and I could feel my fear rising. I felt like I was being abandoned, "Why?"

"Davis wanted to talk to me about something, so I thought it would be a good idea to talk to him before we see each other at school." Ken gave me his expression that he wanted me to spend time with Kari.

"I guess there was a fight at some point." I smiled, trying not to act like I wanted to go with him instead of Kari. I looked beside us, to see that everyone else was here, and that Matt was up. He smiled at me, making me think that I could go to him with this. I wondered how he felt, not knowing what was going on but Ken knew. Maybe I was making him feel jealous towards Ken, like I was a while ago.

"Don't worry about it, TK." Ken said, making me look at him. He smiled at me, saying that everything would be alright. "I'll see everyone tomorrow." He headed towards the door, closing it quietly.

"What is everyone else going to do?" I looked at everyone else.

"We're going to head home as well." Tim said, "We just wanted to make sure that you woke up before we did."

"Can I talk to Nereida first before you guys go?" Matt asked.

"Sure. I'll hold onto Kai while you get the rooms ready." Nereida said with a smile and without missing a beat. I wondered if Kari was staying. Matt got up and handed Kai to Nereida before they went up.

"Are you staying?" I looked at Kari.

"I'm going home. I have a sleepover." She looked at the shadow.

Nereida

I knew that Matt would want to talk to me. I guess there wasn't a good chance to talk other than now. "Just so you know," Matt said as he was getting the room that Neon was using fixed up, "that he regretted what he did."

"I'm so sorry." I said, really crying, "I was supposed to prevent you from going outside. I was supposed to stop all of this from happening."

Matt laughed, placing a hand on my shoulder, "Is that why you guys were stealing?"

I nodded, the tears coming out now. "I knew that Arsmon didn't want to do this job, but he had to, for his Master. And now… I've caused him pain."

Matt gathered me in his arms, "It's okay, Nereida. I'm not mad at him and I won't let the others be either. At least, I won't let them be mad for this. But, you have to let everyone know that you like him, okay?"

I nodded, burying my face into his chest, "I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry that I didn't ask sooner why you were stealing."

"I wished that I told you about your role. Now, I've unleashed demons of horror on our earth."

"That's not your fault. None of this was your fault, okay? Look on the positive said, the Digimon now have the power to fight back against the Super Levels and now everyone will have to work together."

I laid there for a moment, knowing that was true. But, did the good outweigh the bad that came too. "Thanks Matt." I said, glad that he didn't hate Arsmon and me. I moved away, so he could finish, "Though, make sure that it doesn't become a repeat of our conflicts." I said with a smile.

He nodded, "Of course." He went back to work.

"It was funny." Tsunomon said from his head, "Matt didn't think that stealing his stuff would save the world."

I laughed, "Maybe you should start thinking like that."

"Apparently." He laughed, "Are you going to tell your family?"

I nodded, "I'm going to have to. Tim seems to have changed, so I hope that he tells us about it."

"Does he not have class tomorrow?"

"No, he doesn't have classes on Mondays."

"Oh, okay. That's good for me to know."

"Why?"

"Well," he moved to another room, "incase I need to do something and can't bring Kai along. I'll at least have someone I can trust to look after him."

"Are you not trusting people?"

"Tai said that Sora isn't herself and that she might do something to Kai." He looked at me, "I mean, I don't know who else would be like that, so I'm going to try to see who I can trust with Kai's life out of the group."

I nodded, now understanding. "I thought you were going to pull a TK on me for a moment there."

"I still care about them and I still trust them enough to tell them things." He smiled back, "I haven't lost my faith in them."

"Tomorrow is going to be interesting."

"I bet." He finished the rooms and we headed back downstairs. No one else had left yet. I gave him Kai.

"Okay, let's get going. See ya tomorrow." Tim said as we headed out.

"What did you guy talk about?" Damon asked. Our Digimon were still weak, so we had to help them to Tim's car.

"First," I said as he turned on the engine and pulled away, "I want to say that I love Arsmon."

Tim slammed on the brakes and turned around to look at me, "What?"

"Tim!" Grandma said angrily.

"Sorry Grandma." He said before looking at me again, "Since when and why?"

"Can I say it when we get home?" I pouted, "You're blocking the road."

"Fine, but you better tell us when we get there." He headed towards home again, and I looked out the window, wondering how this will go.

Don

"Well, we better get going as well." Ryan said, looking at us.

"Bye, Matt." Neon said. I made Krypton wave bye as she made Jade. Matt made Kai wave and we headed off.

"Would Panther be comfortable with Stan there?" I asked Ryan. We would walk with him to his house before going to ours. It wasn't all that cold, since it was midday.

"I think we would have to wonder about Matt." Neon said, "I don't think he likes the idea of him over, but couldn't say it out loud." She laughed.

"If Stan wants to stay with her in the same bed, I think she would have a problem with that." Ryan said. "I don't know Stan all that personally, but I could tell that Panther thinks that he likes to move fast."

"What do you think of this relationship?" I asked, "I know that she's still attached to Killer."

Ryan was silent for a moment, "That's why Stan is moving too fast. Sure, on the outside, she would seem to have move on from that past, but I know her better than he does. She's still hurting on the inside, still hasn't gotten over what her past contains."

"Do you know that past?"

"Not really… I know most of it, but not during the part where she contacted us less… before she met Matt."

"Are you going to follow Matt's example?" Neon asked.

"Yeah, I am." He said with a smile, "Because I know that she now wants to stay with us and she doesn't want that part of herself to be revealed."

"Maybe she's hiding and doesn't see it." I commented, remembering what she said about the ways the dark folk fall into darkness. And she was partly light as well, so I could see how she was being tormented by what her darkness said was so natural to her.

"What do you mean?" Ryan asked.

"Maybe Panther is hiding herself since she's doesn't want to scare away the light people around her."

"Would Lily Dawn be as patient or Stan?" Neon asked.

Ryan sighed, "It's hard to tell with Lily Dawn. I don't think Stan would. If it came to his face, he would look at what someone gave him."

"Were you always willing to wait?" I asked, kinda curious.

"Actually, no." He looked at us, "I only became so since I got to know Ceres."

"She told you her past?"

"Not really, but we saw glimpses of it. It kinda reminded me of Panther a bit, but different. So, I'm willing to wait until they tell me."

"That's good to hear." I smiled, "I think Panther wants to tell us, but doesn't know how."

"I hope so and I'm glad that no one holds her past against her."

"I'm sure that Ceres now feels the same way." Neon said.

We saw him to his door before heading over to Neon's house, the best place to rest the day way.

Ken

I wished that I didn't have to leave TK alone right now, but I also knew that Kari was starting to hate me. As soon as I get TK to not hate me, Kari now does. What does she think? That I'm going to steal him away and marry him myself? Seriously, it's like I'm threatening her marriage.

"Are you okay, Ken?" Leafmon asked from my arms. I was waiting for Davis on a bridge over a street.

"I don't know why Kari thinks I'm a threat to her. It's like she doesn't trust me."

"Maybe she thinks you're stealing too much of TK's time. Or that he's not telling her stuff."

"I guess… But, he also doesn't tell Matt everything. Would she feel hatred towards Matt if he was the one that TK ran to instead of me?" That reminded me that Matt never once forced me to speak about what I did to TK. It was like he didn't mind that I knew and he didn't. I thought he would be mad, like TK would've been.

"Who knows. Too bad people are considering you the outsider."

"Yeah… It is kinda sad."

"Ken!" I looked to my left to see that Davis was coming up.

"TK's up and the same with Ceres." I said, so he would know.

"And he's not following you like a dog?"

"We're not joined at the hip." I sighed, "So, what did we need to talk about?"

He leaned on the railing that I was on, "Why are you going to side with them?"

"I'm with that group."

"Aren't you with me as well?" He looked at me, "We're partners after all."

I looked up at the sky, grabbing hold of my amulet. _Kitty, what would you do now?_ I wasn't sure if this was something that needed my faith or not. "We are partners," I looked at Davis, "but, Wormmon is my partner as well. When I was the Emperor, as my partner, he went against me and saved me. Remember, he got you inside and caused my base to crash. He protected me from my own creation and gave his life for me." I looked outside, "I know that we're partners, but that doesn't mean that I have to go with what you say all the time if I know in my heart that it's the wrong path."

He sighed, "I can't believe Matt wants to be your leader. Why do you even follow him? Even I know that he doesn't have it in him to be a leader."

"Why is that?" I knew that Matt battled with himself about being our leader. I could see that he only took it up, leading us places because he wanted Styxmon back. But, he then took it because he gathered everyone. He was responsible for everyone's safety.

"Because he's too soft. A leader has to be firm against what they face."

"So you rather we kill Super Levels? Not all are so clear cut evil. There are ton of shades of gray with them."

"We've only faced those when we went into the Digital World as a big group. How can you know about the shades?"

"For one, when we gather at that beach. One Digimon didn't want to make us enemies and the other one did. Plus, we've been to the Digital World on our own, and saw that there are kind Super Levels out there that are willing to help out. They're just like any other Digimon, but only stronger and have less define lower levels. By the way, our group was watching you guys when we went into the Digital World those two times."

"They didn't do all that much."

"But they protected you. Panther was even facing near hypothermia for you and Cody."

"If she hates us then…"

"She doesn't hate you, per se." I interrupted, "It was your attitude towards her. At the beginning, she was still a gang member…"

"And she isn't now?"

"No, that side of her has long since passed." She stopped being her old self when we got Don and Neon. "If there is anything else, I can't see it clearly. You can test it by coming to the table tomorrow and talk normally."

Davis sighed, "Fine, I'll give it a try."

I looked at him, kinda surprised that it was that easy. "How's it going with Hoshi, by the way?"

He looked at me, "Getting no where. I swear, it's like I'm invisible to her."

I placed my hand on his shoulder, noticing that I wasn't sensing that same thing as I was before, "I'm sure it'll change around soon. Oh, we have to be careful of those clones."

"Why?"

"They want to absorb us since most of us have something special going on for us."

"Even your group?"

"The Neo group isn't included since they don't have clones and they weren't known in the future."

"Seems like there are a lot of special things going on with your group."

"We don't have all the answers, but we are looking." I smiled, "And now that it's wide open, we can start telling you guys too."

"Was it hard to hide it?"

"Yeah, it was getting to." I didn't want to tell him that we had stopped telling things to the older ones because of TK. "I hope Yolie will calm down so there won't be conflicts."

"Maybe you should go talk to her or something?"

"Later… Tomorrow will let me know if I need to or not."

"I better let you sleep." Davis got off the railing, "If you're wrong about Panther, I'm not going to change my opinion and you can't give her any notice."

I smiled, "Promise."

"Oh, why was Kari being so nasty towards you?"

"I haven't figured it out yet. I know it has to deal with TK, but I'm not sure what."

"Why wouldn't you tell what you did? Is this the first time that Kari has gotten mad at you?"

"She only had when we got back." Maybe something happened to her on the trip that made her more dependent on TK than before. "Anyway, I'll think about it later. See ya tomorrow." I waved before heading home.

"That wasn't painful." Leafmon said.

"I know, though I'm really glad. I guess I know how Matt feels when he has Tai's support." (Oh, TK went with Kari for her sleepover thing at this point and we're taking care of Kai since he's still active)

Tim

We got home and our Digimon went to sleep in our rooms. Grandma also went to sleep, as if trusting us to not get into another fight. "Okay, so what about this liking Arsmon?" I asked as we sat at the table.

"The word I used was love." She said, firmly.

"You do remember that he's an evil Digimon, right?" Damon asked.

"To an extent." She looked at Damon.

"Nereida," she looked at me, "Okay, apparently, you need to tell us something rather than answering our questions. We'll listen, right Damon?" I looked at him.

He sighed, "Yeah, we'll listen."

She looked between us before looking at the table, "Well… when I first met him, he told me that he loved me… I mean, he didn't try to do anything nasty to anyone, even though he was going after the Destiny Stone… So, I talked to Heka about it… I also didn't sense anything evil about him, so I thought I should explore it. He kept proving over and over that he cares about me, and on the trip, he showed me that he's starting to feel like we do. He had never known regret before, but immediately felt it as he got to know Matt."

"Why only after meeting Matt?" I asked, curious.

"Because… it was his mission to bring out the god in Matt and to cause all of this." She didn't meet our eyes. I gave a look to Damon so that he wouldn't say anything.

"Are you saying that he didn't want to?"

She nodded, "Because he respected him, and thus didn't want to harm someone that welcomed him so openly… I was supposed to stop Matt from leaving us so he wouldn't go towards Arsmon."

"So he would protect you from danger, right?"

She nodded, "His Master even knows of his feelings for me, and allows him the freedom to express it and follow it. He only keeps up his evil persona because of her followers."

"I guess it's obvious that he would protect you without it appearing it to be. What are we supposed to do when dealing with him?"

"Matt welcomes him… though I don't really know how everyone else is supposed to deal with him. Matt said that it was okay to be angry at him when he does something. Though, he doesn't want people to be angry at him for this because it was meant to happen."

I looked at Damon, who nodded. We both agreed to follow Matt on that one, "Are we supposed to act like enemies when he's with someone else?"

"I guess so…"

"How much do you love him? Is it a crush like thing?" She shook her head. "So it's something like Ceres has for Ilpalo or Panther for Killer or Neon for Don?"

"And like Lily Dawn has for Apollo." She added.

"I guess it would be too much to have him over for dinner, huh?" She looked at me, looking surprise. "If you love him that much, why do you think I would object?"

"Because you're Tim."

I laughed, "You should be happy with whomever you want. Though, can he get you pregnant?"

Her face turned bright red and she fell silent. "Wait, you…" Damon said before stopping, since we both know by the growing red and her avoiding our eyes that they did.

I hid my face behind my hands, feeling like I had lost my daughter to a stranger. "He didn't force you… right?" I looked at her.

She shook her head fast.

"Couldn't you have waited?" Damon asked, "I mean, you really don't know him.. You only met him a few months ago and you haven't had a lot of chances to be with him… I don't know if I want to hurt him or not."

"He was afraid." She said in a small voice.

"Of what?" I asked.

"The death we saw… we could've been apart of it… if we were, he was supposed to host us, our spirits… he knows that if we were to come back, we wouldn't be whole… he didn't want to lose me…"

"Are you pregnant?" I had to know.

"I'm not. I checked."

"Can you get pregnant?"

"I don't think so."

"If you want to marry him, keep a baby out of your life until you're ready." I said fatherly, "And you can bet that I'll be having someone looking after you."

She gave me a soft smile, "Thanks Tim."

I smiled back, "Damon's a medium, so you know."

"You are?" She looked at him, "Since when?"

"Near the end of our trip. My powers awaken when I was possessed."

"What about you?" She looked at me.

"I'm not sure yet."

"How can you know things anyway and can we use our powers more?"

"In moderation, of course. And I can talk to spirits."

"You mean like ghosts?" Damon asked.

"I can talk to them too, but I'm talking about nature spirits… Beings that could either have a form or not, and they don't always know how to speak our languages."

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Nereida asked.

"I blamed a lot of things for our parents' death. I also didn't want to believe in them anymore."

"Wow… so it wasn't only Grandma?"

I shook my head, "Anyway, I'm the only one that can see them as they are and talk to them in their language out of our family.

"That's so cool!"

I smiled, "Okay, now we sleep." We got up and headed to bed.

Hebe

As soon as I gave my report, everyone started to talk about it. The Japanese ones were saying that they would take care of the matter, since it's in their homeland, but the others weren't agreeing. They figured that the arrival of such demons would spread all over, so they should all have a right to go to Japan to deal with it. Also, there were others who wanted to go over to see Matt because he's a god that they never knew of before. I started to realize that it was a good thing that I didn't mention Kai, since they would also want to take him as well, just like Arsmon claimed.

"Hebemon," Zeus said, looking at me, "does Gennai know about them? This Neo group?"

"He didn't know that they existed as a protecting group, but he might now." I said honestly, since the people that they were keeping their identity from now knew. "But I doubt that they would follow his example, even if he does know."

"Thank you. You may leave."

I bowed before leaving with them.

"I wondered what they're going to do." Killer said, "It seems like our gods don't want the others coming into their territory."

"Most of the deities are like that, now." I said, "Since their homeland is the last thing they have connecting them to the Real World."

"Hey," We looked behind us to see Akba, "How's Ceres doing?"

"She was exhausted the last time we checked up on them." Ilpalo said.

"Do you know what those demons were?" Killer asked.

"You said that you couldn't identify them and Ceres could speak to them in another language, right?" He looked at me. I nodded, "I think it's a group of demons that she ran into before. Um… I'm not really sure of exactly when she ran into them, but it was around the time she was hanging out with you." He pointed to Ilpalo. "She said that she couldn't send out letters from there and she was there for a whole week."

Ilpalo nodded, "Probably when she left her bag with me when she wondered off. So she went to their realm?"

"By accident… she told me that she was walking along when she was suddenly sucked into that world. She would've been killed if one of those demons didn't save her and took care of her while she was there. He taught her a bit about the realm and the language."

"How did she get out?" Killer asked.

"He said that others were catching wind of her so he created a way for her to get out."

"What kind of demons are there?" I asked.

"She doesn't know for sure what kinds, but she knows that there are animal demons that are stronger than any other demons she had ever faced before. There are also other strong demons there, but she knows that the animal ones have the most authority there."

"If we find anything else about them, we'll let you know."

He smiled, "Thanks. I'll go to Ceres later about seeing how to fight against them. After all, we should protect this planet with everything we got. They should only worry about the Digimon." He turned himself into a tornado and left.

"That reminds me," I said as we continued, "I haven't paid that Telarmamon yet."

"Oh yeah, wasn't Arsmon supposed to take the gold to her?" Killer asked.

"Yeah, but I need to gather it first."

"I got a good idea. How about we see if we can get an upgrade on my guns?"

"They're still in working order."

"If we have to fight against demons, they might not be for long."

I sighed, "Then you're going to help me gather the gold."

"Sweet!" He said, knowing that he was going to get better guns.

"I'll let Hades know that we'll be leaving before I come help too." Ilpalo said.

"Thanks." I smiled. I showed him where we would be before we gathered bags and shoves.

"This is hard work." Killer said as worked on one of the walls. He didn't want me to, for some reason.

"It's not supposed to be easy." I said.

"He has agreed to tell Zeus of our departure." Ilpalo said as he came in, "How much more do we need?"

"We're about half way done. I figure that we'll give her more since she had to wait."

"Should we also see about tracking down Arsmon?" He asked as he went to work as well.

"We could, but why?"

"Well, it's about Kai." They got out that one piece that Killer was going after, "I'm curious as to why he would want Kai. I'm sure that what he showed was just a one time thing."

"I don't think so." Killer said, working on another, "He glowed to kill that demon and kept it up until he got at Matt. And both times it was in a shape of a bird. That has to mean something, right?"

"But it would have nothing to do with the Digital World." Ilpalo worked on another side. "So why get something that has nothing to do with it."

"If we run across him, we'll ask." I said, "I don't want to walk around for him since we're not supposed to be friends."

"Oh yeah." Ilpalo just remembered.

"What's that?" Killer pointed to something next to him.

I walked over and noticed that it was some kind of metal that was shining oddly. "I'm not sure.. I've never seen it before."

"Are we allowed to take it?" Killer looked at me.

"I don't see why not."

"It looks big." Ilpalo said, "I'll help you." And they went at it. We were nearly done collecting the amount we needed, so I figure that this couldn't hurt. It took them a bit, but they were able to get it out and it was a big chunk of metal. Killer lifted it up, "Wow, this is surprisingly light."

"We'll have Telarmamon look at it when we see her." Killer dropped it in the bag and they went back to work. When we got fourteen pounds of gold, we headed out. It was heavy, even for all three of us working together, so we asked Hades to some help. He gave us a wagon, though not a really big one, and we set out once again. I gave Killer and Ilpalo some honey so they would be solid.

"It's a good thing that we don't feel like we're dying and coming back to life every time this happens." Ilpalo said, "Otherwise, it would be really weird."

Panther

It had been such a long time since I had Lily Dawn over my house that we ended up staying up the whole day. So, by the time that night came, we were really exhausted but we also didn't want to go to sleep.

"Have you ever noticed how Matt wants to treat you like a daughter?" Lily Dawn asked as we were getting ready for bed. Everyone else had stayed up for other reasons. Matt and Ceres stayed up since they got some rest and because of Kai. Stan stayed up most likely because he didn't want to be left out.

"I know he wants to be a parent to me." I said as I was brushing my teeth.

"So you have noticed it." She was taking a shower.

"Yeah, for a long time now." I splashed my face.

"And you don't mind?" She turned off the water. "It seems like he has a problem with Stan."

I smiled at her, "He probably does, and I don't mind. I mean, I never really got a family feeling from my own. At the beginning," I leaned against the sink as she was drying off, "I was fighting it."

"When did you stop?" She started to put on some night clothes that I was lending her.

"When he came to get me from jail. I could see that he was worried about me, and more like how I've seen parents worrying about their kids normally."

She placed her hand on my shoulder, "I'm glad that you got a home again. Though, wasn't the gang your home?"

I smiled, "It didn't feel anything like this. I don't want to leave this for anything now."

She gave me a hug, "Good, because I really missed you."

I hugged her back, glad to have my best friend back. "Were you worried this whole time?"

"A bit." She admitted, "More like I was worried that Ceres would take you into the world."

I laughed, "I won't follow Ceres." She looked at me, "I need to prove to her that staying in one place makes one stronger than traveling all over the place."

She laughed, "That's good to know." She finished getting dress and we headed out. Stan was standing by my door. Lily Dawn sighed as we entered my room, "So you want Matt to be your foster father?" She asked in a whisper as she collected Larkspurmon.

I nodded, not liking how this was going. "Yeah, and I already know he's fine with it just by how he acts."

Lily Dawn leaned in, "My brother sleeps soundly once he goes to sleep." She walked towards the door.

Lily Dawn

"I'll only do it this once." I looked Stan before walking towards the room that Neon was using and the room that Stan was supposed to go into.

"Thanks sis." He said before entering her room. I wasn't worried about Panther, but I felt really bad about doing this to her. I felt like I was allowing her to be raped. I trusted my brother to not do anything to her, but I still didn't feel right about it. I went over to Ceres' room.

"I thought you were going to be staying in Panther's room." She asked when she opened the door.

"I know that Panther would've told me if she did, but do you know if she had ever slept with Killer?"

She blinked in pure shocked. "Um… she hasn't told me one way or another… So I'm guessing to your knowledge, not, huh?"

"Yeah… I was just wondering if she didn't tell me something."

"Was something wrong? You both were having a good time day." She smiled, "Panther looked more like a girl than I have ever seen her."

"What have you seen her as?"

"A warrior and a frightened girl. I've never seen her look like a kid with her best friend." She leaned on her doorframe, "And, I was jealous since I knew I couldn't join in."

I blinked. All this time, I was jealous of her relationship with Panther, "You wanted to join in?"

She nodded, "Sure, Panther would tell me stuff and we have fun together, but we don't have the rich history like you three have. There are certain things that we understand about each other, but you two can save her. Remember when she went into the dark world? I wasn't able to pull her out, but you could. You knew what to say to bring her back." She smiled at me, "I'm jealous because I see her and Matt as my family."

I smiled, glad that my jealously wasn't really one side and that it was silly of me to have it in the first place. "Thanks Ceres."

She giggled, "Is there something up with Panther? I mean, sex should never be a light subject."

I looked at her door, "I feel like I'm handing her over to a beast or rapist."

"So Stan is with her."

I nodded, "I know that he wants to spend time with her, but she didn't look ready for it."

"I hope you won't get mad at her for this," I looked at Ceres, "but she still has feelings for Killer and probably always will. I'm not saying that she probably doesn't like Stan; I'm just saying that she won't ever love him as much as Killer. As long as he understands that and also understands that she won't ever let him do stuff that she never let Killer do, they'll be fine."

"I saw all of that when I walked away. I also know that my brother is aggressive… Have you slept with Ilpalo?" I was curious.

She shook her head, "I'm still a virgin. In my case, I didn't want to be impure by allowing it to happen without being married. I love Ilpalo and I know that I would've married him, but I wanted to have it done afterwards and not before."

"I'm impressed." I said, "Oh, as we were heading back here, I was testing out my powers and found out that someone is planning on coming over here to ask for your help."

She blinked, "Who?"

"I'm not sure, but I looked into his mind and found out a bit of your darker past."

She looked at the ground, "Did you tell Matt?"

"I don't think I told him what I saw, but he knows that this guy is coming."

She nodded, "I guess I should've expected my past to come catching up to me someday."

"Hey," She looked at me, "we got your back." I smiled.

She smiled back, "I was worried that you hated me for real."

"I was for a while, but now that I know, I'm not. I'm sorry for excluding you for so long."

"I'm used to it."

"But you shouldn't be with this group. Anyway, if you wake up and my brother does something to your sister, let me know so I can save him from being killed." I smiled.

Ceres laughed, "You got it. You can spend the night in my room, if you want."

I blinked before smiling, "Okay." I walked in and we went to sleep.

Me

"Matt." I heard a voice calling me. I thought I was entering that world where Styxmon came to me in my sleep. "Matt." I then realized that I was waking up, meaning that it was someone else. "Matt." I rolled over to see Panther standing over me with a sleepy Rootmon in her arms.

"What's wrong?" I was becoming more awake.

"Can I sleep with you?" She asked, though there was some hesitation in her voice

"Yeah, of course." I moved Tsunomon to the head of the bed to make room. She moved around the bed and got under the covers. "Is Lily Dawn taking up most of the bed?" I laughed as she moved closer to me.

"Stan's in my room." She said quietly.

I blinked before wrapping my arm around her, pulling her closer, "Do I need to kick his ass?"

She shook her head, "He's just moving too fast."

"Okay," I said with a smile. I started to hum a lullaby that I've been working with Kai, which got her to sleep as well.

Ceres

She got up early since it was around the time that Kai would be crying for food. She entered Matt's room, seeing another body in bed with him. She walked closer and noticed that Panther had run to him. She smiled, knowing why Panther did so. She looked at Kai and he was still asleep. She picked him up carefully from his crib.

"You're rather calm about this." Tsunomon said.

Ceres smiled at him, "Why wouldn't I be calm?"

"You normally were sad when you saw them like this before." Meaning when they were being a family.

Ceres smiled, "He's my dad too."

He blinked before hopping down, "I'll leave them alone as well." Ceres picked him up and brought Kai over to her room. "Why is Lily Dawn with you?"

"We're friends." She said as she lay Kai down on the bed. "Ele, watch Kai for me." Ele nodded and Ceres went back over to Panther's room. "Can I assume you want to yell at Stan too?"

"I'll watch." He said with a strange smile in his voice.

Ceres opened the door and saw that Stan didn't even notice. Ceres looked at the picture Panther drew as she came over to the bed; the picture which revealed everything about the Saiyans living under this house. She kicked Stan off the bed, knowing that he wasn't worth using her magic on.

"What the hell was that for?" He asked as he rubbed his head.

"That was for moving too fast, asshole."

"Where is she?" He noticed that she wasn't in the bed.

Ceres turned around, "You can go back to sleep, if you want. I just wanted to yell at your first."

"Where is she?" He demanded.

Ceres stopped at the door, "Don't you dare sound like she's yours. I might not know Panther as long as Lily Dawn or Ryan, but I do know that she isn't one that can be that easily tamed." Ceres left to her room.

"I also don't like his attitude." Tsunomon said as they reached Ceres' room.

"I'm glad that the whole house is in agreement." She smiled before opening it. Kai was now up and the same with Lily Dawn.

"Well?" Lily Dawn was playing with Kai.

"Panther is with our dad." Ceres smiled as she closed the door, "So I yelled at Stan."

"You should call Matt that." Lily Dawn smiled, "I want to see the reaction."

Ceres laughed, "What do you think, Tsunomon?"

"Fine by me." He jumped to the bed. Ceres got Kai and fed him his breakfast.

"Is it easier to get it out?" Lily Dawn asked.

"Yeah. For the first few days, it was hard. Now, it's almost natural, which is how it's supposed to work."

"I wonder if I'll make a good mother." She said with sigh.

"All you need to do is love your child and give them a warm feeling. A child always needs a place that they can call home, that one place where nothing can harm them."

"No wonder Matt is your home." Lily Dawn smiled, "He gives us all a bit of that too, which I guess was why he always seemed the best for our leader."

"What did he say, exactly?"

"That he has people he needs to care for, and because he's a father now, he's better at being a leader. I guess, in short, what he's saying is that we're all family now so we have to love and care and protect each other like family."

Ceres smiled, wondering if that's how Diana saw life. "Good thing we took care of one hurtle last night."

"Yeah." Lily Dawn smiled.

Me

My alarm went off. I reached over and turned it off, remembering that I set that so that I could be awake for when they went to school and to get their breakfast ready. I'm glad that Izzy had designed it so that it would only go off on weekdays. I rolled back over, remembering that Panther was sleeping with me since I saw her. She looked so peaceful, I didn't have the heart to wake her. I moved her shoulder lightly, "Panther."

She moaned before opening her eyes. She looked at me, sleep still in her eyes, "Huh?"

"You have to get ready for school."

She buried her head in my chest, "I want to skip." She said, wanting to go back to sleep.

"If I'm not allowed to skip," I looked to see Ceres standing at the door with Tsunomon on her head and Gelidardormon on her shoulder, "then you can't either."

"Where's Kai?" I asked.

"Lily Dawn is playing with him. I already yelled at Stan for last night, so don't worry about it. Now, get up before breakfast is cold." She left. I don't know why I thought it was funny that Tsunomon was on her head.

"The next time you have a sleepover, you can skip, okay?" I said with a smile.

Panther laughed, "Fine." She got up and headed out as well. I smiled as I got up to get ready for today. When I got downstairs, Izzy was also playing with Kai, the same with Motimon. I kinda forgot that Izzy spent the night as well. Stan looked a bit pissed off, though. I decided to ignore him, since that was getting on my nerves. Panther came down after a bit and we all had breakfast together. Panther and Lily Dawn were back to being kids again, but I was glad that Ceres was now included. Yesterday, she was staying with me so I was glad that Lily Dawn had finally accepted her.

There was a knock at my door as they gathered their school things. Ceres was summoning Lily Dawn's things from her house so they didn't have to stop by it. I went over to the door, opening to see that it was Neon and Don with their kids. "We came to drop them off." Neon said with a smile.

"Oh yeah. Sorry, I guess I kinda forgot."

"I was supposed to stay here for a month." She smiled, handing me her two little ones. "They should be ready in a minute.

"We'll wait." Don said as they came inside.

"Izzy, want to help me baby sit?" I asked as I closed the door.

"Doesn't look like I have much choice." He said with a smile. "Though, they might be a distraction during our meeting."

"That's where Tim comes in." I said with an evil smile.

"Don't plot world take over with our kids." Neon said, "It's bad for their minds."

"It won't be if we succeed." I said with a laugh.

"No plotting. You can do that with your own kid."

"Where is Tsunomon?" Don asked.

"He's on my head." Ceres said as they came down.

"We'll see you after school." Panther said to me as they headed towards the door.

"Bye dad!" Ceres said as they were walking out the door. I don't know what was on my face (apparently, my face nearly dropped and I looked like I didn't know how to respond, though slowly smiling as time went), but it made Ceres laugh before they finally closed the door.

"What was that?" Izzy asked.

"I'm… I guess I'm being more of a father than I thought I was being." I finally said as I went to the table with two more babies.

"Always seemed to be your goal to me."

I thought about it, wondering if I had always been a father to people. "Where was Panther this morning?" I looked at Stan, seeing that he was still here.

"Don't you also have somewhere to be?" I asked, "Like school or a job?"

"Do you have a problem with me or something?" He asked, though it wasn't an attitude I was expecting from someone who was sly about being around me yesterday.

"Well, considering how there was some switching of rooms going on last night, I do. And since we're on the topic, if I find out that you do anything to harm her, you will regret it."

"I wouldn't do anything to harm her."

"Then never, ever, force her to do something." I said firmly.

"You know, I was her older brother's best friend. Right now, you're acting just like him and it's started to get on my nerves."

"I suggest that you leave." Izzy said before I did, "before you make him explode. That's how this whole secret stuff came about in our group."

Before he countered, Tsunomon was head butting him towards the door. I thought it was funny that it was working and it also looked funny (I mean, come on. How many times will you see a furry head with a horn pushing back someone that could have easily picked him up to make him stop? Not often). Somehow, the door opened and Stan was pushed out. Tsunomon closed the door, "Finally." He said before hopping back over to us.

"What's Tim's number?" Izzy asked as he laid Kai down near me.

I laughed, "I'm fine, Izzy."

"I don't want this to carry over."

"Thanks." I smiled as I got up and called Tim. Granny said that he dropped off Nereida and Damon and when he got back, she'll send him over. I thought that was odd, since he normally didn't.

Don

"So you all came together?" Kari asked as we met up with them.

"Yeah, Matt forgot that he volunteered to watch our kids." Neon said.

"The more the merrier." TK said.

"What happened to Shadowmon?" Panther asked as we continued.

"He felt this morning." Kari smiled, "He was kinda sweet, in a way."

"And he was a lot of fun." TK said with a smile, as if nothing happened to him yesterday. "Right Tokomon." He looked up since he was on his head.

"Yeah!" He said enthusiastically.

"Seems like you guys had a good night." Ken said. I had always wondered at the sequence to which they met up. Now I know.

"Ken!" TK said with a smile, though there was something off by the way he said it. It was like it was a surprise that he would see him. "How did it go last night?" I also noticed how TK was now getting calmer.

"Better than I expected." He smiled as he joined us. "Hopefully, it goes just as smoothly for everyone else too."

We didn't run into anyone else and was glad that everyone else was in the class room. There were some people in here as well, but it normally has been us to arrive early. "Okay, since most of us are here," Lily Dawn said, "and we can tell Tim later, I have something to say." I looked at Neon, seeing that she was smiling to herself as she leaned into me. I looked at Nereida, seeing that she also knew what was coming. "Apollo is having a kid."

It took a few seconds before it clicked and a few more to realize why she phrased it that way. She then held up one of her hands, showing off an amber ring, meaning that she was still in love with him.

Panther wrapped her arm around her shoulder, "We need to get some major shopping and planning done then." She smiled.

"He said that there can't be a ceremony." Lily Dawn said with a sad face.

"Why not?" Ceres asked, "They're allowed to settle down."

"I'm not sure, but I'm guessing it's because he has to stay there now."

"That's why we have to summon him. Give me a bit and I'll start to search for a good date to do so."

Lily Dawn smiled, "That would be wonderful."

"Though," Ryan said, "I remember reading a myth about Cupid and some mortal girl that needed to be make immortal before it was approved."

"Don't worry about that." Nereida said, "We might have that covered as well. Apparently, Lily Dawn might be one as well."

"We just need to have a chant said to make sure." Neon said.

"What kind of chant?" Ceres asked.

"We know it, but I need to make sure of all the procedures before we allow it to be preformed."

Damon laughed, "You're sounding like Tim."

Nereida laughed as well.

"You better come out too, missy." Lily Dawn said, looking at Nereida.

Nereida blushed, "I'm not having anything." She said in some kind of defense.

"Good, but that doesn't mean you're off the hook." Neon said, "Not that all secrets should be told, but yours kinda impacts our group greater than most."

"Fine." She said with some unneeded defiance, "I like Ars." Again, coding for our classmates. "Tim and Damon are fine with it, and the same with Matt." She added quickly.

"According to Nereida," Damon stepped in before one of us came up with a question, "he has enough of emotions to know about regret and remorse and such."

"Of course." TK said, "They all should, but just like us, some choose not to care."

"What Damon means to say, is that even though he's evil and the same with his master, he's now acting out that part so his master doesn't appear to be weak."

"He wants to take Kai." Panther said firmly. "And I doubt that was an act."

Nereida looked at the floor. "Ars is in the same boat as our Deity friends." Lily Dawn said, "They have to appear one way on the battle field so that they can still be helpful."

"But unlike them," Nereida chimed in, "his Master knows of his emotions and is willing to listen to them. Ars doesn't have to hide from her, but everyone else."

"She could just as easily disband her group." Ryan said.

"I don't know why she doesn't, but that doesn't change how I feel."

"I see why Matt would approve." TK said, "Alright, I don't mind." He smiled.

"Why?" I asked.

"Even when Styx's family was willing to take us all out, and Matt was brought to a place so that they could talk alone, Matt still loved her. Even when he didn't know what had happened to us and didn't know if they had actually gone through their plan, he loved her. Even after all he learned, he loved her still." TK said with his eyes closed, "I couldn't understand it at first, but I think I do now." He looked at Nereida, "It's the kind of love that's powerful enough to change the world."

Then the bell rang and we all got into our seats. I was thinking about what TK said, wondering about it. I mean, how could you love someone that is willing to kill people you love the most? It didn't make sense, and it was making me think about my future loses. Neon thinks that my protectiveness of them is coming from being a father, but if anyone from my group saw it, they would know that it comes from fear. What would Panther say to it, to make me feel better about the future I saw? It's a fear that I know was going to stay with me forever, no matter what anyone says.

Ken

As I was heading towards Civics, Cody was walking towards me. "TK's up." I said before he asked, "And he's fine."

"So he told you."

I nodded, "But just like you and Izzy and everyone else that knows, I haven't told anyone about it."

"Why does he want to keep it a secret?"

"He wants to be fine. He wants to appear to be normal as he possible can be. The only reason he told me was because I could see that he was hiding what happened and I wanted to know the truth. So, now I'm going to watch him to make sure that he doesn't go overboard."

"Was he able to take on two Super Levels?"

"He did make them retreat. Though, he was fighting before then too."

Cody nodded, "I hope he doesn't get stronger than, otherwise no one might be able to stop him." Cody headed off to class.

_I hope for the same thing._ I said as I went to mine, wondering about TK. This morning, he was pushing himself into an extreme state and was holding back. Yes, his reaction this morning was unusual, but I wouldn't have minded it. Kari looked pissed off, though.

"You didn't tell her, right?" Davis asked as I took my seat next to him.

"I didn't even give a hint." I smiled.

Ceres

"I hope everyone else is doing just as well." Mackenzie-sensei said as they entered.

"They are." TK said with a smile.

"Can I talk to you before going to lunch, though?" Ceres asked.

She nodded, "Of course."

They went to their seats. Mackenzie-sensei then went on teaching, as if nothing happened over the weekend. Ceres then remembered that she had something to do while they were having their party, which was the whole reason they couldn't come. She wondered what it could've been.

"Come to the table soon." Panther said as they left. Ceres was wondering why Panther didn't seem bothered by her comment this morning, though was glad that no one seemed to have minded it. It kinda felt good to call him dad and admit openly that Panther was her sister, even though everyone will take it to mean the adoptive kind.

"No one has turned onto the news, as far as I know of." Ceres said to Mackenzie-sensei as she went up to her desk.

"We decided to do the clean up ourselves." Mackenzie-sensei smiled.

"Did you guys kill any of the demons that were around?" Ceres pulled up a chair, knowing that she would have to tell everyone about that.

"The ones that we ran into, of course. Though, we do know that there are a few that weren't so we decided that we'll help you with those since they're not Digimon."

"Are they strong enough?"

"We'll see. At the very least, it'll give the boys something to do with their armors." She chuckled, "My brother doesn't like to be weak."

"Well, the demons you chased off are a good start. They're the strongest demons I've come across. Yesterday was the first time that I fought them, but I've been to their realm before."

She nodded, "I'll let them know."

"How did your thing go?"

She smiled, "At the beginning, souls were born, but they also died. The ones that died kept merging together to form a new soul. Eventually, all the souls that were born at the beginning were gone and all that was left were the combined souls, and thus, reincarnation." She brought out a magnet. It started to shake before latching itself on Ceres. "There are two new souls in our time, and you happen to be one of them." She smiled at her.

"All because a magnet says so?" Ceres pulled it off, but it remained attached to her fingers, no matter what she did.

"It's specially tuned to the new souls."

"Have you found the other one?" Ceres was getting annoyed.

"I believe the other one is Panther." Ceres looked at her, "Though, to see if I'm right, you could always go to lunch with it."

"What happens? We become joined at the hip?"

"I had it designed so that if I ever got the two souls together, it would become overloaded and thus explode."

"Like a bomb?"

She closed her eyes for a moment, "I guess a rapid decay would've been better to use."

"So, in other words, if this thing starts to writher away, that means that the other soul is her. What if the other soul is in the lunch room and it's not her?"

"You would have to be this close for it to activate, and it would point before decaying."

"I'll go Roman on ya for your answer."

"So I'll get stabbed if I'm right." She laughed.

Ceres got up, "What does this mean for us?"

"Your futures are limitless and cursed. You can do whatever you desire, but you will also be given the task of handing down powers that will needed in the future."

"If Panther is this other soul, I already know that we've made up our minds." Ceres said in a confident smile, "We've already chosen our paths in life."

"Clarity never hurts." She smiled.

Ceres walked out, "I'm glad that we can always count on you guys." She said before heading over to the cafeteria. She saw her group and held fast to the magnet in her hand. She walked over towards them, wondering if her bond with Panther was deeper than blood. Two new souls at the same time, was that the result from the union of data and flesh? Lily Dawn will be the answer to that.

"That was long." Panther said as Ceres sat down next to her.

Ceres felt it shaking. She put that hand under the table, "Sorry." The thing pointed, and was inching towards Panther. "So, what's there to eat?" The thing started to decay and Ceres it the remains fall to the ground. She looked at the other end, seeing a wall there. So, the answer was clear.

"Hey everyone." They looked behind them to see Davis. He sat down near Ken, and Ceres wondered why he was here. The table was a bit tense.

"Something the matter?" Panther asked.

"I figure that since we're on the same team that I should get use to the idea."

A smile crossed Ken's face. Ceres looked at Panther, seeing that she was smiling as well. She extended her hand to him, "Peace granted."

He blinked before smiling, taking her hand, "Thanks."

"Are you coming to Matt's house afterwards?" Ryan asked. Ceres noticed how everything was fine. She looked at TK, seeing that he didn't seem all that worried. She wondered if it was a front.

"Yeah, since we also have things we've been keeping. I'm not sure if Yolie is, but Cody told me this morning that he would."

"It would be great if we all could be one big group." Kari said, really excited.

"Yeah." Davis smiled, and Ceres believed that he meant it.

"I guess your first appearance to them was what got you on their wrong foot." Ceres said with a laugh as they headed back.

"Must've… TK, are you okay about it?" Panther looked at him, "After all, you were fearful of him before."

TK smiled at them, "Yeah, I'm okay with it. If it means going back to the way we were all before, then I would be all for it."

"So even you missed them, despite all they did." Ceres said with a smile, "We should learn a thing or two about that."

"By the way, you and Lily Dawn are getting closer." Panther pointed out.

Ceres smiled, "We've come to an understanding."

"That's good." Panther smiled. When they entered, Ceres pointed her thumb to her throat before heading over to her seat.

Tim

It was tough taking care of the babies. I mean, I had to take care of Nereida and Damon, but I also had Grandma's help and I didn't have to take care of them when they were this little. Ele and the Digimon were playing with the babies as we took care of the rest. We played with them too, but it still came down to the Digimon when we had to get the food ready for the meeting and change their diapers.

"Where should I be when the meeting is taking place?" I asked as we set the last of the food on the table.

"On the couch." He smiled, "I'll make up whatever excuse I need to."

"Oh, and Nereida told us." I kinda forgot about it.

"And?"

"I'm allowing her. I figure if she loves him enough then she should be happy. But man, I felt like I lost my daughter to a stranger."

Matt laughed, "She couldn't speak properly afterwards. And don't think that you have to completely trust him. Just because I know he's changing, I know that I still have to weary of him because of his role."

"What's your opinion of him? Like his character and personality."

Matt thought about it, "I would say that he's a kid. Mature, but still a kid that's only now finding a home. He's rash and bold, but once he knows order and learns, he's different. Just never tell him that you once ruled Nereida until you know that he has come to respect you."

I nodded, "Right, though why?"

"When I met Styxmon, her family had captured everyone and had placed us in a blocked off area to talk and to see if I really love her for who she was. Her family was willing to kill everyone, and I knew that, but when I was with her, alone in that area, all I could think about was how much I loved her. That situation is the same with Arsmon and Nereida, but this time everyone has a chance to understand each other." He smiled.

I sighed, "Well, if he can really make her happy, then I'm all for it. Can she get pregnant? She told me that she's not, but it only takes one chance."

"If he's able to recreate a sperm, but we obviously don't know."

I nodded, "Okay."

"Maybe we can ask someone." Izzy said. I noticed that there was a twinkle in his eyes. "You guys know Super Levels, why not ask them?"

"We would have to ask someone that knows a lot about nature of themselves." I said, "It would be hard to find that."

"What about Artmon?" Shendramon offered, "She seems to know a lot."

"And don't forget Mirrormon." Tsunomon said.

"I guess Mirrormon would be the best person to ask." Matt said.

"Oh yeah," Izzy said, "TK took all the data I had on the books, right? Who did he give it to?"

Matt looked like he was debating on telling him, "You mad?"

Izzy shook his head, "I'm not. I wasn't all that trusting while you were away, so I can understand his actions. I just don't want it to be stalling because he's keeping it."

Matt sighed in relief, "Seto Kaiba is looking into it."

"You know Kaiba-sama?" He asked with shock, which made us laugh since that's how Ken addresses him.

"Yeah, I dueled against him once and since then, he became my stalker. He knows about the Digimon and had been the one that got us back. How did you know that TK took it?"

"Other than he took the books, he also made Angemon and Angewomon shot you and Tai with laser guns. The two versions I know for that prophecy called for arrows."

"Maybe you should ask him." I said, "I know that we were told to look at it again, but none of us had a chance. Maybe he did while we were gone."

Izzy nodded, "I will."

There was a knock on the door. Matt went over to it, "Welcome." He said happily. I moved over to where the Digimon were as all the old ones came in. "Is Yolie coming?"

"She said that she would come with the others." Mimi said. "Are you here to baby sit?" She looked at me.

I smiled, "I also don't have classes on Mondays."

Tai came over, setting Koromon with us, "You should get some practice in."

"Okay." Koromon said with a smile. Mimi gave us Tanemon as well, but Sora and Joe didn't. I then paid attention to the babies, though was glad that they were having fun with the Digimon. Matt had labeled which milk was for whom in the fridge and I had a full supply of diaper stuff and napkins and other things to keep them clean as the meeting took place.

Me

I so felt like taking charge and set the agenda for world domination. It felt like the right mood for it, anyway, minus that we have food on the table and not an image of the world.

"Where are we going to start?" Mimi asked.

"I suggest that we start with our opinions first." Tai said. I was actually expecting that he would want me to lay my hand first. "Okay, so I was mad at the Neo group since they seemed like they didn't care about the Digital World, and worried about Kari's safety. But, now that everything of those has been cleared, I'm good with them again." Tai smiled.

"I was being insensitive about telling things to Gennai." Izzy said, "And I think we were acting as if we forgot what you wanted for this group and my advice to you."

"I was going off what I saw," Mimi said, "So I didn't get the whole picture clearly. But, I saw how they don't hold a grudge, even though we said some harsh things to them."

"I was in the same boat as Mimi." Joe said after a moment passed, meaning that he didn't mean it. _Weren't you the one that came to find me when I was lost?_

"I was mad at their attitude towards our situation." Sora said, though there was still something in her voice that was distant.

I smiled at the ones that were true to their feelings, "So I guess you guys can go back to believing them."

"You bet." Tai said, "Seems like we need you here to guide them and to remind us of our words we said in the past."

I nodded, "I'm glad. Also, I'm sorry that TK got mad at everyone when I wasn't here."

"It's understandable." Izzy said, "He was trying to be strong while you were away."

"Yeah, I mean, we weren't all that nice to them and they are his friends as well." Mimi said.

Tai nodded, "I'm also glad that he's okay with us again."

"Good to hear. Now, I guess for my turn. Um, this group is called the Neo Digidestined, incase you didn't hear it. Izzy at least knew that we went into the Digital World during the summer and we learned of a new prophecy to the one that we were told and found the book that it came from. We gave the book to Izzy to translate before it was handed over to someone else that had more free time on his hands. I'm not sure how well that's going, though." I looked at Tim, "Can you come over here and explained what's been going on since I wasn't here for all of it?"

Tim got up and walked over, taking a seat next to me, "The person that now has the book has finished translating, the last that I know of." He looked at me, "We also learned that Ceres's Crest is named Unity." He looked at everyone else, as if being interviewed, "I also discovered that the Destiny Stones are somehow connected to our Crests, but I'm not sure how since I never been able to test it while we were protecting it. The Digital World is also slowly being taking over by Super Level Digimon and there are Digimon that live in this world, as you all heard. There's also an ancient past to the Digital World, to which all of our Digimon were first born.

"In that past, there was a great war being fought by two major groups, and most of our Digimon were on the side that was waging. Your Digimon were on the defending, and technically, the winning side. After this war, the invention of the Digiegg and the first three Super Levels were created. As far as we've seen, there are only three survivors to what happened, and two of them are just as powerful as Super Levels. The ones that you and Davis fought." He looked at Tai.

"What about the other one?" Izzy asked.

"He hasn't shown us what he can do, but he also told us that the one that wrote the book also was searching into the meaning of your Crest, trying to find something about them. We also learned that your Crests are stained with the blood of the Digimon that your ancient Digimon had to take in order to obtain the titles they did."

"Do you know all the details of that war?" Tai asked.

"One wrote down about the war and the past and our Digimon in the first book that Matt got. Though, we saw the ancient site and our Digimon had a strong sense while there. Oh, and Shendramon, Huskimon and Lightningmon were the ones that were leading the ones of the losing side."

"Does Gennai know?" Mimi asked.

"No," Izzy said, "because even though I knew they went into the Digital World, Ken never told me that they found the site."

"Most of us thought that it was best to follow what TK, Ken and Kari were feeling towards you so we didn't have to worry about choosing a side. Oh, and the metal that was being mined in the Digital World is to absorb some kind of light. I'm not sure what kind of light, yet, since the samples I have are all full. We do know that it was being gathered to kill someone in your group. Gold is a currency in that world, and there is someone that is controlling that trading."

"Do you guys have a mission?" Sora asked.

"Not a clear cut one, but we do figure it has to do with the Super Levels and the Deities."

"You're saying that there's more than just Styxmon's group?" Joe asked.

"There's a whole section given to them. They turned themselves into Digimon and are trying to get back at us for abandoning them. We've already had multiple dealings with them already. They were the first ones that knew of us, kinda, and we've been lucky that they haven't done something really bad towards us. We, apparently, have some friends and allies in that group, but the Greeks have to keep a strong appearance of unity." _Got it, keep our own private love lives out of it._

"Shouldn't their feelings for you be stronger than that?" Sora asked.

Tim looked at her, "It's the same thing as us. In order to work in secret and to be more affective to achieving what we needed to do, we had to keep up an appearance that we didn't know about the Digimon and they had to keep it a secret that we were part of your group. It's the same kind of secrecy, but it's to protect them and us. Deities were the ones that separated us to the corners of the world and covered Japan in a ton of snow. If they wanted to, they could rip our world apart." He sighed, "And since we have some friends there, we don't want to get them in a place where they can't help us or be safe."

"And I know personally," I jumped in, "That the Greeks are ruling that realm with an iron fist. One Deity that helped Panther was punished by having her powers stripped of her and having her placed in a comet."

"We also know that the Greeks can order the other Deities around because they're the most unified." Tim added, "And we're the only ones that see them as a group to be considered about."

"Anything else?" Tai asked.

"Our amulets can open portals to the Digital World, there's a Super Level that's watching over the Primary Village, Endmon and Eternalmon weren't existing in the past, the Destiny Stones were created after the war, we also have some kind of destiny that is separate from protecting the Digital World, and most of us have something supernatural going for us that separates us from normal people as well."

"Like what?" Mimi asked.

"I'll only speak for my family. My sister is becoming a foreteller and can breath underwater. My brother is a medium for spirits and can move things with his mind. I can talk to spirits in their hiding state and move through solid objects."

"So you made the plate move." Tai said.

He nodded, "As for the others' powers, I know that they wouldn't mind if they were told, but I want them to tell you first."

"Okay, now that all of that is settled." Tai said, "Let's eat!" He smiled.

Tim got up and brought the babies over before we all started to eat. I was allowing Tai to take care of Kai, since he seemed to want to be a father so badly. Kai didn't mind it, though didn't like it whenever Sora got too close.

Panther

While the teacher was lecturing about something in Europe, I felt myself go into a premonition. I saw Ceres walking away from Japan and to a place that was in mountains. I don't know why, but for some reason, there was a tiger standing there, roaring at me as if trying to tell me something. When I moved out of it, I lowered my head since I was getting tired of all these premonitions. I've been having a lot of them today, all surrounding creatures for some reason. They're all roaring at me, as if they're trying to tell me something. But, they didn't seem like normal premonitions, either. Though, in truth, I like the fact that my powers didn't hit my anymore like a fist. They were more like memories coming and going through my head. I also noticed that Ed had stopped coming to my mind.

"Panther!" I looked up to see my teacher angry at me, "Tell me something about what I've been saying."

She was really annoying. I used my powers to see what she had just said, "You were talking about World War One and how it started with a total misunderstanding and where Japan was on the issue."

She glared before going on with her lecture. I sighed as I looked outside. I wondered what my premonitions were all about. The tiger one was the one that was scaring me the most, since it involved Ceres leaving and I don't know where she goes. But then, I shouldn't be too surprised that she would want to leave. It's her nature, after all. I don't think she would ever be satisfied staying at one place.

An image was appearing on the window. It was that tiger again. It was staring at me, lying down on an invisible land in the mirror. I looked back at the class, seeing that it was now gone. I looked back at the window to see that the tiger had come to my mind. I was no longer in the classroom. Was this a new door for my powers? It roared and scattered the darkness that we were in.

We were now in a village somewhere in the mountains. There were kids running around and people talking peaceful to each other as they watched their kids. It roared again, and we were in a cave. I looked at the end to see cravings of the animals I've been seeing: tiger, phoenix, turtle, and dragon. Faces came out, and I was shocked to see the image of Kai I had once.

"Panther!" I snapped out of the trace, seeing that I was still looking at the window. I looked slowly to the front of the class, seeing an angry teacher. "Would you please stop daydreaming, or do I need you to do something more exciting?"

I only stared at her, unable to speak as I was quietly freaking out about my powers. The bell rang and all the students were packing. "Hey," I snapped again as I looked at Ceres, "come on, we have to get going. I already got your things."

I slowly got up, almost afraid to move. I took in a deep breath before following Ceres.

"What happened?" Don asked as we were outside of our class.

"I think my powers are getting out of control." I admitted, keeping my true fear out of my voice.

He placed a hand on my shoulder. I looked at him, knowing that he wanted to say something encouraging, but also knowing the difficulty it was to overcome one's fears. I nodded my head, "I'll try." I said, knowing that he wanted me to control my powers.

"We'll see you at your house." He said before they left.

"You two must've come to a deep understanding." TK said, "What did you see?"

"I'll say later. We need to head to class." I said before walking. I needed time to think this through.

"Don't normally your premonitions hit you." Ceres pointed out.

"They won't anymore." I said, "Damn Chrono."

"Chrono? Who's that?"

"Hey guys." Ryan said with a smile as we entered the classroom. "What's wrong, Panther?"

"She's freaking out over a premonition." Ceres said so calmly.

"Of what?" He looked at me.

"I'm not sure myself… It was more like I was being shown something, but not the exact future."

"How about drawing it?" Ceres offered, "Like you did of that one you did before I got here."

I nodded, knowing that this was a good place to concentrate on my powers. I touched the canvas and closed my eyes. I needed to control this anyway. I heard a roar again, so I opened my eyes to see the tiger again. He, now feeling a gender, was calling me to follow. I got up and started to walk towards him, "What's this about? Is this the future or some weird trance?"

He only looked at me, waiting for me to come closer.

"Why are you taking Ceres? What dose she have to do with anything?"

He roared and showed me a beach. The place looked peaceful and calm. I felt something from the top of the hill and looked, to see Ceres, a few years older, and with two kids. They looked to be Chinese, but also had cat like features to them. The kids were having a great time as they came to the water and I could see that Ceres had changed. She was gaining a calmer look on her face.

I was shown the day. The kids knew about Fiterimon and were having fun exploring the sea. Once done, the kids were playing volleyball first before smashing a watermelon. Ceres made them dinner and was telling them a story. The kids were glued to her very word. Once they were done, they changed and headed somewhere. The kids fell asleep on Ceres, and Ceres looked like she was contend and happy.

"Why are you showing me this?" I asked the tiger, wanting more than anything for Ceres to be happy here. I knew she was in China now, by the writing on the bus.

We were back in the cave and all the creatures were out. I looked at them, feeling the tears on my cheeks. The turtle came up to me, holding an image of Ed and a boy. I took it and noticed how happy they were. Did Ceres leaving have to deal with Ed as well? Was all of this connected?

I looked at the turtle, "Want me to draw this, huh?"

He nodded.

I looked at the picture, "Will I ever know why I need to let her go?"

I felt words dancing across my mind. Well, I guess more like an overwhelming feeling that seem to speak to me. It was saying that I will. I looked at them, "I guess you're the new guys I'll be seeing, huh?"

The phoenix flew over towards me, landing next to me. I felt his words as well, saying that he will be the closest to me. I looked at the tiger, seeing that he was now content. The dragon was just there. He was part of this group, but I didn't have to worry about him just yet, I guess. I looked at the turtle, "I'll draw this, but don't drag me into this world all that often."

The tiger roared, as if sealing the promise. I sighed as I walked away. I opened my eyes and noticed that I was back in my world. I looked at the canvas before me, drawing Ed and this kid. I decided that I would include the turtle, but in a symbol that made sense to alchemy, a circle.

"Is that what you've been seeing?" Ceres asked.

"I was seeing this guy while I was traveling." I said solemnly, knowing Ceres' fate. In truth, I didn't know if I was ready to give her up to those kids.

"What about now?" Ryan asked.

"This turtle," I pointed to him, now realizing that I didn't know their names, if they had any, "is one of the ones that will be showing me the future."

"There are more?" Ceres asked.

"Yeah… but they wanted me to draw this, so I'm listening." The bell ranged and I wasn't finished. I guess I didn't need to be. I started to pack up and we headed out. I didn't tell anyone else about my premonitions, and TK didn't ask about them. We waited up for Davis and Cody, which I said that I forgave him and he did the same thing. When we walked outside, Yolie was waiting for us. Kari was the one that was mainly talking to her.

Ken

"You okay?" I asked TK since we were able to talk alone.

TK nodded, "Yeah… Thanks." He smiled at me. "In truth, I wanted to go with you instead of Kari."

"Kari's getting angry at me because of you. I didn't want to leave you, either, but I figured that I shouldn't cause a problem."

TK looked at the ground, "Was Matt mad that he didn't know?"

"Actually, no." TK looked at me, "He didn't seem to mind at all. I'm relieved, of course, but I did think that he would be a bit mad."

"I wonder why… Though, I'm glad too." He smiled, "I was worried that Matt might be jealous like I was."

"If he is, then he's hiding it. Ask him when we get there. And until you feel comfortable about telling the others, I won't say a word."

TK nodded, "Thanks Ken."

I smiled, "I'll always be there for you."

"Yeah." He smiled back, but one that said that he was really grateful for it. When we got to Matt's house, Tim and Izzy were there as well.

"I got the snacks ready so do your homework first before we say that we talked about." Matt said in a really good mood. I pushed TK towards Matt as I took a seat.

TK looked at me before saying something Matt in a whisper. Then they went into the kitchen.

TK

I was holding onto Tokomon for support, since I was kinda worried about what Matt thought about me keeping something from him. "You want to talk about what Ken didn't say, right?" He asked as we were away from the entrance.

I nodded, "Are you mad?"

He smiled at me, "Why would I be?"

I looked at the ground, "If it was a month ago, and you only told Ken something, I would be mad because you didn't tell me."

He rubbed my head, keeping his hand there, "I'm not mad because you told someone. I can see that you don't want me to worry so you don't want to tell me." He smiled at me, "Unlike Tim, I'm not afraid of losing you to someone else. You told me yourself that you still need me, so I'll wait until you feel comfortable telling me so I can help."

I smiled, "Okay. I'm also glad that you're not mad at Ken. I've come to see him as a brother, in a way."

"Good to know." Matt hugged me, "If you ever need me, just call, okay? I noticed how you didn't want to go with Kari yesterday, but I didn't know if you needed me to come get you or not."

I nodded, "Okay."

"Why is Kari angry at Ken?"

"I'm not really sure, but Ken thinks it has to do with me."

"Hopefully it passes over." He said, staying like this for a moment, "Okay, time for you to study."

I laughed, "Fine. Oh, I might act like Ceres from time to time." I at least wanted to warn him.

"Okay, just don't to something too crazy." He said with a smile, "Otherwise I'll put you in a psych ward."

"Never!" I said with a smile, "You would have to catch me first." I headed back to the table, taking a seat next to Kari since she wasn't near Ken.

"So what was discussed?" Davis asked once we were all done. I noticed that Cody and Davis were also having fun with us, and no one minded that they were with us. Yolie was being very moody, though, but she wasn't saying anything.

"First, they wanted to apologize to you, TK, for how insensitive they were while I was gone." Matt said, "And they hope that you can forgive them."

Does that mean that they remember? I felt a pinched on my shoulder, feeling that it was Tokomon since he was the only thing on my shoulder. "Was it sincere?" I asked, hiding the fact that I was being tortured by my own partner. Well, on the bright side, he wasn't using his teeth.

"I thought so." He looked at Izzy, "right?"

He nodded, but he knows why I forgave him already, and Cody. I would just have to take that for now, until I take the spirit out of them for good. I smiled, "I forgive them." Tokomon stopped his torture.

"Next, we gave them as much as Tim and I knew what was going on with this group and our relationship with the Super Levels." Matt said.

"I also told them about my family." Tim said, meaning about the powers, "But I figure I let you guys tell them on your own."

"So what is your relationship with the Super Levels?" Yolie asked.

"That we have friends that are part of groups that would be after us." Tim said without a second thought. We also knew that we weren't supposed to mention that two of our members were in love. "We also told them about the ancient war and the survivors from that time. Davis, you and Tai fought them once."

"Weren't they Super Levels?" He asked.

"They weren't, though I'm not sure what level they were at when they were fighting. That only goes to show you how strong the Digimon were in the past."

"Does Gennai know of this war?" Yolie asked.

"Apparently, though we don't know a lot about the war itself." That reminded me that I was supposed to look for a hope that this group needed to reach since I was planning on using the ancient past as a guide. That reminded me that I needed to read the history book. "We know the major stuff, but not a lot of details."

"Like what?" Cody asked.

"Like," I said, "how there were two major groups of Digimon. There were those that dwelled within a castle complex and others that lived outside that castle. Our groups had their Digimon within the castle and the Neo group had their outside. A lot of Digimon died and when the war was finally over, the Digiegg was created. Also, the Super Levels that create all other Super Levels were born after the war." I decided to keep my own discoveries to myself, since they involved parts that I haven't told to anyone else. Besides that, I was lost at what Date-san was talking about anyway.

"How did you guys learn about this?" Yolie asked, "Obviously, those two Digimon wouldn't tell you anything."

"We learned most of what we know from book." Matt said, obviously lying since he wasn't there when we learned about it, though meaning that we shouldn't tell them about Horsemon. I wondered if the older ones knew and why were we keeping it from them? I looked at Yolie, wondering if she was the cause because we didn't know if she would tell Gennai or not. Oh well, I'll tell Cody later, since I know he's freed from the hold. "Though, Izzy was only able to translate parts of it, so that's why our knowledge is limited." And now we were supposed to keep Kaiba-san out as well. Oh well, he I could understand. "There's also a book on prophecies," though we kinda knew that to not be true, "and it seems that's where Gennai got all the prophecies for us and to aid us in our fights."

That seemed to put Yolie at ease, though Matt didn't like that it did. "Okay." She got up, "I'll see everyone later." She walked over to the door and let herself out.

"Davis," Ken looked at his DNA partner, "are you going to keep my group away from Gennai?"

Davis blinked, "We still need to? I mean, if Matt has the books, then shouldn't he know that?"

"He might have a feeling that we exist." Ceres said, "But I don't think he knows for sure."

Matt sat down, "Because of Yolie's reaction yesterday, I was unsure if I would be endangering our group by revealing everything we knew." He looked at him, "And I can see that you and Cody are forgiven by everyone so I guess they're waiting to see if they can trust you."

"You mean that wasn't all?" He looked at Matt.

"None of it was a lie, really." His eyes steady and unwavering, "There are two books, there are survivors, we are translating them, we have friends that are Super Levels, we have friends in groups that are after us as a whole."

"But," Cody came in after a pause, "that's not everything, I'm guessing."

Matt just smiled, as if saying that could be a possibility. "So," I looked at them, though kinda knowing Cody's answer, "are you going to keep the Neo group a secret?"

"I will." Cody said without a moment of hesitation.

Davis sighed loudly as he scratched his head, "Does this mean that we have to keep it from Yolie?"

"Until she seems willing to do the same." Matt said, "Just as Tai would be thinking in the best interest of us, I have to think in the best interest of my group. Gennai was able to kill off Styxmon and her family, and I won't allow him the chance to do the same with my group."

I wondered why Davis was even considering to saying yes. I mean, before, he was willing to butt heads with us all over the place. What was changing? Did it have something to do with the spirit was having less of an affect now? No, that can't be it. It was powerful a few days ago. Did Ken still feel that presence around him like he did before? I'm sure that he would've told me if he did. He also wasn't making Kari cough; now thinking about it. Was something taming it into a state that allowed them control again? But then why wasn't it working on Yolie? Or has she always been like this? "Alright." Davis said finally, "I'll it keep from Yolie and Gennai."

"Not that I don't believe you," Ceres said, "but why agree so easily? Both of you."

"For one," Cody said, "you guys have been protecting us behind the scenes and helping us out."

"Plus," Davis added, "I know that I had a problem with Panther mostly and thought that everyone was defending her because she was threatening you or something. Now that I know it was because you were all in a group, protecting us and helping with protecting the Digital World, it made me change my mind." _So only we understood the similes and metaphors that were coming forth from their hate? That's kinda funny._

"So you never caught on?" Panther asked, as if they had somewhere missed up on their masking. "I mean, I did appear in front of you guys once."

"We weren't sure what we really saw." Cody said, and I noticed that they were telling the truth. "And after we learned that there were human like Digimon out there, we thought it was just one of them."

Panther laughed, "I never knew we could hide so well."

"Okay," Matt said, smiling happily now, "now that we know, I learned most of the items this morning."

"Does Gennai know that you have the books?" Cody asked.

"Probably only one of the books, if Centarumon had told him that we stopped by. I was given the other by Styxmon."

"How? You didn't come back with a book." Davis said.

"She came to visit me in my sleep for a while, where she gave me that book and a way of finding my group."

Cody looked at the clock, "I need to get to my practice." He said as he got up, bowed to Matt before leaving. I wasn't really sure that meant, but I was glad that he was at least showing respect.

"What do you guys normally do after homework?" Davis asked.

"Some of us have other classes to go to." Lily Dawn said, "But we normally train first before going and considering that we're facing Super Levels, we should train the Digimon more." She looked at Matt.

"They haven't recovered yet." Tim said, "Our Digimon still have trouble moving."

"Is that significant?" Davis asked.

"My family's partners have only two forms. The one that you saw when everyone downgraded and their Super Levels forms."

"Is that even possible?"

"Obviously, it's a rare thing. As far as we know, they're the only ones." He petted Shendramon, "He's an Ultimate."

"Mine," Damon announced, "is a Champion."

"And mine is a Rookie." Nereida smiled.

"Wow… Where do you guys train?"

"I built a dojo in my house." Matt said, "Do you want to watch?"

"… Sure!" He seemed excited about that and something within me was getting excited as well. Though, I wasn't sure if that was now a good thing or not. I know I need to fight or train in order to keep my Saiyan side from exploding, but that also releases the hold I have on my twisted side.

Everyone got up and we headed towards there, "Matt," Izzy said from behind. Ken and I stopped, though only Ken was looking back, "can I talk to TK and Ken before they train?"

"Sure." Matt said with no hint that he was suspicious of anything. He walked pass us, "Don't take too long." He said with a smile to us.

He left the door open and started to instruct everyone as we walked back to Izzy. "Well?" He asked, getting his laptop out.

"It seemed like fighting was bringing it out." I said, "And I didn't realize it until Ken came over. I mean, I was feeling it, but I thought it was something else."

"Date-san told me about your mixing blood." I was surprised, "Is that why you couldn't catch it?"

I nodded my head. "Date-san was the one that noticed." Ken said, "But, TK gave me the stuff so that's why I went. Also, the way that we have to do it now, it takes too long and there is a chance that something could happen to it before the injection."

"So you're saying that we need to have a better method." Izzy summed up.

Ken nodded, "From what I saw, he was able to take on two Super Levels without hesitation and with a drive to take them out. We don't really know how strong that emotion really is, considering that this Saiyan race has a strong pride and fighting spirit. It's better if we can inject without having to fight him."

Izzy nodded, "I'll talk to Rowen about coming up with a design. I guess we're intrusting you to take care of TK when he loses control?"

"Yeah."

"Date-san was having trouble with him at the beginning." Izzy pointed out, "If it ever came to a fight, how will you be ready? Though, I guess if you're a Saiyan as well, then we have nothing to worry about."

I blinked, "What do you mean?"

"I'm going to give Rowen blood samples of everyone on our team, to see who's a Saiyan and who isn't. I got everyone they haven't tested but Ken's."

"You even have Matt?"

He nodded, "I mean, I know it should be obvious, but I want to make sure."

Ken stuck out his arm, pulling up his sleeve to his elbow. "Let us know what you find." I noticed that there was a look in his eyes, but I couldn't tell what it was saying. Izzy brought out a needle and took some blood. Ken put back his sleeve when Izzy was done.

"I will. And TK," He looked at him, "Apparently, I'm the same class as you."

I blinked, "Huh?"

"Date-san didn't tell you?"

"I guess not."

"Oh… well, Mina was looking at the blood samples of me, you, Cody and Date-san and found out that you and I are of royal blood from the first generation. Cody is a peasant and Date-san's family is of royal guards. They got Joe's too, but they didn't have anything on his, yet."

"I thought my blood was mix into me."

"It was, but I guess that since you're originally a Saiyan of the First that it doesn't matter if you're mixed with the lower ones."

"You asked him, didn't you?"

He nodded, "Matt is also mixed, but apparently at a different time than you. He told me that since he wanted you to keep training."

_So we both were mixed with third generation?_ "Okay. So you want to see who else is a Saiyan?"

"And if they're all from the first generation."

"How can you tell?" Ken asked.

"I can't, but Mina can."

"Meaning that she had to have study it before."

"Yeah, but I figured that I should only ask a few things in our first session. Did you know that he knew the Digimon?" He looked at me.

"And he has to keep it a secret because it involves his brothers. He also knows you guys, before all of this stuff happened."

"But he hasn't done anything with it!" Tokomon said, hitting my head for emphasis.

"Maybe we should start injecting you too." I said, since that really hurt.

"I can't be that easily controlled." He said with the same pride as before.

"Well, I'll be going now. I'll let you know if I find something else."

I nodded before he and Motimon left. "Is Matt mad that you're not telling him anything?" Ken looked at me.

"He said he isn't. He was just glad that I told someone." I smiled at Ken, "And I also warned him that I might act like Ceres."

Ken nodded, "Good. Should you train?"

I looked at the door, before smiling, "I want to show Davis how good we are."

"Okay." We walked inside and started to show off. The Digimon were watching this time, since they didn't have their strength back yet.

Afterwards, Davis was talking to everyone, saying how amazing they were. Kari didn't say anything about having me over. Though, we are going to be living together, so I guess I should spend more time with her.

"Hey," Ken said in a whisper, "spend the night with Matt."

I smiled, glad that Ken was seeing it, "Okay." I went over Matt, "Can I stay the night?"

He smiled, "No."

I smiled before heading over to Kari, deciding to take her home first. "What did you ask Matt?" She asked as we were heading over to her place.

"I told him that I'm taking over his house as soon as I drop you off. Oh, and Shadowmon was a lot of fun."

"Yeah, he didn't seem to be all that bad." She smiled.

"Oh," She looked at me, "I'm treating Ken like a brother, so please don't be mad at him."

"Is that why you're hanging out with him a lot?"

I nodded, "I mean, we've always been close, but only recently have I noticed just how close. I know that I care for him in the same light as Matt." I then realized that maybe I was able to do the same for Date-san.

She didn't say anything afterwards about it, just moved onto another topic. I was worried about that, though I figured that she didn't have any more to say on the subject. I saw her to her door, kissing her goodnight before running all the way back to Matt's.

"This is a take over!" Tokomon and I yelled as we burst through the door.

There was a light tap to my head. I looked to see that Matt was smiling, "You failed."

I pouted, "I'm your baby brother. You're supposed to let me win." I closed the door.

"You think we would let you take over?" Ceres said with a smile. "Dream on."

"After all," Panther said with a smile, "we do rule this house."

"Thus, I was out vowed." Matt said with a laugh.

I laughed as well, "We will not be your hostages!" I pointed to the girls and baby.

"We'll see about that in the morning." Ceres said, getting up, "Night."

"Don't stay up too late," Panther said, heading up as well.

Matt walked over to where Kai was wiggling on the table, picking him up. I walked over as well, "How has it been?"

"Fun, so far." Matt looked at me, "I guess Izzy knows too, huh?"

I nodded, "Because the reason occurred while he was around."

He smiled, "It's sounding more serious than I thought it would be."

I looked at the floor, "Yeah, it is pretty serious, but I don't want everyone watching and waiting for something to happen. I mean, I can control it. I know I can."

Matt wrapped his arm around me, pulling me into hug, "I know, TK. But, it's also okay to admit that you're afraid." I wrapped my arms around him, needing this comfort yesterday. Kai started to wiggle some more. I looked at him, wondering what he was doing. "I think Kai wants to join in too." Matt said with a laugh, handing him to me.

I took Kai in my arms, and he started reach towards me with his tiny hands. I brought him to my shoulder and he patted me a few times before falling asleep. "I think you're right." I said softly.

"You can stay in my room." Matt said as we headed upstairs. "You don't have to tell me anything, okay."

I nodded, glad that I didn't have to be alone. When I was over at Ken's house last time, Ken didn't seem to mind that we were sharing the bed. "How was everyone else?"

"Tai wants to be a father." He said as he opened the door, "And he's worried about Sora. I think Joe and Sora are the only ones that aren't back to normal." He said as I went in. I found the crib that Kai is using, placing him gently in it and tucking him in.

"I guess Yolie is in the same boat."

"Kinda." I looked at him as he tossed me something of his to wear. "Yolie has always been against Styxmon and they haven't. I mean, the first thing that everyone else did was apologize, and they didn't, really. I accepted it because I thought it would be better than having a struggle with them. Izzy is also not mad that you gave the book to Seto." He smiled at me, already done changing.

"So he knew?"

"He knew that you took everything, and didn't blame you for it." He walked over to the bed, "He also calls him sama." He said with a laugh, "How far is he with it?"

"He needs to work at it some more, since some language thing was making him worry that he might've gotten something wrong." I got in the bed with him, "But, he translating it right."

"And everyone hasn't?" He turned off the lights.

"I went over to ask about the prophecy and to let him know that I found where Ken and his group were. He showed me the translation and it stated something really different."

"How so?"

"Well, it mentions twice that it would need to be used more than once and it mentions more than one protector of Peace and that we would have to use weapons of novelty. There were no arrows."

"So that's why I got shot with a laser gun?" He asked with a laugh.

"I thought that a gun wouldn't be cool." I laughed. "I guess that, somehow, Gennai came across it since he was able to change it so much to fit our situation, but never was able to read it for himself."

"He couldn't, remember," Tokomon said, "Only a few people were able to read the language and that one was even making Kaiba worry since it was all poetry."

"Oh yeah, so he must've heard it somewhere."

"But he gave Izzy a text." Matt pointed out.

"Maybe it came from the book, but only the elite could read it."

"Is the program useless?"

"No, but it's not a dictionary, really. Kaiba has to find a similar sound to it, since that's how it works. Kaiba is amazing, though. He was able to figure out the grammar on his own without using the translation that Izzy did."

Matt smiled, "I hope it isn't taking up all his time."

"It isn't." I smiled. "I also think it's awesome that everyone wants to help your group."

"You're unofficially apart of it too." He kissed my forehead, "It's a school night, so get some sleep."

I moved closer to him, "Fine."

He wrapped his arm around me, "Oh, Panther and Ceres are fine with me being a father figure to them."

I laughed, "I guess I have one nephew and two nieces?"

"I wouldn't go that far, but they at least don't mind me being a father to them."

"You'll be great." I said and started to fall asleep, loving the fact that Matt can still make me feel safe.

Panther

I got up, feeling that something was in my room. I looked beyond my bed, seeing that phoenix there. He flapped his wings before settling down. I sat up, "Are you blocking my powers?" I asked, since I could feel the similar pull I got when I was seeing into Ed's life.

I saw that I was in the training room and I could hear the praises that I normally got. When I got out, the Elite were there, smiling at me with some evil thought. Donn extended his hand to me, "Glad you came back." And then I was back in my room. The phoenix flapped his wings again and walked over to stand over my bed.

I lay back down, "I can't escape." I said softly to myself. He made a sound before watching over me. I didn't know what it wanted, but I turned over and stayed awake the rest of the night.

Lily Dawn

"I really don't understand Matt at all." Stan said as we were eating breakfast.

"Because you don't understand anything." I said, mad at him that he scared my best friend, "They're her family now, so you just have to accept that and treat them like that."

"She has a family." He was referring to her dead one.

"And when we come back, a special report about Panther's life before Ishida-san took her in." The reporter on the news said.

And we'll end here. Oh, that point hasn't come yet. I didn't forget my promise. And I bet you're wondering how I'm writing this up without reading what's going on. Well, that's going to be my secret. I'm surprised that TK is keeping a lot of stuff from me, though I guess it is a good thing that he's telling someone. That's all that's really needed, since I don't want everyone to keep things to themselves. Bye!


	32. Chap 31 The Leaf Turns

It's always good to know that you have a loving and caring family around you at all times. It's a nice comfort to know and feel every day of your life. That's how I felt in the morning, anyway.

Panther

It was weird how morning was turning out. I mean, I had that premonition last night, but it seemed like that had faded away into a dream. TK and Ceres were playing off each other and Kai was enjoying it. I could tell that Matt was pleased with it, and that it was lightening the mood I was feeling. I had told Rootmon about it, but I wasn't going to tell anyone else. I wanted to hope that it wouldn't come all that soon. Don and Neon came before we headed off to school. I kinda wanted to tell Don about it, but knew that there wasn't anything that could be done about it. It was my fate, it seemed. I was never allowed to be near those that are the light.

During our Japanese class, I was getting images of when everyone was younger. It was kinda weird, since it was like I was remembering a moment that I never lived before. I saw Neon when she was living with her mom, how hard it was for them at first and how Neon threw herself into love before being with Don. I saw Don holding back his tears as his mother left and how he fell in love with Neon. How he fell in love somehow reminded me of Matt and Diana. It was just something that occurred over time and I understood why they meant so much to each other.

I saw how Tim got involved with science and how he choose chemistry over everything else. I kinda wanted to see how he was before then, but I couldn't get myself to see that far. I saw how Damon was with some rough kids as he grew up, hanging out with potential gangsters, though for now they were just some local thugs. Those were the kinds of people we were always on the look out for, so I was surprised that Damon didn't go down that path and that our paths never crossed. Though, I don't recognize the people he hanged out with, so I guess they either joined another gang or they all quit being wanna-bes. I saw how painful Nereida really was, but was also putting a smile for her brothers since she sensed their hurt. She had picked up acting since she wanted to experienced things that she thought she would never feel or experienced. She was always glad that her brothers smiled and cheered for her, which got her to love it.

I saw what I knew of Ryan and Lily Dawn. I knew everything about their past, so what I was seeing now was nothing new. I saw what I was told about TK, Kari, Matt and Ken. I saw when Kari first entered the Dark World, seeing that TK came to save her. I saw how Ken was given the Dark Spore when he first went into the Digital World. I saw when TK and Matt were little and their parents having an argument that Matt could hear. It was a moment that Matt said gave him the idea that it was his duty to protect TK. I wondered, when it was done, if this was a true memory or not.

For Ceres, I saw her life with Ilpalo. It reminded me of the future that was going to come. I wondered if I should let her go or not, though remembered that I didn't have the power to change what I saw.

"Panther," I looked up to the front, seeing that the teacher was angry for some reason. Even though most of my teachers didn't like me, only a few showed it. I looked at the time, seeing that this class was nearly over. "Are you paying attention?"

"Yep." I said, not caring how I sounded.

She looked at me before going on, knowing that I would be able to answer anything she gave out. Some teachers learn faster than others, it seems. She handed out some assignment, though I didn't bother looking at it like everyone else. I wondered if I would be able to finish high school.

The bell rung and I didn't hear what she told everyone about the assignment. It probably didn't matter much anyway.

"Panther," I looked behind me to see that Ceres was following me more closely, "is everything okay? It looked like you were using your powers a lot."

"I still don't have that much control over my powers." I smiled at her. "They still come and go."

"You should learn how to control it." Ceres looked worried, "What were you seeing?"

"The past." I smiled, "Nothing special."

"Don't keep everything to yourself, okay?" Ceres said before we entered.

We took our seats and we all chatted. I didn't want to worry everyone, so I tried to act like nothing was bothering me. As class began, I started to think back. I remembered why I wanted to finish high school when it wasn't needed. I mean, I had to pay to come here, which the gang did for me. I guess it helped that I was smart enough to enter on grades alone. I think Lily Dawn and Ryan were here because I applied here, but I don't remember if that was the case since I only came for two days.

The reason I went to high school was because of my brother, the one that was always watching out for me. I had two younger siblings and one older. He was the same age as Stan, and we were two years apart. They were killed before he got the chance to enter high school, which I knew he was looking so forward to going. I remembered him applying for this school, having just been built a year before. He made me promise to go to high school, though back then, I didn't care which I entered and probably wasn't really going to fulfill that promise.

As we were being shown supernovae, I was remembering my parents. I remembered them being really superstitious about everything. I was the only member with yellow hair. I got made fun of by other kids, saying that I wasn't part of the family. It didn't help that my parents distant themselves from me. My brother was the only one that tried to take care of me, though I shoved him away the most.

I was also remembering how much fun I had with my brother before I turned. The day that I saw the Dark Ocean was the day that I dyed my hair black so that my parents wouldn't hate me. It didn't work, and I got really depressed. When I saw the ocean and all the people there, I knew where I belonged.

I looked at Kari, knowing that I saw her when TK got her out. I probably didn't care who I saw leaving and coming, because I was starting to turn cold and harsh. I was already with the gang, training to be a fighter. My dark powers were rising by this point, I now realize, and it was attracting the others to me.

"Something's bothering you." Ceres said as we were heading to Spanish.

"Nothing is." I said, not wanting to talk about my past right now.

"Something is. You were staring off into nothing, and I could tell that you weren't happy about it. So, what's up?"

"Nothing."

"Tell me or I'll have Matt get it out of you."

I smiled, "Matt wouldn't do that." I sat down.

"Why not? He cares about you too."

"He doesn't force others to tell him stuff. That's why he didn't press Ken to telling him anything and why he doesn't know my past to any great detail or yours."

She pouted before sitting down, knowing that I was right. "Why is it bothering you?"

"Nothing is bothering me." I said with an annoyed tone.

"You're not going to fool me."

Before I could counter, the teacher called Ceres up to her. I wondered why before I noticed how the teacher was staring at me. I wondered what was up as they talked. It was a look that everyone gave to me once. It was a look that said that I disapproved what you did, but I don't know how to disown you. My parents and younger siblings gave me that look. My brother always looked disappointed, but he never wanted to disown me. Now thinking about it, it was a look that Stan and Ryan's father always gave me too.

Ceres came back, looking annoyed at something herself now. "You're not going to like tomorrow." She said as she sat down.

"Why?" Wasn't everything supposed to be better now that Matt was back?

"Apparently, someone is leaking info on you to the media. There was some preview stuff this morning, but it's going to have a longer segment tonight."

"Let me guess, she wanted you to stay away from me." I said with a laugh. Everything was going down hill already.

"I'm going to say this now. No one in our group is going to watch something that lame." Ceres smiled at me.

"Yeah, whatever." I sighed, knowing that I'm not going to have any peace because of my past. I guess people don't care why I went there in the first place.

The bell rang and we were off to work. I was surprised by how much everyone was giving me the same look. Now knowing why, it explained our Japanese teacher.

"Does anyone know about this story on Panther that's going to appear tonight?" Ceres asked when we got to the table. She was madder than I was, which I thought it was funny since it's my problem.

"What?" Lily Dawn looked surprised. "We had that news on this morning and I thought it was only the morning."

"Same here." Ryan said, "Do you have any idea who's leaking?" He looked at me. I could see that no one else watched the news in the morning.

"You guys didn't watch any of it, did you?" Ceres asked before I could answer.

"Of course not." Ryan said.

"I even made Stan promise." Lily Dawn said. "Maybe we shouldn't go today." She looked at me, "I don't want you to get hounded like when Matt wasn't here."

"Don't worry about it. What can they do?" I sat down, deciding that I wasn't going to let this affect me. "All they're going to report is a legend."

"Are you sure about that?" Damon asked, "What if it's someone that knows you really well?"

"They got nothing. All they're going to do is create a story of me to boost their ratings."

"Maybe we should let Mackenzie-sensei watch it." Nereida offered, "So we know what kind of reaction we should be expecting tomorrow."

"I'll know tomorrow morning."

"It wouldn't hurt to have someone else look. I'm figuring that you won't since you don't want Matt to watch it too."

_And have someone that I respect hate me too? _"She's probably already going to watch it."

"Panther," Don got up and started to walk away. I got up as well, wondering what he wanted to talk about. "You sound like you've already given up." He said once we were outside the cafeteria.

"A bit. I saw something that allows me to know where I'm staying."

"I finally told Neon what happened." He sighed, "And she said that even though everything I saw seemed to be the end, maybe there's something that I'm missing."

I blinked, not sure what he was trying to tell me. "So now you think that you can change the future?"

"Not really, but what I saw was only a glance, right? So maybe there is something that I can do that can change what happens afterwards."

"Do you really believe that to be true? I've seen enough stuff to know that that doesn't work. You can't change what you see."

He sighed, knowing that it was true, "Okay, so for whatever you had seen, you can control what the outcome will be. What I'm trying to say is that you only saw one instance of the future that is to come to you, but you don't know if that's the final outcome, right? What you saw was a moment in the future, but what you do afterwards affect how the rest of your life goes."

"That's what Neon told you?"

"That's what she wants me to believe in for our kids. She doesn't like the idea that our kids are going to die before they become an adult and that we're not there to see them grow."

I smiled, "I'll keep that in mind, but I've seen enough times what's going to happen and never once was able to prevent it. I stopped trying."

He placed his hand on my shoulder, "Never forget that no matter what happens to the world outside that I'll always be on your side. Wherever you go, I'll always have your back."

I smiled, kinda glad to hear that. "Thanks."

He nodded and we headed back. No one talked about tonight and I got Lily Dawn to agree to meet after school. Don was right about something, though. I don't know when it will happen, so I figure that I should enjoy myself before I leave. I should allow everyone to have some fond memories of me before I leave forever.

"By the way," Ceres said as we were heading back, "you never told me who Chrono was."

"He's someone that I met when we were dreaming on our trip." I smiled, "He gave a boost to my powers, thinking that I was supposed to stay with him."

"Dreaming? You went to the land of Dreams in Australia?"

"Probably not. This place is where all psychics go to get their information. I went there twice while we were traveling."

"Why twice?"

"I'll explain later." I opened the door and we went back into the classroom.

I decided that I wouldn't see if Stan had watched the program. I mean, I had to believe that he didn't, since he's supposed to love me. I remembered how he treated me as I saw the eyes of our teacher, making me doubt. I was glad that Lily Dawn and Ryan didn't watch.

Lily Dawn

It looked like Panther moved on from her past. I wondered what Don and she talked about, though. I noticed that everyone was glaring at her. Ceres and I were keeping everyone away from her. I wished I knew what it said this morning so I knew what they knew, but I also remembered that Panther confessed to doing some horrible things. But, I believe in the Panther that ran to Killer afterwards. I knew that Panther wasn't cold hearted. We had a lot of fun before high school. Ryan and I went to the same one that she went to since we wanted to be around her. She started to push us away before that, but I wanted to believe that it was because she wanted to protect us. We were her last connection to her past.

"Where are you two heading?" Neon asked as we where changing.

"I'm going to Mackenzie-sensei." Panther said, "I might as well wait for Lily Dawn to get done." She smiled at me.

"I have nothing better to do." Ceres said.

"Other than to feed Kai." I pointed out. "You have an obligation now."

Ceres pouted, "Matt has enough bottles." That was telling me that Ceres was worried about Panther. I wondered if I should be just as worried.

"She has a point." Neon said, "My kids are there, so he might need the help."

Ceres narrowed her eyes, making Panther laugh. "Don't worry about it, Ceres." Panther said, "You do have to take care of Kai."

"Fine." She gave in. I remembered why Panther wanted it to be only us. When I was falling for guys left and right, she vowed that when I get married that we would go shopping for the decorations and plan it out. I'm glad that she remembered.

"See ya after school." I said to Panther before heading over to my dance class.

"Lily Dawn," I stopped in the hall by Yoko, a friend from my dance class.

"What's up?" I asked, seeing her looking worry.

"I think you shouldn't be hanging around Panther all that much. I mean, everyone knows what she's done."

I remembered in the past that I had listened to people that told me this. Both Ryan and I did, which is why Panther probably distanced herself from us. We had believed in her, but we also didn't want to appear to be different since we had powers to worry about as well. "You don't know what she had done."

"They were reporting on it this morning."

"Ever thought they were making smoke."

She was taken back for a moment, "I don't think they would make it up. They even showed who was giving out the information."

_They were showing the informant?_ "So? They could make anyone look like a thug. We're going to be late." I started to walk over to class.

Ceres

Ceres ran all the way back home, knowing that she had to tell Matt. She didn't see any news person around the school or the house, which was a good sign.

"Only you two?" Matt asked as she came into the door. The babies were playing with Tsunomon and Ele.

"We got some trouble coming our way." Ceres said as she made her way over.

"Like what? Where's Panther?"

"She's with Mackenzie-sensei." She smiled, knowing why he was alarmed. "But it does have to deal with Panther. Apparently, someone is letting the media know about her past."

Matt sighed, "Do you know which one?"

"No one has watched it. There is going to be another part to it tonight, though."

"So there's two parts? Great. How was school?"

"Everyone was glaring at her. She wasn't showing what she thought about it, though I'm wondering how long she can keep it up. This isn't the first time that the school turned on her."

Matt sat down, "What is Panther planning?" He looked at Ceres after a moment.

"She's still going to go shopping with Lily Dawn." Ceres sat down near him, "And she said that she would just wait for the morning to see what she should do."

"I don't really like that answer." Matt said, "Has anyone tried to change her mind?"

"I'm not really sure, but I think she saw something that made her gave up."

"Like what?"

"She hasn't told me what it was, but she's been depressed all day. She's been hiding it for the most part, but I don't think that she told anyone about it."

"I think she told Rootmon, though." Gelidardormon said.

"So neither is talking, eh? I guess we should wake up first to make sure that nothing is going to bother her tomorrow."

Ceres nodded, "Though, I'm worried about today. I mean, she's going to go in public, and I'm sure that half the neighborhood has seen it already."

"We just have to trust that she knows what she's doing. I'm also confident in her abilities and self-control."

Ceres nodded, knowing what he was talking about. When they first met up, Ceres saw her abilities and control over her instincts. "I believe in her too." Ceres smiled.

Panther

"Did your family see my past?" I asked as I entered her room.

Mackenzie-sensei waved her hand over towards us, "Your Digimon can come out."

I looked at the door, seeing that someone was looking in. "What did you do?" I headed over towards her, allowing Rootmon to move around more.

"I made sure that he's seeing an illusion. And no, we didn't." She smiled.

"Sage did the first time." I pointed out, "What stopped him this time?"

"We now know you better. Not only that, but we were already out the door when the program came on. Sage had to head to the dojo early since he wanted to watch some new students that just joined."

"So the other teachers were talking about?"

"They were asking if I could still support you as they tired to rely what they saw. I didn't give them much time to tell me, and I know that I can."

"How can you be so sure? Even Ryo hated me before." I don't know what I was trying to get at. I mean, I know that we could trust them so why was I testing her?

"But he doesn't now, right? We know that you're a kind person, no matter what you did in your past. If you were really evil, you would've wanted to join the destruction around you, but instead, you wanted to free Matt and stop it."

"I don't denounce what I did."

"It made you who you are today. No one has ever lived a perfect life. Pain and heartache are all part of life. You can't really live without them."

I looked away, knowing what she was saying. Ed came into my mind, remembering what he went through. "Agreed."

"Have your friends seen it?"

"They haven't, though I'm not really sure of my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?"

I laughed, since she was confused. "Yeah, Stan, Lily Dawn's brother."

She thought about it for a moment, trying to remember who he was. "The one that was bothering you at the cabins?"

I smiled, "Yeah, him."

She nodded, though I could tell that she wanted to comment. "Well, if he truly loves you for the person that is here today, then he won't have watched it."

"That's what I'm worried about." I brought up my legs to the chair, "I'm not sure if his curiosity would get the better of him. I know that I can count on my friends since they've come to know me, but he knew me for a longer time. My brother was one of his friends and the looks I've been getting today are the same kinds that he gave me once."

"Do you know why he loves you?"

"Not really… I guess I don't really understand why I love him either."

"That part is okay." I looked at her, "You don't have to understand your reasoning just yet, but one can usually tell why the other person likes them."

"I know that he doesn't think. Two nights ago, he was allowed to stay over and he managed to have Lily Dawn switch out with him so he could sleep with me."

"What happened?"

"He didn't do anything, but I went over to Matt. Just moving too fast for my taste."

"Matt probably doesn't like him anymore, either." Rootmon said, "And the same for Ceres."

"I'm also worried about the other Digidestined. We finally became on good terms with them and this might mess it up." I added. I don't know why I was telling her this, but it was helping out a lot to tell someone that wasn't as attached.

"You never needed them before, right?"

"I don't want the others to choose a side, that's all. I've caused enough trouble for everyone."

"Your friends will always be happy to be your friends. After all that you've been through as a group made you that strong."

"But I'm making people choose between me and the whole world."

"I'm going to guess that in the past that you faced this before and you decided to leave your friends so they didn't have to choose, right?" I nodded, "But now you have a family that will never leave you. They won't ever leave you and you now know that your friends won't ever leave as well." I nodded, "Lean on them for support. This time, you don't have to handle it all on your own. You now have people that love you and want to be there for you. You're not on your own anymore."

"Do I really deserve it?"

"You do. Everyone deserves to be happy."

"Not everyone gets it, though."

"I believe that you will." She smiled at me. "My class will also be the place where anyone can relax and be safe."

I nodded, already knowing that. "What if your job is threatened?"

"I'll worry about it when the time comes."

I didn't like that answer all too much, but that's what I'm doing right now. I rested on her desk. "In case you were wondering, I'm waiting for Lily Dawn. We're going to go shopping after school."

"Being girls or for something special?" She went on grading papers.

"She's going to be getting married in the future, so we have to do some shopping for it."

"How wonderful. May I ask who the lucky guy is?"

"He's a Greek god. The one that rules over music, healing and truth."

"Apollo was his name, right?"

I looked at her, "So you know Greek mythology?"

"Yes, more or less. There was a festival that my family always went to that told of myths around the world, so we learned about a few of the other gods that way. We also started to look up slowly about the other cultures since we had a run in with one. I'm sure we won't be as involved with those, but we thought that we should be prepared."

"We have mixed views on that anyway, so it won't be clear cut."

"How do you handle it, then?"

"If we're attacked, we'll attack back. We have friends that will have to appear to be on the other side, so we also have to keep that in mind as well."

"I hope that everything will work out for the best, then."

"I do too." I looked at Rootmon, "It was easier being in the gang, let me tell ya. I had to think less about what I was about to do."

"Do you guys have something you're aiming for?"

"Not really… We just know what we've been doing so far. Babysitting, fighting, theorizing, protecting, exploring, understanding… we don't really have a mission that we need to do. I doubt, though, that the others had a mission that they needed to do. They just went through everything that came at them."

"That is probably a good point. I'm sure you're doing a fine job."

"We just see things that aren't really there… We see too much into stuff."

"Maybe you should read less manga."

I laughed, "Yeah, I guess."

Lily Dawn

"I want you to stop hanging around Panther." My sensei told me after class was done. "Otherwise, I won't allow you to continue with this class."

"How does my friendship with her impact how I dance?" I was getting annoyed. I wondered if Ryan was getting the same treatment.

"It ruins your reputation."

"That doesn't cut it for me." I took hold of my amulet, "We're among the best students here and she hasn't done anything since moving in with Matt or when he wasn't here."

She narrowed her eyes, seeing my point. Whether or not Panther is a trouble maker, she's allowed into this school because of her grades and nothing else. The authority around here forgets what the founder wanted for this school. He wanted to base it on American school where what a student does outside the school is dealt by the parents and not by the school. Why we have so many students here then? Because it's also a very private school and has high standards. That's how Neon and Don are able to enter here even though it was well known that they fought. I bowed to my teacher before leaving.

"What took you?" Panther asked outside my class.

I smiled, "Dealing with jerks, that's all." I took her arm, "Let's go shopping!"

We went around all the stores that had wedding stuff, having our Digimon giving their opinion as we were picking what should be included. It was loads of fun, since it's been a long time since it was just us.

"What kind of dress do you want?" Panther asked as we were walking over towards a bride dress shop that we often looked at when we were younger.

"I'm not really sure. I don't want to go the same route that Neon took."

"How about something a bit Greek style? After all, he is Greek."

"Should it be a Greek wedding, then?" Rootmon asked.

"Wouldn't it have to be ancient Greek?" Larkspurmon asked.

"That means we have to do research." I sighed.

"Ceres could get the dress made." Panther offered.

"Let's see if this store has anything and if they know where I could get it."

She nodded and we continued. They didn't have anything and they didn't know who did. I also noticed how afraid the lady was when we came in. I didn't want to stay long because of it.

"I guess we have to ask her." Larkspurmon said as we headed out.

"I guess so. We also have to see what needs to be there." I said, looking at the sun. In our country, this was our loving goddess.

"If we don't get it right, I'm sure he'll understand." Panther said with a smile before suddenly stopping and looking ahead. I looked ahead too, seeing a group of people that looked like they were ready to kill. "Lost?" Panther asked in her gangster voice.

"But now found." One said and all of them pulled out guns. Panther moved in front of me, but there was a weird look in her eyes. "Say good night."

Gun shots were heard, but it happened too fast for me to see it. Panther was over by the guys, slowly getting out of that state she was in before and putting her dagger away. The guys were all on the ground, dead. Panther looked behind them to see a tall, evil looking man there, gun in hand. I didn't know what was going on, but I was wondering why Panther didn't look afraid of him. She was just staring.

He smiled before putting it away. "You better leave." He turned around and walked away. Panther watched him for a moment before looking at the guys that lay at her feet. I looked at the man for a moment, wondering who he was.

"Are you okay?" Panther asked as she came over. That's when I realized that some blood was on her.

I nodded, "What happened?" I was remembering the expression she had a moment ago. It was so animal like, so ready to kill, so evil that it made me realize why she probably was given the name Panther. "Are you okay?"

She nodded, "I'm fine… Should we stay?"

I looked at the guys on the ground. I didn't want to see this anymore, but I wasn't sure if we should stay to give a report. I looked around, seeing that no one was around. "Who was that guy?"

She looked sad for a moment, "Someone from my gang." She smiled softly. "They're still watching my back, I guess."

"We should go then." I didn't want her to be caught back into that life. Not when everyone is hating her because of it.

She nodded, and we headed out. She seemed to be thinking about something, but I wondered why she went into that mode in the first place. "Sorry for scaring you." She said as we were heading over to her house.

"We'll be facing a lot worst." I said with a smile. I remembered about the demons that were released, so we have other things that are going to scare me even more. "Oh, you might want to watch it tonight. They say they're showing who the person it that's leaking."

She smiled, "I know what I did. Don't worry about it." She headed inside.

"Have you ever seen Panther like that before?" Larkspurmon asked.

"Never… But, we have demons to worry about, so that face should be the least of our worries."

She nodded and we headed back. I really hoped that Panther was okay.

Me

"What happened?" I asked, seeing blood on Panther. Everyone else already left to go home, and Ceres was giving Kai a bath.

"We weren't hurt." She said as if it was nothing. "Just some guys that wanted revenge, probably."

I didn't like her carefree attitude. I knew that this isn't how she deals with things. "Are you hungry?"

"Not really. Where's Ceres and Kai?"

"Taking a bath. You can use my shower if you want." She nodded, but just stood there. I got up and went over to her, gathering her in my arms. "Ceres thinks that you saw something and that's why you're depressed."

"My powers have gotten really strong." She said in a voice that sounded like she wanted to cry. "I never liked them before and now they've gotten stronger. I can't make the images stop."

I hugged her tighter, "It's alright. You'll get the hang of them again." I wondered if she's been seeing the future and thinking that she has no way out. "We'll always be there for you, alright?"

She wrapped her arms around me, and I could tell that she was afraid. I wondered what she saw that was making her so fearful. It just now hit me that she still hasn't really told me what she saw, but I figured that she probably didn't want to talk about it just yet. I wondered if it had to deal with her gang, since that was the only thing I knew of that made her this afraid before. "I'll always protect you." I whispered to her. She stayed there for a few more minutes before moving to the side of me. She went upstairs, though I was guessing she was going to take a shower.

"Will she be alright?" Tsunomon asked.

"I don't know." I sighed, "I really wished I knew… They don't tell me everything and I don't know what they've been through."

Tsunomon hopped over from the couch to me, "I'm sure they will someday. All kids keep things, right? Didn't you guys do that too?"

I smiled, picking him up, "Yeah, we did. Though, now thinking about it, my dad did know about you, huh?"

"Oh.. he did, didn't he? I wondered why that is."

"I'm wondering the same thing." I looked upstairs, wondering what our parents would've thought of me adopting such girls. Not that it really matters in the end, but I was curious.

"Look at the happy baby!" Ceres said as she brought Kai down. Kai was waving his hands and kicking his feet.

I put Tsunomon on my head so I could hold Kai, "I hope this means that you're ready for bed." I said with a smile, which made Kai move in defiance.

"Has Panther come home?" Ceres asked.

"She's taking a shower right now." I said, not sure whether the blood should be mentioned. "I think something happened to her while they were out, but she didn't want to mention what it was."

"I'll go talk to her then." She started to head up when the door bell rang. We all stood there, looking at the door.

"Why aren't you answering it?" Panther asked as she came down from the stairs.

"No reason." Ceres and I answered at the same time. I was worried about it being someone for either one of them, but I wondered if Ceres was worried about the same thing.

"Then I'll answer it. It's supposed to be rude to not answer, right?" She headed over to the door. I gave Kai back to Ceres and went over to the door before she could open it.

"We're here to talk to a certain girl." A guy with a gang behind him was at my door. I wondered who this one was after, but that part didn't really matter. Though, I did remember that we were in a place that Lily Dawn didn't know the language of, so maybe this wasn't for Ceres.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked, making my voice hard and stern. I then started to realize who they were.

The old man smiled, "I'm glad you're realizing who you're messing with. Hand over the girl. We have some business to attend to."

I looked at him, wondering what tricks he would pull at my resistance. I felt, right then, that if I had something in my hands at this moment that I would've been able to scare them away. I wasn't sure what that something was, but for some reason, Duel Monsters came into my head.

"Leave now." I said, somehow using my powers to enter his mind and placed horrible images of a few of those monsters doing things to people. It was hard to see how it was working, since I had to phase in and out to do so, but it did work. I placed different images of the monsters doing something different in his men, and it was working on them as well. "Or that will happen to you." I said in a strange voice. It was like the demon's voice, but there was someone else there as well.

The boss fell down as the others ran. "Please… don't hurt us…" He said in his fearful tone.

"Never come back." I felt a smile creep across my face, knowing that this was good for the situation, but nothing else. The guy scrabbled to his feet before taking off as well. I closed my eyes to make sure that I calmed the power that I used before closing the door and turning around.

Kai was now crying and Ceres looked at me with a worry expression. Panther was heading over to the kitchen, but I wondered what was going through her head. I heard running water before she came back, the only other sound other than Kai's crying. She had a cup in her hand and she handed the tea to me. When I took it, though, she head up the stairs.

"Panther?" I called after her, though she didn't turn around. I hear her door closing.

"Drink the tea first." Ceres said as I moved. She was now soothing Kai.

"You are okay, right?" Tsunomon asked, though I noticed how confident he was that I was.

I drunk the tea, "Yeah, I am." I knew that I was, but I guess the others didn't. I went upstairs, wondering if Panther was disappointed or worried. "Panther?"

"I don't want to come out for a while." She said.

"Is everything okay?"

"Kai's calling you."

"I'm worried about you right now."

"I can take care of myself!" She yelled.

I was about to say something, but realized that I had nothing to say. I wanted to be there for her, but she was now pushing me away. "Panther, are you scared that they'll come back?"

"Go away!" She yelled, and I noticed how much of a kid she was being. A part of me was glad that she was treating me this way, but I was also worried about her state of being right now.

"Do you want me to call someone?"

"I have Rootmon!"

"I don't think she's going to move her position." Tsunomon said quietly.

"I'm here when you want to talk." I said, before heading back to Kai and Ceres. Kai was still crying, it seemed.

"I don't know if you scared him or not." Ceres said, "Nothing I'm doing is helping."

I gathered Kai in my arms, placing him on my shoulder and started to rock him. "I'm sorry, Kai. I didn't mean to scare you too. Shh… It's alright. It's alright." I said soothingly. It was working, since he started to calm down. Was I really that terrifying?

"Are you okay? How's Panther?" Ceres asked once Kai was quietly sleeping on my shoulder.

"I'm okay. Panther's upset about something, but she doesn't want to talk about it."

"You know who those guys were, right? Even I recognized them."

I nodded, wondering how she would know something like the yakuza. "That's why I used my powers. I needed to scare them so that they wouldn't come back. Were they after you?"

She shook her head, "I know who they are, but I never got involved enough to be wanted by them." She looked at the stairs, "I think that's why she's upset."

I looked up as well, wondering if that was true. "I don't want her to face this alone. She doesn't have to anymore."

"I know. I want the same thing." Ceres said, with a sad look on her face.

Ceres

"Panther?" Ceres called to her room as Matt was making breakfast. "Are you okay?"

"Why are you talking to an empty room?" Ceres turned around to see that Panther was getting out of the bathroom. She seemed like she always did, which probably wasn't a good sign for the moment.

"I thought your presence would talk to me." She smiled.

Panther shook her head, "Learn to be a bit more aware. Even if you're naturally smart doesn't mean you can't be dense." She headed over to the stairs. Ceres caught on how Panther was talking about the future, but there was something in her choice of words that was making Ceres wondered what she was hinting at. Ceres didn't like how secretive Panther was being, but probably wouldn't be better at getting the information out of her.

"You don't have to go to school today." Matt offered as they were having breakfast. Kai was playing with Tsunomon and Ele as they were eating.

"I'm fine." Panther said in a firm voice. Ceres wondered why she didn't want to say anything about what was bothering her. "Besides, that would say that I'm fearful and there's no way that I'll show that."

Matt looked at the table, maybe in a thought about how to make her allow others to help her. "I understand that you're stubborn, but I don't want you to be overwhelmed. The media around here has gotten worst over the years and I don't want you to be swept up in the motion."

Panther passed the food over to Ceres, "I can take care of myself, Matt. I've lived for a long time without a family." She stood up and walked over to the door with her bag.

"Panth…" Ceres was about to call her back but when she opened the door, a wave of reporters came rushing in, pushing Panther back into the room.

Ceres used her powers to push them back through the door and closing it. Ceres looked at Panther, seeing how stoned face she was. Ceres wondered if this was a good sign or not. That was the disadvantage of not being with your family for a long time. She wondered if anyone knew what this meant.

"Ceres," Matt said, making her turn towards him, "Finish up and get ready." He got up and headed over towards the phone. Ceres got up and went over to Panther.

Panther walked over to the door, leaning near it as if saying that I just want to go. Ceres knew that Panther thought of them as family. Otherwise, she wouldn't have gone over to Matt a few nights before. Ceres went over to the table, finishing up what Panther gave her. Why was her family falling apart over something so small? Well, it probably wasn't that small since she somehow has connections with the yakuza. Ceres has used them before, but not to the point where they would be tracking her down for anything.

"Do you know a good protection spell?" Matt asked after he was done with the phone.

"Of course. What do you want me to do?"

He looked over at Panther, who was still near the door. Matt sighed for a moment, "Never mind." He looked at Ceres with a smile, "Just make sure she isn't bothered."

Ceres nodded, wanting to cry for some reason. Was Matt not believing that they were a family? That all they were saying before was just lies? Ceres knew that they weren't. She knew that in all of their hearts they were a family, searching for each other. Ceres and Panther especially, since they knew that they didn't belong. She wondered if Diana, before her time was up, was searching for them too. "Everything will be okay, Matt. I promise."

He patted her shoulder, "We need to get going. I won't use my powers so I'm going to rely on yours."

Ceres nodded, "Is Kai coming?" She was holding him after she was done with the dishes.

"Might as well. I'm taking you guys to school before picking up Neon's kids. Let's go. I don't want you four to be late." He headed over to the door and Ceres followed.

Panther

My older brother was really awesome, now that I'm thinking back. He was the only one that believed me and was the only one that didn't disapproved of Killer for what he did. He only disliked him because I was around him and I guess he could see that I was starting to love him. He was just protecting his baby sister. Now knowing that there is a place where we can see the dead, I kinda want to see him to talk to him and to let him know what's going on. I would also say sorry for what I had done.

I wondered why he wanted to go to high school. I never learned, I think, what he wanted to become. I don't think I have any plans for the future. I don't think I ever thought that I would leave the gang and I would live long enough to see any kind of future. I was feared throughout the underworld. Those yakuza men yesterday were people I've dealt with for my gang. They fear me, and I know it. I've also dealt with other kinds of people before, and I know that I made them fear me.

I wondered what the others are thinking of all of this. I wonder if Stan believes in me like I know that everyone else does. I hoped that Matt wasn't all that hurt this morning. Great, now I'm seeing my own past.

I just saw when I was yelling at my brother when I came back with blood of others on me and I looked like I was in a fight. I was and it was the first time that I had killed something. I was already believing that this was what I was meant to do. I was almost at the shower when my brother caught me. He was first worried that it was me that was bleeding, but as soon as I started to back away, he knew what I had done. I now know that his yelling at me to stop what I was doing was out of love for me. He didn't mind me being friends with those people, but he didn't want me to get hurt.

I was shown when my parents learned about my activities. It was years after I started going with them. My brother was the only one that caught me and scolded me, but I learned quickly that he was also covering up for me. My dad had beaten me when they discovered and my mom was wailing over her own troubles, typical Japanese reactions. My younger siblings were just standing there and my brother was trying to get my dad to stop. Why did I even care about them anyway? Why did I not want them to be killed? They sure did deserve it for all the years they treated me.

Afterwards, my brother was caring for my wounds, even though by then he had his own. We didn't say anything while he did so and afterwards, he just hugged. I don't remember this part, probably because I wanted to cry and leave or hurt them so bad. I noticed that I was crying, though I wasn't making a sound. My brother took care of me, looking after me for such a long time. Maybe he was the reason I didn't want them to be killed. I knew that I would never want the one person that loved me to be taken away, and yet I couldn't stop any of it.

I was then shown when I was warning my brother about the future. He didn't believe me, but when I was shown how I was preventing it, he was listening to me. He took what I said seriously. I never noticed that before. I had always thought that only Killer, Lily Dawn and Ryan had ever believed what I saw. I shut my mind when their deaths came up. I've seen it enough times to have it burned in my mind. By the time that they were killed, I had already gotten myself knee deep in things that no other gang member was involved. The Leader knew what I was getting into, since he was the one that was giving them to me. The guys that killed them were of a local mafia that I had to kill their leader. I killed him and then the premonitions started so I tried to make sure that they didn't learn of me. Panther was already the name out in the streets so I thought that my family was safe.

"Excuse me," I looked at the door, seeing TK there. "Mackenzie-sensei said that we're having a test today so she wants Panther to come back to class."

"Panther can fail the test." The principal said. I was in his office since first period, being surrounded by reporters.

"Her sentence says that she has to pass high school." TK said firmly. That part was true. I could miss school, but I had to at least pass school. I, of course, was never worried about that part, but I understood what was going on.

"I have been studying really hard for this one." I mentioned, trying to sound believable.

"Fine, but come right back here after her class." The principal said.

I got up and bowed to him before following TK. Apparently, they think I killed the informant that rattled on me or at least had an involvement in his death.

"Are you okay?" TK asked me as we headed over.

"I'll be fine." I didn't care anymore. Did it really matter who believes in me anymore?

"Did you have fun yesterday with Lily Dawn?" He tried to change the subject.

"Yeah, I did." I gave the answer he was looking for. I remembered the look in those guys' eyes. I was ready to kill them since Lily Dawn was near by and she is having a baby.

"I'm glad." He smiled at me, and I could feel hope coming to me. It was like I could face this and get through this. How I wanted to believe that.

Mackenzie-sensei gave out the test once I took my seat. I took my time on it, since I had to make it seem like I was having trouble with it. I looked up at her when she walked by. I wondered what she thought of all this. Does she still believe me? What about Sage and the rest? I wanted to know who hated me. I wanted to crawl away into the darkness.

"Go to lunch." Mackenzie-sensei said when the bell ranged. Everyone got up and handed her their paper to part one. "Why don't you bring your friends over for lunch?" Mackenzie-sensei asked with a kind smile when I handed mine in.

"I'll go get them!" TK said as he went outside.

"I can't believe the school!" Ceres said once everyone was outside but us, kicking the wall, "How stupid can they be!"

"I agree." Mackenzie-sensei said, "I'm sorry that I can't come up with an excuse for the rest of the day." She looked at me.

I nodded, smiling a bit since I now knew that they were on my side. "Panther!" I looked at the door to see Lily Dawn running over, hugging me. "I'm so glad that you're okay."

Ryan gave me a hug too. I looked at the door, seeing that Kari, Ken and Davis were also here. "What about you?" I asked, looking at Davis. I had just gained his trust. Was I going to lose it now?

He gave me a weird smile, "I wouldn't be here if I thought you did it."

"You watched it?" Kari asked, looking at him as TK closed the door.

"They were talking about it during my first class. Ken got them to stop for our civic class." He moved over to sit down, "I didn't hear much, but they were saying that you killed the person that gave the information."

"Did they air her past?" Ryan asked as we all sat down. Lily Dawn handed me and Ceres something to eat.

"He was killed before hand, and they also can't find the reporter that was interviewing him." He started to eat. "So nothing of your past was shown last night."

"Can't you and Matt do something?" Lily Dawn asked, looking at TK, "Your parents were in the media."

"They weren't that powerful." TK laughed. "If they were, you know that Matt would've taken care of this a long time ago." (He's right on that part)

"What were they saying before when you were in the principal's office?" Ceres asked.

"I don't remember. I wasn't answering them." I took a bite from sandwich they got me. "Like I said before, I know what I've done so I don't care what they think they know."

"Are you free from this for the rest of the day?" Ryan asked.

"I have to go back after this class."

"What if Matt comes to pick you up?" Kari offered.

"I'm not running away." And we went on talking about something else. When lunch was over, everyone headed back to class as we went to our seats. I pretended that I was struggling still, making sure that I was the last one to turn it in. I knew the other students would be looking at me to see if I was cheating and if Mackenzie-sensei gave me any answers.

"I'm sorry I can't do more." Mackenzie-sensei apologized.

I smiled, "This is good enough." I then went back to the office, where the reporters were waiting.

Kari

I was surprised by how calm Panther was as we were walking home. We lightly tried to get her to tell us what they were saying, but she kept saying that she wasn't paying attention. I wondered how true that statement really was. I figured that they would try to threaten her with something to get her to talk, but I guess that none of that worked. Though, the one thing that I didn't like was the look of defeat in her eyes. She hid it for the most part, but there seemed to be something there that said that she had lost. Because of the other time reporters were around, we came up with a plan on how to get to places without being seen. It worked all the way up to Matt's place, since we couldn't avoid them there, but Ceres made sure that we all got in and they didn't.

"Are you guys okay?" Matt asked as we came over from the door.

"Yeah, it wasn't all that bad." TK said as we went to the table.

"Panther?" Matt looked at her.

"Nothing happened. They can't touch me." She smiled, though I wondered if I was the only one catching that she wasn't all that serious about it.

Matt nodded, maybe wanting to believe her. I've suddenly realized that he does that a lot. He wants to believe in something, even if it goes against normal thinking. I wondered why he wanted to believe in stuff so much.

"I don't like how Panther isn't saying anything." I told TK as he was walking me home.

"Why is that?"

"It seems she's already given up. That isn't the new her." I looked at him, "I know because of how much stronger and wiser she became." She didn't want me to give up and she didn't want me to be weak, so why was she allowing herself to be all that?

TK wrapped his arm around me, "I'm sure that she didn't want people to find out her past. When Matt first adopted her, she didn't try to hide who she belonged to, but slowly, she got new clothes and stored her former life. When Killer came back from the dead, she even tried to take him away from that life. I don't think she'll ever be ashamed of her life, but she also doesn't want people to judge solely on that anymore. She found happiness here and she doesn't want others to harm it or the people involved. That's what I think."

"Do you think she'll ever tell us?"

"I believe there's something there that's still holding her back. I'm sure it's not the elite, since we know about them, but something else. I just got a feeling that there's something else that holds her still to that gang that she hasn't let go of yet."

I wondered what it could be. What would bind her still to that group? I was remembering all that Yolie told me, all the hints that she was involved in something much deeper than regular gang affairs. Though, I guess I would want to know why she had to be that involved. It wasn't something that just anyone could do and never be spotted. There were always hints of her darker past all over the place, but she never shown signs that she actually did them and there was no solid proof until yesterday. It's like the universe works in her favor. Or maybe it's her powers that lend her that hand?

"What are you looking at?" TK asked, breaking me from my thoughts. I noticed that I was looking up, though it was cloudy.

"I was wondering if the universe is in Panther's favor or if her powers were her ultimate hand in never getting caught."

"She never liked her powers because she didn't have the power to do anything about what she saw. Whatever she saw happened later in nearly the same fashion, if not exact. And then being able to see the Dark Ocean, she just didn't see a point in running away from what was ahead. Maybe she would use her powers to aid her, but I doubt it was by much since she never learned how to control them until now. I think she's still having trouble."

I remembered how differently Panther gets her visions now than before. Before, it looked like it pained her to get them, but now it's like she's remembering a memory. I wonder if that was the next step in the sequence in mastering this power of seeing. I wonder what was to come after that. "You might be right… I hope that Panther will be okay."

"She's safe now so there's nothing to worry about." TK smiled at me, taking all my worries away, a power that TK alone possesses.

Panther

"Why are we here so late?" Rootmon asked as we stood in front of Don's door.

"I have to let him know something." I walked slowly up to the door, making sure not to make a sound.

"Why not call him? It's really late and Matt will be worried."

I placed my note in a spot where he could see it and have it not be disturbed by nature. I slowly backed up before looking up. The sky was dark, covered with clouds. It didn't feel like it was going to rain. What I had on me was a jacket to protect me from the cold, and the outfit I left my gang in. I closed my eyes for a moment, knowing that this would have to be for the best. I then took off, heading over to the place I thought I would never have to return to.

"Panther…"

"I don't want anyone knowing about you." I said to her as we stopped near the hideout. I was far away so that they wouldn't know that I was here just yet. "The Elite know you, but I don't want them to know that I brought you along."

"Why are you even here?"

"I was seeing that I would return here. All day, that's what I was seeing. This is where I belong now…"

"I know you don't believe that!" Rootmon got in front of me, "You want to stay with Matt and Ceres more than anything!"

"That man, the one that shot those wanna-bes, is the leader of my gang. He didn't really give me permission to leave. Whoever that informant was that the news had was probably killed by my gang members to protect me or maybe as a sign that they still have control over me."

"You don't want others to control you, though. That's what you liked about Matt. He loves you and doesn't control you and doesn't hate you. You know that better than anyone. Why are you leaving him?"

"I brought you along since we're partners, but if you rather I leave you behind, I'll do so right now." I looked at her, though I couldn't narrow my eyes like I wanted to. I wondered how willing I was able to carry that threat.

Rootmon smirked, "You love me too much to throw me away like that." She climbed up on my shoulder, "And I love you too much to let you go in there on your own."

I smiled, patting her head, "You're able to see the true me."

"I know who the true you is. This side is your surviving self." She smiled.

I got up and jumped over the building to head to the entrance. I looked up at our mighty fortress. Somehow, we managed to turn a dump hemp into a fortress that no one could seize. I always feared of letting such power out into the world, though I was never afraid to lead such a power to conquer all those around us. The doors opened and the Elite were the ones that greeted me.

"Welcome back, Panther." Chaos said, "Carnage is expecting you."

_So this was planned._ I walked over to them, discharging my jacket to the wind that just happen to blow as I walked pass them, ready to repeat my life once more.

"Welcome!" Carnage talked on his throne. It was impressive once upon a time, but now I could see that he just wanted to be king of something. "I knew you would come back to us."

The whole place started to cheer, making me wonder if the Elite were controlling everyone, including Carnage. Carnage stopped it at once, coming down to me, "Though, we've heard that you've been living with your idol. What made you leave?"

"You never let me go in the first place. I did kinda leave without asking permission first."

Carnage nodded. When I went to see everyone in the hospital, Carnage was too crushed by emotion to give me a straight answer. I had decided to take his silence as an okay to leave. But, when he looked at me after saving me, I knew he wanted me back. He placed his hand on my shoulder, "Go to the training room." He handed me a gun, something I hadn't held in such a long time.

I turned around without a word, knowing that I had to prove that I hadn't lost my touch. After all, a broken tool is no longer a tool. As I stood in front of the door to the training room, I was remembering what Hina told me. That I would need to choose what kind of help I give to other dark folk. I looked behind me, seeing a crowd gathering. I wondered if I could be a light in this darkness. The door opened and I walked right in.

I went right into the mode that I was in when we were attacked. "Why do I feel danger everywhere?" Rootmon whispered from my hair.

"Don't Digievolve, no matter what happens, got it?" I said quietly so no one could hear.

"Okay." Though I knew that she wasn't happy about it.

Right then, a lot of people came charging at me. "Hang on to my neck." I ordered as I started to fire at them. I was able to get most of them, using up all the bullets, but only using one per person. I launched at the rest, unfortunately using what Matt taught me to do the one thing he didn't want me to do with it.

"Behind." Rootmon said quickly. I brought out my dagger, turned around and jabbed it clear through his throat. I had to pull it out to retrieve it and I picked up a loaded gun and rounds before walking on. Before, I would be revived by the blood bathe, but I'm no longer amused. I really didn't want to be here anymore, I finally realized. _I'm so sorry, Matt._ I kept on going forward.

Ceres

Ceres was the feeling like something was wrong, though wasn't sure what it was as she looked all around the house and outside. Nothing seemed out of place and it wasn't like she was feeling an evil spirit or something. She wondered if a demon was nearby. She went over to Matt's room, knowing that they would gather there if there was any. She quietly opened the door, peering inside to see that it was sound. She walked in and went over to Kai, who happened to be awake, but not making too much noise. Ceres picked him up, but he wasn't making his usual happy giggle.

"What's wrong, Kai?" Ceres asked, knowing that it wasn't the usual baby stuff. Even though there seems to be a side to him that allows him to understand things faster than a normal baby, he still has baby needs and he still cries when he wants them.

"What are you doing up?" Ceres looked over to Matt to see him looking at her in a half dazed state.

"I feel like something's out of place, but I can't tell where it's coming from. I think Kai feels it too."

Kai then started to cry, making Matt get up and trying to soothe him. Matt tried to sing to him, but Kai just cried over his voice. Ceres wondered why Panther wasn't coming over to check what was wrong. Does she not care for Kai? Ceres knew that Panther was uncomfortable around him, but that doesn't mean she has to hate the kid. Ceres went over to Panther's room, opening her door, "Panther, don't tell me that…" Ceres said before seeing the room empty of life. Ceres slowly stepped into the door, waiting for Panther to scare her or something. But there was no sign of her. It was as if she didn't exist.

"Matt!" Ceres yelled, running back to his room, though meeting him in the hall, "Matt, Panther's gone!"

"What?" Matt went to the door, seeing what Ceres saw. "Did you hear her leave?"

Ceres shook her head, "Where could she be?"

Matt looked back in the room, before walking over to Ceres, "Try to get Kai to sleep. I'll look around the room to see if I can find some clue."

Ceres took Kai in her hands, before heading back to Matt's room. She was crying slowly as she tried to get Kai back to sleep.

Me

I looked around her room, seeing that nothing was out of place at first sight. What I did notice was that her window was unlocked and her shoe print was on the window ledge on the inside. Rootmon wasn't tied up anywhere, meaning that Panther will be safe. Did Kai sense this? But why cry only now? Matt looked at the time, seeing that it was getting closer to three. Matt wanted to go looking for her, but he doubt he could find her on his own. He didn't even know why she left. It couldn't have been the reporters, because he was sure that Panther was able to handle that now. Pressure doesn't normally affect her either, so it had to have been visions.

"Has her powers been getting to her?" I asked Ceres before noticing that she was crying. I walked over to her, hugging her as well, "She'll come back."

"She was seeing something that was bothering her yesterday, but she wouldn't tell me about it." Ceres said, lying on my shoulder. _I wonder why this is making her really sad._

"Did she talk about today?" Even though it's technically the next day, she hadn't gone to school yet.

"Not that I know of… What are we going to do?" Ceres looked at me, her tears coming down slowly. "If Panther doesn't show up…"

"Don't worry about that." I smiled, "We'll cover it up. You just have to tell the others in a way that doesn't reveal the truth."

She nodded her head, "Alright. Can we go looking for her?"

"I wish we could, but we need a place to start looking. I also don't want to let everyone know that she left. If we go look around now, that will alarm the neighborhood."

She looked down, though I'm sure she was sad that we couldn't go right now to find her.

Don

I didn't know what to tell Neon this morning as we were heading over to Matt's place. My dad told me that there was a note on our door and it turned out to be from Panther. I was wondering why she left this for me, since it didn't sound like a good thing that she gave me this.

Neon knocked on the door with Jade in her hands. I kept Krypton in mine, wondering what I would do if what the note implied was true. Matt got the door, though he looked a bit sad. I knew right then that the note was true.

"What's wrong, Matt?" Neon asked as we moved inside.

"Panther left during the night." Ceres said at the table. She looked like she had been crying all night and Kai was sleeping in her arms, something he doesn't normal do in mornings. "We didn't want to alarm the neighborhood so we didn't go look for her."

"Do you know why she left?" Neon asked, moving over to the table. I followed shortly after, wondering about what her note said. It said that no matter what happen, she would always trust her back with me and will be asking for my help whenever she needs it. It implied that she would be somewhere close enough that if she needed my help, she would be able to reach me quickly enough. If she continue to be absent, and does happen to come to me, I wonder what I would do about it. Would I tell everyone about it afterwards or would I keep it to myself? _Why did you leave me such a plate, Panther?_ I was glad that she trusted me with watching her back, no matter where she ended up being at, but I was also worried that she left. It wouldn't be good for her, with everything as it stands. I wonder what she was thinking as she left this house. I know that she was seeing something that was disturbing her mind, so I wondered what she saw that made her leave. I wonder what she was doing right now.

Kari

I knew it wasn't a good sign that Panther didn't show up with Ceres and everyone. The grim looks didn't help either.

"Where's Panther?" Davis asked, now joining us in the morning.

"She's not feeling well." Ceres said, though I knew that was an obvious lie. I closed my eyes to see who was around, finding no one.

"No one is around." I said.

"She left."

"What?" Davis was surprised

"Don't say a word about it, though." Ceres warned firmly, "If I find out that word got out, I'll come hunt you down."

"Do you know why?" I asked, "I mean, I thought that she was always stronger than that."

"It was something that she was seeing. I can only guess that she still believes she can't change what she sees, so she gave up without trying, but what she saw, I have no idea. She didn't tell me a thing about them."

"I'll tell everyone else when we see them."

Ceres nodded and we continued. I wondered what Don was thinking, since I remembered that Don was supposed to have her back. Did she abandon him too? Or did he know more than he was willing to tell us?

Panther

When I was done with training, I had killed all the people in my way. I was caked in blood of those that I killed close range. I looked up at the ceiling, seeing the bright lights and the dark areas behind them. I was no longer the same person I was when I first entered. I didn't want to do this anymore. I didn't want to kill senselessly anymore. My light side was weeping terribly and there was no way that I could show that now. I looked at the last guy I killed, knowing that I would have to take the goriest corpus back to where he belonged to show who was boss. That was the last task of this training, and one that I once took joy in. I loved to display my cruelest side to the world, broadcasting that I was the strongest and the toughest person you will ever meet. I wonder if I still have that within me.

The doors opened and Carnage was standing there, "Great job. I'll wait here for you and tell you where you need to bring it."

I turned around without a word, looking for the one that will be my newest display. "What are you doing?" Rootmon asked softly. I wondered how she faired.

"I'm looking for the one that I messed up the most to bring back to his gang to show what I was able to do."

"Are you really going to do that?"

"That's the last part of this test. I have to do this once again."

"I can see it clearly that you don't want to.

"I know, but there's nothing I can do about it now."

"Was this how you got your nicknames?"

"Most of the time." I found the body. It was the one body that I happened to turn back to my old self before I snapped back to my current self. "Some get it in other ways. The fighters normally get theirs from here."

"How many times have you been in here?"

"Ever since I joined. People were placed in here to hone on their killing instincts. I honed on mine so well that I was well feared. Killer was feared as well." I picked up the body, not showing respect to the body. I wonder if learning more about the deities made me respect the dead.

"Nice one. He's goes to section four. Want someone to go with you?"

"I won't get caught." I said to Carnage, knowing where section four was. "How did you get so many?"

"We've been adding the collection." He gave me a weird smile, one that I wasn't happy about. I was never allowed to leave, was I?

I walked pass him, "I'll be back in an hour or so."

"You're not about to run, are you?" He asked as I was heading out.

"I only have this place to return to now." I smiled at him, though I could tell by his reaction that it was one that he never saw before. I headed out and started to make my way over to section four. As I walked towards the door, everyone was praising me, but I wasn't hearing anything they were saying. Before, I loved to hear them praise me, telling me how destructive I was. I wondered what had changed me from this life. I was never ashamed of what I've done before, but now I don't like what I do.

"What's in section four?" Rootmon asked as we where outside. The sun was out by now, meaning that everyone knew what happened.

I looked at the sun, "One of the local gang's locations that we have fights with. I'm bringing this body back to them to show off what I can do."

"Is this how you became well-known without ever being caught?"

"Pretty much." I started to walk, "The people that you kill are always brought back to the gang they belong, or to the place where they can be seen, depending on the person, and you have to be the one to do the task. It's a well-known practice in my gang, and the other gangs know it. We're good because of this practice, but that doesn't mean we're the strongest."

"Was the amount that you fought against unusual?"

"I normally don't have to fight that much before, but since they have that many, that must mean that they either had been getting into a lot of fights or they've been hunting down other gangs. I don't know which one it is, since most of those guys are drugged a bit. The reason they don't kill each other is because of the brainwashing they undergo while drugged."

"That leader of yours is following."

I giggled, since she sounded annoyed, "I've been noticing. I don't really know what that means, though. He either doesn't trust that I won't run or he wants to watch my back."

"I think he trust you since he's so obvious."

"I won't allow myself to be seen."

"How? It might be early, but the sun will still be shining. And it's not like you're Ceres, who can control the clouds."

"Now that you mention it, I had never had the chance to ask her why she did that."

"You could always go see her."

"You're not telling me to go back?" I looked at her with my eyes, thinking that she would do so.

"You think that you need to do this. I'm against your choice, but I am going to make sure that nothing happens to you."

I smiled, "Thanks. I guess we better lose Carnage then." I ran into an alley, thinking about turning us into a shadow as my amulet started to glow. I was immediately pulled into the shadows and started to zoom across the landscape, leaving Carnage probably in shock.

"What about afterwards?"

"I'll release it just like when I scared the sharks." I remembered how I did that, so I hoped that I could do so again. I got to the section, heading over to the hideout of the gang in this area. There were people outside, which is what I wanted since I wanted to tell them something. "Can you speak for me?"

"What do you want me to say?"

"I'll whisper it to you, okay?"

"How are we going to appear, then?"

I formed into a shadow form of me, tossing the body at the crowd. They were surprised and some screamed. A few looked up to see something very weird, which was what I needed, "Give him a proper burial if you respect your dead."

"Give him a proper burial if you respect your dead." Rootmon yelled to the people below. I gave us some shadow like wings, wanting them to think they were seeing something mystical rather than seeing a person. I jumped high and backwards to make it look like I was flying, hoping that worked to fool them. I then slid to the ground, moving over to a spot where I could release the light that I would soon be obtaining. "Did you not before?"

"Huh?" I asked as I stopped within my area, though staying in shadow form.

"Did you not respect the dead before?"

"We rarely give a proper burial for the dead ones." I said as I formed solidly on a roof. I lay back as I looked up at the sky. "Killer never got one."

"What happens to their bodies?"

"They're given over to the police to be probed and explored. The rest of the people that I just killed are going to be put out to rot away, if they're unlucky. If they're lucky, then they'll be taken in by the police."

"Is that how they know who kills the most?"

"They eventually can see a pattern, since those killings are to hone our skills. It also shows our power to the police, since we want to show who is really in charge of this area." I noticed that I was starting to glow. I got up and closed my eyes. I focused on sending my growing light all around me. I felt it gathering, the whole week worth of light coming forth from the depths and surfacing. "You're eyes are closed, right?"

"They are and I'm on your head."

Once I felt like this was it, I released it all in one huge blast all around me. I bet it looked like a supernova. I wondered if anyone saw it before I jumped down the alleyway and made my way back to hideout. I didn't want to listen to what they were saying about me now since I wanted to shower. I asked that they brought me new clothes though, since I was planning on discarding these.

"Why are you getting rid of them? I remembered you entering the Digital World with this outfit before." Rootmon asked as I got into the shower. She was in with me since I didn't want others finding her.

"I don't need it anymore."

"I don't think that's the reason."

"Why?" I turned the shower on.

"Because why would you need something to remember something you did for most of your life? I don't need anything to remember the life I lived before I meet you."

_Point._ "I guess I'm also hoping that…"

"Panther." Virus said, "I brought you some fresh clothes. What do you want me to do with the old ones?"

"You can leave them in my room." I said, knowing that I would never wear them again.

"Okay. It's great to have you back." She added before leaving.

"Go on." Rootmon said.

"Hoping that I can leave here once more and for good. I've realized that I've become disdain of what I did, even if I don't feel guilty for what I did." Tears suddenly appeared and I couldn't stop them. I wasn't crying loudly, though, "I don't want to be doing this anymore."

Rootmon came over to me, hugging me as I cried my heart out for those that I had just killed.

Me

"Lily Dawn told me that Panther's gone." Stan said at my door. It looked like he wasn't alarm, like a boyfriend would've been. Everyone else was worried about her at the news, but where was his concern? "Have you started looking for her?"

"Would I be standing here if I was?" I asked with obvious hate.

"I'm worried about her too. Why are you giving me the cold shoulder?" He looked ticked off.

"Did you watch that program a few days ago?"

"Of course not…"

"I would appreciate it if you didn't lie to me, unless you want me to shut this door on you right now and to never allow you set foot in here again."

"Weren't you curious, though? She never talked about that part of her life."

"I was waiting for her to tell me that part. I didn't want to learn about it from anyone else. Obviously, you're not Killer, but you could at least try to be."

"Why are you comparing me to a thug?"

"Because that thug loved her and trusted her more than you obviously do."

"Matt," Tsunomon jumped into my head, "Kai needs you."

I left the door open, walking over to Kai. Kai was happily playing with Jade and Krypton, though looked at me with a sad face before going back to playing. I thought I could catch when people lied to me. Maybe Tsunomon knew how to hide that side. _Since when?_ "Where you getting me out of there?" I asked in a whisper voice.

"Obviously." He smiled back in my arms. "What are you going to do, though?"

I looked at Kai, knowing that I had to do something. I couldn't let her go so easily. I know that I told Ceres that if they left on their own that I would respect their decision, but I just knew that she didn't want to go. I went over to the phone, knowing that I couldn't leave it like this. I called Shuni's grandmother to see if she could baby sit the babies for me. She said that she would come over as soon as she could. I ran around, getting everything ready for her to take care of them so that she wouldn't have to go search for anything. I also wrote up instructions for Jade and Krypton, since Neon still wants them to be raised old school. I then texted TK to let him know that he needed to let the others know that they need to go searching for Panther as soon as school was out.

There was a knock at the door, and their Grandmother was there. "Thank you."

"Why do you suddenly need it?" She asked as she took off her coat.

"Panther went missing last night."

"It took you this long to go looking for her?" She gave me a weird look.

For some reason, I was glad that she did. "I didn't want to alarm the neighborhood, since she was in the news recently."

"I'll let Tim know then. He should be getting done with his class soon."

"Thanks. Help yourself to anything as well."

"Get going. Don't waste any more time." She lightly pushed me and I smiled. I ran out the door, knowing that Stan was following. I didn't have the slightest idea where to look for her, but I figured running like my head was cut off was better than nothing.

Panther

After I got done with the shower, I lay down on the bed that I hadn't seen in months. I moved my hand over the sheets, wondering how long I was going to stay this time.

"They have a picture of you two." Rootmon said. I went over to the dresser, seeing that she was right. I picked it up, seeing that it was of Killer and me when we were out on a real date. I never knew that someone was taking a picture, though I also wondered why it was here. I never asked for a picture since I thought that we would never be separated. I stared at the picture, having wonderful memories come flooding back into me.

"Panther." There was a knock on the door before it was opened. I hid the picture, since it was Donn, "We want to bring you to someone."

"Who?" This was unusual, though it was also creepy that they were acting normal.

He smiled, "You've seen her before, we've heard." He held his hand out to me, "You came back, so you might as well join us. It's what you always wanted to do."

I don't think I ever did. They were creepy and I could tell that they were trying to do something that I was against. Maybe it was because I had joked with Lily Dawn and Ryan that we were here with powers to save the world. Now knowing that this is the truth, I didn't want anything to keep me from saving people. Maybe that's why I didn't want to be here anymore. I couldn't help anyone. I could only kill and destroy. "What if I refuse?"

"Why refuse? Apparently, this gal is someone that Chaos has always been in contact with in secret."

"Why are you being vague?"

"Because I don't know who this person is. When we bring you to her, we'll all meet her as well."

"Why am I needed? I came back because I realized that I couldn't escape from the gang."

He smiled, "And that means you can't escape from us. You're ours now, baby."

"How long is this secret meeting?"

"We won't be gone long."

"Give me an hour for a nap then." I wanted to sleep for a bit, but more importantly, I wanted to keep this photo of Killer and me.

He shrugged, "As long as you're coming. She really wanted to see you." He walked away. I closed the door and took out the photo from the case. There was nothing on the back, but that was okay. I tucked it in my back pocket.

"Why are you going with them?" Rootmon asked as I went over to the bed.

"He's right. I can't escape. They were what I saw in my vision." I fell on the bed. "Lay down so that you won't be seen."

She came over, laying down in between my shoulder and the bed. "I don't like it."

"We'll be careful. I won't let anything happen to you."

"The same goes to you too." She looked at me.

I smiled, before closing my eyes. I felt like someone was shaking me. I turned my head, looking to see Blade was standing over me. She smiled, "Carnage is looking for you."

I nodded, not remembering why he would. I remembered that I left him behind, so maybe he wanted to know that. "Where at?" I then remembered that I was going to be heading out with the elite soon.

"The kitchen. It's good to have you back." She said before leaving. I turned my head back around, seeing that Rootmon was still asleep. I hate to wake her, and whenever she slept like this before, I would just do what I needed to before waking her up. I can't do that anymore. I slowly got up, wondering how long of a nap I got in. It felt like no time had passed. I also noticed that my old clothes were cleaned of the blood and in the room. I brought out the photo, making sure that it wasn't a dream before putting it back and waking Rootmon.

"Huh?" She looked at me.

"My leader wants me." I looked at her.

She nodded, getting up and I placed her behind my neck. I got up and walked over to the kitchen. Before I got in there, though, Dotsun'sa was walking nearby. He stopped as he looked at me, but luckily Carnage would natural come first. I went into the kitchen, and Carnage was the only one in here. "You wanted to speak to me." I said as I got myself tea, now an old habit.

"Why did you come back?"

I looked at him, wondering what he was talking about. "I can't escape." I poured the water for myself. "I decided that it was hopeless, so I came back."

"So you didn't come back because you wanted to be here."

"I'm here and I'll do everything again."

"I asked you all the other times because you wanted to." I looked at him, "I don't want you to do something that you didn't want to do. I thought you loved doing everything to did, but today is making me wonder."

"I've changed." I sipped it, turning around to face him, "I've changed a lot since leaving. I still remember and I still care about everyone here, but I'm not the same person I used to be."

"When I killed those guys, I noticed how quickly you changed back. I thought you wanted to relive what you did back with us. Is that true?"

"Did you recognize my friend? That was Lily Dawn."

"Really?" He didn't seem to have believed me, "She changed from when I last saw her. So, you're still friends with them."

I nodded, "She's going to get married soon and she's also pregnant."

He then understood why I snapped back quickly, "You were always the fastest when it comes to protecting."

"Well, I'm here now so you don't have to worry about it." I said, putting my cup in the sink, "I'll stay for as long as I'm alive." I walked to the door, since I noticed that they were all outside.

"Panther." Carnage called after me.

I stopped at the door and looked at him, "I'll be fine. I've made up my mind." I then headed towards them and they led me somewhere that was totally dark. I heard a portal opening, though I recognized the sound. It was like we were going to the Digital World, and the worst part, we did end up there. Chaos wasn't confused, so that meant that he was familiar with this world. I pretended to be amazed as we followed him, though I didn't like that I was recognizing this site. Why did we end up at the edge of Super Level territory and was I pulled back here when I thought that I wouldn't see this world anymore?

Ryan

We were given the word that we were going to look for Panther. After school, we all separated to cover more ground. No one had a clear idea where she would've gone, but we all figured that she wouldn't do something like Ceres and skip countries. I was with Tim, since I decided to wait for him to get out of class.

"Where are we looking?" Tim asked as he came by the school. I was glad that he was just as concerned as we all were. I grabbed my stuff and headed over to his car.

"Matt doesn't care where we look and I thought we should return to the scene of the crime." I said once I was in.

"Why?" He started to drive off in Matt's direction.

"I have a feeling that we'll find more information there. Besides, Matt's house has those spirits that you can talk to, right? Why not ask them where she went?"

"Funny thing is, they don't have those spirits around their home. They do exist in the nearby homes, but they don't exist inside. Besides that, there are only a few that actually stay in one area. Most of them move around from area to area."

"So, in other words, we'll have no witnesses?"

"There's a high chance of it. It's still worth a shot."

"I also want to go looking through her room. Obviously, she would be wearing clothes, so I want to know which ones she took."

"Why would that be important?"

"It helps me know what she was planning to face when she left. When we were young and playing superheroes, she always said that we need particular outfits for fights. Like we needed to look the part before we even got there. She always had that sense about her since she was able to see into the future. I know she didn't like it, but I also knew that she looked at the main event of a day to prepare for it. I think she stopped doing that once living with Matt though."

"Why did she develop that habit?"

"It's something that her gang did when they were the ones attacking or if they were going to train. They weren't the toughest ones around for nothing." We've been there a few times with her, to see what she was doing. Lily Dawn was falling in a bit more than I was because of her problems at home, but Panther never allowed us to join.

He pulled into Matt's drive way and we got out. The door was open, probably to let Panther come back when she got back. Tim's Grandmother was watching the kids in the living room. "Hi Grandma." Tim said.

"What are you two doing here?" She looked at us.

"I wanted to see what clothes Panther took." I said as I headed over to the stairs.

"Before that," I stopped on the first step, turning my upper half to face her, "Kai has been acting strangely."

"How so?" Tim came over, as did we. He looked to be sitting there, but there was a glassy look in his eyes and it seemed like something was trying to appear on his forehead. Jade and Krypton were still normal, it seemed. "There's a phoenix near him."

"A what?" I asked, looking at Tim, "What's it doing?"

"It's sitting behind him, and looking at us…" Tim started to speak in a weird language, though I knew that he was talking to the phoenix. I was wondering why one was near Kai and affecting him so much. "He said that he's here to protect Kai. He also said that he'll lead us to where Panther is."

"Can he wait as I look at what outfit she's wearing?" I asked, wanting to know. I wanted to know her reason for leaving.

Tim looked at Kai before looking at me, "He'll wait."

I ran up the stairs and went searching through her room. There was actually one outfit I was really looking for. It was the one she wears into the Digital World. She told us that that one was the one she wore when she last saw Killer, and so if she was wearing that, then I think I knew what she was going to do. I noticed that that tank top was missing, along with the jewelry that she places on as well. She didn't leave Rootmon or her amulet, meaning that we had our answer. We just got to bring her back now.

I ran down the stairs, "Okay, let him lead the way."

Tim nodded, "He said that Kai will be fine once he returns." Tim looked at his Grandmother.

"Alright and good luck."

We ran out the door and I was following Tim who was following an invisible bird.

Tim

I couldn't believe that Kai had such a spirit as a guardian. I didn't think that anyone had something that powerful anymore. I don't know what they're called, technology, but I know that everyone has a creature like thing near them. The ones that can switch one creature for another are really powerful psychics, I think nearing my level. I know that Damon and Nereida and Grandma have one, and I do as well. I was able to lock them up, though. _Wow, I never realized I was that powerful._ I never checked on the others, and I kinda don't really want to. Anyway, this phoenix said that there are others like him and they are now being guardians to three other kids. They all are connected to each other by a symbol of their power and once they are all reunited, a certain amount of peace can be brought upon the protectors. He told me that both Ceres and Panther were important for this task, but Panther was the most important for Kai. I didn't want him to know this, but I wondered how much they would listen.

He was leading us to an area where I normally don't go. Damon's probably more familiar with areas like these than I am. "Do you know where we are?" I looked at Ryan.

"Yeah, can we stop?"

The phoenix landed on a building before looking at me, "You'll find your answers over there." He pointed to a far off building, "Good luck." He then flew back the way we came.

"Where are we?" I looked at Ryan, since he had all the answers in reality.

"We're nearing the hideout of Panther's gang." He didn't look alarm, "Let's have everyone meet here and we'll come up with a plan."

"How far is the hideout?"

"Pretty far still."

"Shouldn't we get closer then?"

"They're not the toughest around for nothing."

Somehow, the words themselves seemed to have a hidden meaning to them. I sighed, remembering that they know more about them than I do. "Let's get everyone to a place where we can plan." I said, heading out of the area, since the spirits were telling us to leave before we're hurt.

"So she went back?" Stan asked once we told everyone why we were here.

"So what?" Ryan asked, "Lily Dawn, you and I have to go inside. Everyone else should stay here."

Matt nodded and they started to run towards the buildings. I looked up to the sky, seeing the phoenix there. I didn't like it that he left Kai's side again. Just how important is Panther to him?

"If she's here, she probably came on her own will." Stan pointed out.

"Then they'll find out." Ceres said, looking hatefully at him, "If you don't like this, then leave."

He looked away. I don't know what his problem was, but I can guess that Matt doesn't like him and so Ceres now can express hers as well.

Lily Dawn

"So you think that Panther wants to leave?" I asked as we were heading to the entrance that Panther showed us all those years ago, the one weak point in their fortress.

"Yeah. She took her outfit with her. The one she wears to the Digital World. We know how much that means to her. I really believe she wants to leave."

"Though, she can easily change back. I saw it once."

"What was the situation?" He looked at me as we where at the entrance.

"We were coming back from shopping and we ran into a group of…"

"She was protecting you." Ryan smiled, "She knows that you're having a baby and that you're going to be married soon. Why would she let her best friend die if she could prevent it? I remember her once saying that she would rather kill to save than to kill in the heat of the moment."

"I'm sure she's done both, though."

"Probably. She wasn't the toughest around for nothing." Ryan opened the door and we went inside. It felt like we were kids again. I didn't think I would feel like this again. But this time, it was more than just wanting to see Panther. We needed to know if she wanted to be brought back home. I wanted to believe in what Ryan thought; that she wanted to come back and leave this world behind her.

"I thought you two would use this again." We looked up to see the same person that killed those guys. He didn't seem to be threatening us, so we got out of the hole and stood up. "Panther isn't here."

"Where is she?" Ryan asked.

"She said that she made up her mind. I doubt that even you guys can change that."

"We're here to see if she really wants to stay."

"She's here and she's not planning on leaving."

"I want to know if that's what she believes in her heart. She's a very complex creature and we've seen the change in her. She stopped being a gangster months ago."

"She has never stopped. I sent her through that training course. She passed with flying colors."

I remembered that course. Panther told us that they take captured people, or anyone they wanted to torture, drug them up enough so that they'll fall into their brainwashing state, and send them out to be killed by the people training. It was supposed to heighten one's own killing instincts since it was a kill or be killed environment. "She's been here a long time." I stated, "She would never forget what she learned to survive here. But, I've seen her new family. I know where she feels the most at home now. Her former family is no longer with us, but she has now gained a new family that loves her and believes in her. She has friends that now have faith in her and are waiting for her to come back. We never ask her about her past because we want her to tell us. Even we are in the dark of some of her past, and we now understand that to be her way of hiding her pain."

The guy sighed, "Killer was here before."

"Killer came back to life once." He looked at us weirdly, "And she can also see him as long as she's careful. She told me when Killer was brought back that she convinced him to leave with her. She cares for everyone here, I'm sure, but she doesn't want to come back."

"How was he able to come back to life?"

"The Elite brought him back." Ryan said, "We're not sure how, though, but they were the ones that did it. They've also been after her since then."

He looked at the ground, "I'm sure that there are people waiting for you, so tell them to wait until I contact you to go searching for Panther."

"Why?" I asked.

"She went with the Elite and it didn't look like she was forced to go with them."

Ryan and I looked at each other before looking at this guy, "Where did they go?"

"They opened some kind of portal, so I don't know. I know that Chaos uses that all the time, but I don't know where it leads. I'll find that out for you as well."

Ryan nodded, "We'll be waiting at Matt Ishida's house."

"Matt Ishida? Her idol?"

We nodded, "That's her new home." I said before we left the way we came.

"Who do you think that was?" I asked Ryan as we made our way back.

"I think the leader. He kinda looked familiar, and I just remember that Panther never showed us her leader."

"He was the one that killed that group that came after us. She was looking at him weirdly too. I guess she would only listen to the leader of her gang, even now."

"That's how she is. Loyal until the even end."

"Yeah." I smiled, glad that Panther had never changed.

"What's the news?" Ceres asked as we got in their sights.

"The leader told us to wait until he contacts us." Ryan said, "She's not there right now."

"Does he not know where she went?" Damon asked.

"Apparently, she went with the Elite through some portal."

"Why would she go with them?" Ceres asked.

"She didn't look force, so she probably thought she had to go with them since she's back."

"What did you find at Matt's house?" Tim asked.

"She took her outfit that she wears to the Digital World. I think she really wants to leave this place and took that to get rid of her past."

"She's not ashamed of her past." Stan pointed out.

"She's not ashamed of what she had to do to survive, but she doesn't want to come back here." I said, knowing that to be true, "We told them to contact you, Matt."

He nodded, "Okay, so let's wait at my place. Everyone, contact your folks as we're heading back." He turned around and we all started to head back. I kinda wondered what Matt was thinking right now. I could see that Ceres wanted to keep up her faith, since she also had faced the Elite before. She knew that Panther wasn't always strong enough to face them, so I bet that she was the most worried, being the only one that could face them on equal level.

Panther

It was well into the night when we came up to the famous cave, the cave of the Greek Underworld. Who was I going to meet that I already know? Then it hit me. I was going to see Persephone, the only female down here with any real power. Why did she want to meet me like this?

"Panther?" Rootmon asked.

"I'm not like this." I whispered.

"I'm here." She said firmly.

"Are you okay?" I asked, knowing that they were all still weak from going to their Super Level.

"I'll be okay if you're in danger."

I smiled, since that sounded so like me. Chaos gave the boat man weird coins. We all got in, and it was kinda tight. I looked around, seeing all the souls that were lost. I wondered where Killer and Ilpalo and Heka were. I looked over the side, seeing that we were on Styx still, making me smile slightly. I knew better than to touch the air that we were riding on, but I also wanted to know how she was doing. The one Matt loves so much and the one that started all of this.

We then took a different water way than the one to get to her throne room. I looked around to see that we were going down a path that has less spirits on its shores. There was a strong scent in the air, and so I covered my mouth so I wouldn't be affected. I remembered that there was a river that took away memories.

"Welcome." I looked over on the shore of a meadow that Persephone was there.

The boat man pulled over to her. We got out but he wasn't rowing away that far. "My goddess." Chaos said, bowing to her in the Japanese way, "how are you fairing?"

She lifted up his head, "Wonderful, now that you've brought her to me. Were you okay traveling?"

"No creatures attacked us." _That was because none where around. _

"Wonderful. And these are you warriors?" She looked at everyone else, "My name is Persephone. I'm the one that granted you the powers you use today."

They were all in awe and I was worried. How could she grant such powers if she's a Digimon now? Somehow, that didn't make sense. We can't be affected by data that much, right? "You are truly awesome." Satogi said.

She smiled, "Thank you. Now, you must go. I need to talk to Panther alone."

Donn was the only one that looked at me before getting in the boat. I just realized that they were like commoners facing their lord when they talked to her. Maybe it was because I knew the truth or because I had never believed in deities before that I was treating her like my equal. "What are you trying to do?" I looked at her and Rootmon appeared.

"I was told that you left them for good." She seemed a bit annoyed.

"I have. That doesn't mean I would leave her behind. We're partners, after all." I looked down the waterway, "Where's Killer?"

"He's fine." She said as she was reaching for me. I moved back, "I would never hurt you. You know that Panther." She smiled at me as the smell from the river was getting stronger. "As you saw, I control those that you fear. I can get rid of them for you."

"Panther!" Rootmon called as I fell, though it seemed like she wasn't doing much better. The smell was so strong now. I covered Rootmon so she wouldn't breathe it in.

"What's… that?" I asked, becoming very weak.

"That's the power of this meadow. Just relax and take deep breaths." She said smoothing.

Don

I was getting a bad feeling now. It was nearly sunrise and we hadn't heard anything new. I didn't like it one bit. I haven't told anyone about the note that Panther left me, since I now understand what she meant. If something were to happen where she needed me to watch her back in secret, she would've gotten me. She at least was keeping her promise to me. And since I didn't have her back now, I didn't like the fact that I didn't know where she was.

There was a guy walking up to the house and I could tell that he was from her gang. I looked behind me, seeing that everyone was still up but the babies. "Matt, I think someone is coming from her gang."

Matt got up and ran over to the door, opening it up before the guy knocked.

Me

"Well?" I looked at a guy that looked a lot like Killer. He blinked for a moment before realizing that we were probably watching out for him. Well, we weren't, but I figured that Don was just worried and looking outside helped somehow.

"They came back and they told me that they gave her to their Goddess, whatever that meant."

"Goddess?" I asked, wondering who that was. "Is there a name to that Goddess?"

"They said that she's the ultimate goddess of darkness and she's the one that gave them their powers."

"And they went through a portal?"

He nodded, "I know that it sounds crazy, but that's what they said."

"It actually doesn't sound all that crazy." I said, looking at everyone, "Anyone has any idea which Goddess would have that title?"

"I have a guess on whom it is." Ceres said, "I recognized their power as something else, but if they were given to them by a goddess, then I have a feeling I know which one. Was Chaos from Greece, perchance?" She looked at the new guy.

He nodded, "Why?"

"It has to be Persephone." She got up, "She's the Goddess of the Underworld."

"But why does she need to go through all of this? I mean, Panther has met her many times before." Lily Dawn asked, also meaning that she's supposed to be on our side.

"Now isn't the time to think." Don said, "We have to get her back, right?"

I nodded, "Thanks for your help. We'll get her back."

"How will you get there?"

"We have our ways." I smiled, "Don't worry."

"I'll be back at the hideout, if that information is needed." He headed back. I wondered how much he believed us. I closed the door and heard that someone opened a portal. We all just entered without a second thought.

Panther

"Come with me, Panther." Persephone said as she guided me away from this meadow. I was getting very dizzy. I held tight to Rootmon, not wanting to lose her. I looked around, seeing that we were heading back to her throne room. I noticed that there were chairs nearby and I forced myself to go over to them. I felt someone's presence here. I couldn't tell who, though. "What are you doing, Panther?" She asked again.

"I want to rest." I said, curling up in the stone chair.

"I need you for something, dear. We can't be wasting time."

"What do you need me for?" I looked at her.

"Hades gave me those boys for my pleasure, but now I see they're causing you discomfort. I need you to help me get rid of their powers. I can no longer do it on my own. You want them to fear you, right? I can help with that too. I can give you more power than you have right now. You just have to trust and follow me." She smiled at me.

"Maybe I wanted that, but I want to save people. They're still human." I said, somehow sounding like I was drunk. Have I drunk before?

She looked down the river and her eyes glowed. I wondered what that was all about. When they stopped, she looked at me, "They may look it, but they're no longer human. Come with me, and we'll make sure they pay for the pain they caused. They brought Killer back from the grave to torture you. Don't you want them to pay? Don't you want them to feel the same pain as you? I can help you get your revenge on them."

Somehow, that sounded so good. I was like that before, wasn't I? The one that wanted revenge for someone's pain. When it was mine, I would magnify that pain for the person that caused it. They had caused me a lot of pain. I should destroy them. After all, I was back with m gang. I needed to be destructive and powerful. "Will you make me powerful?"

"Of course. I've always had that in mind the first time I meet you. I knew that you craved power, so I saved the powers of others for you."

I wondered who the others were. I had a feeling that I should know, but nothing was coming to me. "Okay." I said, "But I want to rest some more."

"I'll be in my throne room." She said before disappearing. I looked over to an orb thing, wondering what it was doing here.

"You okay, Rootmon?" I asked, starting to fall asleep.

"Yeah… I think… I feel really funny."

"Me too."

Ceres

They got to the edge of the Deity realm before they were attacked by random Digimon. Most of the humans were fighting, since only a few were able to evolve or had enough energy to fight. All the Digimon that they were fighting were Super Levels, it seemed.

After a while, Ceres started to feel something. She didn't understand it, but she felt like Panther was slipping away. She wondered if this is how Panther felt when she went missing. "We have to get going now." She yelled at Matt, feeling that she was going to lose her sister forever.

"We'll clear a path." TK said as Angemon did his attack, forcing the Digimon to move back. Matt and Ceres jumped on Garurumon as IceThormon was flying next to Ceres' head. Angemon, Stingmon and Gatomon were all keeping the Digimon at bay to allow them to get through. Garurumon moved super fast, much faster than Ceres thought he could run. She prayed that Panther would still be there by the time they arrived.

Panther

I got up and noticed that something was in my pocket. I didn't want to fall asleep since I needed to get powerful. I needed to be stronger than the Elite. I reached into my pocket, taking out a picture. I looked at it, seeing me in there, but also noticing someone else. I stood up, realizing that I had forgotten Killer for a moment. I looked at her throne room, wondering what she was doing to me. I then remembered what Killer told me the last time I saw him. He said that I needed to be weary of Greeks that bear gifts. Was he talking about her? Did he know that she wanted me for some plot?

I placed the image back into my pocket, also remembering that Hina had given her life for me so that I wouldn't be controlled by those of darkness. Persephone was like her, I think. If I remember right, Persephone was taking from the land above and became the Queen of the Underworld. Although, she didn't want that; she wanted to stay with her mom. I took hold of my amulet, taking a moment to think about this. I knew that she was on our side, and I was afraid if I didn't listen to her what would happen to Killer. I didn't want any harm to come to him. But then, he wouldn't want me to be used like some tool. I was done with that. I didn't want to do something that would cause destruction anymore. I wanted to be something that was helpful.

"Panther," She called as she walked out of her throne room, "what's taking you, my dear?"

I let go of my amulet, getting ready to run. "What do you want from me?"

She looked at me, "What do you mean? I'm doing everything for you."

"What do you want from me?" I repeated, knowing that she was lying. "You gave power to the Elite, but you're a Digimon now. How can you give power when you lost that ability?"

She smiled at me wickedly, "Oh, but dear, I haven't lost my powers. I've just hidden it from the others. I wasn't foolish enough to give up my immortality."

"Why did you keep it?" Rootmon was now awake.

"I want to return to your world and rule it as the ultimate goddess. And I've always known about you. I sent Chaos there in order to control you."

"What do you want from me?" I noticed that she was ready to do something to me, by the movement of her hand. Ceres does the same thing when she's about to fire something from her hand. I was staying still, knowing exactly where I was going to move when she fires.

"I want your power." She moved closer to me, "I need you to absorb all the power that we gained from the other deities and give that and yours to me so I can escape and rule. But, that's not all I need from you. You and those boys would be my puppets, telling everyone of my power and spreading my religion."

"Well," I relaxed, which relaxed her hand, "if that's all you wanted me for, I guess we can't trust you after all."

She threw something at me, though I managed to move out of the way. I heard something rushing over from the river, making me look quickly. I noticed that it was Garurumon. Persephone fired something at me again and I moved from it. I opened a portal and jumped right on through. I happened to fall in the hideout, though I hit my head on the wall.

"You weren't going to wait for Matt? What if she attacks him?" Rootmon asked.

"They'll be okay." I said, rubbing my head.

Me

I saw Panther jumping through a portal, though I didn't want to follow. I wondered if it was because of us that she jumped or something that Persephone was doing. She looked alarmed as Garurumon landed on the shore. "What was Panther here for?" I asked, realizing that she probably didn't know what I looked like.

"I was having a chat with her, but she needed to go." She lied, though was really good at hiding it.

"I doubt that." Ceres said harshly. "Where are our boyfriends?"

"They had something else to do." She said truthfully.

"Let's get going." I said to Garurumon, "See ya." I smiled before he moved back the way he came.

"What are you doing, Matt?" Ceres asked.

"I know that she was lying, but if Panther got away then that means that Panther won. I rather not worry about whatever she's planning until I have to. Panther is my main concern right now."

Ceres became quiet, knowing that I was right. "Where would that portal lead?"

"She would probably head back to her hideout if she was going to go anywhere, so I'm sure that she'll be there by the time we get back."

"Okay."

Panther

"Where have you been?" Virus asked, "I mean, you've been gone for a longer time."

I was heading over to where the Elite were. I wanted to warn them about Persephone and to see if they really wanted to be puppets. "The Elite left me somewhere. I was lost for a while."

"Good one. They might be powerful, but you know this city like the back of your hand." She laughed, "Let's get lunch."

"Sorry, can't. I need to give them a piece of my mind." I said in my old voice, laughing internal, remembering what Ceres said when Killer said the same thing.

"Fine. Come find me once you do." She walked away. I was glad that was easy as I looked all around the hideout. Once I noticed that they weren't here, I asked someone if they had seen them. They were apparently outside, which didn't feel right to me. I headed over to where they were, seeing that they were all mediating. I looked around for something to create a large noise when thrown. I went back inside and grabbed a pot.

"What are you doing?" Rootmon asked as I ran back outside and got myself to a higher position than them.

"Ceres said that silence is key to mediating." I said threw it down with a lot of force. Apparently, enough force to cause a loud sound and bouncing for a few leaps. They all snapped back and were in pain because they didn't come back normally. I smiled to myself, glad that my plan worked.

"You must be losing your mind." Rootmon said before they looked up to see me.

"What the hell were you thinking?" I yelled, "Do you want to be puppets?"

They all disappeared and reappeared around me, "What are you talking about?" Chaos asked me, "Didn't our goddess sway you to her side?"

"I don't swing that way." I smiled, "She just wants to use you guys. She never cared about you. She needs you for her plan to work."

"What do you know?" He grabbed my shirt, "Why are you saying such things? She gave us this power. She sent me on this mission."

"She always wanted me." I looked at him in the eye. "I'm willing to bet that she could've used anyone for this mission. All she wants is to rule over our world in her darkness."

"That's fine by us. We like bloodshed." Dotsun'sa said.

"I'm not going to be part of it then. I've moved on from useless killings."

"What are you talking about?" Apofisu chuckled, "You were enjoying what you were doing in the training room."

"Noticed how only one had my signature mark? I'm no longer a tool." I moved Chaos' hand away from me, "I decide what my powers are used for, and I'm not about to let her get her way."

"How well do you know her?" Donn asked, which surprised me.

"I thought she was my ally, but I was just proven wrong."

"What made that change?"

"She tried to trap me. I don't like to be tricked."

"She controls the dead, so weren't you afraid for Killer's soul?"

"Of course I was worried, but I also knew that he wouldn't want me to be a doll."

"And why are you caring what we're doing with our lives? What if we want to be puppets?"

I just realized that I was following the same philosophy as the Neo group has decided to do. We've decided that we weren't going to force someone to see the other light that we see. If they didn't want to move, we weren't going to stop them. _I can never leave them, can I?_ I smiled to myself as I took hold of my amulet before looking at them. "If you want to be her puppets, I won't stop you from doing so. I would only stop you from doing her task. I care because you're still people. If I can protect you, then I would do everything I can to do so."

Chaos grabbed my neck, pushing me hard against the wall. He looked really pissed off, though I was trying to stay awake more than looking at his face. "We already have our savior, and if you won't willing follow her, we'll just force you."

A flash hit his arm, making him loosen his grip. I looked over to where it came from, seeing Carnage, Matt and Ceres there. Carnage had his gun pointing at Chaos, "Set her down, Chaos."

"How can you let her go?" He looked at him, though still holding my neck. I felt that Rootmon was still behind my head and she was still moving. "You made her into the person that was feared and that was fearless."

Carnage fired again, still grazing Chaos' arm. "I order you to step down, Chaos. This isn't your problem."

"She's the reason I came." He brought me closer to him, "And if you want to shot again, I'll send her to my Goddess."

"If she wanted me dead, I'm sure I wouldn't be of the living anymore." I said, staying calm in front of Matt. I could see in their eyes that they were ready to fire and I was worried about Matt showing something that he shouldn't. I might be a dark princess, but he has a darker being within him. Ceres was also stronger than me, though I'm sure that if they wanted to use her instead that they would've tried to have taken her by now.

Carnage didn't lower his gun and was still pointing it at Chaos, "You may be one of the best men that I have, but I'll shot you down right now if you disobey."

"You're willing to shot with her in between?" He asked, though I wished I know what he looked like. Matt and Ceres were both worried and confused. They were probably confused by how calm I was in this situation.

"You bet." He said, "Now, let her go and everything will be okay. I'm giving you one more chance." Carnage was firm in his decision. I thought it was funny how Matt and Ceres couldn't do anything in this. "And once you do, you are to never see her face again unless she's saving your ass."

"I'm afraid that my Goddess is more important than you." Carnage fired again. Chaos held me down with his arms even though I wasn't able to move. I kept looking at Carnage, believing in him completely. The bullet was deflected by Neraru, by which it just turned into a shooting ring.

I was staying with Chaos. He didn't want to let me go. I think it was because he was fearful of Carnage. Though, I don't know why he was using me as a shield. It's not like he won't fire at me. I looked over to where Ceres and Matt were last and Ceres suddenly spread her arms, making everything around her stop. It wasn't like Neon's freezing time thing. It was more like a paralyzing state. It even affected Carnage, who looked surprised by the defeat.

"I'm guessing that Panther doesn't want cops around," She said as she walked over to me, "and shooting each other isn't going to keep them away." She pulled off Chaos' arms so she could pull me away, "Now," she looked at Carnage, "is she free to come with us?"

He nodded, "She is no longer bound to this place." I looked at him, wondering why he was saying that. I guess he could tell what I really wanted. I bowed to him, keeping my emotion in check in front of everyone.

As we were walking over to the edge, Matt was heading over to Chaos. I grabbed his arm, making him stop to look at me. "Don't do anything." I said, not wanting them to come after him too.

He smiled at me softly, somehow easing my fear, "I'm letting them know who is the boss when it comes to darkness."

I let my hand slide down his arm, letting him go over to Chaos. Ceres and I were watching him as he stopped a few centimeters away from Chaos. I could feel the air shift for a moment before Matt came back over to us. Chaos looked a bit fearful, though hiding it in front of Carnage. Matt bowed to Carnage before we all headed off the roof. Everyone had gathered around the base of building and the other Neo members were all around it, blocking people from coming up. Neon had frozen time, though I had to guess that it was only recently. No one said anything as we left. I bowed to everyone, knowing that I would never forget them.

On the outskirts of our territory, Stan was waiting for us. "Sorry for worrying everyone." I finally said, knowing that I had to say something.

"I knew that you would come back to us." Ryan said with a smile, "I'm glad you finally have some closure on that part as well."

I smiled, seeing that everyone else had believed him. "Yeah, I realized that I can never leave this group either. I even applied some Neo philosophy with the Elite."

"So, what happened in the Digital World?" Kari asked. "They came back, saying we had to head back to the Real World."

"Yeah, isn't Persephone on our side?" Lily Dawn asked.

"I'll explain when we get back." I said, understanding the confusion. We needed to understand this shade of grey since it affected our ability of getting to the other deities if they do something.

When we got back, Shuni's grandmother was holding Kai and standing near the door. Kai was moving in a very happy way, for some reason. "Kai was the first person to notice that you were gone." Matt said, "And he really missed you."

I took him in my arms, immediately seeing him standing in front of Ceres for some reason. He looked to be two years old. I smiled at him, seeing that he probably has some special connection to us. "I'm sorry Kai. I didn't mean to make you cry." I saw him crying in Ceres' arms. I made myself look at the clock in Matt's room, seeing it was around the time that I was in the training room. Maybe he could sense that I was killing again.

We all sat down, and I kept Kai in my arms since he was really happy that I was back. Jade and Krypton went back to their parents. Matt got us snacks and drinks, since this was going to take a while. I looked at the clock, noticing that we were all missing school. I wondered what Mackenzie-sensei was thinking since I was missing for two days. Rootmon was playing with Kai as I glanced over at Stan. I noticed that he was sitting with Lily Dawn, and even though Matt and Ceres claimed spots near my (we surrounded her), he was sitting in a placement far away from me.

"Okay," Matt said once he sat down, "where do you want to start?"

"Tell them why you left." Rootmon said, making me smile.

"I could handle harassment from anyone, but I saw a vision that I was back with my gang, and I thought that meant that I couldn't escape from them. I didn't want to cause a big scene so I decided to leave during the night. Oh, I'll take questions now since that would be easier."

"Did you see Killer and Ilpalo?" Ceres asked.

"They weren't there." I looked at her, "though, either was Heka, if she's still there, but there were chairs out of stone that were around this orb thing near the shore. I think that they belong to them, but I'm not sure."

"What was Persephone trying to do?" Kari asked.

"She was trying to get my powers. Apparently, she never gave up her immortality and decided to keep it since she wanted to come back to our world to be the next ultimate one goddess. I think she brought me down the river Lethe since I was slowly losing my memory and being manipulated."

"Why your powers?" Damon asked.

"I guess I am able to hold a lot of power within me. I think she wanted me to host the powers of the deities that they had stripped of their powers so I could then transfer it over to her. And then the Elite and I were supposed to spread her all over the world."

"How were you able to fight against the affect of a powerful river?" Ceres asked.

"Trade secret" I smiled at her, not wanting to show Stan the picture I found of me and Killer. "Though, I think that they do know that she was bad news since the last time I saw Killer, he told me to be weary of Greeks even when they were bearing gifts."

"When did you see Killer?" Lily Dawn asked. "I saw him when I visited Apollo and got myself pregnant."

"A few days before we were saved. Damon was captured by a human deity person and I went down to save him. Killer and Heka helped me save him." I didn't like the look on Stan's face, though I pretended that I didn't notice it.

"Why was that guy so willing to help us out and why did you need him to release you?" Don asked. I wondered if he told everyone about the note.

"His name is Carnage and he's the leader of the gang. I saw him when I was with Lily Dawn and he saved us from people who were after me. Apparently, he has taken care of things I left behind. When he saw me that time, he thought that I wanted to relive the life I once had, so he wasn't surprised that I had come back. Since that informant isn't able to be found, he probably was taken care of." I had a vision of them capturing him, and a few others, and doing their brainwashing thing. I had known that it doesn't take long, but now I understand why they thought I went back. I had killed the guy that told on me and took his body back to his gang. "He cares about me since he introduced me to such activities and I was one of the best people around."

Most of them could tell that there was something else, but I didn't want Stan to know, at the very least. "She also realized that she didn't want to stay there and did hope that you would come get her." Rootmon said, smiling at me before looking at everyone, "She couldn't stop thinking about you guys and couldn't forget her true mission."

That put a smile on everyone, letting everyone understand that no matter what happens in our lives, we're always together. I couldn't forget them, even when I thought that I would never see them again. I also wanted to see everyone again, but I realized that I wasn't thinking of Matt in the same light. I'm glad to be back here, but I thought about Ceres more. He was the first person to save me, so maybe I thought that I couldn't show myself to him again. I was thinking the same with Kari. I didn't want them to be disappointed in me.

"Well, let's get some sleep." Matt said, "Anyone is welcome to stay over."

"Ken and I will go over to the school to get the assignments for everyone." TK said, though I could tell that he wanted everyone to leave. I wondered why.

"I'll go with you." Kari said.

"I have some studying to do, so we better get back." Tim said before his siblings could intervene. "And Grandma probably needs help."

"These little ones need some sleep." Neon said.

"You have a job to go to." Lily Dawn, looking at Stan, "After all, Panther shouldn't pay for everything."

I laughed, seeing that he had agreed, but wanted to stay. "I'll head out as well." Ryan said. So, everyone left us four here. Before Don left, he looked at me and lightly hit the air with his fist. I knew that meant that he didn't tell anyone about my note and that made me smile.

After everyone left, I put Kai to sleep. He didn't seem like he had gotten a lot of sleep by the way he was falling in my arms, but he didn't want to lose me again. "I won't be leaving you, Kai." I smiled at him, "I'll always be here for you, I promise." The phoenix appeared in my eyes, though I didn't understand why.

"Is he asleep?" I looked behind me, seeing Matt walking into his room.

"Yeah.. I don't think I have to be afraid of his future."

Matt hugged me, "I was worried about you." I smiled, knowing that he was.

"I can take care of myself." I said, wondering if this is how a father is supposed to be. I thought of my brother, remembering that he never told me that he was worried about me. I always had to figure that out by his reactions.

"I know… I once told Ceres that if you guys ever left that I wouldn't stop you." I looked at him as he pulled away, wondering what that meant, since he came to get me. He smiled at me, "But, it seems like I'm not ready to let you guys leave so soon. I'm sorry I didn't go searching for you sooner. I hope you can forgive me."

I smiled at him, hugging him around the neck, "Thanks for coming to get me."

"Any time." He hugged me, "I'll always be here for you."

I nodded, liking this feeling. I didn't want to be separated from this feeling any more. I think it's what is supposed to be felt by family. "Thanks, Matt."

"Now, you better get some sleep too." He smiled at me, "I don't know what you were doing, but I bet you didn't get a lot of sleep. And I'll take care of the school."

I smiled, "Night." I said before heading out. I wondered if it wasn't for the fact that I was being watched if Matt would even care what the school thought. When I opened my door, Ceres was looking at the painting. I closed my door, "Sorry for worrying you too."

"Can you take a walk with me tomorrow?" She didn't look at me. I wondered what was on her mind.

"Sure… but why?"

"There's something I need to tell you." She walked over to me, "It's important and I thought that I should tell you before we lose each other."

I nodded, "Don't sound so grave, though."

She hugged me too, "You and Matt are very important to me. I don't want to lose you two to anything." She started to cry.

I wrapped my arms around her, remembering that she was to leave us in the future. _Selfish girl_. I smiled, "It's okay, Ceres. We'll always be here for you. I promise; I'll never leave you again. I won't leave Kai, either."

She nodded, "Good." She left and left me wondering what she was planning.

"I know that look." Rootmon said from my bed, "So, what did you see?"

I walked over, laying over the bed that Matt had before I got here. This was the bed that Styxmon used all those months ago. _Has that already happen a year ago?_ "Ceres will be leaving us in a similar fashion to what I did."

"What? Even after what she said? Ceres isn't the kind of person to go back on her word." Rootmon said in disbelief.

I looked at her, "Maybe she isn't the kind to go back on her word, but she does leave. Kai looked to be about two when she says bye to him. She goes over to China to have a happy life with two kids with cat features." I rolled over, "At least, that's what I've been shown so far by four animals."

"And you're not going to tell her? Maybe she could change herself."

"Maybe… But, I can see her smiling in a way she couldn't before. Like, those kids had become her world and her new joy. She was smiling in a way I have never seen her before. Those kids are precious to her. If that's the case, I don't want her to lose that chance to be happy."

"I thought you cared about her too."

"I do.. I don't want her to leave, just like Matt, but this is important for her development. I think I've reached my level, but she still needs to grow."

"What do you think she'll talk about? She was staring at your painting for a long time."

I looked at the painting, wondering what new meaning it had for her. "We'll see tomorrow."

"Matt, can we take Kai out on a walk?" Ceres asked as we were cleaning up the meal.

Matt blinked, "Sure." He smiled, "Have fun."

"Thanks." She said before we got him ready. I was holding him as she was leading us.

It was a calm day, and it seemed kinda cold. I could feel my powers trying to work, but I was suppressing them. It was actually pretty easy, it seemed. "So, what did you want to talk about?" I looked at her.

"When we were all separated, TK showed me when you were all fighting against Maeve." She said, though not looking at me, "And I saw how hard you were trying to get to me, but he was being lead by someone who said that I was like her."

"Got a name?"

"Diana."

I looked at her, wondering if she remembered that Diana was the one that TK was looking for. "I saw when Matt and she were together." I said, looked forward now as Ceres looked at me, "When my powers increased, I wanted to learn more about Matt's past. I saw when he was born, he was born with another baby girl. Both of them were in a critical state but after they touched their tiny hands together, both were fine. Their parents were friends, so they also grew up together. She was with him all through his adventures, even having a Digimon as her partner. At some point, they had to separate and she's no longer of the living. That's something that I'm going to have to tell him one day."

"She's been watching over him." I looked at her, seeing her smiling. "She's so amazing. She's like the perfect image of a virtuous person. In fact, she was the one that had the Crest of Virtue before giving it to Matt. She was absorbed into Styxmon, as a matter of fact."

"So, Matt has only loved her?"

"Maybe, but Styxmon had her own existence before absorbing her, I think. I'm sure that Diana's strong feelings for Matt are what made her go after him."

"I could imagine. I mean, she was even loyal to him after he started to date Sora. How many people could look at the one in the face with a smile even after knowing that they had once loved you? She's a very strong person. So, I guess that I've met her since I once saw Styxmon."

"She also told me that she had a reason to check in on the future."

"Do you remember it?"

"She had looked into the future once she saw your painting. She's in there, too." Ceres smiled.

"As what?"

"The Moon goddess."

"TK told me that I normally draw her." I mentioned since I wanted to know what Ceres was getting at.

"I guess your heart remembers, then. She told me that I have a sharp memory."

"She was the voice that send you away.. Why?"

"Megamon was made in that future and he was sent here. She had sent us back here to have this time line started."

"What does that make us, then?" I understood that we were now more connected than I thought we were, and that I was with her when we were babies. We were the babies in the painting… "We're sisters?"

She smiled, "Mackenzie-sensei told me that there are two new souls in this world. Reincarnation is correct and all the souls had died and combined with other souls to make the person you see. But these new souls have never existed before, in any time line. We're also those new souls, able to have any destinies we want and able to hold so many destinies that are needed to be pass on that couldn't be passed on through other people."

I noticed that we were walking towards the graveyard. "What are we doing here?"

"Carnage told me to bring you here. I wasn't going to, at first, but it looked like there was another reason he was treating you differently."

"How far?" I asked, though not looking at her.

"He only gave me the location to some random name." She handed me a paper and I looked at the name. I grabbed her hand as I ran inside. I ran all the way to my family's grave, courtesy of the neighbors. Next to them was a new grave. I started to tear up, seeing Killer's name on it. "I thought he didn't have a grave." Ceres said.

"Didn't they not give this to their members?" Rootmon asked.

"Killer's different." I took out the picture, placing it next to his grave underneath a rock that was nearby, "Killer was his idiot, younger brother that wanted to follow his brother, no matter where he went. Killer got stronger to be there to help his brother. That's why Carnage treats me differently, because I'm his brother girlfriend."

"So, who's this?" She was looking at the name that led me here. I felt my powers tugging me more, so I allowed it. I wasn't seeing something, since I was looking at my brother.

"Is there something you need to tell me?" I asked, noticing that I was only here with Kai, for some reason.

"Yeah, I don't want you to feel sorry for us anymore."

"I'm going to high school. The one that you wanted to go to."

He smiled, "I was able to remember when you came to us. I've been watching you and Ceres is right. Our parents found you and took you in."

I nodded, "So, they were superstitious because of it?"

"Yeah, and they were always weird."

"What about you?"

"I was always worried about you. I never once thought you weren't my sister. I'm sorry that I couldn't stop them."

I smiled, "I know that you were always there for me, even if I never realized it back then. Thank you, brother."

He nodded, "Take care, Panther."

"I'll see you one day in the far future." He smiled before I was brought back here. "That's my brother." I said to Ceres once I was back. "The others are my family." I got up.

Ceres bowed to them, "Thank you for taking care of my sister."

"My brother was the only one, in the end, that cared about me." I told her, "My parents started to distance themselves from me. He was the only one that cared what I did and was trying to actively stop me from joining."

"Sounds like you had a tougher time with that department than me." She smiled at me, "I guess we both went through our own pain."

"I'm guessing Matt is to never know about this?" I had already figured that Styxmon was our mother and that Matt was our father. "Does this make us Digimon?"

"I don't think so, at least I wasn't told that we were also Digimon. We're Saiyans as well."

"You mean what Kari and TK are?"

"Yeah. And Diana told me that when they were ready to remember everything is a fine time to tell him. At least, that's when I want to tell him. But, he does think of us as his daughters, even though he wasn't sure if that was okay since we were about the same age as TK."

I looked at Kai, who was happy for some reason, "So, we have a baby brother."

"We do, indeed." I was remembering those two Chinese kids, knowing that this family was going to grow. "That's why I don't want to lose you. You two are truly the only family I have."

"We're your true family." I said, "We both have people that are also our family."

She nodded, "My foster mother will also be called Mom, but I'm going to start calling Diana that too."

I nodded, "I will too." I looked at my parent's grave, wondering what I would call them once Matt knows. "I don't know what to call them."

"Why not foster parents?"

"I don't want my brother stop being my sibling."

"He'll always be your brother, and they would always appear to be your parents, but that doesn't mean that you should respect them. They had stopped being your parents when they stopped loving you."

I nodded, knowing that I would still hold them in my heart, somewhere, since I didn't want any of them to die. "I need to tell everyone my past."

"You ready?" She looked at me.

I nodded, "It's important. I've finally healed from all the pain that I held in all these years. I left the gang and I'm leaving for good. I care about them, but I'm done being that person."

"What person are you planning on being?"

I smiled, "The one that embodies the ideals of the Neo Digidestined. I've decided that I'm done with being a tool and killing without a cause."

She smiled, "I don't know how well I can do the same, but since we were brought back to get this group started, I'll try to do the same."

I nodded before looking at Kai, "We'll raise you right, Kai." He gave a happy giggle when I saw him looking at someone that looked really cold. It was when he was much older, and he looked angry at this man. I picked him up from his carrier. "We'll raise you so that you will understand the virtues we have."

"Want him to be the next Virtue, I see?" Ceres said with a laugh.

"He'll hold which ever he grows to be," I looked at Ceres, "He just needs to understand them all. Draw strength from everyone and have a fun life. We'll keep all the bad stuff away from him." I placed him in back in his carrier. "I'm the quickest when it comes to protecting."

Ceres smiled, "I have no doubt about that. Let's get back to Matt so we can get the others over. I'm guessing you don't want Stan over."

"I wish I could tell him about it, but I think he actually watched." I said as we walked away from the graves, "Killer was what made me remember as I was being affected. I still love Killer, and I know that I feel the same for Stan somewhere, but…"

"We all understand." Ceres said with a smile, "Matt and I can't stand it either. I'm sure if he wasn't your boyfriend with no brains, we wouldn't have a problem with him. But, we're putting up with him because of you."

I laughed, "I'll try to keep that in mind. Besides, everyone has been waiting to hear about my past and I think it's about time that everyone understands."

She nodded, "I understand."

When we got home, I told Matt that I wanted to tell everyone about my past. He's response was that he was going to get lunch ready. Ceres called everyone else over, making sure that Lily Dawn didn't tell Stan about it. When the last people got here (Shuni family), Matt had the food ready for us. We all sat around the table, and I began my tale. I told them all the reasons I left to join the gang: my parents' reactions to me, my visions, and Killer. I told them about my brother, the one that loved and cared about me. I told them about the training I went through and how eager I was back then. I had once loved the feeling of killing people. I told them the truth about Carnage, so they understood why I was different in his eyes. I also told them what he wanted for his brother. I was supposed to keep him the way he had always been, happy and fun-loving. I did keep him that way, all the way to the end. I told them everything that Carnage got me involved with. I realized how fast I was falling into a dangerous path, but at that point, it didn't matter. I wanted to do them since I thought that was my life. I got involved with dealing out drugs, guns, being a go-between for higher level of crime bosses, an assassin, and slowly making my way into government. No one else knew about these activities, since they were strictly between me and Carnage. He never allowed the others to know, but I was actually the closest to being able to overtake him. He knew that I would never, since I didn't want to take on the responsibility nor did I want the power. When I visited the hospital, I visited him. He wanted to appoint me the next leader, if anything were to happen to him, but I could no longer accept. I felt like if Killer wasn't there to help me that I wouldn't be able to stay that way I was. Maybe that was true, in a sense since he was my light that I needed around. Carnage let me go without saying a word. At the time, I couldn't tell if he was angry at me or if he was mourning his brother's death.

"I bet he was respecting Killer's wishes." Ceres said once I was done, since after that moment, I was saved. She smiled to me, "I'm sure that Killer wanted you to be safe and so told his brother to keep you safe if anything were to happen to him. After all, if he was just thinking about the gang, he would never allow you to leave, right?"

I smiled, nodding, "You're probably right. I know that he cares about Killer… So much so to forget his leadership duties, it seems." I was referring to the grave, since that wasn't supposed to happen. But I'm glad that Killer wasn't given to a pack of researchers. "Thanks for listening, everyone."

"Well," Ryan said with a smile, "now we know what happened to you. Lily Dawn and I were always worried, even if we never showed it on the outside."

"I left you guys alone because I knew that you would follow me and I didn't want you two to get mixed up in it."

"We got that now." Lily Dawn smiled, "What does everyone else think?" She looked at the new people.

"Never get on your bad side, that's all I have to say." Damon said. I laughed.

Matt placed his hand on my shoulder, smiling at me. "I'm glad that you have found peace. You have changed since I first meet you."

I nodded, knowing that it was because I had found him that I changed. My true home is here with him and Ceres. "Thanks for saving me."

"Any time."

"And we know who the true you is," TK said, "because we've seen you grown into this person. And don't think you need to hide who you were, because we know that it's helpful."

I nodded, glad that they would never go away from me. "I'll use my past to help everyone. I also vow to use my powers to help people and I'll only take a life as a last option."

"I guess that wasn't always the case before." Ken said, "But, it's good to hear that." Kari nodded too.

"I may have thought that you were no good before," Tim said, getting up, "but that opinion didn't last. It's good to know that we have some expert strategists on our side. I'm sure that's going to help." He smiled, letting us know that he's now fine with our past. "Well, I'm heading back home. I still have homework that I need to get done and if I need to help baby-sit on Mondays, then I need all the time I can get."

"You don't have to if you can't." Matt said.

"It makes it easier on you, so I don't mind." Tim made a weird gesture towards Nereida, which made Matt laugh.

"Okay, thanks." He said with a smile on his face.

"See everyone later." Nereida said before they left. I saw something very weird at that moment. I saw Kai at the age when he was yelling at that man, looking at an older Nereida that had covered herself in a brown robe. She looked like a true fortune-teller, creepy but alluring. As I waved to them, I wondered why Nereida needed to show herself to him like that.

"We'll get going too," Don said, "Take care." He looked at me before they walked out.

"Let's head out tomorrow to look around some more." Lily Dawn said, "Want to come too, Ryan?"

"Sure. Sounds like fun." He smiled. "You should come too, Ceres."

"I don't think so." She smiled politely, "It's your bonding moment."

"You won't get in the way." Lily Dawn smiled, "Besides, we're thinking about picking things out that are Greek like, so we need your opinion. It's not like we know what's Greek."

Ceres laughed, "Okay, fine."

"You should take Kai with you." Matt said, "It would be good for him to get out of the house."

"Do you have work to do?" TK asked.

"Not really. Hota hasn't sent me anything. I guess I should go see her about that, anyway." He just now thought about it. I noticed that TK didn't like that idea, but wasn't saying anything.

"I'll take my leave, then." Ken said, getting up. "See everyone on Monday." He then left.

"I should probably get back before Stan does." Lily Dawn looked at the time, "I'll call with the time. See ya tomorrow."

"Bye." I smiled.

She and Ryan left together. TK and Kari also left together, though I was getting a bad feeling from them that I never got before. "Ken once told me," Ceres said as we were cleaning up so Matt could take care of Kai, "that he felt that Matt and TK were his brothers. I wonder if they have that home feeling around them always."

"Who knows. It's probably something only they can do, though."

"So, what is stronger? Best friend or sister?"

"Why does that matter?"

"I don't want to be the factor that causes trouble for Lily Dawn and Ryan with you."

I smiled, "Well, I know that sisters can also be best friends, and when I was with my family, I was only close to my brother… I can say with confidence that I had always thought of you as my best friend. You being my sister is just a bonus."

She smiled sweetly, really glad to hear that, "Thanks, Panther… Since when?"

"After Killer left me again. I knew that I could count on you, and I knew that you wanted to stay here. That's why we didn't want you to leave." I smiled.

"Where did you get that picture, anyway?"

"I found it when I got back. We didn't take pictures, so I don't know where it came from."

"Why didn't you keep it?"

"I have to move on, even though I still love him. I need to move on from my past, even though he was never the bad part of my past."

"Can you really forget him?" IceThormon asked.

"I doubt it, but I don't want Stan to feel bad. I have to keep the peace between him and my family, right?"

"We don't like how pushy he is with you." Ceres said, "If you want to like him, go ahead, but I'm not about to stay back and watch him try to control you."

I heard a roar and looked behind Ceres. It was that tiger, roaring at me. I think I understood what he was saying to me. I had to let her go. _So all of these are empty promises, huh? _He roared at me again, as if saying I was wrong. So then, why do I have to let my sister go? _Give me that answer on another day._ I let him know, looking at Ceres with a smile, "I won't be tame that easily. No matter what he does, he can't take away what's me. I'm still a panther that's lurking in the night, a wild woman that can not be captured, even when cornered."

Ceres laughed, "Good to hear."

"What were you seeing?" Rootmon asked as we got ready for bed.

"Have I told you about the spirits I've been seeing?"

"You mean that turtle?" She looked at me.

"There's a phoenix, a tiger and a dragon as well. I don't have to worry about the Dragon, but the tiger is connected to a boy that Ceres is to meet in the future."

"Did the Tiger tell you something?"

"I'm to let Ceres go to this boy for some reason. So, all of her promises are going to turn empty on the day she leaves us behind."

"Are you okay with that?"

I laid down, "I don't think I am, but I saw her smiling happily and looking like a different person with this boy. This boy, whoever he is, is special to her, that much I can tell."

"And you want her to have that happiness."

I nodded, "Once I learn more, I'll probably be able to make a better judgment on that. For now, I guess I just have to wait and see. The turtle is connected to Ed, somehow, and a boy. The phoenix hasn't shown me who he's connected to, but I figured that I'll learn soon enough."

"Will you tell me when you do?"

I smiled, looking at her, "Sure."

She smiled, "Night, Panther."

"Good night." I said as I fell asleep, home at last.

Awwww, I'm touched. Of course, I didn't know this until much later. I'm keeping my word about not seeing what's going on. Though, I wished that Panther would've told me about this. It's not fair that Ceres and she are keeping things from me. I want to be in on it too, though I guess at that point, it wouldn't be a secret, huh? Well, I'm glad that that part is now over. It looked like Panther had reached Donn, though. He looked like he was understanding something and willing to follow Panther. I wonder what's going to happen to them after this. I guess I'll never really know.


	33. Chap 32 Searching

Ah, another beautiful day. Kai is happily playing with his sisters and I'm left with nothing to do. I was thinking about calling someone to come over, or go see them, but I'm not coming up with anybody. I know I have a lot of people to ask, but I don't have a particular need to go ask someone. Maybe I should go talk to Mimi… since I haven't in a while…

Panther

Matt was doing something in his room when the phone ranged. "Hello?" I asked as Ceres was taking care of Kai.

"Hi, Panther!" It was Hota. I kinda forgot that she didn't have a problem with me. The news crew was still outside. "Is Matt home?"

"Yeah, I'll go get him for you." I placed down the phone before heading upstairs. "Matt." I called as I was walking over towards his room.

He opened the door and looked out, "Yeah?"

"Hota."

"Oh, okay." Matt came out of the room and followed me down the stairs. He went over to the phone as I went back over to Kai.

Me

"Hi." I said when I picked up the phone.

"Hey, Matt, how have you been?" She sounded perky as ever.

"Great, how are the experiments going?"

"Awesome. We still have a bit of work to do on them before we let you guys run your simulations on them." I was also part of the team that got to model what data we have and programming. I figured that this way, I'll keep myself busy with work when I'm not out in space. Though, some of the data that is collected is on the astronauts. My main job is flying, so I only get called in for the modeling after other people get their assignments. "I don't know how long that's going to take, though."

"That's fine. I have a concert coming up, so I wanted to focus on that anyway."

"Really? I didn't know you had a band."

"I had one a long time ago, though someone I know is about to become a singer so I wanted to get her started."

"That's very kind of you. When will the concert be?"

"We're not sure yet, though I can call you later with a date."

"That's fine. I won't put you on anything until after school lets out. I'm sure that you would want to spent time with Panther and TK."

"Thanks, I would. Would you like me to tell you the date anyway?"

"That's okay, but thanks. I'll talk to you later."

"Bye." I hanged up before looking at Ceres, "Does Hota know you?"

"No, why?" She looked at me.

"Just wondering. I was sure that I had introduced you to her."

Ceres shook her head, "I know who she is, but I haven't formally met her."

"Something she said bother you?" Panther asked.

"I thought it was odd that she didn't mention her name. She mentioned you and TK."

"Do you have to go back to work soon?"

"Not until the summer. So, I can focus on the concert."

"I know that Neon will be really happy to hear that. In fact, she said that she was going to come over later today to work on them with you."

"And when was I going to know about this?"

"When she walked through the door." Ceres smiled. "Were you planning something for today?"

"Not really. I should probably call the others to see if they're able to come." I turned back around and called my band members to see if they were in town. I don't remember when they said that they were going to be back, but it didn't hurt to ask. They were all able to make it, so I told them to come over whenever they could since I didn't know when Neon was going to come over. They told me that they were going to bring their old instruments so I went searching for mine. Good thing I cleaned the attic before leaving, since I knew that it would be somewhere up here.

Ken

"What are you doing?" TK called me when I was still in bed. He sounded cheerful.

"Sleeping. Why?"

"But the sun is already out." I now knew it was the side effect.

"So?" I rolled over, pulling back the curtains so I could look outside. It didn't look like a bad day.

"So you have to get up! Up! Up! Up!"

"Why?"

"So we can go see Izzy, duh!"

"Where are you?" I wondered if he would already be at my house, knowing that he would call me at such a place.

"I can see you…" He said in a childish, playful creepy voice.

I got on my arm and looked down to see TK and Patamon waving to me. I sighed, "I'll be down in a minute."

"YAY!! Okay!" He hung up and I got out of bed. I took a shower before heading out. My parents didn't ask me where I was going. I just thought about it as I was heading out since they somehow know when I'm about to go see TK and not someone else. If I was going to meet someone else, they normally would ask where I was going. I just now thought that was weird. Did I have a different look on my face when I was going to go see TK?

"What took ya?" TK asked as soon as I got down. He was also in my face.

"I had to take a shower." I said, "Does Izzy know that we're coming over?" We started to walk towards TK's car. Looking at it, I kinda wanted to hover over there.

"He knows." Patamon said, "I made sure of it."

"I bet he called you guys." Wormmon said.

I stopped walking, and so did TK. We looked at our Digimon, "Why are we seeing Izzy?" We asked in unison.

"Because he now knows things, duh!" Patamon said as if it was obvious. I don't remember making an appointment with Izzy for that stuff. "Stop stalling or he might think this is a prank and never tell you about the secret treasures…"

"Let's go!" TK said without hearing the rest of it, pulling me into the car and hovering off. One look at TK told me that it didn't matter that we didn't make an appointment ourselves and I was now seeing that our Digimon were up to something. I decided to not let it bother me, since I wanted to hover anyway.

"Glad you guys could make it." Izzy said as he was watching us.

"We're here to learn all of your secrets." TK said with a mysterious voice. "So," he moved over to be leaning near Izzy and was eyeing him suspiciously, "where are you hiding your goods?"

"Now, now, TK," I said as I went over to him, grabbing his shoulders and pushing him over to the table, "it wouldn't be a secret if he told you."

"But I want delicious candy!" He proclaimed as he protested. I pushed him to sit down, laughing at this sight.

"How about some blood candy?" Izzy offered as he sat down.

"I'm not a vampire." TK crossed his arms and moved his head to the right.

"I probably should give it to Davis and Jun, then." Izzy said with a sigh.

TK and I looked at him before I sat down. "What do you mean by that?" I asked, now very interested in his report.

"We were able to find out all the inherited blood of everyone in the first two groups." Tentomon brought over some cups and tea.

"Did something happen?" Wormmon asked.

"Well, what happened to you guys?" Tentomon countered. I wondered why he was watching us too.

"We went into the Digital World recently." TK said, "Neo Digi stuff. And you?"

"I was experimenting with accessing the Jewels for powers when Digievolving." Izzy said.

TK and I looked at each other, knowing that that was a lie. "Is there a reason you can't tell us?" I asked.

"That is the reason."

"We know it's a lie." TK said, "So what really happened?"

"I had to get somewhere quickly and Kabuterimon was the only thing I had to use."

We looked at each other and we knew where Izzy went. We decided to leave it at that, since we knew that Date-san was a touchy subject as is. "So what did you find?" TK asked, getting serious.

"There's an alien…"

"I know of that tale." I said once I realize it was directed at me. I didn't really want to hear it again, since I got the tale memorized.

"… There were times when there were immigrations to other planets, and Earth was one such place for the ancestors. Our groups have the first and second generation blood lines. I, Cody, Matt, TK, Kari and Tai are all of the First Generation, though there is a slight oddity with Tai, since he isn't a full Saiyan. Only one percent of his blood is Saiyan, and the rest is human. Matt, TK, Kari and I are all royalty, and Cody is a peasant. Joe, Sora and Mimi are all of the Second Generation, but don't have the traits that would make them royalty. Apparently, there were still distinctions between everyone else and the royalty. Davis is a bat, and very close to being a vampire. The reason he doesn't burn in sunlight is because only a thin layer of blood boils and burning when place in direct sunlight, so it isn't a noticeable thing."

"How did you know about Jun?" TK asked.

"I managed to obtain some of her blood for study."

"And the rest?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Are human, plan and simple. And because of that, it made me wonder if you can handle TK." He looked at me seriously. "The element of surprise wouldn't always be on your side."

"He can do it." TK said, with a lot of belief in my abilities, "He can do it because he's the only one I can tell this to and know that he won't be watching me like a hawk."

"I think it would be much better if Matt or Kari were placed responsible since they are Saiyans. What happens if you get so much stronger than Ken that he can't stop you? I don't know much about Saiyans and our abilities, but I can at least gather that we're stronger than normal humans and we have the desire to get stronger."

"I'm on even grounds with him right now." I pointed out, knowing that was true. When we started to spar, I wasn't slower or weaker to TK in any way.

"I've seen this other side in action." Izzy said, "I regained consciousness as Date-san was fighting TK. Even Date-san was having a hard time with TK."

"Different things play into a punch. If you're fighting with the intent to kill, or to immobile, or to simple defend. All those play an important role with how you fight. I figure that Date-san, being the way he is, would've tried to keep TK from hurting others and TK and so was holding back." I then noticed that I was holding onto my amulet. Did I want Izzy to believe my words? Why did I want to be the one to take care of TK?

"But the fact remains," he was serious, "you're a human being. TK will one day surpass you."

I held a tighter grip on my amulet. I had a feeling that Izzy was right, but I also knew that he was wrong in something, "You're making it sound like I will never be able to catch up to TK."

"I just have my doubts." I then noticed that he was testing me. Why did he want to see if I was willing to do this? Was there something that Date-san was trying to aim for?

I took in a deep breath, wondering if TK was seeing this as well. I looked at TK, seeing him holding back his anger. I looked at Izzy, "I will train so I can take care of TK. You don't have to worry about that. I'll contact Date-san later about a time for me to get some idea on how to do so."

That eased his expression, meaning he didn't want to use that route, but was glad that it was out there, since Date-san did offer. Why was Izzy reluctant to talk about Date-san? "Okay, that's good to know. Rowen is coming up with another design for the injection, so I'll let you know when that comes out. How are you feeling, anyway?" He looked at TK.

"I have been sparring with Ken, and nothing has resurfaced. What did Rowen say about it?" _So TK did catch on that Izzy is reluctant to mention Date-san's involvement._

"He said that you should be more vigilant when actually fighting." Izzy was relieved to have an outlet this time.

I took a sip of the tea, realizing that the Digimon were enjoying it more than we were. I wondered if Date-san was using him for something. I doubted that Izzy would be so easily fooled. I also didn't like at how mad TK was. I was also worried that I couldn't tell what he was mad at. I sighed, "So, is there anything else?" TK took a sip from the tea.

"Let's get candy!" He looked at me with excitement in his eyes. I looked at him, wondering why he went back to normal again. I didn't know that he could switch that quickly. "We'll bring you candy if you want some?" He looked at Izzy.

"That's fine. That's all I have to report anyway." He smiled.

"Candy! Candy! Candy!" He cheered before he got up, dragged me up, and walked out.

"See ya!" I yelled as TK threw on our shoes and we got tugged out. Once I got my shoes on properly, I was able to keep up with TK in his excitement to his car. As I neared the car, he suddenly punched a sign post that was to let people know where the office was. TK was now clearly angry and showed it by cutting the head of the post clear off. _So this is his true power…_

"I can't believe that Izzy is testing you like that." He said, the hatred clear in his eyes.

"Are you sure it isn't Date-san that is?" I looked at where the sign post ended up at, seeing that it was dented into a building, some couple of meters away. I'm going to guess that it was the power and not the force, since he didn't have a lot of acceleration to his punch and it wasn't embedded all that much.

"Date-san obviously told him that you should train with him." TK looked at me, "He wouldn't test you like this. I know because he didn't follow you when you came to save me. He stayed behind so you could take care of it. If he didn't believe you, he would've come along as well."

"That goddess's power was affecting him." I said, since I hadn't told him that yet. "And he didn't have the antidote."

His expression softened, "Even if his leg was affecting him, he wouldn't stand by and let anything happen to us."

"TK is right," Patamon said from his head. "Date-san considers himself able to protect and defend others, no matter what pain he is in. He believed in your abilities to save TK, so he wouldn't be the one testing you."

I sighed, "Okay, so then why would Izzy want to test me?"

"Maybe it's because he has nothing to base off of so he's worried." Wormmon offered.

"I believe in you too." TK said with a smile. "If you don't want to train with Date-san, that's okay. Just doing what we've always done is fine."

I shook my head, "No, I do need to train with him. Izzy's consider is rightfully placed."

"You don't think that you can do this?" TK looked hurt.

I sighed again, seeing that he has yet to concern himself with the power he just did. "You know that a human body is much softer than a metal alloy of probably titanium and aluminum, right?" He nodded his head and so I pointed to where the sign ended up. He looked before his eyes widened, "If I got hit with something like that, I wouldn't be alive, now would I? I will do this for you, TK, but I need to make sure I can handle something like that."

Worry came over his eyes, and the look of shame and hopeless were starting to water them. I went over to him, hugging him gently, "I didn't even realize I had done that." He cried softly on me. "Now I know what's going on, I think it's okay to do such things? What's wrong with me?"

"I'll go talk to Date-san tonight, okay?" I pulled him in tighter. "I'll get myself stronger so you don't have to worry about anything, okay?"

He nodded, "I don't want to hurt anyone."

"I know."

Hebe

"Telarmamon!" I called into her cave, finally having found it on our own, "Sorry for not bringing your gold sooner, but I have now arrived with it."

She came out from her cave after a while. "Arsmon brought to me a long time ago."

"But I didn't give him any." I pointed out, showing that that can't be true.

She laughed, "I knew you were honest."

"Well," Killer dared, "we were also hoping that you might be able to do another project for us."

"What is it?" She leaned on one leg.

"Well, I was given guns by the same blacksmith that made his swords. Nothing has happened yet, and I do have a lot of bullets, but I was also hoping for an upgrade. I need to protect her." He pointed to me.

"Show me the gold first." She walked over as Ilpalo uncovered it. She whistled, "Where did you get this?" She touched the metal that Killer found.

"It was growing with all the gold. We thought you might know what it is."

"I know what it is… Okay, Arsmon was telling me that you two guys have girlfriends with special interest with the deities, is this true?"

"It is." Ilpalo said, "Is there something that he wanted for them?"

"Word just got around that they had gained their Super Level forms and he told me that there are demons running around in their world. Now, I'm not sure what demons are, but they do sound like bad news, by his report, so I'm willing to give them something to help them fight against both demons and Digimon."

"If you don't know what demons are, how can you make something to handle them?" I asked.

"Because I can always find out, now can I? I'll make theirs a bit later, once I learn what I need to do."

"I say that you talk to my girl." Ilpalo said, "She knows a lot about that kind of thing. She's also a lover of learning."

"Good to know. So, what should I make for them?"

"You can ask them when you see them." Killer said, "My girl has changed a lot, so I'm not so sure what she would be comfortable using right now."

"And I don't know if my girl would want anything, since she does have a lot of magic on her side."

"If what we brought isn't enough to cover it, I'll gladly bring over more." I informed her.

She smiled at me, "This metal right here," she placed her hand on the metal that she touched earlier, "is that metal that I had to work with. As it stands right now, I can't get my hands on it directly since Bossmon is controlling the trade and mining of it. So, this is right now some hot stuff."

"Have you made anything for Bossmon?" I didn't know who he was, really, but Lightningmon told me that this person was who everyone that was part of the Neo group had worked under before being sent free. She was sure that everyone had some bitter memories of him, since he was capturing Digimon and enslaving them. She soon realized that none of them really wanted to inform their partners of such activities, since she was sure they would then go into the Digital World to fight him directly. It was before all of this happened, obviously, and she didn't want to fight him without going to their Super Level forms. I'm sure that this is their goal, right now. They want to be strong enough to get their revenge against him. I wondered how it was going for them.

"Yeah, I have, but I couldn't touch that metal. I don't know what he was mining it for, but I do know that he does sell it to others. I just don't know who his buyers are. Do you know him?"

I shook my head, "I've only heard of his name and that he was the Digimon that enslaved the new group's Digimon before they were saved."

She nodded, "I'll make your guns able to handle Digimon and non-Digimon things." She looked Killer, "I'll need to get Arsmon for that part, though, so it's going to take me a few hours."

"You can get him that fast?" He asked.

She nodded, "Stay here, so you don't get attacked. All the Digimon know that this is a no battle zone."

"Because of your skill?" Ilpalo asked.

"And because I would kill them if they killed my consumer." She smiled before heading back inside.

"Before you go back inside," I said before she was too far from us, "Take these with you. It's a bit too much temptation."

She nodded, walking back and pulling it back with her, into her cave. I then took a seat on the ground.

"Well, that went well." Killer said.

I smiled, "I'm glad you brought that along."

Ilpalo nodded his agreement as well.

Lily Dawn

I got to Panther's house to see that Ryan was heading over as well. "It feels like nothing has changed, huh?" He asked with a smile on his face.

"Except a lot has," I smiled before opening the door. We had Digimon and we really were going to save the world one day. "Are you three ready?" I asked.

"Yep." Panther said as they got up. Ceres was the one with the sling that held Kai.

"Have fun." Matt said with a warm smile, another difference from our past. Her parents or younger siblings weren't look like that when we came to get her to play. I wasn't sure about her older brother, since he normally came with us since he would hang out with Stan.

"We will." Ceres said before she closed the door. I was glad that I was okay with Ceres now. Maybe this trip would be awesome. We all started to talk about random things as we headed over to our shopping destinations.

Me

As I was sitting around, watching TV with Gabumon, thinking that this was too boring of an activity, I heard the door opening. I looked over to it, realizing that I didn't lock it to see Ken and TK walking in, "Yoh." I said, wondering why they were here. I then noticed that TK looked like he had been crying so I got up. "What's wrong?" I went over to them.

"Who's here?" TK looked shy for some reason.

"Neon will be coming over soon, the same with my old band friends, but that won't be for a few hours. The others are shopping right now."

"I'll be heading out then." Ken said, heading over to the door, "Call me when you're done." He left without me getting a word in.

And before I could say anything, TK hugged me as he as shaking a bit, "I just need to stay here for a while…"

I hugged him back, "It doesn't have to be a while." I said to him, wondering what happened that made him afraid. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"I got mad at Izzy and punched a pole."

I thought that was funny, since I knew that that wasn't a lie, but it wasn't as simple as that. " Oh where, oh where has my little, happy buffalo gone? " I sung a bit with a smile.

TK started to laugh warm-heartedly, lightening his mood greatly. "Off to raid your fridge." He said with his usual sly smile before dashing off.

I managed to grab him as he got to it, "I see you want another mystery curry." I said as I reached for the fridge.

"No!" He kept the door close as I tried to pull it open. "That's okay. I want to live! Live, I tell you!"

"I haven't killed anyone yet." I said with a smile, this being another joke since that day. I managed to get it open, revealing that everything was fresh.

"Ha!" TK said like he won, "You can't kill me with living things." He said with a big smile on his face.

I closed the door, "Bet I can at a video game." I said with a smirk on my face that said I was superior.

Though, normally he doesn't look like he was so eager to fight me. "Bring it on, brother. I can take whatever you dish out."

I stared at him for a moment, but shrugging, "What game?" I realized that this part is probably something that I don't yet know of, but I also had the feeling that I had done it more than once myself, and not recently too.

"A fighting game…" He then looked ashamed for some reason. "Never mind… Forget it."

I placed my hand on his shoulder, having him look at me. I smiled at him kindly, "I already know that this is something that you don't want to tell me and I'm willing to wait to know. That reaction is something I'm almost sure I have felt before."

"How did you react afterwards?"

"I acted upon it. I don't remember when it occurred, but I know that I did act on it."

"Can I tell you something with you not telling anyone else?" He looked like he was going to cry again.

I gathered him in my arms, before sitting down with him, "You're the most important person to me. I may have gained another family, but I won't ever abandon you."

TK leaned into me, "Apparently, there's an alien race that are great warriors. Izzy will probably give you the load down of all that stuff later… Years ago, I had been given modern blood of this race that was diluted a bit so the mixing of it with my own had started while you were gone… because of this mixing, I have the urge to fight anything that slightly gets me ticked off. I think it's partly the reason I was so angry at the others, since I wanted to fight them, but knowing that I couldn't, I continued to stay mad at them… Then, the Clone Digimon of me injected me with something that brings out the worst in me…" He curled up a bit, "I need to be injected with an antidote for me to be normal… I don't need it to be constant, but I'm also able to bring out abilities that I normally can't, I think… And I need to train to keep the blood in control, but fighting too much can bring out the other side as well…"

I rested my head on his, "I won't stop you from fighting. I know that fighting is important, and I'll keep you safe."

TK cried on my shoulder, "Don't tell anyone. I don't want everyone to be watching me."

I patted his head as I nodded, "And I'll let Ken have the antidote. Where did he go, anyway?" I could tell that Ken was willing to take on this for TK. I also know that Ken would probably be the only one around TK enough and can read him just as well as I can to be able to do this.

"He's going to see what he needs to do so he can handle me… I can rip him limb to limb with just my strength alone…" _I guess that's why the pole was a big deal._

"Well, you saved us enough times, so now we'll have a chance to save you. That's what we do because we love you so much." I kissed his forehead, "We'll protect you, okay? I promise, we will."

TK nodded, "I think of Ken as a brother too. I'm glad I have two brothers that I can rely on."

I nodded, though, knowing somewhere in my heart that there was another one out there. I wondered why that was. He started to fall asleep on me, though I decided to stay like this until someone else came.

Ken

I got to his house without any trouble, since TK said I could use his car. I looked up at this house, knowing how familiar it was to me. I knew how to get here, because of the times we were near it. I just realized that this would be the first time that I would step foot inside. Knowing all that TK knows, what would I do once inside? "Are we just going to wait?" Wormmon asked.

I got out of the car and made my way to his door. I had an urge to just open the door, somehow knowing that it would be open. Without realizing it, I just turned the knob as soon as I touched it, pushing it to open. I let go as it swung open, making me wonder why I knew this would happen. I took a step inside, feeling something as I came in, but I wasn't sure what it was.

"Ken?" I looked into the house, seeing that Date-san was looking at me.

"… I came here to see how I should train to handle TK. If.."

"Come on in." He smiled at me, "and tell me what you think you need done."

I closed the door and took off my shoes. I took the step to be officially inside his house, "First off, why is Izzy testing me?"

"He thinks that being a human will hinder your abilities. I guess now knowing what he is and what everyone else is, is making him think differently. I did tell him that he needs to realize that humans can rise to the challenge."

"So you think I can protect TK?"

He nodded, "Because I understand the emotions between you two. It doesn't matter what your blood says you are, all that matter is your hearts."

I just remember what Kenmon said to me. He said that I was equal to TK in this other dimension of theirs. "But, I am weaker than TK. I think if he ever got serious, I wouldn't stand a chance."

"Just because someone is a Saiyan doesn't make them automatically strong." He smiled, "I'm sure they have to train to get that strong as well. Sure, the other side of TK is stronger since he seems to be able to tap into the abilities that are there, but that doesn't mean that Matt would be a better choice. He might actually be weaker than TK, for all you know."

I nodded, getting what he was saying. "I still need to train. I saw how powerful TK can be, and I want to be able to protect him."

"Follow me." He walked over to a door, which by description, I would guess it would be the dojo. I walked over to it, remembering that TK said it had some gravity machine within it. I noticed, when I looked inside, that Date-san was over by the control panel, "I'm going to raise this to a level that TK was at when he was here. I'm going to increase it slowly, okay?"

I nodded before looking around. Was TK also feeling a sense of familiar with this room? He did say that it was a lot like Matt's, since it had hidden slots with weapons within them. I started to feel the weight increasing slowly. I looked at Date-san, wondering where this technology came from.

"This is the level that TK was at." He said in an hour. I walked over to him, wondering what level I was at. I was shocked at the number, since it was so high. "And he hasn't risen above this yet."

"So I should get better than this, huh?" I wondered if this is how I become equal to him in the future, "What should I learn to do?"

"Whatever you want, since you learn how to fight to protect someone."

"But should you be the one to train me? After all, you still have your leg to worry about."

"I'll be fine." He lowered his eyes, "I'm going to be taking care of demons, so I should train myself as it is… Would you also want to train with the other Ronins?" He looked at me.

"Would I need to?" I noticed right then that I didn't want to train with anyone else but Date-san.

"I thought it would be good for them to train since we are going to be fighting again, and I don't believe that they have gotten stronger for many years. I don't want to be the only one that can face them since I am the only strong one there. It'll also give you a chance to see different fighting styles and to prepare yourself from different styles of attack."

"And you want to be able to control the darkness that is there." I finished his thoughts. He nodded, "Alright, but can I see how I fair in a fight against you?"

He set his cane on the control panel. I got into a stance once Wormmon was over by the wall. I launched at Date-san, wondering why I was able to handle this much pressure. As soon as we made contact, I knew that I had to think of only this match, because he was that strong. Though, he was making sure that I was in both positions, but he wasn't allowing many openings for me to take advantage of. I wasn't either, since he also didn't strike all that often.

I felt my cell phone ringing in the middle of the fight. I jumped back a bit as I grabbed it from my pocket. I flipped it open as I continued to fight, making Date-san laugh, "Hello?"

"Neon is over now." TK said. "How's it going?"

"Good, actually. I'll come over in a bit."

"Okay, we'll decide what we'll do when you come over."

"Right, anything else?"

"I told him about it. He says that he'll leave the antidote to you."

_So Date-san isn't the only one that believes in me._ "Okay, good to know. How did he take it, though?"

"He took it well, since he said that he won't tell anyone about it and he also won't stop me from fighting. Are you going to be training with Date-san from now on?"

"Yeah, because I want to make sure I'm ready."

"Okay, I'll see you when you come over. Bye!" He sounded cheerful as he hung up. I froze when Date-san had his hand about to chop my neck. I looked at him, realizing that either one was showing signs of fatigue. I also knew that this would've been a killing move if he had a sword and maybe by his sheer power.

"You're good, but you still need improvement." He said as he walked over to the panel, "I decided not to attack all your openings and I also decided not to aim at vital spots." He took his cane and shut off the machine, since gravity was returning. He looked at me, "Demons might not be as kind, and I know that TK won't let those chances slide."

I nodded, now understanding that last move, "When should I come back?"

"I'm here during the evenings, so you can come around then. Once I'm sure you can protect yourself, I'll have them come over as well. I'll also let them know that they can't go easy on you."

I nodded, "Alright. Thank you." I bowed a bit.

"If you want to take a shower before you leave, you can." He walked over to the door.

"I shouldn't let TK wait." I said, looking at the time to see two more hours had passed since I started. I also wondered why these things didn't crush under the pressure. I'll ask that another time. "I'll come by tomorrow." I went over to the door, putting on my shoes.

"Drive safe." He said with a smile as I got up. I nodded and headed out.

"What's on your mind?" Wormmon asked as I got into the car by jumping in, since I had the urge to do so.

"I'm wondering about the machine itself." I turned on the car and pressed the hover button. "It wasn't crushing anything, but I could feel the difference. It did take effort to stand, and I'm sure that I wouldn't be able to move under such pressure, but nothing was being crushed."

"Maybe that's the advance technology of Saiyans." Wormmon said before giggling.

Neon

I was hanging out with TK since Matt and his band were getting the instruments tuned. He looked like he was here because he needed to be around Matt. I decided not to ask, since I figured it was something personal. Don was with my mom, taking care of our babies. Though, with TK, I was glad that I could see it, and that he wasn't afraid to show this side to me. I normally see him happy, so to see him kinda depressed was something I did worry about, but also knew that he trusted me enough to wait until he wanted to talk about it. As they were getting the rest of the equipment set up, I wondered if it was a good action to take with TK, since he did save us when we were in despair. I wondered why he didn't want us to save him. I wondered if we were the ones that could save him, to begin with.

They started to play some old songs, ones that they probably only use for a warm up. I could tell that Matt didn't forget any part of it, nor did his hands. I was amazed at the others as well, since it seemed like they had the energy when they were younger. "You guys sound good still." Ken said as he quietly came in when they finished.

"Nothing can bet the best." Rosho said.

"Bye everyone!" TK said with a happy smile on his face before they headed back upstairs.

"It's a good thing that Ken is back in the picture." Taijen said before doing a drum roll, "He looked like he was getting bored."

"You know Ken?" Matt looked at him, though there was also another question on his face. I couldn't read it too well, but I had a feeling it had to do with the fact that Taijen thought Ken was out of the picture before.

"Yeah, we know him. He used to hang out with TK all the time and they would both come over when we were practicing." Rejo said. They all slowly realized that they were talking about a time that seemed to be a taboo time to mention. Matt obviously noticed it, but was ignoring it for some reason.

"Do you want to show us what songs you want to do?" Matt looked at me.

I nodded, "Just listen to them for right now, since you guys can make a track later."

"Alright, go for it." Rejo said with a smile. I learned who they were now, since I thought it was odd that Rosho was comparing me to Matt and saying that he always does so. Apparently, he works for a big recording studio. They all work for big or famous places in music.

I stood up and walked over to the mic, seeing that Matt was seeing that I was challenging him to a singing contest. I wanted to show them very badly that I was better than Matt. I knew how amazing his was way back in his day, and when I learned who he was, I thought that I had won since he had stopped his career. I started singing the first song I wanted to start with when I go off on my own. It was one that I wrote to express how I felt, the passion I can feel, no matter how much pain and suffering I had gone through. It was the first thing I wrote when I wanted to be a singer, and I have constantly worked on it to make it to what it is now.

I kept on singing since I had picked out songs I wanted to sing while I was resting and kept a list in my head. I also picked songs that I wrote to test out my own creativity and my own skills. When I finished my stuff, I looked at everyone, being too focus on my own songs to care what their reactions were. Rejo hit a button, now realizing he was recording it. "That was awesome." Rosho said with a smile. "Are those going to be your songs?"

I nodded, "Yep."

"Hey, Matt," Taijen looked at him, "do you think you can help her vocalize?"

"And probably teach her to not sound so mechanical." Rosho said.

"I sounded mechanical?" I was surprised, since no one had ever said that about my voice.

"Not really mechanical.." Rejo said, thinking of the right words, "How about there wasn't enough love in that voice. Don't get us wrong, you were great. We all can tell how much talent you have as a singer, but that isn't the only thing you need when you're performing in front of people. We work for people that wouldn't hire you by what we just heard."

"So what am I missing?" I decided not to get angry at what they were saying, since I needed their professionalism to make me a better singer.

"Could you hear it, Matt?" Rosho looked at him.

"I heard it, and I will help her with it." He smiled at them, meaning that he would talk to me later about it and his band got that. "I know, we'll sing a song we should perform to give her an idea what we're talking about." He looked excited about it.

"Awesome idea." Rejo said, playing a wicked scale to get his finger hot.

Taijen twirled his sticks before striking a heart-pounding beat, "Which one should we do?"

"I'm fond of the song that we played before being attacked." Rosho said with a laugh, "I always get a kick listening to it." He strung a cord.

"Watch and listen carefully, Neon." Matt said, looking at me with a smile. He played a cord himself before going into the song. As I sat there, I could tell that they were a lot better than when they first started to play, including Matt. _Didn't he give this up?_ When he sung, I could hear the difference in our level. He was above me, more above me than I thought he was. This was a song I knew from them, and I don't remember hearing it like this before. There was so much energy into this song and I could tell that they had improved the instrument parts, though the words were still the same from back then. What, I wondered as I listened to them, was I missing? I was much more moved by this song than before, as well.

"That was sweet!" Rejo said, "I knew you still had it in you." He said to Matt with a huge smile. They all were smiling at him, as if there was a reason he might have lost it.

"Hey, do you still have our old sale book?" Rosho asked as he took off his guitar.

"Yeah, I do, why?"

"I thought I should have a look at that to get an idea on how to sale this one."

"I'll go get it, then." He took off his guitar before heading upstairs.

"Could you hear the difference?" Taijen asked as they were turning off the stuff.

"I could tell that you guys were a lot better than before. I thought that Matt gave this up, though."

"He did. He only jams with us on special occasions. We have done special performances, and that's how we know that he has gotten a lot better."

"Why don't you guys perform again? I'm sure it'll be a big thing now."

"There're too much complications if we do this again." Rejo said with a weird smile, "Though, I guess we were to ask for a space concert, we wouldn't mind, right?" He laughed along with the rest of them.

"Here you go." Matt said as he came down the stairs. It was a big binder, I noticed. "I hope it's useful."

"It will be. I was also asked to work as a producer as well as a talent agent, so I thought I should take some points on how we did things in the past." Rosho smiled.

"Awesome. Are you guys going to stay?"

"Nah, we'll let you talk to Neon for now. We'll come by tomorrow night."

"See you guys then." They all headed upstairs.

"Do they know something that I don't about you?" I looked at Matt when I heard they were upstairs.

He sighed, "There seems to be gaps in my memory." He looked at me, "And I'm only now noticing that they probably remember that past better than I do."

"Why not ask them, then?"

"It seems like they know they can't talk about it. I only noticed it when I showed them Kai. They looked afraid and worried when I mentioned that his mother was dead, thinking that it might've been someone I had loved. And when Rosho asked for the binder, he looked like he wanted to say something about it, but I couldn't tell what. I'm also sure that the only ones they know are Cody and TK, and that's it. They shouldn't know who Ken was."

"Is it right for you not to know?"

"I want to know.. Believe me, I want to know, but I can't bring myself to ask them. Oh, don't let Panther and Ceres know about this. They're interested in finding that past for me and TK and Ken. I don't want them to pester them about it. I trust them enough to know that if they're keeping this away from me, then it has to be for a good reason."

I nodded, "So, what am I missing?"

"Let's talk upstairs." He headed up and I followed. Gladiolusmon came out of my hair as I took a seat at the table. "Being known as a fighter has made you distant from people in general, right?"

I blinked, "Why are you bringing that up?"

"Yes or no?"

I looked at the table, "Because they were all afraid and they all don't care to know what's really going on… Don, I think, has been hurting the most, since I was the only one that cared enough to get close to him when he was younger… The norm is just too cold-hearted to care about us."

"Unfortunately," I looked at him, seeing that he understand what I was talking about, "it's the norm that will be rating your songs, buying your CDs, and coming to your concerts. How can you expect them to care about you if you don't care about them?"

"I do care for my fans. I do have some right now." I pointed out, though I was surprised at how well I was taking this criticism.

"There are people who can read through the fake smiles and the empty expressions." He pointed out, "When you were singing to us, we all knew how talented you were and could tell that you would be great. But, what moved us the most was when you were singing to your kids. You were showing us with your voice the love that you can give. If you can't love your fans, why should they love you back?"

"You're repeating yourself." I pointed out, since I wasn't getting what he was saying.

"Okay," he leaned back, trying to think about another way to say the same thing. I do care about my fans, I do love them. What does the norm have to do with anything? They wouldn't be the norm. "As you kept on singing, you distance yourself from us." He looked at me, "You weren't reaching out for us. The farthest we could touch you was surface. It was like you locked yourself up as you kept on singing, afraid to let us get too close to you. We had heard your heart and soul once, and since they heard it as well, they wouldn't want anything but that."

"Was that what you were doing? Giving your heart and soul while you were singing?"

He nodded, "You noticed how different it was from way back. We did give a lot back then too, but we didn't know what it really meant. Now, we all get it and because of that, we all give more and more of ourselves when we perform. I know that our popularity has grown, even though we don't perform all that often. What we need you to do is sing as if you're singing to your kids and Don. When you can sing like that all the time, you'll always be amazing because you're not only putting your soul out for everyone to see, but you're also touching the norm, touching them as individuals and speaking to them as if they were the only ones there that mattered."

"I'm sure not all artists are like that."

"But the ones that are like that are all hired by either Rosho or Rejo. Our old producer knows he's just a stepping stone, because that's what he was for them. He got them into good businesses after they graduated from high school. I'm sure that you impressed him enough to think that you could hire by one of them. They are the best at what they do, because they put their heart and souls into it. They nurture the talent they see; the ones that they can see have the potential."

I nodded, "I'll think upon it from now on. That's all I can say for now."

He nodded before smiling, "We'll get you where you need to be before the concert. And, don't let it pressure you all that much. You can also ask around, since you have other people that know you better. Maybe they can give you a better idea on how to improve."

I nodded, before getting up, "I'll see you tomorrow morning."

He smiled, "See you tomorrow."

I walked outside, "What did you think?" I looked at Gladiolusmon.

"I thought you were great. I didn't hear anything wrong."

"I thought so too… But, the fact remains that I'm not as good as Matt, so I need to do something to get there before the concert. I can't have them upstage me."

"You're going to fight them?"

"A little competition never hurts." I smiled.

Heka

Arsmon had came by a long time ago, though didn't say anything to us. I wondered how long it would take as we saw it was getting late. I didn't want to arrive back too late, since I wanted to know what was happening to the others. "Got it done." Telarmamon said as she came out from her cave with Arsmon.

We all got up, "What can I expect from it?" Killer asked as he was handed two new guns that looked impressive.

"Don't get her started." Arsmon said before being hit with her hammer. I thought it was comical, since he didn't even bother to block it.

"I knew of better designs for a gun, so I happened to make two kinds and they both have different uses. So, this one," she pointed to the one in his left hand, "is made of Orichalcum and Moonoid alloy, with bits of titanium steel to hold a bit of its structure. ChromeDigizoid was, of course, mixed into it as well."

"I thought you said that Steel and ChromeDigizoid were the only ones that worked best with Moonoid." Ilpalo stated.

"That's why they're both in the main body of this gun. Orichalcum was used as the shield part to the gun, which is the wing design," it was at the hole part of the gun, and the wing was spread out, "Also, Orichalcum is lining the inside of the gun since it shoots out the energy that the Moonoid collects. I don't really care what that is, but I did design it that way. Arsmon thinks that he has an idea on what that is, so ask him later."

"Why a bird design?" Killer asked, since the handle was design like a tail of a bird and the trigger into the talons of a bird. The only thing it missed was a head.

"Because I wanted to call it the Silvery Dove."

"What's Orichalcum?"

"An ancient metal that was highly mined during the Atlantis years." I said with no emotion, "I didn't know that it could be found here too."

"It's well known here. It's something that is native to the Digital World. Anyway, the second gun has Titanium Grade 38 and 6, Amazonium, Atmospherium, Electrum, and Gundamium Alloy. It's called Mala Prayer." It had beads that come from the front. Otherwise, it was a long pistol with a vent near the handle and probably two other vents. One was located in between the beads since they formed a loop north and south of the gun and from the first section and the second section. There was a third section, which was where the last vent was. There was some kind of design on the second section, but I couldn't tell what it was. The beads were a deep blue and metal that made the design, as well as random line patterns, on the gun was red. The color of the main metal was black.

"It also comes with special bullets that are designed to not destroy itself upon impact, so you can recall them after firing. There are only 27 bullets, since I'm expecting you to use this one for the big threats. The Silvery Dove has to be used first, since it can help you gage if you need to use Mala Prayer."

"Do I get a guide book or something?" Killer asked.

"Yes, once I come up what should go into each bullet. I know how that world does it, but since I have Arsmon, I'm thinking about doing something different, but he just has to talk to his Boss first."

"So just hope that no big threat comes while you're making it, okay, sounds like fun."

"What's going to be put into it?" Ilpalo asked.

"Souls, what else. They're originally supposed to have spells within them, but I think that's too boring since I have Arsmon, who can hold souls within him."

"You do know that we're spirits as well."

"I know, but I know a way around that. Don't worry about it. Well, we better get going to the Real World so we can talk to your girlfriends."

"And we should head back ourselves." I said, "Until we meet again." I bowed and we started to head back.

"Did you guys get lost coming here?" Arsmon asked. I admitted defeat, since it took us a few days to get here. He sighed, "I'll take you back." He said something to Telarmamon before coming over to us, leading us all the way back within a few hours.

"Thanks," I said once we got back.

"See ya." He walked away and we headed inside.

I noticed that something was off by the way that the beach near our chairs had been disturbed. "Where have you been?" Persephone looked pissed off for some reason.

"I've been taking care of business, did something happen here?"

"No, of course not." She looked a bit nervous. "There others are in a meeting right now."

I sighed, "Let's get going, Killer."

"Is Lord Hades there?" Ilpalo asked.

"Yes, he is." She looked ticked off for some reason. We headed up without much thought about her actions. Ilpalo went over to Hades as soon as we hit the room and I went to serving the others. I noticed that they were just talking about something not really all that important, but I could only assume that it was important at the beginning since Astraea was here as well.

"So, what's up?" I asked her as they were leaving. "Why were you at this meeting?"

She looked so sad and defeated that I had to guess it was Matt related, "I had to report that I had allowed Matt some freedom since he has a concert coming up. I was invited, but I feel so horrible for lying to him."

"You could always tell him the truth." I wondered how he would've reacted if he was there when I was found out. "He seems like a very understanding guy. And, of course, you didn't hurt someone close to him or attack him."

"I would call sending him and the crew to the Digital World an attempt on doing so."

"But he didn't go because he was able to prevent it." I smiled to her. "Is that it?"

"I have to keep an eye on the demons that have now appeared on Earth, thanks to the foolishness of those other Digimon." She sighed, "I never would've thought that idiots would release such powerful creatures on Earth."

"You know of their existence?" I knew that I didn't.

"We knew that there was a place where more powerful demons lie. All the cultures have known that, but we just been able to keep them contained by placing barriers or knowing that there were already natural barriers up to contain them."

"What are we going to do with that information?"

"We're going to defend Earth, what else can we do? It's the place we want to rule over, so what's the point of letting it get destroyed? It's going to be a pain, though. I need to come up with a reason to switch operations on my company. I'm not really sure on how to sell it to them and make it believable."

"Why not depend on the Digidestined to take care of the demons?" I was wondering if this was an option.

She shook her head, "The world doesn't work like that." She patted my head, "I know that you want to believe in them, but we're the only ones that are strong enough to beat such beings. We always have been and that's never going to change."

She walked away and I finished cleaning up the place. "What the hell was that about? We're the only ones that can beat those kinds of beings my ass." Killer said as he leaned on the table. "I know they can beat them. It's not like they're going to be the only ones that are fighting them. I'm sure that Sage will as well."

"That's their mind set." I said, "I've come to realize that we need to focus on our Digital selves before we can do anything else. We can't keep living in the past since we're so much different from then."

"I guess you feel you don't have enough power to change their views."

"Of course not." I smiled as I finished up. "But, I do have the wisdom to know that I'll be the one that will lead us to becoming real Digimon and not forgotten Deities with data."

"Why only you?" He smiled at me, probably because of how I said that I would be the only one that can lead this group.

"I mean the Greeks. I'm not sure how the others are viewing themselves, but I'm sure that it's about the same."

"Do you want to become a Digimon?" He got up since I was walking over to him.

"It's what I am now. I can no longer change that fact. It's like if I suddenly killed a person. It's something that I can't take back. I only have two options afterwards, move on or dwell on my actions. Everyone is dwelling on the act of becoming a Digimon. I'm the only one that has decided to move on."

He nodded, "I see. I guess I can understand that."

"I thought so." We headed down back to Hades' lair. Ilpalo was looking at the orb, somehow in deep thought. "What's up?"

"Persephone was being very pushy about knowing what happened at today's meeting." He looked at me, "I have a feeling that she did something while we were away."

I sat down on my chair, looking at the throne room. "What are they doing?"

"Sleeping." He smiled. I looked at the orb and rewound it back to when we left. I went into Matt's house since I figured that it would have something to do with either Ceres or Panther, since they are the two with the most power right now. I fast forward through the first two days, but when we saw that Panther and Lily Dawn were cornered by a gang, I slowed down the images, but fast enough to see everything.

"Carnage?" Killer said once we saw the person that had actually killed those guys.

I stopped it, "Who's that?" I looked at him.

"That's my brother… and the leader of the gang."

I looked back at the image, seeing that Panther was surprised to see him standing there, and that he looked a bit pleased with something, "What's with the smile?"

"I'm not really sure, but go back to when Panther step in front of Lily Dawn." I did so, seeing the wild and evil look in her eyes. "That's why she's called Panther. She had developed those eyes from the very beginning. Somehow, she's always a lot sharper while having that look in her eyes."

"I have a feeling that this look is a lot scarier than before." Ilpalo said, "I can tell that she's determined not because she wants to kill, but because she's protecting Lily Dawn."

I went through the sequences, seeing how fast she was able to move. It was inhuman speed, since she was able to get to them in less than a second. But, Killer's brother was faster, since those bullets were fired the moment that Panther launched. "Who's faster, Panther or your brother?"

"I can't say. They never fought each other. The only time you challenge the leader was when you wanted that position."

"Was he your reason for going into the gang?" Ilpalo asked.

"Yeah. He tried to keep me out of it, but obviously it didn't work. Though, I was never allowed to call him brother when I decided to follow him. Our parents didn't know what we were doing, so they thought I was always a disrespectful child." He said with a small laugh.

"You could've called him sama." I said with a laugh.

"And give him a big head? No way." He laughed. He looked at image, "Let's keep going."

I nodded, seeing that he loved his brother, no matter what he had to do to be the leader of such a gang. I wondered if we would learn more about their history through this. They didn't stay for long and Panther tried to act normal around Matt, but he could tell that something was bothering her. "Is it because of the blood?" Ilpalo asked as I paused at Matt hugging her.

"It's probably that and whatever else has gone on." Killer sighed, "We are skipping over dialogue."

I kept going, seeing her going up and the other two coming down. They looked at the door before Panther came back down. Matt opened it to reveal that some tough looking guys were there at their door. "Who are they?" I asked, pausing again.

"Japanese mafia, basically, though I don't know why they're there. Are they there for Ceres?" He looked at Ilpalo.

"She never had contact with them after my death. That's all I can say for sure."

I played forward, seeing that Panther looked upset the most once Matt got them to leave. "You didn't know that Panther knew them?"

"No… We normally don't deal with those kinds of people because that's the kind we wanted to become."

We kept watching, seeing how horrible of a day she had after that, with reporters showing up and being questioned at school. She didn't show any signs that she was going to leave that night, going back to her gang after stopping by someone's house to leave a note.

She was put through some course, killing people that were coming after her. "What's that?" Ilpalo asked.

"That's our training room. That's how we hone our skills and how we become famous. You'll see why once Panther is done." Killer didn't look happy about her being there.

Once she was done, she looked up at the ceiling with a sincere wish to leave this place and a deep desire to never do this again. It was one that I knew would move any being to act on her behalf. She wanted to be saved, "I wonder if they should give her something." I said, "She no longer wishes to kill."

"She'll take it if it means to protect someone." Killer said, aching himself to see his girl like this, "That much, I'm sure of."

She picked up a body and headed out to go somewhere. Killer's brother was following her, though she soon disappeared on him. She used some way to turn herself into a shadow as she threw the body down to the group before leaving. She was starting to glow, negating it by releasing it. As she was taking a shower, she started to cry.

"Hey, do the dead always feel this helpless?" Killer asked.

"Yeah, we do." Ilpalo said, being more experience at being dead and watching over your love one.

Afterwards, she went into a room and found a picture of her and Killer. They actually looked like a normal couple, despite their clothes. To me, it was refreshing to see it, since I knew that they really loved each other one. Her growing smile was also proof of her continual love for him. "Lucky guy, don't you think, Ilpalo?"

"Yeah, considering the fool gave her up. I'm surprised that she still loves him."

"That just goes to show you that this guy is the best." Killer said with self beaming. Then someone came in, though I didn't know who it was. "This is something."

"Why?" I looked at him.

"He's part of the Elite group that's always been after her."

I nodded and we moved fast through her nap. She went into the kitchen to talk to her leader about something as she was making tea. After their talk, she followed some group into the Digital World. "How can that be?" Ilpalo asked.

"I'm not sure myself.." I said, letting it go through their trip, "We would have to ask Arsmon."

"I don't like it, though." Killer said, "That means that they have always known about the Digital World, probably way before anyone else. All that they have been doing had been planned before Panther got into the gang."

We then saw them coming towards our section, coming into our Underworld, meeting Persephone. I had allowed it to play normally after this. We learned that they were considering her their Goddess and that she was the one that gave them their powers. I knew that this wasn't good, since we should no longer have that power. I also didn't like the fact that they were on Lithe, the river of forgetfulness. As the events unfolded, we learned about her plan. She wanted Panther to make her the most powerful being back on Earth. Matt and Ceres came over as soon as Panther got away. They turned around quickly, probably because they wanted to catch Panther more than fight Persephone. I fast forward through what happened afterwards, since Panther went back to her gang and talked to the Elite. What she said about protecting them and such reminded me of what Nereida told me that the Neo group was going to do. I smiled, seeing that it was becoming their core belief. As soon as Panther left that area, I stopped watching.

"Did she always have that strong belief in your brother?" Ilpalo asked.

"Yeah, he told me that he was considering her to be his bodyguard. There weren't a lot of people he could trust, but he could trust her since he knew how much we loved each other… What should we do about her?"

"We have to act like we don't know anything." I said, "I don't know what will happen now, since she had tainted this area. Though, you two are now safe, since you're now bodyguards."

"Are you calling yourself important?" Killer asked with a laugh.

"If you go missing, it would be a problem. It's probably why she's looking and being so jumpy, since she doesn't want to be found out."

"So wait for them to make a move… I guess that's all we can do right now." Ilpalo said with a sigh, "I hate being dead."

Don

We were given a ride to school since there was a mob waiting around the school. I was wondering why no one wanted to come over Matt's house. "Why aren't they coming over here?" I looked at Panther and Ceres, knowing that they would have the answer.

"I put up a reporter repellent." Ceres said with a smile.

"That would be?" Neon looked at her.

"It's a trade secret."

"So why not around the school as well?" Tim asked, since he was the one that was taking us over.

"It is connected to Ele." Fiterimon said.

"It doesn't matter." Panther said as Ceres was having a glaring contest with her partner, "I can take whatever they dish out."

"Why didn't they pressure you last time?" Neon asked.

"I think I was in a trance..." She smiled a bit, "I woke up from it when TK came to get me those two times."

"Isn't that kind of dangerous?" Tim asked, "To be in a trance for that long of a time."

"Maybe, but it wasn't one that I noticed right a way. My powers have grown, and I don't know what these 'improvements' are."

"Maybe you should ask Mackenzie-sensei about it." Neon offered, "You know that she's very knowledgeable about that kind of stuff."

"We'll see." We got to the school to see that they were all rushing over to the car. Neon froze time before they got to us and we all darted inside before she turned it off.

"Are you guys okay?" Lily Dawn asked when we got into the classroom.

"I froze so we're good." Neon smiled.

"I doubt they would leave." Ryan said.

"What do they have on me?" Panther asked, making sure not to show a superior look on her face for our classmates since we all knew that her gang leader would make sure there was nothing on her. "I'm not too worried. Oh, I need to ask Mackenzie-sensei about something, so I'll be coming late."

"I'll go let Matt know, but you better tell us what you learn when you get back." Ceres said while looking stern.

"Okay, I will." She smiled.

"Is everything okay?" Mackenzie-sensei asked as we walked in.

"She's back." I said with a smile. I noticed that she looked a bit tired, and relieved. "Is everything okay?"

She smiled kindly, "My sister came home really late.. I'm okay, though."

I nodded, "Panther needs to talk to you, about her gifts."

She nodded, "I'll be here."

I went to my seat and class started. She was still sharp, even if she was tired. I wondered what she had to go through since I knew that her family wasn't normal.

Neon

I asked my music teacher if I could talk to her after lunch, since I didn't want to hold them up. I know that she was a good teacher, as well as my voice teacher, but I figured that I should ask the one that hears me performs rather than teaching me technique.

"What did you want to talk about?" She seemed really excited about this talk, for some reason.

"I was wondering if you could hear a difference when I sing." I sat down in the other seat, being very comfortable here, "I was told by Matt and his band that I don't put a lot of soul into my singing."

"I think you do."

"I thought so as well, but he doesn't seem so. They felt like I had distance myself from them the longer I sang."

She thought about it for a moment, "I have always promoted your voice more than the others since I knew that you had a lot more talent than them at this point. Could be that since you're with professionals, that solo position isn't needed or expected?" She offered.

"I'm not going to lower my voice for everyone."

"Maybe you do. Maybe that's what they want."

"I don't think so… I demonstrated my voice for them once, but I was singing Matt's kid to sleep as well as keeping mine asleep. They thought I had a soul reaching thing when I did that. I was showing my skill that time."

"Let us talk to Matt tomorrow. Is he going to be home?"

"I can let him know to be home. That's the best I can give you."

"Fair enough. I'll be there tomorrow when school begins."

"Okay, thanks. I want to be good enough for them."

"I understand." She smiled and we went back out to the class.

Panther

"Is everything okay?" I asked as I entered her room. Don had told us that Mina came home late and that Mackenzie-sensei was probably worried since she did.

"Yes, she and Lita are fine." She smiled.

"Lita too?" Rootmon asked.

"They're part of a group that protects the earth from their own group of evils. I know that Sage and I would've gone with them, but they said that since it's their thing that they didn't need us there. They didn't come back until late seven this morning… Mina had to leave as soon as she came in, since they can't miss work…" She sighed.

I smiled, being already sitting by this point, "I'm sorry I didn't contact you. I did tell Don, since he promised to have my back."

"Where did you go?"

"Back to my gang… I was seeing stuff, not only with my powers, that I had to go back.. My gang leader didn't officially say that I was able to leave, and the only reason he thought I wanted to come back was because I was protecting Lily Dawn from people that were after me."

"So everything is okay?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I don't have to go back and I don't have to worry about the Elite coming after me. The leader is much stronger than them, and he's Killer's older brother."

She nodded, "I'm glad. Ryo is working on the media, so they should lessen over the days."

"Thanks."

"So, what about your powers are you worried about?"

"They're getting stronger. I went to a place where psychics go and it has a guardian there. Her helper brought me to a place that would increase my powers by accident. I had to go through it since I couldn't leave, and now my powers don't hit me, but seem like a memory. I'm pulled into more trances than before, and I see more random images."

"What was this guardian's name?"

"Lady Pluto."

She nodded, "I think that's someone that Lita and Mina know… How did you handle your powers before?"

"I didn't until I met Matt. I tried, every once in a while, to stop what I saw, but it didn't help, so I don't always."

"What kind of trances do you get pulled into?"

"Animals pull me in. They show me images of the future and they seem to be connected to us and to some kids. I don't know what that means, though."

"What are the animals?"

"Tiger, turtle, dragoon and phoenix. I'm connected to the phoenix, Ceres is connected to the tiger and a guy from another world named Edward Elric is connected to the turtle."

"Has Ceres told you want she learned? About your souls."

"Yeah, that we're new souls and that we can have any destinies we wanted and any that needed to be passed down. But this has nothing to do with that. My powers have grown."

"What do you want with it?"

I looked outside, "I don't think I want it to go away…" I looked at her, "I want to be able to clearly see."

She seemed surprised, as well as Rootmon, "I thought you were going to say that you wanted to control it." Rootmon said, "That had always seemed to be your goal."

"I think it's important that I have this power… I feel that this is a different level of my powers. I want to be able to get a firm grip on this. I don't want to believe in something that isn't true. I don't want me to be fooled by something stronger than me. These animals are stronger than me, so obviously there are things out there that are."

"I say," Mackenzie-sensei smiled, "that you should go back to Pluto. I don't know what kind of person she is, but I know that she was one of the people that Mina and Lita have always been close to, so I know she's a good person."

"She doesn't always stay at that place." I pointed out.

"I'll see if they can get her to come see you. Maybe you can find out more about your powers."

I nodded, "Thanks, I'll wait for the word then."

She smiled, "I'll give it to you as soon as I can. Oh, Matt should let Kai get a check up before something happens."

"He hasn't?" I was getting up to go home.

"Rowen was preparing for it, figuring that he would only do so for an emergency, but should he really take a chance like that?"

"I'll suggest it." I walked out, wondering if Neon goes see him regularly. I waited for the others to get done and walked with them home.

Kari

"Neon, do you make visits to Rowen?" Panther asked as we were getting closer to Matt's house.

"He makes them to me. It's really like a traveling doctor." She smiled.

"Does he go to Matt's house?" Nereida asked.

"He hasn't told me so."

"How was talking to Mackenzie-sensei?" Damon asked.

"I'll give that later, since they would want to hear it too." Panther smiled. I noticed something out of the corner of my eye, and I wondered if it was Shadowmon or something else. He left without knowing where he was going, and it didn't seem like he knew where he was, really. I did make sure that he knew this area at least, so he can always come back to it. My house and Matt's house were the ones that I wrote down for him. I hoped he didn't lose it.

"Homework first." Tim said before we got a word in, snacks on the table and Ceres looking bored. "Neon has work to get into, Panther has things to tell us, and we still have to train."

"I already finished mine." Ceres explained her boredom.

"Let's get to work, then." Panther said with a smile as we all headed over. We all got the work done first, since we wanted to hear what she had to say. I wanted to hear what she had to say.

"Okay, I haven't learned anything yet, but I will soon. Mackenzie-sensei referred me to someone that I should talk to, which I will." Panther said the moment we were all done.

"Why did she refer you?" I asked.

"It's the person that I met when I went into that trance and when I got my powers increased. Apparently, she exists in real time, so Mackenzie-sensei is going to see if Mina can get me to see her in real time."

"I'm sure Matt and Stan would appreciate that route." Damon said with a laugh, since we all knew what she did to be there without the help of the shaman.

"Stan wouldn't approve of the purifying method." I corrected, knowing why he was laughing.

"When do you think you'll know?" Matt asked.

"I don't know. I'm sure in the near future."

"Helpful." Ceres said, "How much time before the band comes?" She looked at Matt.

He looked at the time, "Any minute." He looked back at us, "They know about Digimon, so I could explain the situation."

"Probably a smart idea." Ken said, "Never know what can happen, especially since we have to worry about demons as well."

I looked at Panther, seeing that there was a fan's glint in her eyes. I forgot that she was a huge fan of Matt, and thus a fan of his band. "Did you not see them yesterday?" I asked her.

"Nope." She smiled

"Should I get you something for them to sign?" Matt asked with a laugh.

"I'm going to see them a lot more, right? I can wait."

"You're really excited about this, huh?" Ceres asked, being amused, it seemed.

"Of course. Any fan would be."

"You mean any serious fan." TK said, "I, on the other hand, have lived with this noise all my life and have free access to touch him that I don't have to be all crazy." He did a weird hand movement at the end.

Matt hit his head, "You better be a serious fan, even with all the free access."

"Do I have to?" TK seemed not to want to be, which was funny since this was Matt we were talking about.

There was a knock at the door and Matt went over to it. "Welcome, guys. Be careful, there are some crazy fans here."

"He lies!" TK yelled to them, though there was a smile on his face.

"What's with this big group?" Rejo asked.

"We're a study group. We study the cosmic energies of a rock."

"Oh, so this is your fan base." Rosho laughed, "I'm glad I'm in charge of bringing in the crowd."

"This is the new line of defense when dealing against Digimon." Matt said, "Meet the Neo Digidestined."

"You trying to get a new band started?" Taijen looked at Matt.

"We are the new Digidestined." Don said, "We figured we should let you know since Neon and Matt are going to be affected by unknown attacks."

"I thought everything was taken care of." Rejo looked at Matt.

"Surprise!" Ceres and TK and Shadowmon, being behind TK, said all together and jumped out of their seats. I was surprised that no one noticed that he was here. I figured that I shouldn't mention it.

"Neon, stay up here for a moment." Rosho said before bringing Matt over to the stairs to the basement.

"I say," Tim looked at everyone, "that we go in to train and let Matt take care of his band."

"Why are you taking charge?" Damon asked.

"To bring order. How are the Digimon feeling?"

"Some are still feeling weak." Huskimon said, probably being one of them. Gatomon was feeling okay, at least, though I was surprised that Patamon, Wormmon and Gabumon were able to evolve.

"Should we look into that?" Lily Dawn offered.

"No dissecting." IceThormon said, looking at Ceres as she huffs and puts her knife away.

"How so?" Larkspurmon asked.

"We could try out various things." Nereida said.

"You do need us." Lightningmon said, "And if it's taking us this long to get over the power surge, we need to do something to heal up the process."

"How about we fight our Digimon?" Panther offered, "We have to get ready for attacks ourselves, and it'll give you a chance to evolve."

"Alright, let's do that then." Ken said and we all headed over there. Gladiolusmon came with us, since she needed it as well. The babies were left with Neon.

Me

So, I explained the situation with my friends as quickly, but not leaving out important details, like we're also fighting against demons and about my troubles, since they will affect the group, I'm guessing.

"Wow." Rejo said, "That's a lot of stuff."

"You were in space for most of the knowledge, right?" Rosho asked.

"Yeah, but I'm learning about it bit by bit. So, I'm the leader of this group and we're still finding what we need to do."

"Good luck and I hope nothing goes wrong with the concert." Taijen said.

"We'll try. I'll introduced you to the two girls I've adopted when we're done, but I'll get Neon now." I headed upstairs as Gabumon was helping them set up. She was taking care of the babies. "We're done."

"They're making sure that Digimon are okay." She said as she gathered hers in her arms. I picked up mine, seeing him happy.

"Okay, I'll get that load down later." We headed down the stairs, with only Kai noticing something different. He didn't seem to like it all that much, but I was hoping that Gabumon would be able to keep him entertained.

Gabumon took the kids once we were there, "Did you understand what Matt told you?" Rosho asked.

"Not really, but my music teacher will come by tomorrow morning to talk to you." She looked at me. "I figure since she knows me the best that she can explain it for me and both her and my voice teacher can teach me while I'm at school."

"Always working hard, I see." He smiled. "Alright, we'll be here tomorrow morning as well."

"What time?" I asked.

"Around the time that school starts. She comes in tomorrow, but she doesn't have any classes. I'm not sure about my voice teacher."

"Well," Rejo played something soft, "since we have the kids here, try singing them to sleep with a song of yours."

She nodded, took a breath before singing something very soothingly. We had our instruments in our hands, so we started to help her along, already having a feel for what the tempo should be when she first sang for us. Hers were knocked out quickly, but Kai seemed to be holding strong. He fell asleep when she first sang and does so when I sang, but something seemed to get his attention more and it wasn't Gabumon.

"Is something the matter with Kai?" Neon asked after two songs. I walked over to him after placing down my guitar.

"He's looking at the ceiling." Gabumon said, looking up once realizing it. I looked up as well, not seeing anything. I mean, it was well lit here, so there wasn't really a place for something to hide. I stood up on something nearby, feeling the area that he was looking at. I wasn't feeling anything. "His eyes are moving."

I looked down to see that he was moving and trying to look at the door. I wondered what he was seeing that we couldn't. I got down and headed upstairs, not liking this at all. I quietly looked around, not wanting to use my powers to see if I could see with that. I went over to the others, seeing that they appeared to be okay. "Is everything okay in here?"

"Yeah, why?" Panther asked as everyone stopped.

"Kai was seeing something that was making him nervous and it came up here, I think."

"We haven't seen anything." Ceres said, coming over to me, "Need me to do something to see."

"Where was he looking?" Kari asked.

"At the ceiling."

"How lit is it?"

"Very lit." Panther nodded to agree with me.

Her eyes widened, kinda surprised for some reason, "It's harmless, I'm sure. Shadowmon was here earlier."

"Why didn't he show himself then?" TK asked, seemingly in a relax state.

"I haven't asked him yet. I'm surprised no one else noticed him. He was obvious enough to see him."

I sighed, "Well, if it's him, then that's fine. Thanks." I went back down, seeing that everyone was waiting for me. "It's Shadowmon. A Digimon we had met before and can appear as a shadow."

"Why is he here?" Neon asked.

"Kari was the only one that noticed him, and she hasn't asked."

"Okay." She looked at Kai and started to sing something quietly to him, getting him to fall asleep like the other two.

"Can you take them upstairs so they won't be bothered?" I looked at Gabumon. He gathered them all in his arms and headed up with them. We then got into a serious session, getting a better idea on how to work with Neon's awesome voice and talent.

Kari

I decided that I would walk home alone. I saw that Shadowmon was around, though still not showing himself. He was following me while I was walking home. I went in an area that wasn't well lit, somehow thinking that this was funny. "Shadowmon, did you want to talk to me?" I asked, leaning against a light pole and being surrounded, otherwise, by darkness.

"Yes, I do." He sounded mysterious.

"What is it?" He sounded like he was behind, but Gatomon couldn't spot him.

"I had so much fun recently!" He suddenly appeared in front of me. He was in my shadow.

"Where did you go?"

He shrugged, "But it was awesome."

"What was awesome?" Gatomon asked.

"I met this guy who said he was a superhero."

"A superhero?" I asked, not really sure what that was.

"That's what he said he was. I figure its guys in costumes saving people. But, this guy was a lot of fun. He could swing," he stuck out his arm and starting to swing back and forth, "and he could climb," he started to climb what would either be a wall or a ladder, it seemed, "and he can fight against villains!" He was punching the air.

"Interesting guy. What was his name?"

"Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man but my friends call me Spidey."

I blinked for a moment, wondering why he was calling himself this superhero. "Did you help him out?" I decided not to question it.

"Help him out?" Shadowmon looked confused.

"You know, like help him fight this villains or something." I punched the air a bit, to mimic what he did earlier.

"Nope, he was taking pictures of himself," Shadowmon acted like he was holding a camera while taking pictures of Gatomon.

"Why was he doing that?" I really wondered where he went, since villains would seem to be the thing that a crime fighter would be more focused on. At least, I thought it would be.

"To get something called money," Shadowmon rubbed his thumb and index finger together.

I laughed a bit, recognizing that as an American sign that had caught on everywhere, "That sounds like not a good hero to me."

"Really," Shadowmon started to look disappointed, "He looked heroic while posing."

I don't know why, but I felt bad about saying that now. "Is he your friend?" I wondered why Shadowmon is the only one that can bring this side out of me. His manner is a bit similar to TK's, but TK doesn't normally bring out my motherly side too offer, which is probably a good thing.

"My Friend?"

"Yeah, someone that you can talk to... I can always talk to Gatomon about anything that's on my mind." Gatomon nodded in agreement.

"That's what a friend is," He looked at both me and Gatomon.

"A friend is also someone you want to spend time with and have fun with when you're around each other." Gatomon said.

Shadowmon thought about it for a moment, "Sounds like Spider-man is my friend then."

"Can you trust him?" I asked, "Trust is very important, as well as loyalty."

"Trust him with what?"

I thought about it for a moment, not knowing what kind of trust would be needed. With myself, the trust seemed to be granted to those that have helped me, like the Neo Digidestined, Panther or Yolie. "With your heart." Gatomon said, "You have to trust him not to harm you emotionally, since those are the hardest things to get over."

"What do you mean get over?"

"To move on from." Gatomon thought about it some more, "You keep thinking about it and because you keep thinking about it, it affects how you interact with others."

"Did you get over it?" Shadowmon asked, staring intently at Gatomon.

"I found Kari." I smiled, very happy to hear that. I figured that she was talking about her lost with Wizardmon. It was the pain of not finding me and Wizardmon's friendship that filled that void until she did.

"So, to get over it you have to find someone else."

"The other person needs to help you heal. It can't be just anyone."

"Why not?"

"It won't make the pain go away."

"Why?"

"If it's just anyone person, they would remind you of the pain. If it's someone special, not only will they help you heal, but also give you a piece of yourself that you didn't have before."

"Like a gift."

"That's right." I said. "Your friends are your treasured gifts, and what they help you with are also gifts that should be treasured."

"Wait, wait, wait," Shadowmon looked sad, "you mean no presents."

"... What do you mean by presents?" I wanted to make sure I understood him right.

"You said that they give you a piece of yourself that you didn't have before, and I know a present is something that you didn't have before."

"Presents and gifts are the same thing." Gatomon said.

"I know that they are the same thing," Shadowmon looked angrily at Gatomon.

"Then why ask?"

"You said that a friend gives you a present but they don't physically give you one."

"Right."

"How does that work?"

"It's a spoken present or an emotional present. You feel the present."

"So you don't spend any money at all," doing the gesture for money again.

"Nope."

"Then I don't need this," Shadowmon then hands me a plushy.

I looked at it, seeing that it's a human in a costume that was red and blue with a spider on the guy's chest and bug like eyes for where his eyes were supposed to be. There was a web design on the red. "So this is Spider-man... Were you going to give this to him?" I looked at Shadowmon

"No he gave it to me to remember him by but from what you told me, I don't need it so you can have it," Shadowmon stated, "I definitely feel some kind of bond with him and I think I will stay with him for a while."

I nodded, "Alright. I'll keep this for you, incase you do need it someday." I smiled, "We're your friends too, by the way."

"Really?"

"Yep." Gatomon also nodded.

"So I got three friends in the real world," Shadowmon looked up, "That's way more than the Digital World."

"How many did you have in the Digital World?" I was curious, since I knew that he had spent a lot of time in the real world.

"One, don't know where my friend is or if I could call that Digimon friend."

"Why's that? What was his name?"

"Don't worry, he's not bad." Shadowmon looked around, "Got to go, the light is coming." Shadowmon disappeared into my shadow.

I looked at my shadow, "Shadowmon?" I wondered if he had already left and wondered what he was talking about. It wasn't even near midnight, let alone morning. I didn't hear anything from him.

"Guess he left." Gatomon commented.

"I wondered what he meant… About his Digimon friend." I looked at her as I walked away.

"Who knows."

Ken

I left TK with Matt so I could train with Date-san. I was fighting against him more fiercely since he was striking at my openings this time. We had a time limit this time, since I still had school and I did train earlier with Wormmon. As soon as the timer went off, I was in a position that had me cornered if I wasn't going to block it. I was breathing heavily, since we had the gravity on.

Date-san stepped back and extended his hand, since I was on the ground, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I said as Wormmon got the machine turned off. My breathing was going back to normal. "Is this normal?" I looked at him.

"I'm the one mainly using it, so I don't know. It is high gravity, so I can only assume that you would be affected differently." There was a look in his eyes that told me that he knew what was happening.

"How was this built anyway? It's obvious that it can crush things, but it doesn't make the whole room collapse."

"I wasn't the one that made it and I never bothered myself to learn the secrets." He smiled, ending my investigation with truth. I headed out, getting a cooler temperature hitting my forehead. Lita handed me a drink.

"Get some rest."

I nodded, knowing that Date-san had the food water. "Thanks." I headed out, wondering when I would be able to compete with Date-san. I called TK, wondering if he wanted to come over to my house or stay at his. I don't know why I thought that he would, since he could just as easily stay with Matt.

TK

"This is Panther and Ceres." Matt introduced them to the band members. I was holding onto Kai, since I wanted to hold him for a bit. "Panther is a fan of ours, and has followed my career around."

There was a look in everyone's eyes that we all caught. They seemed to wonder about something as they looked at them. "Awesome," Rosho said, "I hope this guy didn't crush your dreams." He said with a laugh.

"Nope, he hasn't." Panther smiled.

"And you, Ceres?" Rejo looked at her, "Are you a fan as well?"

"Put on a good performance and I might be."

"We'll see you guys later." Taijen waved and they all headed out. A thought came to me that they might remember.

"Do they remember?" I looked at Matt.

"I think they do." Matt sighed, "But, don't worry about it since they seem to know not to talk about it." He looked at Panther and Ceres.

"But they could help you." Ceres pointed out.

"I'll find out later what I don't know. I'm trying not to make things more complicated than they already are."

"Fine then." Panther headed towards the stairs, "Night."

"Can we ask them then? If it isn't complicated, then we'll tell you." Ceres offered.

"You guys will know if I learn anything new, okay? Don't worry about it." He smiled.

"Please?"

He sighed, his sign for surrender, "Fine, but if they don't want to talk about it, then don't push it."

"Thanks!" She hugged him before heading up, probably to tell Panther of the news.

"Softie." I said, looking at Kai, "Isn't your daddy a softie?" Kai giggled. "Why don't you want to find out?" I looked at Matt.

He shrugged, "Probably because they had kept this for so long from me that I don't want it to ruin my trust… I don't know. I just don't feel like asking, that's all."

"I guess… But you'll have to know one day."

"And then maybe I'll understand their actions. But, right now I don't so I don't want to complicate matters more."

I nodded, "Okay." I handed back over Kai to him, "I'll be heading off. See ya tomorrow."

"Are you going home or going over to Ken's?"

I shrugged, "I could also go over to Kari's house."

"Good night, then." He smiled, though I knew that he was worried about me.

I smiled back, "I'll call when I know where I'm going, okay?"

He nodded and I headed out. I wasn't feeling like going straight back to my house, but I also didn't know where I wanted to go. "Where are we going?" Patamon asked as I was hanging out on a roof.

"Don't know…" I looked out, feeling really bored and restless at the same time. "I'm really bored, but I can't sit still."

"You could always train." Patamon offered.

"Nah… Doesn't sound exciting enough." I don't know why Davis came into my mind. My phone ranged so I picked it up without looking, "Hello?"

"Yoh, where are you heading?" Ken asked.

"No where, really." I lay down, "How was your extra training?"

"It was good. I'm not sure of my endurance level in the gravity machine, but otherwise no problems. Where are you right now?"

"Up." I smiled, looking up at the sky, "I'm on some building roof. For some reason, I was thinking of visiting Davis."

"Really? Why?"

"I think we should ask his sister about their blood."

"What if they don't know?"

"We could tell if they're lying, so that's not a problem. If they don't know, we can say it was a joke. I'm really bored."

"Well, what else would take that boredom away? I don't want to go over there and push them into revealing something."

"It's going to have to come out sooner or later."

"We'll try that another night. I don't think Davis is living with his sister, since she moved out."

"Really… Then how did Izzy get her blood?"

"Don't really know. That's why I figure we shouldn't worry about it. He probably already has a plan to get that information."

I sighed, "I can't think of anything else."

"Let's play something then. I don't really want to go home either."

"Why?" I knew there wasn't anything wrong at his home.

"Just don't feel like it."

"Basketball then!" I said, getting up. The air was cold, but that was okay. "I'll get a ball and meet you at our favorite court."

"Meet you there." We hung up and I headed over, glad to have something to do.

Panther

"Oh, Mackenzie-sensei thought it would be best if you brought Kai in for a check up." I said as we were having breakfast. "Rowen has things a bit prepared."

"Why does she think that?" Matt didn't seem too mad about it.

"He may seem healthy, but do you really want to chance it?"

He sighed, "I'll go later.. I'll make appointment this weekend."

"Okay." I looked at Ceres, who was playing with Kai. I wondered what I'll know once I have the ability to see clearly.

We all walked over when Neon came to drop off her kids. The reporters weren't there anymore, probably thanks to Ryo. I wondered what he did that got them to go away.

Me

I had Gabumon bring the kids in the play room so I could talk to Neon's teachers without her freaking out. I didn't know when she would come over, but I figured that I should make sure way before they come. There was a knock, but it ended up being my friends. "You're on time." I said as I let them in.

"Are they here?" Taijen asked.

"No, which is why you're on time." I smiled.

"Where are the babies and Gabumon?" Rejo asked.

"They're in the baby room. I didn't want to do a mad rush for whenever they do come."

"Make sense. Is it hard on you, being a parent and all?"

"Not really. It probably helps that I have other people to help me as well, so I'm not alone in looking after and taking care of him."

"That's good." There was another knock. This time, it was them.

"Welcome." I smiled, "You must be Neon's teachers."

"Yes, we are. May we come in?" Her voice teacher said (I know them since I can see them…).

"Sure, my other members heard about this meeting." I informed them as I let them inside.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Rosho." He said as they were standing around the table since that's where the food and cups were.

"My name is Rejo."

"And I'm Taijen."

They bowed to my friends, "I'm Neon's music teacher, Ujikawa Mitako." (Meaning we'll call her Mitako, since that's her first name)

"I'm her voice instructor, Asya Sokolov." (Meaning we'll call her Asya since that was her first name)

"You're from Russia?" I asked, because of her name, but she doesn't look it.

"Yes, but I went into a Japanese school."

"Awesome. Would you like anything to drink?"

"Soda, please." Asya said as they made their way to the table.

"Oolong tea, please." Mitako said.

I went into the kitchen, seeing that I did have some soda. "Is Cola okay?"

"That's fine." Asya said. I grabbed that and started to make the tea really fast. I brought it out, getting another pot for us since they liked flavored tea. I poured it out for everyone before I sat down.

"Neon told me that there was something that she needed to improve." Mitako asked. "That she doesn't put enough soul into her voice."

"Don't get us wrong," Rosho said, "She's talented, much more than I have seen when they first start out."

"So what's the problem?" Asya asked, "If she has talent…"

"She does have talent and skill, but you can program a computer for the same thing. Now, I don't push everyone I hire, but the ones I see and hear that can reach that, I do push. She doesn't have to sound mechanical."

"She doesn't sound mechanical."

"Maybe we're still not using the right words." Rejo offered.

"What would you like us to do with her education?" Mitako asked.

"Do the people in her class dislike her?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Do they dislike her? I would figure that they would be too scared to do something to her, but that doesn't mean that they don't like her."

She sighed, "Some do think that I favor her more than most. I just know that she's talented and that she's a good person."

"Is there something about her reputation we should know about?" Taijen looked at me.

"She and her husband are known fighters." I said.

"Any problems in school?"

"They never fought in school." Mitako said, "But they fought after. They were good students, and never allowed themselves to get into a spot that banned them from school."

"Though," I got us back on track, "I think we need her to do something about that. I mean, do they dislike her because of her popularity or her personality?"

"I'm not sure."

"Could we find out?" Rejo asked.

"They might not be truthful." Taijen said.

"I'm sure someone can get our polls for us." Rosho looked at me.

"What?" I could see a plan in his eyes.

"How about your brother?"

"I have heard that most will talk to him." Mitako added.

"I'll ask him. But, what I'm mainly getting at is that she needs to learn to reach those people and have them respect her. She even has to reach those that hate her and get them to buy her music."

"Is that even possible?" Asya asked.

"It is." Rosho said, "We're old, but we're still good and getting more fans since we learned to reach people. The people I push are awesome."

"How do you listen for something like that?"

"You don't. You feel it. You close your eyes and feel what the performer is giving you. They need to speak from their hearts."

"Okay, I'll watch to see if she does reach her classmates' hearts." Mitako said.

"And I'll get her to realize this fact. Thank you very much." Asya bowed.

"Thank you." He smiled and they headed out. "They must really like her." He looked at me.

"They do. She does respect them." I got up and got the cups into the kitchen, "Oh, my girls are going to be questioning you guys."

"Your girls?" Rejo asked as they brought in theirs.

I blinked before realizing that I didn't say to them that I had adopted Panther and Ceres. I guess I thought it would be obvious. "Panther and Ceres. I had adopted them. Don't you guys watch the news?" I took theirs.

"Nope." Taijen said, "Is there something special about them?"

"Panther was just recently in the news, actually. She used to be in a local gang."

"You know some interesting people. What about Ceres?" Rejo asked.

"She's interesting on her own, but she won't be on the news. They're sharp, so you know." I noticed that they got what I was saying. "You can question them back, if you want."

"Okay, that sounds interesting. Not tonight, though."

"I'm not arranging it." I put up my hands.

"Okay, we'll see you later today." Rosho said and they all headed out. I went into the baby room and helped Gabumon get the babies out. As soon as I did, the phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked, holding Jade in my arms.

"Hey, Izzy and I want to come over right now." Mimi said.

"Help me watch the babies, and you can."

"That's fine. We'll be over there in a few then. Bye!" She hung up. I wondered why, but I didn't mind since I wanted to hang out with her anyway.

Half an hour later, they came by. "How are they?" Mimi asked as they came over to the couch.

"They're doing fine." I smiled, "They're playing right now. Was there something you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I wanted to announce my newest blood reports." Izzy said as Mimi was holding Jade.

"What's that? I do have an idea on what it is, since TK gave me a hint of it earlier."

"Well, there's an alien race called Saiyan. Apparently, we're a powerful, fighting race. There are three time periods in their history that they recognize, and they call the period generation. In the First generation, the blood of the race was able to distinguish from royalty, soldiers, and peasants. The Second generation had distinctions with royal and everyone else. The Third generation lost all distinction. We're of that race, but only of the First and Second generations."

"Who's we?" Mimi asked.

"Everyone in our group, including Cody. Matt, TK, me, Kari, Tai and Cody are all in the First generation and you, Sora and Joe are in the Second generation. Matt, TK, me, Kari and Tai are all royalty. Cody is a peasant. You, Sora and Joe aren't royalty. Also, Tai is very interesting since he only has one percentage of his blood Saiyan and the rest of it is human. Kari is a full Saiyan."

"So what about Davis, Yolie and Ken?"

"Yolie and Ken are human and Davis is a bat."

"A bat?" I asked.

"Yeah, I know it's weird, but it's true. Jun is as well. Do you know where she is? I called their parents, but they said that she moved out."

"I didn't keep in touch with her. Why do you want to talk to her?"

"I want to know about this bat blood. Their parents didn't seem to know."

"Are you sure they were telling you the truth?"

"I was asking in a way that told me with their body language. I wish I could get their blood, though."

"What makes you think that Jun would know if their parents don't?" Mimi asked.

"I have to try. What if they never knew, but she noticed something so she looked? That's what I need to know."

"Makes sense." I said. "I can try to find her for you, since I don't have all that much to do."

"Let me get back to you on that, since I shouldn't take your attention away for too long."

I thought that was odd, "Okay. Though, how did you find all of this out? I mean, I'm sure it wasn't easy."

"Rowen is helping me out, and Date-san's sister and wife know a lot about the race." He decided not to hide it from me, I noticed.

"Why is Rowen helping you?" I was curious.

"He was the first one to look into it and Date-san seems to trust him. What did TK tell you?" He was keeping it from Mimi. I wondered if I should as well.

"Do you care?" I looked at her, since I didn't want to say it in front of her. I didn't believe she would hinder TK's wish, though I'm not sure about keeping it a secret.

"I can leave if you want." She offered.

"It is pretty big, but I'm not sure about that feminine mouth of yours."

She narrowed her eyes, "So you want me to keep something from Joe."

"And Sora and Tai and Yolie." I pointed out.

"I don't think it's a good idea." Izzy said. "TK was real nervous about telling you about this. I'm sure he wouldn't want someone he didn't tell himself to know."

"Hold on." I went to get my cell phone, texting TK about this (they were at lunch, so he was glad that it didn't go off during her class). "You can know if you promise to not tell anyone about it." I said as I let him know of the task that my friends wanted him to do.

"Okay, so let me explain what happened." Izzy said and began to tell us a tale.

Ceres

"She's able to meet you today." Mackenzie-sensei said as they came in her classroom. She handed Ceres a piece of paper as she headed to her seat. Ceres smiled, thinking that this is funny since it was being done secretly. When class was in session, Ceres looked at the note. It had an address and a time. She wondered where this was, since she didn't know, and how to get there without Matt freaking out. She looked over at Panther, wondering if she could help with a cover up.

Me (I figured since you were there to read it that you shouldn't hear it again)

"So since Rowen helped TK out like that, I figured that it was okay to trust him with all this information, and Date-san as well." Izzy pitched to me.

"Okay, that works for me." I said, glad that someone is finally being honest. It was definitely relieving, and explained why TK was nervous around them, since Izzy explained their behavior. Mimi remembered that as well, but was shocked to learn that TK had the power to free them and that she was still under the spell.

"Can you really trust us?" Mimi asked.

"I think the only ones I need to worry about are Sora and Yolie. But, that's for another day. I noticed that I haven't been hanging out with you a lot since I've gained Panther."

"Which is why I came over. So, why are Tentomon and Gabumon here?"

"I needed to get somewhere." Izzy said.

"And Panther went into the Digital World so we went after her and had to fight some Digimon that were distracting us."

"I can't access my powers." Tanemon said.

"The Neo group did notice that too and are working on it." Gabumon said.

"How so?" Izzy asked.

"More like are going to work on it."

"Maybe we can help." Izzy offered, being very excited.

"Aren't you taking on too many projects?" Mimi asked, "You already have school."

"That's just for fun." Izzy dismissed it, "My main focus has always been Digimon and the Digital World. I just need college to insure my position in any company I choose."

I laughed before Krypton started to cry. I noticed that he had gone so I started to change him. "You can stay and help out. I'm busy with my band practice, so if any help would be great."

"Is this going to be only a Neo benefiting thing?" Tentomon asked.

"When we got the Jewels, we gave it to everyone." Gabumon pointed out.

"Just needed to ask."

"I'll go gather my equipment and bring it over. I'll be coming and going for a while, so you know." He got up and they headed out.

I chuckled, "It's encouraging to see him so excited."

"At least he keeps it in check." Mimi smiled, "So, let's get caught up, and don't leave anything out."

I smiled, glad to know that she was back to normal. Before I started, Jade started to cry and we went right to take care of her.

TK

Mimi was still here and Izzy was setting up something in the room. I went into the kitchen to pounce on my prey. "Brother!" I jumped on his back, with him having a pot of boiling water.

Matt tried to make sure that none splashed on him. "Yes?" He looked at me, placing the pot down.

"Do you want to know why I allow Mimi to know?" I tilt my head with a smile.

"Sure." Matt started to get things ready for whatever he was doing.

"Because you trusted her and talked to her the most after Izzy and me." I nodded afterwards.

Matt smiled, "If you really didn't want me to, you could've said so."

"You don't want things to be complicated." I said in a pouting voice.

"If I can help it, I'll try not to, but that doesn't mean that things can't be."

"OKAY!" I hugged Matt before getting off and going back to my work.

Neon

"What did they say?" I asked as we gathered in the basement.

"They have an idea on what they need to do. TK is going to be questioning your classmates on certain things as well." Rosho said.

"Why TK?"

"Thought he could do it. Do you prefer someone else?"

"I just think that if you're trying to get to the truth that TK wouldn't be a good choice since people know that he's my friend."

"I'm sure he can get it done." Matt said, "So don't worry about it." He smiled.

I nodded and picked up my mic.

"Matt." Ceres voice was heard from the top as she came down, "I'm heading out for a bit."

"Alright, be careful."

"Will do." She headed back up and we got back to work.

Ceres

They got to the address that was mentioned in the note to find that it was a café. Ceres wondered if she was in the right place. She looked at the address one more time before heading inside. She looked around, seeing that it wasn't all that busy and Mina wasn't here yet. Ceres had skipped training for this. She looked at the clock inside to see that she was on time. Ceres went over to a table, "Do you want something from here?" Ceres brought along Ele and IceThormon.

"Water." IceThormon said, "We both want some."

"Okay." Ceres placed something on a table that would allow her to claim it later before going in line. She got a snack and coffee for herself. She looked around as she enjoys her snack, wondering when Mina was going to get here.

Fifteen minutes later, Mina appeared. "Sorry I'm late." She said as she came over, "I was getting over from eating dinner."

"That's okay." Ceres smiled. "Do you need anything to drink?"

Mina sat down, "I'm okay. How are you doing?"

"I'm good." She smiled, "Why did you choose this place?"

"This is my mom's favorite place. So, what is it that you want to talk about?"

"Is it safe to talk here?" Ceres didn't want anything to happen. She never really like open places all that much as is.

"Yeah, I checked around before I came in." She smiled.

"Anything you want to say."

"That can still be a lot. Oh, though do keep in mind what I'm going to tell you since the other groups are mainly Saiyans and it's better to keep knowledge like this where it counts."

"Really? How do you know this?"

"Izzy is looking into it. You still have to tell me what you wanted to know."

Ceres could tell that Mina was probably used to someone that could get off topic easily, or she was like that herself. "What do you know of the history?"

"I can tell you quite a bit, but at the same time, I can't give you a whole lot."

"Why?"

"I only know of what I was told and what I've been through, nothing else." Ceres nodded, wanting to hear it from someone who's been there. It wasn't like she disbelieved Meriv, but there could be something that he wasn't telling her. "So basically, Saiyans are a fighting race. We're also a monkey race. Normal Saiyans, mainly the ones that aren't born on Earth or have a permit residence here, all have monkey like tails. If we permanently lose our tail, we lose our ability to transform into a huge monkey under the full moon.

"The history of our race began on the planet Vegeta. There was another race on that planet that was more advance than ours. We lived on the wastelands and they lived in city like places. We had waged war against this race, winning and taking control of the planet. The entire planet was inhabited by the time I got there, so I would think that it was a massive takeover. Once we won this war, we get into the First Generation.

"The first king of this Generation was known as Vegeta, which is why the planet is named that. He had allowed another race to give us technology that would allow us to travel all over the place. Some of our race went out to help this race by killing off the life forms on other planets. Others, obviously, use the technology to travel all over the universe.

"As the ones that helped the other race grew in fame, another alien race took notice of us. This race was called Jurai and they were a growing empire. The race that we were helping sold our planet off to the Jurains and so begins the Second Generation. The reason we couldn't fight back was because a metal had been found that could weaken a Saiyan. They probably made sure that they could still work, but kept their power low enough to not be a threat to them.

"A King Pin of planet selling had helped us escape their rule and basically put us back into servitude. This is known as the Third Generation, and the one that most people know. Now, since the first king was named Vegeta, rulers from this generation are named Vegeta. This is also the period that we came into. There was also another person from Earth that somehow came to Vegeta. She was the right hand man of the last King and the one that convinced him to let us stay there and train. The doctors there were very good and very knowledgeable about their people. They gave the others the blood of the Third Generation and they were the ones that gave me the history. We were trained by people that trained the royal guard, and that's what we became. Lita built the armors that my brother and his friends have and another friend made machines that exist in another realm now.

"When the King wanted his freedom from the King Pin, he had sent us against him to see how strong he was. When we did this, we had our powers locked up in amulets we were carrying at that time and thrown back to Earth. What I learned from that time was locked up, so that's why I was also affected as well. We had managed to gain back our powers some years ago, but we learned that the planet was blown up and only a few Saiyans were alive."

"I've been told that the people that enslaved us are working together with the organization that has been after us."

"That's true, because they would still like to own us and work us."

"But enslaving us? That doesn't make sense. It's not like anyone would willing work for them."

"I doubt they would place us in anything important, but Saiyans can be like anyone else. They can be beaten into submission, especially if they never know of how strong and how powerful they can be."

"How many Saiyans do you think are living on Earth?"

"I'm not sure, since we don't know how many people traveled here. I would say once someone knows the full history of the other groups that we would know how long Saiyans have been on Earth, since there are a few First Generations on the team."

"What are you?" This got Ceres curious, wondering what she was as well.

"My family is a Royal Guard of the First Generation."

"How do you know you're a Royal Guard?"

"It's in the blood. The First Generation has distinctions between royalty, royal guard, and peasants. The peasants all have distinction between what they did as well, but that wasn't all well known by the Third, so I can't tell the specific job they did."

"I guess you wouldn't know if they were able to switch from rank or if they were even aware of such things in their blood."

"I'm going to say that they couldn't switch and they probably did know. I mean, I've been told that in the Second Generation that they could still tell royal from others, and they knew that there were no longer any signs in the blood by the Third. I'm sure they knew of these things in their blood, and I'm sure they used it to make sure that the line was pure and the same."

"That's amazing. How could the blood last so long on Earth?"

"It doesn't dilute all that much. It's still clearly seen in the blood. The only dilution becomes more evident in the Third Generation, since some Saiyans that are also Earthlings are a bit weaker than most. But still, it's still crystal clear."

"Do you think the older groups that came here came as a colony?"

"They could've been, but they could've also come here for other reasons and just could never leave Earth. It's hard to say why this occurred since they didn't pass that down or wrote it down."

"It sounds like they wouldn't write things down."

"They do pass things down by voice, but the scientist did write things down."

Ceres nodded her head, "What was this other person name? Was she powerful?"

"She was powerful and her name was Venus. She was amazing. She had a special gift that was within her family that she gave away to my best friend, Artemis." Ceres noticed a look of remembering events in her eyes. This was a clue, Ceres felt, to probably knowing things about Diana since she knew of the virtues great to samurais and Sage's armor is a samurai armor. Could this Artemis be the missing link between Diana and her light and dark powers?

"Do you know about this gift?" Ceres boldly asked.

"Not too much," Ceres wished she knew how to tell when someone was lying like Matt and her uncles, "but I know that Artemis greatly respected her and was deeply honored to receive it."

Ceres decided that was enough. She was hiding something, but Ceres couldn't see what. She wished she had Ryan here now, to get the truth out better. "Thanks. I better get home soon."

She nodded, "Before you go, when did they start to chase you?"

"Ever since I went to America when I was five. I've been told that we have something that lets others know that we're Saiyans."

"Really?" She never heard that before.

Ceres nodded as she grabbed her bag, "It's something on the face, but I'm not sure what it is. They've been taunting me all my life."

"Why haven't they caught you and how did they approach you?" Mina got up as well, following her outside.

"I can normally out fox them or just plain run from them. I let myself hide enough so they lose my trail. That's why I've traveled so much, because I was running from them."

"I doubt you would let yourselves be that open. Do you know how they find you?"

"They have spies all over the place. They know what I look like, but I sometimes can't tell who they really are. I didn't get a good feeling from them when I saw them, so I never let them get close to me. I've had different agents try to capture me through out my life, and I learned about the agents through their spies and my own searching."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that alone."

Ceres shrugged, "It wasn't all bad so it's okay."

"Maybe I should look to see what they're doing with Saiyans they do find. I mean, I know what they're supposed to do, but I don't know if they had ever done it before. They are relatively new to the scene so they couldn't be all that good at tracking them down."

"That's probably the best thing to look into since it seems pretty obvious to other aliens as to what we are."

"You've met other aliens?" She looked surprised.

"Yep, though only one that I could really count on. It was when we were all separated. My group was working for him to get one of the big shots in that organization that was letting another alien race have humans for its meals. I don't know if my friend was a victim of such… or if her timing with some other race was just off, but it was because of her that I was able to track him down."

"You have a strong heart." Ceres looked at her, wondering why she was saying such things. She smiled, seeing that Ceres was confused, "I can tell that you didn't kill him. Even knowing that he was part of the organization that was out to hunt you down and probably did horrible things to those closest to you."

"It was easy, since I had my friends with me." Ceres smiled as she closed her eyes, "The moment I was overpowered by him, they came rushing in and stopped him." Ceres looked up, "And, I was praying for strength from one of the Goddesses of Mesopotamia." Ceres didn't want to reveal her mother, Diana, since she didn't want some stranger to know about her, in case she was wrong about the armor hunch. "I have killed before, and I also didn't want my friends to know what I was really able to do."

"And that is true courage." Ceres looked at her, "I've been trained as a warrior since I was born, because my family was a samurai family. My siblings are the same way as well, so I know that none of us would probably give a second thought about killing someone in the heat of battle. I'm not saying that we won't reflect upon it afterwards…"

"It's not like he knew who I really was. I kept that part a secret since I didn't want to be known to have come back to a place where they could reach me. I figured that I'm the safest here since I have Matt and a friend of his protecting me. They're well known to make them weary."

"I see." She looked ahead, "I wonder if that's all it takes."

"Why ask?" Ceres was worried that her theory was only her dream.

"I want to be famous one day, as well." She smiled, "That's all. Oh, do you happen to know if Kari is living with her parents or her brother? TK told us about their past adventures."

"She lives with her parents, why?"

"Tell Izzy that we'll give him more information after training. See ya." She then took off somewhere. Ceres wondered what that was about, but decided not to follow. After all, she had to be back before her father and sister worried about her.

When she got to the house, Ken was heading out, but without TK, "Is something going on between you two?" Ceres asked, knowing that TK was probably still inside.

"TK left with Kari." Ken pointed out.

"But something is going on, right?"

Ken smiled, "If I could tell you, I would." He walked passed Ceres, "For now, just trust us that we're doing the right thing."

"I do have something to point out." Ceres turned to face Ken, "I don't know what's going on with TK, and I do feel like you have a hand in keeping it all under control, but something is seriously off about TK."

"How so?" Ken didn't look at her for some reason, but he did stop.

"When he went to go see Matt when we got back from school. I hear TK jumping on Matt, and when Matt was holding something. I didn't know what it was until we had soup for dinner."

"We had other things as well." Meaning that Ken wanted more than that to explain what Ceres was pointing out.

"If TK did jump on Matt's back while he was moving the pot of hot water, that's something to take consider over."

He looked at her, "You jump on people all the time."

"I would never do it while they were holding something that could cause harm. It's like saying that I want them to get hurt."

Ken looked at the ground before looking at her, "TK is changing." He looked up, "I can't tell you much, but if you or Panther notice something like that, let me know."

"Why wouldn't you or Matt notice?"

"We have more reason to dismiss something like that than you two." He smiled, "See ya." He walked away. Ceres wondered what he meant by that, but walked inside and let Ele and IceThormon out.

"Welcome back." Panther said with a smile. "Neon and they are still here."

Ceres sat down with the babies looking all happy. "Have you noticed how much TK has changed?"

"Of course." Panther said while looking at Jade, playing with her, "I'm not that slow. I could also tell that it's connected to what Ken wouldn't talk about, so that probably means that whatever happened to him happened to him while we weren't here and he doesn't want us to watch him, but needs someone to watch him because he can't control himself."

Ceres laughed, "Same here, though Ken would like us to point out if he does something too dangerous."

"Like what kind of danger?" Panther looked at her.

"I'm not really sure, since he didn't mention what kind. He said that he and Matt might not catch all of them since they have more reason to dismiss it."

"What did he do that you noticed?"

"I think he jumped on Matt while he was carrying boiling water."

"You jump on people."

Ceres narrowed her eyes, "I have more sense to not jump while they're carrying something that could hurt them."

"So I guess something that you wouldn't do because you have more sense." Panther went back to Jade, "So, basically, Ken was saying that we need to see if TK does something that would be you in a reckless state."

Ceres narrowed her eyes again, "How would you know my group member like that?"

"I've been around him longer than you." Panther smiled, "And before I decided to be a nice girl, I was watching them. TK can act like you, but not all the time. What I've seen of TK recently, he's being you more often than not."

Ceres sighed, and leaned back, "Fine… I did find some interesting information from Mina." Ceres only told Panther where she was going.

"Tell it to your group first." Panther smiled, "After all, they were there when you learned the truth, they should be the first people you tell that kind of information."

"Are you not interested?"

"I am, but I can live a few more days for it."

Ceres got up and went over to the phone, calling Tim first. "Hey!" Nereida answered.

"Yoh, I need to talk to Tim for a moment."

"K, hold on." She went off somewhere. "Hello?" Tim asked.

"I found something interesting about my past. I thought I should let you guys know about it."

"Okay, when?"

"How about tomorrow? I'm not really sure when, though."

"How about during your lunch?"

"That's fine. Where are we going to meet you?"

"Outside. Let them know tomorrow."

"Alright, see you tomorrow then."

"Bye." He hung up and so did Ceres.

"I'll keep the others from knowing." Panther said.

" Thanks, sister. " Ceres said in English with a smile.

Me

There was a knock at the door around 10 AM. I looked at Gabumon, seeing him changing the babies as I was making them food. "Ele?" I called for her, since Ceres still leaves her here. She came over, "Can you make sure this doesn't over flow?" She jumped on the counter and lay down. I walked over to the door, wondering who it was. I looked first, seeing Seto and Maximilian, if I remembered correctly. I opened to door, "Yoh." I smiled.

"You must Matt Ishida." Maximilian said, moving Seto out of the way, "My name is…"

"Maximilian Pegasus." I finished his introduction, "I don't need to know why Seto is here, but I would like to know why you are." I didn't like the fact that Gabumon would have to hide.

"I wanted to see how I fair against you in a Duel. Ceres and Kaiba boy had filled in me on what's going on."

I looked at Seto and he nodded, meaning that he knew about Gabumon. "I don't have cards of my own. I borrowed Seto's last time."

"I have some that you can use."

"Come on it. I'm cooking right now, so I need to take care of that first." I turned around, wondering why I was being challenged. I thought I only had to play that game once. I finished up their food before heading over to the living room. Maximilian was waiting for me as Gabumon was taking care of the kids. Ele normally doesn't, though I never bother to ask if she wanted to. "Would you like something to drink or eat?"

"I'm fine, thank you." He smiled. He opened up a briefcase, showing me a lot of cards. I sat down and started to pick things that looked good. I didn't want to question my knowledge, since I knew it connected to my past. I closed it once I had my cards. "Excellent." He put the case down and our game begun.

During it, Kai started to cry so I brought him over to me since he wasn't hungry or anything. Once he was with me, he seemed a bit happier, and so I started to let him pick my cards. It was really cute, since I could read what his gestures mean. It was also showing me that he was definitely not a normal baby. It became a really close game, though at the end I won.

"Yay, Kai, we did it." I said with a smile and he was moving happily as well.

"You really are something, Ishida." Maximilian said as he gathered his cards.

"Is there anything else to your trip, or was this it?" I looked at Seto.

"That was it." He smiled, seeing how I was ignoring Maximilian. "He wouldn't stop bugging me about it. Though, how is everything?"

"Good." I smiled, "Oh, Izzy is learning a lot about what's in our blood. Apparently, most of people in the groups are an alien race."

"So you're now moving towards science fiction instead of fantasy? What happened with the change in mindset?"

I laughed, "We still have plenty of fantasy. Not only are we going to be dealing with Digimon, but demons as well."

"What kinds?"

"Ones that have never appeared on this Earth before. That's the best way to describe them, since I didn't see them for myself. So yeah, some of us are royalty of that race as well. It's all really interesting."

"I'll take your word on that. So, babysitting?"

"Only two." I held up Kai a bit, "This one is mine. He's name is Kai."

"Didn't tell me you had a wife."

"I don't. Ceres lived in a geisha house and the owner of the house knew the mother. I'm going to guess that the geisha worked for Ceres' mother. Anyway, she died while giving him birth so I volunteered to raise him. They came over because Ceres had told her mom about Panther's seeing the future power."

"How's your group?"

"I think since we're all back, things have been a lot calmer. Izzy and Cody are back to normal, thanks to TK." I decided not to tell Seto, since TK doesn't want a lot of people knowing.

"Does he know?"

"Yeah, but he knows that it was for the greater good. Plus, he worships you."

"I'm still working on making it perfect, but I was hoping that someone can go ask questions about the language whenever you go into the Digital World."

"They know someone like that?"

"Yeah, they do. TK went into the Digital World for some reason with Date-san and they inquired about the language. It was all very useful, but I think I'm going to need more."

"If you have a list made, I can make copies so everyone will have them. I don't know when we'll be going into the Digital World, or that part of it. Is there anyone else that we could ask?"

"I wouldn't know. That's something that you would have to ask them. Basically, the system that I have to work with is a sound translator. It not a dictionary where I can look up the word and find it's relative meaning."

"Do you want to contact Izzy? He might have a way that works with it better, since he didn't mention to me that he was having any problems with translating. He also has various things that read the modern language of the Digital World on his laptop that might be how he can easily translate them."

"He didn't get very far, from what I gathered from his things."

"Oh.. It wouldn't hurt, or do you want to do this all by yourself?"

"I'm going to try to do this all by myself. I haven't used any of his work, and I was able to give a better translation for one of the parts that you guys had heard before."

"Which is?"

"The part that deals with bats and such. The translation that I did had no reference to arrows and it also mentioned that you guys would have to use new kinds of weapons whenever it appeared to be occurring since it will always appear when you need higher stages."

_That would explain why TK wanted to go with laser guns._ "So far, we only needed it for them to go to their Mega and Super Level forms."

"That's what I have so far. The part that it came from was very different from all the other parts, so that's why I started from there first."

"What can you tell me about them so far?"

"The book that contained that story of gaining higher power is an epic poem. The other one is a prose of the history of the region and of the Neo Digimon and their respective crest. The history book is meant for reading and cold hard facts, while the other one is mainly style. For the History, when I first translated it, I couldn't detect any bias within it, so I'm going to guess that it's the true history as far as the author could see and know. The poetry one is a lot harder to read, since it seems like words flow into each other and the word order is non-existent. It's the poetry book that's making me wonder about my translating skills since I thought I had the pattern down for it."

"Well, I don't have work until sometime after my concert so you can bring your work over here. Tim comes over on Mondays, so I'm sure he would be very useful to have around. I could also have Izzy come over here so you can ask him about what he knows about the language today."

"That might be useful. I'll stop by later next week about it, since I have meetings coming up."

"That's fine. I'll let them both know about it, incase they can keep their schedules open."

"When do the others come in?"

"They come after school. That's when all the Neo people show up at my house. Did you want to talk to them as well?"

"Probably more Ceres than the others, but I wouldn't mind to hear theirs as well."

"Okay. Oh, and here's a new twist to the whole fantasy realm we have going here. Apparently, I'm hosting the God of Death that's part of the Universe hierarchy of deities that gave all the Deities that are also of Death and Darkness their powers. Lily Dawn is connected to this hierarchy in some way, and the same with Cody."

"Do you guys come up with this stuff from freaks, madmen, and completely stupid websites?"

"Chinese Deities told us this, so I don't think it's completely insane. Plus, the God of Death kinda helped released the demons we now have to worry about and was the King of the Undead in that prophecy."

"Seems like you have to start believing in it, Kaiba boy." Maximilian commented.

"Why aren't they Digimon as well?" Seto also ignored him.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Maybe they are known else where and are worshipped there? Or they don't run and hide when they're not believed in? I don't know if I could get an answer to that, since I don't know how to talk to him. I think he's supposed to be me, but also not be trapped within me."

Seto nodded, "I still have work to get back to, so we better get going."

"Alright, stop by any time. My door is normally open. Oh, would you like to come to the concert?"

"Tell me a time and date and I'll see."

I smiled, "Sure thing." They then got up and left.

"I guess we shouldn't tell Neon that Seto doesn't care about her kids." Gabumon asked as I got up from sitting.

"Yep."

Tim

I'm glad that it wasn't that hard to come into the school, though also worried about it as well. I mean, any person could come walking in here, as long as they know one person. I knew where their lunch area was and was glad to see that Ceres, Ken and Ryan were all waiting for me. As soon as I was near them, Ceres started to tell us everything she learned from Mina about the Saiyan's history. "She also knows that most of the older groups of Digital Protectors are Saiyans as well."

"She would be right on that." Ken said, "Not only was I told that by Kenmon, but Izzy is also looking into it."

"I also know that this puts a new spin on things for my end of research." I pointed out.

"How so?" Ryan asked.

"Because that metal that is able to absorb something is found in the Digital World and since most Super Levels know that Saiyans exist in the Digidestined, that should mean that the metal I have and the Saiyan Draining Metal are probably one in the same."

"It's a good thing to test out, anyway." Ken said. "Though, didn't you say that the ones you have are full?"

"I would have to find some way of dispelling it first, yes, but I don't think that's going to be all that hard."

"Should we have Izzy test us as well?" Ryan asked, "We could have something going for us as well."

"I think that the two groups are different enough that we probably don't have anything like that." Ceres said.

"He could see what you are."

"I just don't think all of us should. I mean, we all have destinies that affect us a lot more."

"Is there a reason you're against it?" Ken asked, since we all could tell that she was hiding something.

She sighed, "Yes, and it has to deal with that morning where I told you that what I learned affects the group and I wanted to get my facts straight."

"Did you not have a chance do to so?" Ryan asked.

"I did, but it still can't be said yet."

"Why?" I asked.

"There's one piece that needs to be solved, but it can't be solved by me. I'm also not sure how it can be solved."

"Okay, let us know when you can." Ken said, knowing that it affected him as well.

"I will." She smiled at him.

"Oh, if you know something is off about TK, don't worry about it." Ken looked at us two, "It has to deal with what I can't say, but do know that I'm going to try my hardest."

"So, basically, you don't want us to worry about it, even if something comes up." Ryan summed up.

"Yep."

"Funny how this group has things that can't be said, but aren't hiding it." I laughed, "Must be because you're here." I looked at Ryan.

"Why's that?" He blinked.

"You do hold the Crest of Honesty."

He smiled, "Good point. Is there anything else?"

"That's it." Ceres smiled, "We should probably head back before they noticed."

"They probably already have." Ken said with a laugh, probably referring to TK. "See ya." Ken said before they headed back. I went back to my car, since my part was done for the day.

Me

There was a knock on my door. I went to see that it was Izzy. "Yes?" I let him in.

"I thought I should let the Neo group know about my findings." He set a case down near the couch. Tentomon was carrying another.

"Why not tell the groups that matter?"

"I want to hear their opinions. Plus, it would also give me the chance to ask for their blood."

I laughed, "Is that it?"

"Pretty much."

"Alright." I looked at the time, "They'll be back in a few hours. Panther and Ceres should be home very soon, depending if they're going to talk to Layla or not."

"Layla?"

"Their math teacher. She's related to this Date guy."

"Are they fond of her or something?"

"They can trust her. Everyone knows that they can trust their family and friends whenever we need help."

He nodded, "I see… They do seem like a trustworthy bunch. I mean, they did help out when the prophecy was taking place."

I went over to the babies, "But how did they know to come over? It wasn't like they were on your calling list."

"So you're just suspicious of them."

"I guess… I want to meet this Date for some reason… I want to know who he is and why is he butting into my life."

"Why not just go over there?"

"And have no way of leaving if I'm just being paranoid? Don't think so."

Izzy laughed, "Alright."

TK

So, when we got there, Izzy was giving us the load down of what he had discovered. It was all boring when you hear it for the second time. I wanted to play with my food more than listen to him.

"Have you come up with any reason why Tai is different from me?" Kari asked once he was done, leaving out Jun in his presentation.

"I haven't. I'm not sure if your parents would know anything, so I decided not to explore that route. If you happen to hear anything, let me know."

She nodded. "Are you going to tell the others?" Panther asked.

"Of course. I thought I should have you guys give me some useful input as well as your blood samples." Tentomon held up the briefcase full of needles and tubes and disinfecting stuff.

I noticed that Ryan looked at Ceres, with her nodding slightly, "You should probably present this to Tim at some point."

"Why is that?"

"Just think it's a good idea. He's the researcher in our group. He has already documented all of our powers. Well, at least the ones that he could test."

"Alright, I will… Blood?" Tentomon pushed it closer.

"I'll pass until later." Lily Dawn said, "I have a baby within me right now, so I don't want that to mess up your data."

"I'll pass too." Nereida said, "I'm sure that all you need is one of our bloods to know anything."

"Nothing positive, since Tai should be a full Saiyan, but he isn't." Izzy pointed out.

"Just because of your sales pitch, I'll do it." Ryan said. Tentomon came over and took a blood sample. I wanted to laugh at the site.

"I'll do the same." Don said, with Tentomon doing the same thing.

"Might as well. Just don't scar me." Neon said.

"Fine." Damon said.

"Anyone else?" Izzy asked, with eyes beaming with delight.

"I think that's all you're getting." Panther said. Then Matt's band friends came in so they rushed off to the basement to practice. "We'll get the dishes." Panther said, as she and Ceres gathered them up. Everyone else headed over to the training room, where the fun lies.

Panther

"I hear that Date-san's sister talks to you." Izzy said as we were washing the dishes.

"Are you an agent of theirs?" Ceres asked.

"In order to get the information I want, you bet."

"We're not offering our blood." I said, firmly.

"Are you two Saiyans as well?"

"I am, but I don't really want to know what I am at this point. I'm getting information from them about certain things." Ceres said, hiding my connection.

"Should there really be any secrets?" Tentomon asked.

"There should be when you might tell it to others." IceThormon said, "We could tell that Ken and TK and Matt knew of your discoveries."

"TK had to know because he started it, basically. Ken had to know because TK told him. I didn't want to leave Matt in the dark, and Mimi just happened to be there as well." Izzy explained who knew.

"Let Tim know when you go see him that I said it would be okay to talk about the absorption." Ceres said.

He nodded, "I'll call him later tonight. Oh, I get my information from them, so don't worry about keeping me inform."

"Wasn't planning on it." She smiled wicked.

"See ya." Izzy left.

"You're mean, you know." I said as we headed over towards the training room.

"Maybe, but at least we have someone that we can talk to about stuff."

"We always have people like that. Izzy doesn't change that fact." I smiled before we entered.

Kari

"Are you okay?" Mom asked as soon as I opened the door. "Was anyone following you?"

I stood at the door, wondering what was going on. My mom looked so different right now that I was really worried, "Are you okay?"

She pulled me in and closed the door, "Answer me, Kari. Did someone follow you? Were you alone?"

"… TK walked me home." I didn't understand any of this.

She sighed with relief, "Thank goodness.. Promise me that you won't ever walk anywhere alone."

"What's going on? You're acting strange."

"Promise me." She went back to being frantic.

Before I could answer, the door opened to reveal my brother and Agumon behide it, "Mom?" He asked, unable to understand why Mom was holding my shoulders against the wall.

"Close the door." She sounded like it should've been yelled rather than say it in her normal voice. Tai did so, "Were you followed?"

"No… what's wrong?"

She moved away from me and in the house more. She went over to the couch, "I have something I have to tell you two…"

I looked at Tai before we moved over there. I held Gatomon in my arms and having Tai between me and mom. I didn't want to be cornered like that again. "Where's Dad?"

"He won't be back for a few hours." She said, as if that didn't matter, "What I have to tell you is about our heritage. We're not humans… We're an alien race from far away planet called Vegeta." I was surprised to hear this. I mean, I just heard it from Izzy. "While on that planet, our ancestors happened to anger a very powerful Enchantress. She happened to place a curse on our family that we would become extinct if we only have male children. Soon afterwards, our branch left our home planet and came here. They probably knew that Saiyan blood can't be diluted so easily, so to preserve the line, they traveled to a distant planet to breed. I didn't believe it at first, until I meet other people that were also Saiyans and my mother telling me."

"I think you lost us." Tai said, though not losing me.

"I think she's telling us the truth, Tai." He looked at me, "Who are the other Saiyans that you know?" I wanted to know this. I would tell Tai later about Izzy and Digimon confirming this.

"TK and Izzy's parents… Izzy's real parents. I had trusted people do blood testing on you two and it did confirm it… Tai isn't a Saiyan, but you are, Kari. At first I was worried about your future, but when I learned that you are engaged to TK, I was thrilled."

"Why?"

"It would mean that if you have a son, our line will still continue. If you think of it as we being lords and ladies of a certain section on Vegeta, the same with Izzy, they are Kings and Queens that rule over us. They have more power than we do, so they have the power to negate the curse."

"But wouldn't our line disappear, since theirs would dominate?"

"Having a higher Saiyan blood would keep ours alive. On Vegeta, we were the lowest Lords and Ladies, so we went traveling with other families to keep our line pure since no other higher families were willing to help us."

"Is there a way to make Tai a full Saiyan?" I've been wondering that since Izzy told us.

"It would've been done a lot time ago."

"When did Saiyans first come here? Did we live in Japan all this time?"

"I'm not really sure. But, please, be careful from now on. There's an organization that's out to capture us, or worst, and they have found out about me and they know about you. Promise me that you won't attract attention to yourself. Whatever you do, you must never learn how to fight." _Too late for that._ "Promise me."

I didn't like how desperate she looked. I'm already training to fight, and it's not like I'm going to change that. I don't want to be the only one that can't help my Digimon in a fight. "I promise I won't attract attention to myself." It was about all I could do and it eased her mind.

"Good." She sighed before getting up, "Good night." She headed back to her room.

"Why weren't you confused?" Tai looked at me.

"Izzy found all of this out, since he's looking at our blood… He didn't know why you only had one percent of Saiyan blood within you. I guess now we know."

"Is he going to tell us?"

"Yeah, I don't know why he hasn't yet."

Tai got up, "Why is life getting complicated?"

"Luck of the draw…"

"I'll let Izzy know about what Mom told us, but what about you?" He asked quietly. He knows that I'm training with the others.

"I won't attract attention… I guess I should look for something else to do with my life." I wanted to be a photographer, but I guess I can't do that anymore, that would attract attention.

Tai looked pissed off. He placed his hand on my shoulder, "Don't give up hope just yet."

I nodded, knowing that he was going to ask Izzy to look into giving him his full Saiyan blood. I don't know if that's possible, but I knew that I would want to try it. Somehow, I wanted my brother to be the same as me. I don't want someone important in my life be something less than me. "Good night, Tai."

"Night." And they headed out. I got up and went into my room.

"Are you okay?" Gatomon asked.

"I was wondering about TK's parents… I wondered if they would've been against our marriage…"

"Why do you think that?"

"If they knew of their heritage too, then would they be willing to help? I know I fell in love with him, without any knowledge of all of this, but I'm not sure how willing they would be, since they would probably know how my Mother was." I lay on the bed. "I'm afraid to ask now."

"Your mom probably knows that answer."

"Probably… but I don't want to ask her either…" I pulled the covers over me, "Let's get some sleep."

Gatomon came in with me and we fell asleep.

Wow! That's a lot of repeated information in one chapter… I don't think that ever happened before. I wonder if there's anyone that has all the answers. Like, there's one person in this entire world had knows the reason behind everything. Kari's mom sounds like a good person to ask, but also the place where Izzy is getting his stuff from. I guess only time will tell if we get all of these answered.


	34. Chap 33 Eye of Truth

I wonder if I should give you a sense of time… It is kinda important, but at the same time, not really… I guess I could be nice, since I think I did give you a sense of time before hand.. Okay, so now, it's the next day. Yes, the next day. Things appear to be happening at a faster rate, now will that last? Who knows!

"Do you walk with anyone?" Mom asked as I got ready to leave to meet everyone.

"Yeah, I meet up with TK and Panther and Ceres along the way." I said with a smile, wanting her to stop worrying about it so much.

"Good, have a nice day sweetie." She turned back to her normal self. I got my things and headed out, sighing as I was going down the elevator.

"Getting too much?" Gatomon asked.

"I can imagine her asking every time I want to go somewhere… I mean, what if I just want to go out by myself? And she totally forgot about you."

Gatomon shrugged, "She'll probably always worry about you."

"Probably."

When I got to the point where I met up with TK, he and Ken were waiting for me. He gave me one of his usual smiles, "Morning."

"Morning." I smiled, glad to be with him as we headed over to where we meet Panther and Ceres.

"Everything alright?" TK asked, "You seem troubled."

"It's my mom." I decided to be a bit honest, "She's going to be over protective from now on."

"Did something happen?"

"She's afraid of the world now more than ever."

TK wrapped one of his arms around me, "She has nothing to worry about."

I leaned into him, "I know." I was so glad that TK was right now by my side. I knew that the people my mom feared wouldn't hurt me. Somehow, everything will be alright.

It also felt great to be in TK's arms throughout the morning before we had to sit down. I was glad that we could choose our seats, since TK also sat beside me.

"Yoh, there's an emergency message being brought to you by the main office," a voice said in a punk like way. I noticed that a few of our members looked nervous. Lily Dawn was even looking at Nereida for some reason. "We would like to see Panther or Ceres in the office. Both would be good, if they're up to it."

Panther got up, "Let me go with you." Nereida said, looking afraid.

Panther smiled, "It's alright. I'll be fine." She walked over towards the door and headed out. For some reason, she looked more confident than I've seen her before. I wondered what she saw.

[Panther]

I didn't need to see her and Arsmon doing it while they were on the trip. "You okay?" Rootmon asked quietly.

"I saw the most disgusting thing I never wanted to see. I'll give you more details later."

"What makes you think I want to know it?"

I smiled, "Subject matter." I opened the door to see Arsmon and another Digimon in the office. All the people were in fear, probably because they didn't allow them any time to react or object. "Yes?"

Arsmon pushed the principal aside as he sat down on the table, "No fear?"

When I blinked, I saw him with Killer and Carnage and a girl in Greek clothes. "Nereida wanted to come, but I figured that there was something you wanted to talk to the girlfriends about." I smiled when I looked at him.

"How did you know that?" He got off the table, walking towards me.

I saw him talking to Matt, and him following Matt on Chinese New Year, "How about we settle this at the party house, hm?"

"Party house?"

"The one you try to crash."

"Why?" He looked suspicious.

"The host trusts you, right? So there has to be something to that. I don't think we have the time to devote to talking here. We're still in school, after all, and it seems like there are things that need to be answered."

He looked his friend and she looked like she didn't care, "Fine, don't be late." They left without another word. I looked at everyone, seeing that they were still in fear for their lives.

"Are you okay?" I asked, wondering if anyone was hurt.

"Is this something amusing to you?" Someone asked, somehow thinking that this was my fault. "Who were they?"

"I'll learn that when I get out of school." I bowed to them before leaving. As I was walking back, I was looking at the building. The one place, even when I was in the gang, where I thought I would be safe had just shattered. I never realized that we could be attacked at any moment, at any place. _How powerful can we really be? Can we really protect everyone here if a Digimon or demon attacks?_ I noticed that people were looking out of their doors, wondering what was going on.

"Go back to your normal classes." The principal said as I got to the door. _Is that even possible anymore?_ I opened the door and went back to class.

"What happened?" Nereida asked when class was over.

"I had them go over to Matt's house." I put on my bag, "So, we'll know when we get there. We'll be eating in her classroom." I looked at those I see at lunch.

Neon got out her cell phone and started to text something. "I'm letting Matt know that they're coming over. So you know, I'm not okay about him being there, but I'll let that slide until I know why they're here." (It's a good thing that she text when she did, since that gave me time to prepare)

"I had to get them out of here somehow. The office wasn't a proper place to talk."

"He wouldn't have done anything." Nereida defended him.

I smiled, "I also didn't want to give anything away. Though, I'm glad that he isn't using you." I walked out of the class, since we needed to get going.

"What happened?" Mackenzie-sensei asked as we got to her class.

"You'll know something at lunch." I wondered why Mackenzie-sensei looked edgy. I didn't know why she would have to know him since I was sure that she was too far away to hear him speak when he tried to take away Kai. "We'll be eating here."

She nodded and we headed towards our seats. Ceres looked like she couldn't wait until lunch to learn, but had to since Mackenzie-sensei was still her usual self. When it came time for lunch, TK headed out to get our lunches.

"Why both of us?" Ceres asked as our Digimon came out, including Patamon.

"Boyfriends." I smiled, "I'll explain more when everyone gets here."

"What was that this morning?" Davis asked, "Ken wouldn't give me anything."

I smiled, "I'll explain." I took a seat near Mackenzie-sensei. Everyone else came over, bringing out their lunches, "Okay, so apparently the one that was talking over the speakers was a Digimon called Arsmon. I recognized him as the Digimon that tried to take Kai after everything happened."

"So why send him to Matt's house?" Ryan asked.

"I saw that Matt had talked to him… Matt was also treating him as a person he could kinda trust right before the event as well, so I figure that Matt would be okay with him over."

"That is true." Lily Dawn said, "Matt doesn't consider him a bad guy… Though, he's working for Collect Soulsmon, so he can't be completely trusted. Also, Nereida loves him."

"I think I still need to be clued in here." Davis said.

"Collect Soulsmon is one of the Digimon that has gathered a large group to attack us." Ken said, "They were the ones that were attacking the Destiny Stones." Ken looked at Lily Dawn, "Why does Matt trust him?"

"I think since he talked to him, he got Arsmon to respect him. Nereida was supposed to prevent him from doing something, which was probably the prophecy, by her reaction."

"What was the subject matter, anyway?" Rootmon asked.

"Think them two in one bed." Rootmon thought about it before making a face.

"So you know, she was really funny afterwards." Lily Dawn said with a smirk. "We were teasing her most of the day."

"What's your take on this Arsmon, and who was the other one there with him?" Ceres asked.

"I didn't care for him, but he only really cares for Nereida."

"I never got a name, but she seemed not to care all that much about what was going on." I answered.

"And how is Arsmon connected to our dead boyfriends?"

"Apparently, he was around them while we were traveling. I don't know much more than that, but they seemed fine about him."

"The comment earlier with Nereida?" TK asked.

"He didn't know about my powers."

"So you know," we looked at Mackenzie-sensei, "we had met him on the same day. We got to the center and were looking around before he appeared. Sensei stayed after to fight against him."

"And that's when Mimi and I came in." Ken said with a smile, "He didn't seem to have fought against him, though."

"I know that we left him knowing that there could be a fight there."

"So can Cody and I come to this too?" Davis asked.

"Someone probably should get Tim over there as well." Kari said, "I'm sure that this is going to be something big, especially if they came to the school."

"We're also going to have to face facts now as well." Ceres said.

"Like what?" Davis asked.

"We were lucky that it was a Digimon that we kinda know this time, but we have no guarantees that another one wouldn't come along and do some real damage. Depending on what kind of portal they pick, they could very well end up here again."

"I noticed that as well." I pointed out, "Everyone in the office was so scared that all I wanted to do was to make sure that Arsmon or the other didn't do something. I didn't know how well I could protect those people, and as I was walking back to class, I didn't feel safe anymore."

"It's not like we can put a stop on these portals." Gatomon said, "By the sounds of them."

"They might even be similar to what TK can do with his jewel." Patamon pointed out.

"Why not trap them in the Digital World?" Davis offered.

"We do have friends that are Super Levels." Lily Dawn said, "We would want to be able to talk to them and to see them whenever we can."

"This kind of talk should be left to your groups to decide." Mackenzie-sensei said, "It would probably best to talk about it after they leave back to their world."

"That sounds reasonable." Ryan said, "We should probably talk it over with Matt and see what and who should be involved."

"It's definitely not going to be easy." Espomon said.

"Yep." His partner agreed.

[Me]

"Why are you here?" I asked as Stan appeared at the door.

"I didn't have work today, so I thought that I should hang around for Panther to get out of school." He didn't appear to be confrontational today.

"Fine." I let him in, even though I wanted to kick him out. He closed the door and I went over to the babies, "Aren't you really early, though?" I looked at him.

"Since Lily Dawn is going to be having one, I thought that I should get some practice."

"Okay." Gabumon said, bringing Kai over to him before I could say something. "Go ahead and feed him." I went over to Jade and Krypton, picking up one and grabbing their bottle with my other hand. I knew that Gabumon was telling me to be okay around Stan, even though I didn't want to be. My pocket started to ring. Gabumon came over and got my cell out to read the text (he knows how to do this somehow… I mean, he does have claws). "Neon says that Arsmon is coming over."

"Get them in the basement." I said as I handed him Jade before running into the kitchen. I grabbed as many bottles as I could carry before heading down there myself.

"What's going on?" Stan asked, still holding Kai and Gabumon bring down Krypton.

"You'll know later." I ran back upstairs to grab their diapers as Gabumon came back up to get some of their toys.

"Why do you have to hide?" Stan asked as I set down the diapers near him.

"Do you know what to do?" I looked at him.

"In what?"

"Taking care of babies. Changing diapers, feeding them, making sure they don't cry?"

"The crying part is going to be hard, but I can do the rest."

"You're not going to get any help." I said, "Can you handle it? It's a matter of life and death."

"… I can, but why?"

"That'll be explained later. The most important thing is that they can't cry, got it? This is sound proof, but I don't know how well it is." We headed back up, "And don't mix up the bottles." I said before closing the door.

The doorbell ranged and as I walked over to it, I hoped that this was enough protection. I opened the door and Arsmon with another Digimon were there, "You don't seem surprise." Arsmon said.

"I didn't know that you had other Digimon as friends." I said as a smile, not wanting to hint that I was told. I had to make sure that it didn't look like Kai was here. "Are you guys hungry or anything?" I stepped aside to let them in.

"You know some strange people." The other commented before coming inside, "Water will do for me."

I closed the door when Arsmon came in and went over to the kitchen, "How about you, Arsmon?"

"Whatever is fine. Oh, this is Telarmamon."

"Nice to meet you." I smiled at her before fully heading into the kitchen. Gabumon was helping me cook, though I knew that Ele was watching them. "What brings you guys here, anyway?"

"We were told to come here." Telarmamon said, sitting down at the table, "By one of the girls that Arsmon talked to at the school."

"Why did you guys go there first?" I brought out the snacks and water.

"I'm going to be making a weapon for either Panther or Ceres, so Arsmon brought me to where they were. Panther told us to come over here and wait for them to get out of school."

I sat down, "I thought that Arsmon only cared for Nereida, though."

"I do. Their boyfriends brought over more gold than needed so she offered to make one of them weapons as well." Arsmon explained.

I could tell that she was definitely a blacksmith, with the messy look she had. "What do they need the weapons for?"

"Ilpalo needed upgraded swords since his broke during a fight and since they were heading over with the payment, they brought more over so Killer can get upgraded guns as well." Telarmamon said, "They have enough payment for me to do one more job for them, though, and they suggested their girlfriends."

"I guess I still need to be filled in…" I said, realizing that I didn't know why spirits would need weapons. Lily Dawn didn't mention that they were doing anything that needed it.

"A few or no one would probably know about it." Arsmon said, getting into a very lax position, "They only recently started to protect those idiots."

"Oh.. I see… Okay, that's cool. Who are they protecting?"

"I would think they're protecting Hebe, but I'm sure only one is, really. All three of them are important to each other, that much I can tell you."

"Do you happen to know why they weren't in the Underworld five days ago?"

Arsmon thought about it, "Oh, that's when they were lost. They were heading over to her place." He pointed to Telarmamon. "Why were you there?"

"Panther was kidnapped by a deity and we went in to rescue her. We didn't stay for too long, but in either case, no one saw them."

"Ah… Why aren't you mad about what I did?"

I smiled, "It did help out in the end, so it's alright. Though, just to make it clear, everyone else has their right to dislike you because of it. So far, it seems like you have three people who are okay with you. It's up to you if you want to get the rest."

"So this is the group that's making you change so much." Telarmamon looked at Arsmon, "I thought it was only those three."

Arsmon looked away, admitting to her claim. I was glad, though, since that means that he could be a very good friend in the future. "I'm still going to go after that baby." He looked at me, "So don't think he's off the hook."

"Why, if I may know?" _Good thing he's warning me._

"He showed an amazing power that set you free. It was a very strong spirit, so I'm sure my Master would want it for herself." _Meaning that he did tell her and she does want it… And, of course, all her henchmen just happen to be present for that fight too._

"Don't take him into the Digital World, gotcha."

"Oh, so he belongs to you, eh?"

_Damn it._ "I watch him from time to time." The look in his eyes told me that he didn't believe me, though I'm sure it was because he knows that I would be weary of him. "So what's happening in the Digital World?"

"Nothing much." I could tell that Arsmon was holding some information back. "It's the same that it always was."

"How long does it normally take to get from the Digital World to here?" I was curious, knowing that they had to find these portals.

"Depends on how skill a Digimon is at finding portals." Arsmon said, "I can find them easily enough. We took a few days to get some things done beforehand."

"I've always got the impression that the Deities didn't need to use those to get back here." Gabumon mentioned.

"They're a special case. Everyone else has to find the portals." I could tell that Arsmon knew of other people that met the same conditions as the Deities. I wondered if his master and Mirrormon fit those conditions as well, considering that they are similar and they gave the Deities the new type. At this point, all I can say is yes. "How do you guys normally get back?"

"Through TVs." I answered.

"That's not good enough. What would happen if all of those are destroyed?"

"The Neo Digidestined has a way of getting around, but I'm sure that Gennai would find a way to get the others out if that was the case."

"Are you really following that guy?" Telarmamon asked.

"The Neo group isn't, but the other ones have to keep up that appearance so he won't know of the Neo group. I think he might know that there is a group that isn't under his control, but I don't think he knows who is really involved."

"I'll kill him if he does anything." Arsmon said in a very threatening way. I'm sure he meant it, too. I felt my phone go off before I heard it. It was a text from the one with the babies. "Something wrong?"

"My brother has gained the habit of texting me while he's at school because he's bored." I sighed, texting him back, "I sometimes wish I don't promote such behavior, but it's kinda amusing and I rather him be happy than sad." 'You have to do something about that. If I go to where he is without a good reason, then I can get him kidnapped.' Kai was apparently crying a lot, and now Jade and Krypton joined in. I was glad that you couldn't hear it up here. I also made sure that Gabumon could read it as well, in case we were able to come up with something that could get me to calm Kai down. I looked at the time, "Wow, it isn't that late in the day either and he's already bored?" It would now be the second half of their math class. "Have you been around town a whole lot?" I looked at them, wondering if I can let someone come in to help Stan, "I don't have a lot of things to entertain people here, so I'm willing to take you anywhere you want."

"I'm not interested." Telarmamon said.

"And I know the area… Actually, there is something that you can do for me." Arsmon seemed a bit too excited about it.

"What is it?" I decided that if it can get us out of the house, I would allow it.

"There's a Digimon in Japan that I really wanted to fight. I want to find her."

"Does she live in a particular part? I mean, we shouldn't go out too far."

"Is it BeasMastmon?" Telarmamon asked.

"Yeah, and I don't know where she lives. If I did, I wouldn't be wasting my time searching with you."

"Do you need us helping you in some way?" I wondered who this Digimon was now.

"Gabumon would be more useful."

I looked at him, "Well?"

Gabumon sighed, "Tell us more as we drive around."

"Walking would be better." Arsmon said, "Let's go." They got up and we followed. Stan sent me another cry for help and I texted Lightningmon about the situation so their Grandmother could come over to help. When she sent a reply saying that they will be over, I sent Neon a message about the situation so she would know what's up with her babies.

"Are you going to explain?" I asked as we got onto the bus, since he needed to go into the city more.

"She's a powerful Digimon that has sent many others back into the Digital World. She's been living here for a few years, but no one really knows why she lives here. She came back to the Digital World for the first time while you were gone, searching for her servant in those idiot's territory."

"So you want to see who is stronger… How is Gabumon involved?"

"He doesn't have to do much other than evolving to his Mega stage and walking around in a threatening way. Her specialty is beast Digimon."

"Well?" I looked at him, knowing that he can reach his Mega stage.

"I don't have to attack people?" Gabumon looked at him.

"You don't have to if you don't want to."

Gabumon looked at me and I brought out my cell, "I'm letting people in my group know about it. I don't want to have a scene with them." I texted everyone in my group and Yolie that I know about the Digimon situation that will occur shortly and that it's under control.

"Don't give them too much information." Arsmon warned, though I'm not really sure as to why. Yolie was being annoying about it; Joe was at work but wanted an explanation later; Sora was concerned but would allow me to handle it; and TK asked if it was because of Arsmon. I told him yes, and to let the others know that him being here wasn't really all that big of a deal. He told me that Davis and Cody are still coming over. Since he sounded serious, I wondered if it was a bigger deal than I thought that he was here.

I then told my band members that we would have to hold off on meeting today until I give the okay because of Digital issues. They understood and said that they would be waiting. TK texted me back, saying that I shouldn't do something that I don't want to, even if by doing such things would pacify Arsmon. There's a difference in how friends should be and how to get yourself in trouble with the other people around you.

"I would agree." Gabumon said in a low voice, "I can tell that you're not really sure about this plan."

"I'm letting you decide."

"I know that you're unsure about it, which is why I made a decision that went along with the original plan."

"Actually," I looked back at Arsmon, "Can you evolve to your Super Level instead?"

"Why?" Gabumon looked at him.

"I'm sure she would know that a Mega would be taken care of by the Digidestined, but not a Super Level since she's been taking care of them. She still does, from time to time."

"He probably doesn't have enough energy for that." I mentioned, not really comfortable getting him to his Super Level without a good cause. "Plus, we also don't know how to really get them there."

"Are you like the idiots or something?" Arsmon looked ticked off, "No one will give you instructions on how this level works."

"We understand that. We know that no one is going to show us. We're trying to figure it out on our own."

"How did you get them to evolve the first time?" Telarmamon asked.

"By having all the Crests create a circle." Gabumon said, "We also noticed that the level needs a lot more energy than before, so we're not sure how to maintain that level without being totally defenseless afterwards."

"Sounds like I need to make something for him then." She sighed, "What does the rumor say about her?" She looked at Arsmon.

"She normally finishes the Digimon in the Real World, so there's only an announcement that she defeats them. I also know that she paroles around the Tokyo area, but I don't really know where."

"Is that why we're going towards the remote area?"

"I figure she would have to be far enough away from the Digidestined to take care of the Digimon herself, but close enough so that others can find her." They both noticed something before getting up.

"Hey, you have to sit down." The driver was saying as they were walking towards the front. I stopped Arsmon from swinging at the driver.

"Could you stop, please?" I asked with a smile, holding onto Arsmon's hand.

The driver pulled over, being very terrified. I paid for the fare and then some before we got off. I didn't like how powerful our worries were, and how careless our wanted allies are. "What was it?" Gabumon asked as we followed them.

"We found her servant." Arsmon smiled. He looked back at us, "Just evolve. It shouldn't matter at this point."

"We're heading up to the roof." I said, going into the building.

"What's wrong with right here?" Arsmon asked as we headed up.

"It's not how we do things when we can avoid it." We got into the elevator, heading for the roof.

"Are you ashamed or something?"

"We try not to create mass panic. We don't want our Digimon to be known and captured because other people see them as a threat."

They looked like they wanted to say something, but didn't. I had a feeling it had to deal with the current situation. We got onto the roof and they went over to the side. I placed my hand in my pocket and grabbed my jewel. Gabumon immediately went into his Mega form. "He's over there." Arsmon pointed in a direction.

I walked over, seeing that he was pointing towards a park. It wasn't really a normal park with trees, but a park where kids can play. I didn't like it, so I got on Metal Garurumon before heading off. "Are you sure?" He asked.

"Just walk around. I think that should be enough."

"Alright." I jumped off when we near the place. Metal Garurumon landed near the park, roaring for some odd reason. All the kids in the park became scared, running off to some place. Other people were also fearful. Metal Garurumon was definitely looked the role of an angry and dangerous monster.

"She should appear soon." Arsmon said, coming up to me. "Her servant just ran away, so he should be telling her now."

"I would have to guess there's a way to see a Digimon, right?"

"Learn it on your own time." A car came up with a logo for animal control. Knowing that this was odd, I figured that the lady that popped out was this BeasMastmon. She looked at Metal Garurumon before walking over to him.

I walked over as well, not wanting her do to something to him, "Yoh, nice to meet you." I smiled at her, leaning on Metal Garurumon.

"What are you doing?" She looked annoyed, "Your dog is running loose and you think that's okay? What if I sent it to the pound?"

"He was just the bait." Arsmon came up, "I'm your real problem."

"You should keep a better watch on your pets." She went back to her car, but her guard wasn't down one bit.

"We probably shouldn't follow." I mentioned before noticing that the media was coming over. I got on Metal Garurumon, "Get on." I looked at them.

Arsmon and Telarmamon got on as the animal control truck left as well. Metal Garurumon followed after her as I looked at the time. We still needed to kill some time. I wondered what she's thinking, though. She was obviously trying to make it like Metal Garurumon was a big dog or something so she didn't want to make a scene. I would have to guess that she would normally take care of the Digimon before the media got there, which is probably the reason they never showed it before. Though, I wondered if they would've been able to see the invisible Digimon that were apparently everywhere when we first started out.

When we got to a more remote area, she parked the car and we landed. Metal Garurumon went back to Gabumon and Arsmon walked forward, "What do you want?" She looked ticked off.

"To find you, of course. I hear you're one of the strongest Digimon around."

"What's your Crest?" She looked at me.

"Friendship." I had no way of apologizing to her, either.

"You don't normally leave the Digital World." She looked at Telarmamon.

"I have business here." She explained.

"Are you connected to Hebemon?" She looked at me.

"I know of her… They do as well."

"Why?" She looked at Arsmon.

"Do you really need to know?"

"Fine," she looked back at me, "since you allowed him to use Gabumon, allow me to as well."

"I'm fighting against you." Arsmon said before she threw something at Gabumon. I grabbed it before it landed on him.

"And I'm telling you that you can use your powers." She launched at me. I blocked, not liking how this is turning out to be. She was serious, which was something that I didn't count on once we were talking. I was holding my ground, not allowing her a chance to get to Gabumon.

When she pushed on my stomach, getting into a low stance in an instant, I started to feel something weird. It was a lot worst than what Arsmon did to me. I felt something trying to take over my mind, not tearing me apart. I looked at her, seeing that she was no longer in front of me, but beside me. I knew right then that she had taken Gabumon.

"Digievolve!" She commanded as she turned around to face Arsmon. Gabumon jumped over her, quickly changing into Metal Garurumon while doing so and fighting against Arsmon. I took a step forward, not wanting Metal Garurumon to fight, and I got a punch to the face, knocking me down on the ground.

I got up again, suppressing my dark powers. I wasn't going to save Metal Garurumon that way. She was watching me, but was obviously going to do something to keep me back. I ran towards her as fast as I could, jumping over her in a flip. When I landed, I went over where they were. "Metal Garurumon!" I ran in between them, facing my partner. To my horror, he didn't stop his attack. As I held his leg, I could see that my friend was completely taken over. Was that how I was when I get taken? "Fight it, Metal Garurumon! I know you can!"

"Finally." Arsmon said, heading over to BeasMastmon. I kept my focus on Metal Garurumon.

"Please, come back to me." I begged, wanting him back now more than ever. I don't know why, but I felt that if he couldn't fight against this, I would lose him forever. I then noticed something flapping underneath of him. I let go of his claws, launching myself towards it. I grabbed hold of the paper, trying to pull it off to find that it caused him pain. I latched myself onto his stomach before he was thrashing. I tried to figure out a way of getting it off of him, seeing that it wasn't attached by any logical means. He started to slam his stomach on ground.

After a few more hits, I concentrated my powers in my fingertips. I placed my fingers on the top of the paper, being able to pull it off before the next body slam. He devolved back into Tsunomon as we both fell to the ground. I let go of the paper and drew back my powers before hugging him.

I heard a thump so I looked over to see that BeasMastmon was the winner of that fight. Somehow, a sword was in her hands and pointing at Arsmon's neck. "Now that we know, get out of here." She said as she got off him. She walked back over to her truck as Arsmon got up.

"Why aren't you finishing me off?" He was clearly angry at his lost.

"You're not worth the effort." A door closed and the engine was turned on. I sighed before looking at Tsunomon, seeing that he was out cold.

I got up slowly, feeling my back was about to spilt in two. Once on my feet, I could feel how damaged I really was. I don't even know what she did to me, but what Metal Garurumon did was worse. Though, I couldn't even compare that to what I did to him. I looked over to where they were, seeing that Arsmon wanted to go after her. I can tell that he's been in enough fights to know that he couldn't at his current level. "Let's go back." I said, not wanting to leave him here right now.

He got up and started walking. I followed, ignoring my pain for the most part since I needed to make it home before the others got back. On the bus ride home, I was allowing myself the chance to correct my composure. I didn't want the others to know what happened. I didn't want them to know what happened to Tsunomon.

We got back and no one was within the house. I had to guess that meant that the babies were okay. I went up to my room, laying Tsunomon gently down on my bed, wrapping him up in blankets. I went back down to make tea for everyone. I noticed the time, seeing that Neon and Don would've already been here. That means that they're checking up on their kids.

[Ryan]

I could tell that we were all nervous as we approached the door, especially when Don and Neon were waiting outside. Don opened the door to the one place I never thought we had to be cautious towards and we all stepped inside. "Arsmon!" Nereida said with a smile, going over to him. She stopped near him, all of us seeing that something was wrong.

He smiled at her, though noticing us. Tim was also with us, though he didn't give an impression on what he thought, "Hey." Arsmon looked at her.

"Is everything okay?" Nereida sat down beside him, probably unsure if being too close was okay.

"Had a rough day, that's all."

"Everyone should probably do their homework first." Matt said, not looking all that good himself.

"I'll help you with the tea." I said before anyone that really cares about him got up. I don't know why, but I could see that he didn't want to say what happened yet. I didn't know if it was because he was sad of what happened or ashamed. He didn't saying anything as I was helping, but was probably glad that it wasn't someone that would actually ask him something. I figured that he would say it to the others, but not now.

We worked on our homework, with Nereida teaching a bit of what was going on to Arsmon. She was working on cheering him up, I could see. I was actually impressed at how experienced she was. It looked like she had been in a relationship before, but I knew that this was her first one. It was probably because of her acting, since I'm sure she would've been in plays that would require her to express such expressions. I wondered, then, if this was all a face she has to place since she didn't know any other way. I knew that her feelings were real, but that would mean nothing if it doesn't have that real feeling to it.

Ceres was getting everyone to work on their assignments faster and Panther was going at a normal pace. So that meant that Ceres wanted to know what happened as quickly as possible and Panther was going to know when she needed know. I thought that was typical of them, being nearly opposites of each other when something matters.

"We're done!" Ceres said with a smile of victory.

"Good," Matt said, setting down part of a meal, "time for dinner then." He smiled before going back into the kitchen.

"Please introduce yourself." Panther looked at the new Digimon, the one that no one really knew. She had a messy look to her, like she was tough and worked in something that had you produced such a life.

"Telarmamon." She also had the attitude that nothing mattered. "I'm the one that's here for business. Arsmon is just getting me to my destinations."

"How do you two know each other?" Nereida asked, looking at her.

"He's my first friend, so that's how we know each other. He also gives me clients that need something done with metal work. I can make anything with any kind of metal."

"Though, I would have to guess that you specialize on weapons, right?" Ceres asked.

"I do… though, what metalsmith doesn't?" She countered.

"Good point." Ceres then dropped it.

"What do you mean by first friend?" Kari asked, "I've heard of someone else mentioning that before, but I didn't know what that meant since he said that he wasn't really a friend, even though that's what he would be called."

"It's something that Super Levels need." Arsmon said, "They need to have a friend at the very least to gain their powers. I don't really understand why and neither does my Master."

"Did your Master need one?" Matt asked, sitting down since he was done.

"My Master and the others don't need one. They also can be the "friend", but only if they remain with that person."

"Seems like a lot of people know about Mirrormon, though." I pointed out.

"She befriends a lot of people, but only once they have their powers ready. It's also the reason that a lot of Super Levels are in groups, since they normally stay with the first person they befriend." He looked at Telarmamon, "You probably should get your thing over with."

"I made Killer and Ilpalo's new weapons. I made Ilpalo two swords since his broke and I'm making Killer two specialize guns. They still had some payment left over for me to do another job, which is two more objects. Since they didn't need anything else, they told me to come here to ask their girlfriends if they wanted anything."

I looked at Panther, seeing that she was somewhat sad to hear that. "We don't need anything." Ceres said. "We're good on our own."

"What kind of guns is Killer getting?" Panther asked, though holding onto her strong face.

"One uses the power of a metal in the Digital World and the other one uses the power of useful souls contained in bullets."

"Wait," Lily Dawn interrupted, "why do they need weapons in the first place?"

"They're protecting Hebemon, for one thing." Arsmon said, "And they know that since they're with those idiots, they probably have to fight against demons as well. They also wanted to give you guys a helping hand in that." I didn't think that was the truth, but it also sounded like the boyfriend thing to do.

"You can make me something." Panther said, wanting to avert her eyes.

"What would you like?" Telarmamon asked.

"Guns, but you don't have to make them as fancy as Killer's. Just something that will do the job."

"Show me your skills. I need to know what I'm working with."

"I don't carry guns on me anymore."

She sighed, "Is there some metals that I can use?" She looked at Matt.

"Yeah," he got up and walked all around his house, gathering metal like objects that seemed not be important. He placed it all in front of her. "That's all I got."

She looked at them before pulling out a hammer and a torch. She worked fast, kinda reminding me of Ceres when she wants to get something done so she could go on to something else. "Here." She placed her tools away, revealing a gun in the place of the metal. I was impressed that nothing happened to Matt's table.

Panther got up, "Do I have something I can shoot?" She walked over to where the gun was.

"Would the dojo be okay?" Matt looked at her after thinking about it for a moment.

"Yeah, that's okay." She walked over there. Telarmamon got up as well and I could tell that we all wanted to know her skill. But, I also knew that her skills were impressive. She knew so many ways of shooting, she was fast, she knew all sorts of guns, she knew how to operate them like they were common knowledge. Whether or not she liked it to be, guns were her specialty. We heard her firing at something since she was hitting something.

"I got my data." Telarmamon said as they came out, "So I'll head on back." She walked over towards the door, letting herself out.

"You're staying?" Nereida looked at Arsmon.

"I've been allowed to stay." He smiled. I wondered why, though. By that smile, it seemed like there was another reason for that allowance.

Nereida didn't seem to care for the reason, though, "Do you want to come over to my house? How long are you going to stay here?"

"I can stay until my Master needs me. I was hoping so as well."

"Awesome!" She hugged him, allowing all of us to know that she couldn't ask Tim if he was okay with it. I wondered if it was because of what Lily Dawn told us, that he only cares for Nereida. "Are we doing anything else?" She looked at Matt. This was also telling us that she was really a good actress, since it looked so real that this was all natural.

"That's it." He smiled, "though, I guess I should give you something that your Grandmother asked of me to give her today."

"Oh, where is it?" She got up.

"This way." Matt went off somewhere and she followed. I wondered how Matt was good at playing people too. Well, I guess more like what he wanted to talk to Nereida alone. I looked at Tim and Damon, seeing that they were at a lost at to what to do.

[Nereida]

"Yes?" Matt asked as we were far enough away from the others.

"I don't want to lie to my first boyfriend… I know that he wants Kai, but what if he starts to ask me stuff about him?" I confessed. I was glad that Matt could see that I wanted to talk to him about something. I was also glad that everyone caught on that they shouldn't talk about Tim controlling me.

Matt sighed, "He's not going to give up on getting him either, so I have to keep my eye on him. I don't know how well I can do that, since I don't know how serious he is about getting him."

"I can ask him to limit it a bit, at the very least."

"And if he can't, then what? I expose Kai to dangers beyond my handling?"

I was wondering why Matt was being so defensive. I mean, I can understand why since Kai is his, but I thought he would be more understanding than that. I thought he would understand that I just don't want to lie to my first boyfriend. I don't want him to feel like he has to hide something from me because he doesn't want me to know. "He won't use me. You know that he won't use me."

Matt sighed, getting upset over something as he thought more logically about it. Well, probably more like comparing it to his situation before we were all found. "Fine, but if there's something that I don't want him to know, then you can't tell him. I don't want to isolate you either because of him, so this is the least that you can do. Is that okay?"

I nodded with a smile. After all, he wouldn't tell us the secret to beating his master so this would be okay, "I promise. Thanks." I was glad that he finally understood.

He smiled, "Let's get back." He handed me something small, "And that is for her, by the way."

"Okay." I smiled, heading back to the others. I noticed that everyone was waiting for us to come back, as if they were waiting for an order. I could guess why, since we should be training right now. I went over to Arsmon, "Let's head over to my house. I have so much to show you." I smiled sweetly at him.

Arsmon got up and my family headed out. When I waved bye to the rest of the group, I wondered what they thought about this situation.

[Lily Dawn]

"You both need to re-think your strategy." Neon said once the door closed, "I don't think it's a good thing for him to be here."

"He's not all that bad." Matt said, "He did warn me that he will go after Kai. I just have to be better at defending."

"Why was Stan here anyway?" I asked, since he told me that he was home with all the kids.

"He wanted to talk to Panther." He looked at her, "Are you okay with what you decided?"

She nodded her head, "I'm just going to hope that I can make myself pull those out as the last option. So, no training today?"

"Yeah, we should probably hold it off for a while. I probably don't care all that much about him knowing what we're doing, but I don't want him to have a chance to take Kai. I need to know how serious he is at taking him first."

"Why do you trust him so much?" Ryan asked.

"Just by talking to him, I got him to like me. I don't think he's really a bad Digimon, just has to follow one."

"Why was it that Nereida couldn't ask Tim if it was okay?" Ken asked.

"It's because he only cares for Nereida." Lily Dawn said.

"And I mentioned to him that there was someone that was controlling her life a lot and he didn't like that idea." Matt said as if it was no big deal.

"We'll go pick up Kai." Ceres said, getting up from the seat.

"Okay. If something happens, let me know." He smiled, implying if Stan wanted to keep Panther over night or something. We all headed out, though I wondered why Ken and TK were staying.

"Matt needs to think a little bit more." Neon said, obviously flustered by the events.

"Sorry." Panther said, "I had to get them out of the school and to a place where they would cause the least amount of trouble."

"That does sound like Matt's place." Don admitted. "I guess it was a good thing that Stan came today."

"How did he handle it?" Ryan asked.

"Apparently, Kai wouldn't stop crying so they had to get the Shuni's Grandmother to come over. That's when they also brought all of them to Stan's house." Neon said. "My kids were fine, though."

"I wonder why Kai was crying so much." Ceres pondered on her own.

"Maybe Stan wasn't handling him right." I offered. "I don't know how good he is with babies. Was he okay with their Grandmother?"

"Same as before." Neon said, "Do you think there's something more to it?" She looked at Ceres.

"All I really know for sure is that Kai can be a baby most of the time. There are moments where he's not really a baby."

"Tim and I know that he has some kind of powerful being watching over him. It was what led us to Panther." Ryan informed.

"My kids will be more special than Kai, you'll see." Neon said with a pout on her face.

"I don't think you would want that." Ceres said with a laugh.

"Neon is very competitive." Don informed with a laugh.

[Ken]

There was something about TK when we came into the house that made me stay when he did. I didn't know what it was, but I could tell that it was something I needed to be here for.

"Hey, Matt," TK went over to him in a way that was giving off that he was just asking, "I've been wondering this since we got here. Where's Gabumon?"

As Matt lowered his eyes, reflecting sadly on the reason Gabumon wasn't present, and before he had the chance to even form the words to Gabumon's location, TK punched his brother in the face. Matt landed on the wall, though he didn't move once there. "HOW DARE YOU ALLOW SOMEONE TO CONTROL GABUMON LIKE THAT!" TK yelled, the pure anger in his eyes. Without Matt responding, TK turned around to leave. I just watched TK and Patamon leave, not knowing what to do in this situation.

"He's right for being angry, Ken." Matt said, though he felt more guilt of the action he took and that was paining him more.

"Are you okay?" I walked over to him, knowing that TK's punch had nothing held back.

"I'm fine." He smiled, though he wasn't happy about anything. "I'll be okay."

"Is Gabumon alright?"

"… I hope so."

I didn't want to leave him alone like this. I looked at the clock, seeing that I didn't have to go over to Date-san's house for a while. After all, it would be more unusual for me to appear around now. "Why don't we check up on him?"

He pushed himself off of the wall, though he was now walking a bit stiffly. "I got hammered by Metal Garurumon." He explained as we headed up the stairs.

"Can I get the story once we know how he's doing?" Wormmon was already on my shoulder at this point as I helped him up the stairs.

"Sure." He led us to his room, opening it slowly as to not make a sound. He walked over to his bed where Tsunomon was laying. He was conscious since he was looking at Matt the whole time. Matt collapsed onto the ground beside the bed, drawing Tsunomon closer to him.

"It's not your fault, Matt." Tsunomon said in a tired voice. "I know it's not your fault." I sat down bedside them, somehow understanding this feeling that they were showing. "To entertain Arsmon," Tsunomon looked at us, "we allowed him to take us outside to look for a Digimon that he always wanted to fight. We had already agreed to help him out, so when we got to a place that seemed good, I Digievolved to Metal Garurumon. All I really did was stand around and looked threatening to lure her out.

"Once we did and was taken over to another place, she said that it was only fair to use me in the fight since Arsmon was allowed to use me as well. Matt tried to stop her, but I think she was more pissed off than angry and was just getting back at us." Tsunomon tried to sound upbeat.

"Is that why you're also beat up?" I looked at Matt, knowing that no one noticed it while we were listening to Telarmamon, and that he was trying to hide it.

"She placed a talisman on me to control me. I can't say what happened afterwards, but I do realize that Matt was probably trying to get it off of me." He smiled. "He's already asleep."

"Should I move him?"

"Let him stay here. I don't really want to move either."

"I'll wait for Panther and Ceres to come back before heading out." Wormmon got down on the bed and I headed downstairs. I knew that if he was curious about TK and Patamon, Wormmon would be able to tell him.

[Panther]

"My babies!" Neon said as we headed towards where they were. The Shuni Grandmother was taking care of them the most and Stan was near them as well. Kai didn't look happy at all. Ceres headed towards him as Stan headed towards me.

"How was your day?" Stan asked after kissing me, gathering me up in his arms.

"Worrisome, but I bet your's was a bit worst." I smiled at him, allowing him to pull me away to another room.

"You have no idea." He pulled me to a place where no one would see us clearly, "Hey, what do you say to a lovely date on Saturday?"

"Love to." I kissed him, "Was Kai that difficult?"

"Yeah. I hope that Ceres can get him to eat, since he was resisting."

I pulled away to see what they were doing. I noticed that Ceres was breast feeding Kai right now. Everyone knew that they shouldn't interfere, but I also could tell that Ceres would have if it wasn't for Kai. I walked back to him, "He's eating."

"That's good. Do you know why, though? Jade and Krypton were fine."

"Kai is special, that's all we can say for sure." Stan pulled me in and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around him, kissing him back.

[Lily Dawn]

"You should probably get going." I looked at the Shuni's Grandmother. "You have a guest there."

"I guess I'll get a sense of what's going on over there." She smiled, meaning that she really wanted to know.

"Matt isn't thinking, for half of the problem." Neon said. "But, mainly it deals with Nereida a lot more, so we figure that you should meet someone that she likes."

"She likes someone… How is Tim taking this?"

"Silently." Ceres said, "Probably since they're not sure how to work with the person." I could see that her eyes were trying not to look for Panther, and probably annoyed that Stan took her so fast.

The Shuni Grandmother bowed to us before letting herself out, "Let Matt know that I'll come back to his rescue whenever he needs it." She smiled to us before heading out.

"I can't believe how senseless Matt is being right now." Neon ranted some more.

"I'm sure if he wanted to make everything better, he would." Ryan said, "It seemed like he was holding something back."

"Like what?" Ceres looked at him.

"I can't say for sure, but I did notice that TK was acting kinda weird… I mean, I couldn't give you evidence for it, just a feeling."

"Plus, Gabumon wasn't around the whole time either." Espomon said, "I think that's pretty weird."

Ceres looked at Kai, who was just eating, though still not the happy baby that he normally is, "I wonder if Kai senses this as well." Ceres commented to herself.

"If it's something serious," Neon said, "let us know too. He shouldn't keep it to himself."

Ceres smiled and nodded, "I will." Kai then finished up, so Ceres got herself fixed up before turning her upper body towards the door, "Kai's done."

A moment later, they came out, though one could tell that something was off about the feeling in the room, "Let's head back then." Panther said with a smile.

"See ya Lily Dawn." Ryan said before they headed out of the door. I could also see that Stan didn't sense the feeling from before. I can tell when he's trying to ignore something, so I wondered why it felt off.

"What did you want to talk to her about?" I asked as I headed towards him.

"We're going on a date this weekend."

"Exciting." I wondered what's going through Panther's mind, though. I now knew that her feelings are the ones that are off.

[Ryan]

"So, what did he want?" Ceres asked as we were walking towards my house. Don and Neon had already left since they don't live in the same general direction as we do.

"He's taking me out on a date this Saturday." Panther said with a smile.

"Trying to find something to love about him?" I asked, since I could kinda see that she wasn't fully committed to this relationship yet.

"… Maybe… I kinda want to know if I'm doing the right thing, after all." She looked kinda sad about it. I could understand that, though, since after our winter trip, she was clinging to him a bit more than normal. It was probably because she finally had to let go of Killer and was trying to fill in that void as fast as possible.

"So you were just showing the emotions and expressions without actually feeling them." I commented.

"I don't want to hurt Lily Dawn or Stan."

"Wait," Ceres interrupted, "you were never really serious about a long term relationship?" I thought it was funny that she was actually surprised.

Panther laughed a bit, "He's not Killer."

"Geez, you had both Matt and I worried about him over nothing."

"It might not be nothing. I won't know until I figure that out myself."

"I wonder if Killer knows this." I pondered to myself.

"So you know," Rootmon informed, "I think you had us fooled too."

"You didn't know that I was still debating?" She looked at her partner.

"Nope."

"Oh… Sorry, I guess I really do need to decide… I guess only having one boyfriend my whole life never allowed me to show what I consider dating is." Panther looked like she should've realized this sooner.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough." I said, "See ya later."

"Bye." Ceres said before waving me off.

"You only know now about her current state, huh?" Espomon asked.

"Yep… I guess I really can see the truth." I figured that I could do something like that when I could physically see the truth from that one guy when using my Crest. I didn't think that I could normally, but considering that I can already sense the truth, I figured that my Crest heightens my normal sense of honesty.

[Ken]

After they came back, I left Matt and Tsunomon to them. I didn't tell them anything about what happened, though I did tell them that Matt was already asleep. I headed towards Date-san's house, needing to at least get in TK's training. Even though it's a bit embarrassing to enter his house without knocking, I've gotten over it for the most part. Although, the most interesting part of me entering this time was that I found TK on his couch. TK looked at me, as if asking me about Matt. I could also tell that Date-san was a bit concern, though I couldn't tell of what. I hanged up my coat, "I'll get my training in before I tell you anything." I headed inside. "I understand why you did what you did, but I also want to get some training in." I said without looking at him. I don't really know why I was angry at him for punching Matt. It was probably because I could see that Matt was in pain already from his actions. He didn't want Gabumon to be controlled, but I also knew why BeasMastmon did so. Wormmon asked for the name of the Digimon, and knowing that it was her, I knew that she was pissed off at the fact that she had placed a trust in us and Matt seemed to have shattered that idea.

"Is everything okay?" Date-san asked once the door was closed.

"He should be okay with rest. He took quite a beating before TK punched him." I said, walking to my normal spot.

"TK came here afterwards, knowing that you would be here. It seemed like it was more of an impulse thing." Date-san was changing the gravity.

"It sure didn't look like it." _Not by the fact that he stated afterwards to get that punch in._

"You can ask him when we're done." Date-san said with a smile, getting into a stance that wasn't obvious. I got into a stance, since I don't know of that kind yet. Date-san started to strike all around me, with me blocking whenever he did. Training to increase his speed. They get him weights during this point.

[Damon]

"And that's the story." Tim explained to our grandmother as Nereida was taking Arsmon around the house's ground. I was quite surprised that Tim had told her about them doing it already.

"I'm quite surprised." Grandma said, holding her hand to the side of her face, "You're not mad?"

"I can't do anything about it now and we also can't really tell him to leave her alone." Tim seemed like it was a defeat all around. I knew that we shouldn't be pressing his buttons, since we don't know how sensible he really is. By the way that Nereida seemed to be in a protective mode, I would say that he's watching us for some reason.

"But the fact that she's still fifteen…"

I had to stop Tim from running outside to go find him, though I also wanted to beat the guy up. We both forgot that fact, since we had Nereida going to high school with me with her being my age.

"What's going on?" Nereida asked as they came back inside. Lightningmon was with them since it seemed that she didn't trust him either.

"Grandma just came back from the store so we were informing her of our guest." Tim said, hiding his true feelings. "Grandma, this is Arsmon."

She walked up to Arsmon, bowing to him. I could see that he was surprised by this behavior, "Thank you for taking care of Nereida for us. I hope that we would see more of you in the future." Grandma smiled at him.

He looked away with only his eyes, "Sure."

"Are you staying for the night?"

"… I can." I noticed that he was shy for some reason. I was beginning to think that he doesn't know how to react to normal kindness. Maybe this was his first real encounter with humans?

"Nereida, he can stay in your room." She smiled at her.

Nereida blushed a bit, "Okay… I'll show you around the house." She grabbed Arsmon's hand and dragged him pass us.

"I would say to not be harsh towards him, and not because of fear, but because he's pure." Grandma said as she looked at us. "What are you going to do?" She looked at Lightningmon.

"He's a lot different from Heka, so I don't know how to take him, but she had decided a long time ago to take the relationship he was giving her." She answered, "Matt gained Arsmon's trust."

Grandma nodded, "I say we'll leave them alone for tonight."

Tim sighed, "Are you noticing something?"

Grandma nodded without any surprised, though I thought that it was still weird since this wasn't the brother that I have grown up with. "I'll tell you tomorrow. You can stay with me, Lightningmon." **Empty shell, lots of souls, pure but evil, his recklessness**

She nodded, for some reason not going to fight against Grandma's decision. Though, I also remembered a time when Tim would've fought with Grandma over us, so to have Grandma's decision be the final word is something that I'm not used to.

"Okay, good night." I said, heading up to my room.

"You okay with this?" Huskimon asked as I closed my door.

"No, but things are becoming weird so I figure that I'll wait and see what the changes are."

"I don't trust him." He lay on the bed.

"I don't want to trust him… I can't believe we forgot that she was only fifteen years old."

"I'm sure no one from her party knew it, otherwise they probably wouldn't allow it either."

"I somehow don't think so, since it was her decision… I definitely don't like that guy." I narrowed my eyes as I headed over to my bed.

"I think it's funny that you're treating him like a human."

I blinked, "Why wouldn't we?"

"Because he's not."

I lay on the bed, "I treat you like you're human as well."

He nodded his head in thought, "So you don't see us as monsters."

I rubbed his head, "Of course not. You're our best friends. Sure, I understand that there's probably some loyalty going on as well, like something within us that allows us to trust each other completely and to allow you guys to believe in us, no matter what road we take or what roads we had taken, but it's also something that allows us to know that we can place that faith and trust within you as well. And because we're all touchy feely beings, we don't care that that is what started this and are just glad that we have you guys."

Huskimon nodded, moving closer to me, "We'll always be there for you."

I wrapped my arm around him, "I know. I hate that damn jerk."

Huskimon laughed, "I hate him too." And we headed to sleep.

[Nereida]

I noticed that Tim was waiting up in the dining room. Shendramon was on his shoulder, but Grandma and Lightningmon weren't around. "Tim?" I asked, worried for a bit.

He looked at me, "Grandma said that he can sleep in your room." The look in his eyes was telling me that he wanted to tell me something, but didn't know how safe it was, "Though, you head up there first, okay?"

I nodded my head before looking at Arsmon, "Come up when you're done talking." I headed upstairs, wondering what this all meant. I stayed at the top of the stairs, worried about this set up.

[Tim]

"Yes?" Arsmon stood as if challenging me. I could tell that he was testing to see if I was the controlling one.

I sighed, wondering how to handle this, "Sit down for a moment."

He seemed taken back for a moment before walking to sit across from me. He seemed a bit nervous about it, though trying to hide it. "What?"

"I know that you're looking for the brother that had controlled her for most of her life, and I thought that I should end your search." Seeing that he was only glaring at me, I decided to continue, "As such, I feel like I've handed my daughter to a gangster."

"Is that a bad thing?" He didn't know the reference.

"It normally is, but Panther was once one as well, and I know that she changed. I'm not saying that I want you to change, but I want to know how reliable you are. You're working for a Digimon that we know wants to take over the Digital World, a world that we promised to protect. I'm sure you have enemies that will use whatever leverage they can to win against you." He looked at the stairs, understanding where I was going with this, "And since it seems like you have to hide this relationship from your group, I can only image that this is considered something as a betrayal in their eyes and probably a way for them to move up in the line."

"My Master knows the truth." Arsmon looked at me. "I have not betrayed her or her cause."

"Then what does that mean for us?" He looked confused, probably because I was so honest. "How do we handle you and your master? I know that Matt said that we should all decide on our own, but the Neo Digidestined are a lot more understanding and a lot more willing to cut Super Levels a break if we know and understand them. I mean, we know that you were part of what happened to Matt, and yet no one at that table had the notion to attack you. No one wanted to attack you for what you did. I'm only speaking for the Neo group, since I don't know how the others will react, but I consider that amazing. Now, with that kind of trust in you, what are we supposed to do when we face each other on the battlefield? Are we supposed to let you walk all over us because we don't want to hurt you? I know that I personally don't want Nereida fighting against you, and I don't want to hurt the first person that she loves."

He averted his gaze from me, hurt in his eyes. He didn't know how to answer any of this, which is what I figured would happen, but I had to ask anyway. I didn't want to be left in the dark if he had come up with an answer to these questions. He didn't know how well he could protect Nereida from threats that would be after him and he didn't know how we're supposed to face each other on a battlefield, "I can only say that I will protect Nereida the best that I can… And that when we face each other in combat, I will have to try to fulfill what my Master has asked of me." He looked at me, "Let me ask my Master how she wants me to handle this. She understands this feeling and is allowing me to freely express it to her so I'm sure she'll think upon it greatly." He seemed to be begging me.

I nodded, "Once you have an answer, can you come back here and give us your solution? It could make it easier for us to judge the appropriate course of action when fighting."

He nodded, "I will."

"Great, then there are two more things that I need to say to you." I said as I got up, "Welcome to the family, and," I hit him over the head, "She's fifteen years old so don't you sleep with her again until she's out of high school." I said in my angry voice. He looked at me in shock, though I'm not sure of what, "Yeah, she told us and I was reminded of her true age. You're lucky that I had her going to high school the same time as Damon." I walked towards the door, "And you better make her happy." I headed towards the stairs, seeing that Nereida was there.

She smiled at me, standing up as I walked up the stairs, "Thanks, Tim." She hugged me when I was two steps below her.

I hugged her back, "Just keep smiling and be happy. He's a good person, like you believed." I patted her head, "So wait until after you graduate."

"What if I go to acting school and don't graduate?"

I knew that this was part of the reason why I wanted her to go to high school early, so obviously this would be an important question to ask, "Fine, whenever you leave that school to follow your dreams, then you can. But until then, you can't."

She hugged me again, "Thanks." She headed down stairs and I went towards my room.

"**Is this the right choice to make?**" Shendramon asked, "**He also can't block his thoughts.**"

"Good to know, and I think it is. Once we know how we're supposed to handle each other, we can set it up so that Nereida doesn't have to fight against him personally. I kinda wanted him to not ask Collect Soulsmon about the problem, but I realized that he probably considers himself the most loyal person to her and doesn't want to go against her will."

"**I was thinking the same thing. I hope we get our answer soon since we don't what she's doing right now.**"

"Yeah… Well, we've lay out our hand, let's wait to see what they have." I headed to bed, "Night, Shendramon."

"**Night.**"

[Ryan]

(Just so you know, since it really isn't important to the whole story, but Ceres, Panther and Kai were all sleeping on my bed next to me and Tsunomon when I woke up this morning. I thought it was both touching, since it was like a kid running to his parent's bed, and weird since it was the first time that they have done so)

"So, Arsmon talked to his Master and she says that he doesn't have to try to steal Kai for the remainder of his stay." Nereida said excitingly to everyone. I thought it was funny how beaming with joy she was about it. "He would've come to school with me, but I don't know how to alter minds and such to make it seems like he was always here."

"So where is he now?" Neon asked.

"He's hanging out at the house. Tim had a class he had to attend before they're heading over to Matt's house. Izzy called last night saying that he wanted to check up on the first group's Digimon and to tell them of his discoveries."

"So Tim is going to inform Matt of Arsmon coming over?"

"I informed him this morning once Arsmon told me what his master told him. I also let him know of Izzy's plans so he isn't caught off guard."

"Must've been after we left, though, since we didn't hear the phone go off." Panther pointed out. Nereida smiled, saying that she had planned it that way.

"Oh, I think we need to watch out for you now." Ceres said. I could tell by the way that Neon and Lily Dawn were looking that they already knew the reason. I figured that meant that they knew this other side to Nereida that we didn't know about, meaning that she developed it while traveling back.

The bell ranged, meaning that no one could bother Nereida farther. I was thinking about the traveling that we did. Even though we were trying hard to head back home on the shortest path possible, I actually didn't mind all the sightseeing that we did. It was the most exciting thing that I have ever done. I could understand why Ceres loves it. It has a lot of freedom to it. I knew that I could use my powers to get me across vast lands and oceans. I would just have to worry about money. I figure that my art would be able to get me that cash, since I'm sure I can be a street vender or something. I figured that I should talk to Ceres about it some time, since she would know more than I do. She might be able to get me a connection to allow me to travel. My father is the only one that holds me to Japan, really, but I'm sure that he wouldn't mind me traveling. He travels all the time for business.

[Me]

"So, what happened yesterday?" Mimi asked as she and Joe came in. Izzy was already here, waiting for the others to come in.

"That will be told when everyone gets here," Izzy said for me, "Apparently, the answer will be presented to us."

She looked at me and I nodded. "You better not have helped an evil Digimon." Joe said with a serious face.

"Depends on your definition." I smiled, not caring that someone would object anymore. Nereida told me that his master had allowed him to not try to capture Kai. She didn't have to, after all, I'm sure she had some idea of the awesomeness he has. It was telling me that she cared enough to have him, but not desiring him. How could that be considered evil?

"We'll know when we see it." Mimi said, pulling Joe into the house. "Are you making anything?" She looked at me once Joe sat down.

"Did you not have breakfast?"

"Joe was up late." She smiled at me.

"I have coffee, if that's okay." I did have tea that would have caffeine within it, but I didn't know if Joe would trust it.

"That's fine." I headed over to the kitchen and she followed, "Should we be concerned?"

"If anyone fires at him, I'm taking the hit." I said, "It's a complicated situation. Don't worry, I'm sure that this kind of events only happens when we're here." I smiled to her.

She placed her hand on my shoulder, "I hope that I can be on your side by the end, then."

I was confused, "Why? You don't have to."

"I can see that you're still nervous about this. I'm hoping to not add to that. That's why I'm hoping that I will be on your side of this matter."

I smiled, "I told my group that they can have their own opinions on the matter."

"Did the Digimon involve them?"

"Yep, so they already know the situation."

"How did they handle it?"

I thought about it for a moment. I then realized that no one, not even Davis or Cody, was watching him as if he was the enemy. They were there to gather information from them, nothing more. As such, my group was confused by Nereida's actions, but no one made a comment. "They handled it very well, including Davis and Cody."

"I'll still wait and see, but I'll keep that in mind." She headed out once the coffee was done since I have a fast maker. I thought that it was amazing that she was saying this, considering the image I was getting from TK while I was gone. I wondered if I was able to keep them sane since this is how they've always been around me. There was a knock on the door, so I went to see who it was. Tai, Sora and Yolie were there.

"What happened?" Yolie asked.

"It'll be revealed when it gets here." Mimi said, "So, sit down and enjoy the moment."

Tai walked in, having Sora and Yolie to follow. "Have any more?" He looked at the cup that Joe had.

"I'll get another. Anyone else?" I headed over to the kitchen. No one else said anything so I poured one cup and headed back out.

"While we're waiting, I found out something incredible about our linage." Izzy said, getting up to be more dramatic, "I found that everyone in the first group is part of an alien race called Saiyan and our blood comes from the first two eras of Saiyan history."

"Have you lost your mind?" Joe asked.

"It's true." Tai said, "My mom told Kari and me the same thing two days ago. She also confirmed Matt's and Izzy's linage. How could you tell?"

"I have met someone that is also of Saiyan blood from our era and she knows how to tell the difference. She taught me all she knows about the blood system."

"I think you need to explain more of this." Sora said.

"What about the rest of us?" Yolie asked.

"Cody is also a Saiyan; Davis is something completely different; and you and Ken are as human as they come."

"Does the other group know of this?" Joe asked.

"Yeah, they know. I got some of their blood, and so far they're normal as well."

"Shouldn't mine look human?" Tai asked.

"It does, for the most part. There's a small portion that isn't, to show that you are indeed a Saiyan. Did your mom explain why?"

"An enchantress placed a spell on my family. If we have mainly male children, we become extinct."

I could tell that something came across Izzy's mind. "You're thinking that's why Kari has always been more favored than you."

Tai nodded seriously, "I had always thought it was weird, probably making me want to protect her more. But, I've also realized that I do care about Kari in my own way and that Kari never thought that she was better than me… She wanted to know if there's a way for me to be a full Saiyan."

"What did your mother say?"

"If it could've been done, it would've been."

"I'll talk to the people that I know. Maybe I can come up with some way."

"Why are you getting into biology?" Joe asked, "That isn't really your field."

"I've worked with the blood enough to know how to handle it. Plus, I do have someone in the field to help me out when I need it."

"Why did you discover it?" Sora asked.

"I remembered that Megamon's group had mentioned something about Saiyans before so I decided to look into it. Plus, the person I know that's helping me made me want to know more." That was new, but I was glad that there was a cover story already.

Right then, the door opened and in came the last two for the meeting. I was watching my group for a second, seeing that Mimi and Sora were the only ones that had known about him. "This is Arsmon." I said.

He was waiting to see if anyone did anything, the same with Tim. After a moment, "He's fine." Tim said.

"Define fine." Joe said, knowing that he was evil under normal conditions. All the Digimon were on alert.

Arsmon just smiled with amusement on his face, "You think that you can defeat me, babies? I'm sure you already figured that I'm a Super Level."

"What did you do yesterday?" Yolie asked, with everyone realizing that he was right.

I was surprised to see him thinking about how to say yesterday. "I got Matt involved in a fight between me and another Digimon that lives within your world and that does your work for you before you realized that we existed."

I looked at my group, seeing that Mimi and Izzy understood why I trusted him and why he wasn't the enemy all the time. Tai seemed a bit worried, but also understood. Everyone else was confused. "So, I'm going to guess that Izzy told you about your linage." Tim asked, walking over to the table with Arsmon following.

"You have something to add?" Joe asked in a nasty tone.

"The Digital World knows that your kind exists." Tim looked at him, though not responding back in the same way. He brought out a piece of metal, one that came from the factory that their Digimon were entrapped. "This metal, I believe, has the power to bring you down."

Everyone looked at it, wondering how. Even Izzy was pondering, which meant that he wasn't told this. "How did you find this out?" Izzy looked at him, though he totally believed him.

"**We have been mining this metal in heavy amounts so we could sell it out to any group that wanted to have a way of killing you.**" Shendramon said. "**We were never told who this was aimed at, though it has been used on someone before and they know that it works. The lower levels don't have this same information, since there's a system that Super Levels have that they always use to know the latest news. They don't always post what they're doing, but they do post their accomplishment.**"

"Why not tell us, then?" Sora looked at Arsmon.

"He's off limits to giving us information." Tim said, "If he wants to tell us, then he can tell us. So, back to the matter at hand, I don't know how this metal works since all the ones that I have are full of energy already. I've taken it to a research lab in my college, and it seems to be photons are stored in it. I'm going to have to guess that it doesn't come directly from the sun since I believe that this metal is what can drain Saiyans to a point where they are very weak and can be easily controlled. For that reason, I think a good name for it is called Saiyan Draining Metal." That, for some reason, struck a cord within me. It's like that sounded so familiar to me and it made me want to destroy all traces of it from the world.

"Super Levels don't call it that." Arsmon said. "We call it Moonoid."

"Why?" Izzy asked.

"It glows like the moons when they're full. We figured that it's a metal that somehow came from there. The Digital World works different than your world since it can grow metals that are supposed to exist in space on the ground. Bossmon is the Digimon that has all the supplies for it right now, so it's hard for other Digimon to get their hands on them."

Right then, Kai started to whimper. I went over to him to see what he wanted. Tsunomon and Motimon were keeping them company since I figured that Izzy would try to work with the others first. "He just wants to be near you." Tsunomon said.

I picked him up before looking at Arsmon. I could see that he was surprised to see Kai out in the open, "Want to hold him?" I asked.

I could tell that that was tearing him up inside. I didn't realize it would, though I probably should've guessed that since he is supposed to take him. Tim pushed Arsmon over to me, "You might as well learn how to handle a baby."

He took a step towards me before freezing again, "You shouldn't get sidetracked. If you don't get your Digimon powered up, then when Digimon or demons start to attack, you won't be ready for it."

"That is true." Tim said, "We know that our Digimon are very weak after going into their Super Level forms, though there seems to be rules to being a Super Level that aren't so clear cut. We're going to have to find these out."

"Why can't he tell us? He is one of them, after all." Yolie said, "I'm sure it wouldn't kill him or anything."

"Arsmon doesn't have to tell us anything. I think Super Levels inherit the knowledge of their level and they also don't go revealing anything to the lower levels. Not all Digimon have a Super Level form and not all Super Levels come from a Digimon."

"What do you know so far?"

"Super Levels gained their powers once they have someone that can be called a friend. It doesn't seem like they have to be a true friend, but it's someone that you can count on, I think…"

"I'll tell you." Arsmon said, "It's better than you getting it wrong by guessing." Izzy got his laptop out. "Super Levels are created by three Digimon that are called The Siblings. The one that you're going to hear most about and probably have already met is called Mirrormon. She's considered the youngest out of the three. When they create Digimon, they give them only a form and power, but it's up to them what they choose to do with their lives. The Digimon they create can't access their power right away. It only comes out once you've become a friend of another Super Level Digimon. One Digimon can be that "friend" to more than one Digimon. They don't gain more power the more "friends" they have, but that does mean that more Super Levels are able to access their powers. Now, because of this, Super Levels have gained a sense of honor of not playing dirty. That's why no Super Levels had attacked you before now since they knew that you didn't know of their existence and that you weren't at their power level. The only reason you're seeing an increase in Super Level is because Gennai has sent you against the Deity Digimon and Bossmon's henchman.

"Because of this buddy system, Digimon have the tendency to form groups with the Digimon that they become friends with. The groups that are out to take over the Digital World are formed by the leaders. It's kinda easy to tell which groups are which.

"As far as power goes, Super Levels are given the advantage since we're not limited like the lower levels. Even if one is created with attributes of water, if they train hard enough, they can also use attacks that are of the other elements. I'm only giving that as an example, since it's the easiest way to explain it. The only thing that limits them is by what was given to them when they were created. If they have four legs, they can't grow six more if it isn't part of their design.

"Omnimon is so far the only Digimon that's below Super Level that seems to be able to defeat Super Levels. Most have figured that this is because Omnimon comes from two Mega Digimon and is therefore the closest to reaching a Super Level's strength. And so you know, most Super Levels were surprised that your Digimon could use their attacks so quickly after evolving, but have come to figure that since you're all friends with each other already that your Digimon didn't have to worry about finding a friend. Though, I'm going to guess that not many, or none at all, know that you're weak again from going into that form. Mirrormon told me that the way to get back into the Super Level form is by having two of you together. I'm sure that both don't need to, but two Digidestined need to be present. I'm also going to take a guess that what she really means is that two Crests need to be near each other. As for Tim's Crest, I'm sure that if you have another one with you, your Crest alone should be fine.

"It is also known that Digimon of the lower levels that do have a Super Level form can go into that stage once they clear their In-Training stage. There's also a way to see if someone is a Digimon or not. There are many that are living within the Human World, and as you can tell, there's a great deal that will look human. Digimon contain the information of the area where they were first awaken. Your Digimon have a forest from File Island when it existed. I don't know how to teach someone to see this information, but Digimon should be able to see this better than you guys."

Izzy got the last thing in his computer, "So we should see if we can do so now." He looked at Arsmon, "Thanks, by the way."

"Who wants to go first?" Tai asked.

"Can you hold your shape?" Tim looked at Shendramon. He nodded his head, "How do we get the process started?" Tim looked at Arsmon.

"Take out your Jewel." I said, taking out mine and walking over to Tim. He did so, "What you do is let your energy flow into the Jewel and then guide it over to Shendramon. I'm going to do the same."

Tim nodded as Shendramon flew up to be over our heads. I stared to do so naturally, since I've been doing this for a while, and I could see that Tim was having a hard time to do so. Arsmon came over, placing two fingers on Tim's heart and moved them along a path that led to the Jewel, "That's how it will feel." Arsmon informed him as the Jewel was gaining more and more energy from Tim. I then sent my energy into Shendramon without it doing anything. Arsmon moved his fingers in a line that shot to Shendramon and then I started to notice the signs of Digievolving.

"Shendramon Super Wrap Digievolve to………………………… Icedramon!" A small version of his Super Level form appeared where he was.

"And that's how you send it to your Digimon." Arsmon said, moving back from us.

"How does he release that power?" Tim asked.

"By letting it go." Arsmon thought about it for a moment, "Image that you're in water and you're right now holding onto your breath. To de-Digievolve is relaxing your muscles and letting your mouth open to breath."

Icedramon closed his eyes and I felt the energy that I gave return as the familiar signs of downgrading took place, returning Shendramon. "**That was amazing.**" He commented.

"Thanks Arsmon. I guess you have to teach that to Damon and Nereida as well." Tim looked at him.

"I figured as much… And do remember that you all have a size issue to deal with." I looked at the others, seeing that Yolie, Sora and Joe were all ready to evolve their Digimon.

"I would prefer to have a house, thanks." I said, seeing that they were putting their jewels away. "How do you feel, by the way?" I looked at Shendramon as he landed on Tim again.

"**I'm not drained at all. Is that how it's supposed to be?**"

"It is." Tsunomon said, "We use most of our partner's energy rather than our own, so we don't get tired as easily. Though, because of that, once we used up their energy, we have to rely on our own. That's when the draining comes in."

"Is that all you can teach, show or tell us?" Izzy asked.

"It is." Arsmon answered.

"Okay, thank you. I've also said everything that I wanted to. Tim, what about you and this metal?"

"I don't know how to unlock the energy that has already been absorbed, and I obviously don't know what kind of light is absorbed, but I figured that you should all be careful of it just the same."

"I'm going to go check out the blood problem. I'll get back with everyone as soon as I can." Motimon went back over to Izzy, "Let's hope that we don't have to face each other soon." He said to Arsmon as he headed out.

"We might as well take our leave as well." Tai said, getting up, "Do you need any help, Matt?"

"I have Tim here."

Tai nodded, before looking at Arsmon, "I might have my own opinion on the actions that the Neo group takes, but I'm also willing to follow it because I trust their judgment for more than that my sister is in it. I don't mean this in a rude way, but I hope we don't meet again." Then he and Sora left, though I wasn't sure what she thought about it.

"You two should get going as well." Mimi said, "After all, you do have to rest and I know you have a class today." She looked at both Yolie and Joe. Neither said anything as they left, though I would guess that Arsmon figured as much. "So why do you trust this guy?"

"He likes Nereida." Tim said as he headed over to the other babies. "He's not really a bad guy once you get to know him." Arsmon didn't seem to like that statement, but couldn't take it back either.

"So why are you nervous about holding Kai? If Matt trusts you to hold his son, that's a great honor." He looked away from her by moving his head.

"It's okay, Arsmon." I said with a smile, "I'm sorry that I put you in an awkward position, but I thought you should hold him. If there's a time when he is taken by you, I want you to know how to hold him properly so you don't kill him." Arsmon slowly looked at me. He looked like he wanted to tell me something, probably correcting my comment. "Besides, there might come a day when Nereida has a child. It's always good practice."

Arsmon looked at Kai, who right now didn't seem to mind that the person who would try to take him away from me was near him. Arsmon slowly moved his arms out and I moved closer so he could pick up Kai. He did so slowly and I helped him support Kai better. When I moved away from them, Kai didn't seem bothered by Arsmon at all. He was smiling a bit at him, actually. While Arsmon was looking at him, I could tell that Arsmon was starting to understand something about humans, or maybe a new emotion had just appeared. It was actually touching to see this.

The rest of the time, Mimi was teaching Arsmon how to take care of babies and with three on hand, he was getting a lot of practice.

[Ceres]

"Hey, Ceres," Ryan said as everyone was talking around the table at lunch. "I kinda want to travel around the world once I'm done with here. Any ideas on how to go about that?"

"I thought that you were going to do something with art." She pointed out, since that would've been the logical conclusion from all the art that he's taking.

"That's why I'm asking. I don't know what to do. I want to keep art in what I'm doing, but I also wanted to travel. It was really fun."

Ceres did notice that he was enjoying it, considering that he wanted to have side tours. "I should be able to help you out." She brought out her bag, taking out a notebook and flipping through it. She had placed information on everyone she had worked for or had favorable contact with for such incidences. "I should have someone that would sponsor an artist to travel. So you know, it is a lot easier to travel by yourself."

"Why is that? It didn't seem that bad when we were all together."

"What kind of traveling do you want to do?" Ceres looked up from her book.

"What are the kinds?"

"There's the kind that we did. It's the one that I always do, but it's also the riskiest. There's a tour guide like thing, for when you go into different countries that you don't know the language to. It's safe and totally by the book."

Ryan thought about it for a moment, "I guess our way."

"Then it's better to go by yourself. Espomon can be with you, obviously, but having another person with you is like carrying around two bags. There might be some safety within the number, but that also means that you have to worry about another mouth, it would be harder to get a room, sometimes… It's just not really good when you're first starting out. Once you've gained a better idea on how to get by on such a life, then you can have another person with you."

"So I should learn the tricks of the trade before allowing someone to accompany me. Okay, I'll make sure that I do that then. Do you have spells for me to know another language? I might go to a rural place of a place I haven't learned the language and doesn't have English."

"I'll impart some of the important things that you would need before you go. That would be one of them, of course, but there are a few other things as well." Ceres said as she went back to her notebook. "Ah, found one. He's in a different country, though."

"That's fine. Which one?"

"France. He's really big on art and owns a lot of studios and such. He's always looking for something new and edgy to display. I'll give him a call today as we head home."

"Thanks." Ryan said with a smile. Lunch was then over so everyone said bye before heading over to their classes.

"What was Ryan asking?" Panther asked as they were near their Spanish class.

"Ryan doesn't want to stay." Ceres said with a smile, "He wants to be like me. Let's see, I have four people saying that traveling is better than staying put."

"I still have the rest of them." Panther pointed out with a smirk, "So mine is still better at getting stronger and wiser."

Ceres pouted, "We need to stop by a payphone on our way home."

"Why?" They took their seats.

"I need to call a friend of mine for Ryan since he still wants to keep art as his job. I think I know someone who would be willing to sponsor him, so I just have to call and make sure."

"Okay. You're going to talk to Sage this Sunday, right?"

"Yep, Mackenzie-sensei said that it was okay. When is your date?"

"Tomorrow. So, we'll see how it goes."

"Don't give in just because you don't want to hurt him. And also don't do it because your family is against it. You know that we'll back off."

"By a small amount, right?"

"Yep." Ceres smiled.

[Ryan]

"I need to head over to my art class. Apparently, there was something left with my art teacher." I informed Don.

"The one that you don't have with anyone?"

"Yeah. It shouldn't take too long." I headed over to my class. I was really excited about Ceres' answer that I didn't really care what my teacher had for me. I was sure that Ceres was able to get me that job. "Excuse me for intruding." I said, being a normal Japanese student. Most of the kids do, even though we know that we don't have to while attending since it was supposed to be based off American schools.

"Oh, Ryan," my teacher said, getting up from his desk with a paper within his hand, "I was sent this very important letter. It contains the status of your entry of the art competition that you applied for back a few months."

My eyes widened with knowing which one he was talking about. He handed me the letter and I quickly opened it to reveal that I had won. They were going to broadcast their new art auction and, although they weren't going to make mine the center pieces, it was still going to be shown during the commercial. "I can't believe it… This is great!" I was so excited, thinking that I would be able to show this off to the person that Ceres is going to talk to for me.

"It is, and I hope that this means that I'll be seeing more of that talent in your work as well."

I looked at him, "I will. Is this all?" I wanted to show Panther and Lily Dawn as soon as I could.

"Yeah, and good luck in your future."

"Thanks." I smiled, bowing before heading out. I ran all the way back to where I met up with everyone. They were all waiting for me outside, looking at me as I came through the door.

"Seems like it was some good news." Ken said with a smile, able to tell from my face.

"I want to let Panther know so I'll say it when we get there." I said by the time I reached them, "So let's head out."

When we opened the door and walked in, it was quite amazing site to see. Arsmon, the one that was out to capture Kai, was near him and the other babies, looking like he was playing or taking care of them. Matt, Panther nor Ceres were stopping him and they were all preparing food. Mimi was here as well, though it seemed that it was to make sure that Arsmon knew what he was doing. Of course, the Digimon were all around too, but they weren't protecting the kids, they were also playing. I could tell that this was Matt's way of saying thanks to Arsmon and his master, since she told him to not try to capture him during the rest of his stay.

"We'll tell everything once homework is done." Tim said, and I could tell that he also had some kind of trust in Arsmon. I thought it was funny how much we could trust him, even knowing who he worked for. I really wondered why Collect Soulsmon couldn't just change her ways or why she even wanted to take the Digital World. She wasn't evil, even though that seemed to be her orientation beforehand. It's just really weird and making the lines even more shaded.

"We know how to go back into our Super Level forms." Tim informed us once we were done, "Arsmon has to show Damon and Nereida how to send their energy to their Digimon, but other than that, it's rather simple. What's needed is two Crests being present and sending the energy to the Digimon."

"Can you show us now?" Nereida asked, looking at Arsmon.

He got up, "We're going to be sending it to Shendramon again since he's the only one that can stay small."

"Espomon has a small Super Level form." I informed, figuring that Shendramon was used the first time.

"Have him away from the table." Arsmon went over to where Damon and Nereida were. Espomon walked a bit away from the table, sitting there and looking at Damon and Nereida. Arsmon placed two fingers on both of them, starting from their hearts and following a path that went to their hands. We all saw a tiny glow in their palm, "That's how you're going to send your energy to a central location." I looked at Tim, seeing him pulling out his Jewel and it was glowing. "That's probably because they're connected it." Arsmon flicked his fingers towards Espomon, having him to instantly have the common signs of evolution.

"Espomon Super Wraps Digievolve to…………………………………… Eemon!" The cute, brown furred dog came onto the scene. The glow stopped on the Jewel and there wasn't a beam from there either.

"That's how you send your energy to a Digimon. For a Digimon to get out of this state, they have to relax their body and let go of the power that they've gained. Image that you're in water and right now you're holding onto your breathe. To release the power is like imaging that you're relaxing your muscles and freely floating within the water and you're just going to open your mouth to let the water come in."

Eemon de-Digievolved back to Espomon. "Why did you use that imagery?" Espomon asked.

"That's what happens when a Super Level dies. They let go of the power that's within them."

"Thanks." Nereida said, smiling at him with her honest feelings. I was glad for that, since that meant that she didn't have to act around him anymore.

"Oh, and Izzy is going to look into getting Tai to be a full Saiyan." Matt said to Kari.

She smiled, "That's good."

"Does he believe it's possible?" Ceres asked.

"He's going to try."

"Oh, I also told them about the metal." Tim informed us. "I was thinking about letting him take a sample to see if he could do something with it."

Ceres nodded, "Should we also give one to Kaiba? I figure that he could have his team look into seeing what it's made of or something like that."

"I can ask him, but I don't want to put more on him. He's still doing the translation."

"Do you think he can't handle it?"

"I don't know, but I also don't want him to think that he has to do all of this for us."

"Oh, Ceres," Ken interrupted, "TK and I were wondering if we could use your Crest powers as a way to handle demons."

"How so?" She looked at them.

"Well, we would have to develop a way for them to be sent to their dimension." TK said, "We were thinking that your Crest power would be the most useful since it can travel through dimensions."

"But I need to see a place first. I can't say that I would know all the places that demons dwell. I mean, only by luck did I even know about the one that I did."

"Ken is going to develop a program to make it easier. Though, we need to know how strong you are at opening the portals."

"It will also allow me to know how strong I need to make the program."

"Do you have some machine already?" Matt asked.

"That's going to be built as well." Ken said, "I just need to know what kind of limits Ceres has so we can plan accordingly."

"Alright, what should we be doing now?" Ceres was all ready for it. I figured that I can tell her later, since this is kinda important.

"We should probably test to see the range of your powers."

"You're not going to the moon or another planet, no matter how cool that would be." Panther said firmly, looking at Ceres. Both she and TK were sad at this fact.

"Glad they listen to you." Ken said, bringing out his laptop, "TK was unwilling to give that up, saying that Matt would have something to protect them."

"How long will it take?" Matt asked.

"They'll come back before midnight." Ken said.

"You should probably feed Kai before going off."

"Okay, I'm guessing we're going soon." She started to get up.

Ken nodded, as he was typing away. "Should the rest of us be doing something?" Lily Dawn asked.

"It would probably be helpful to train in getting use to going to Super Level form." Mimi offered.

"So go outside?" Damon asked.

"There's not a lot of room, though." Panther said, "We could always go towards the beach."

"Are you able to come along, or do you need to stay here?" Matt looked at Ken.

"I need to stay here. We'll get practice in later."

"So, we'll get some clothes for the babies and we'll head out." He headed upstairs as Ceres started to feed Kai, with Neon doing the same as Don was handing Arsmon the clothes. It was kinda cool, knowing that he wasn't supposed to be this helpful. Nereida was helping too, but that was more given than Arsmon. As we were watching this site, I decided to tell Panther and Lily Dawn as we were heading over.

I walked over to Ken, wondering what he was working on. I could tell that he was typing something, "What's this?"

"This is a code to make this machine work." I looked at his hand, seeing some kind of box next to him, connected to his laptop.

"I didn't know that you were interested in programming." I sat down, "I was shown it once, but I couldn't do it."

"I only started to get into it. I've been reading a lot of books to get an idea on how to do so."

"Are you're creating your own programs now?"

"I'm more like modifying the programs." I then realized that he didn't know how big this was. It wasn't because I wasn't good at programming, I was actually good at coming up with the way and could simplify if I was working together with someone, but I couldn't do it completely on my own. I looked on the screen, seeing that he actually was creating parts of programs on his own.

"Okay, we're ready to head out." Matt said once he got the clothes on Kai. "Are you coming with us, Mimi?" He looked at her.

"Yeah, I should probably practice as well." She smiled.

"I'll take some in my car."

"Okay, once you're done with your thing, call to see where we are." Matt looked at Ken.

"Will do." He said. I got up and followed everyone out.

Matt had called Izzy over to see if he would like to join/observe the progress as we were driving over. I started to wonder if keeping a record like this was a good thing or not. "Panther, Lily Dawn," I said, having them look at me, "I won the art contest." I said with a big smile and my thumb in the air.

"That's awesome!" Lily Dawn said, reaching over to hug me, "Congrats!"

"That'll definitely help when you apply for your job." Panther said with a smile.

"I know! Has Ceres contacted the person?"

"Yep, though she didn't tell me what he said… Though, have you gotten word about your sister?"

I just paused for a moment there. I had completely forgotten about my sister. It was the whole reason I entered the contest in the first place. I lowered my eyes, "I haven't yet…"

"Don't give up yet, Ryan." Lily Dawn said with a smile, "I'm sure that she'll contact you."

I nodded, though really wondering about my future plans. I wanted to travel the world for this guy, but I couldn't do that if I had my sister with me. For the first time in my life, I felt torn about what I wanted to do.

[Ken]

"Here TK," I handed him the communicator with him taking it. "TK is going to draw the places that we want to test out and you go there base on that, okay?"

Ceres nodded, "But what if I can't tell what it is by the picture?"

"That's part of the test." We were going to try to find a way to entering into a mind and pulling out the information that we needed. I figured that this would be a good way of always sending them back to their right location, regardless of where it is. "Place this on you. It'll allow me to modern how your body is handling everything. Also, you're allowed to use your magic as well."

Ceres placed it around her waist, since it had a strap on it. I looked at my computer, seeing that all signs were normal. Then something started to happen, though when I looked at her, I could tell she was giving me an idea of how her signs looked when she was powering up. "So, where to?" She looked at TK once she was done showing me how she could gather her magic.

TK had a rope tied around his waist, which the other end went to Ceres' arm. He started to draw the first place we agreed upon. I looked on the screen when TK held up the image for her, seeing that the Jewels gather energy from us and then transformed it into a power. It would explain why it affected us so greatly.

The first place that they went to was somewhere in Greenland. Her magic was turned on, seeing that she was surrounding them with a heat shield, since it was coming mainly from her hands. I was glad that she could do this automatically, though I figured that she probably had to since that was her main weapon. They went to Antarctica next, which the heat shield increased. They traveled all over the world, going to mainly extreme places. One spot was near the bottom of the ocean. This one was the most dangerous since she had to deal with both pressure and water. I had advised against it at first, but TK convinced me that it was good test to see if she could manage to solve the problem if she couldn't use her magic for it. Though, she created an air shield the moment they got there. I was impressed, to say the least. Her sense of timing was very good. The last stop was the International Space Station.

"Let's test it out for phase two." TK said over the communicator.

"… Go." Phase two was him drawing stuff in such a way that you would have to know the location in order to know where to go. Even though Panther said that they shouldn't, seeing how she was able to do the ocean test, I figured that we should give it a try. I feared that her magic wouldn't work since there are really no molecules to help her out. But, she used her stomach jewel, which I think was supposed to be her soul, a.k.a. light and dark. Though, I also noticed that she had another source she was using. It wasn't going out to TK, though. It was only surrounding her. It seemed to be her light magic, but coming from her entire body. Her soul jewel was like another protective layer around herself. They went on, though it was easy to tell that they were off a bit. During phase one, she was hitting the coordinates dead on, but now she was off by a mile or so. I could tell that she knew generally where she was supposed to go, but couldn't tell by the image itself where it was exactly. So, she was pretty much guessing on where to land. "Keep going with phase two." I said, since we reached the amount we wanted to do.

I wanted her to be able to do this accurately. This could very well be the only image we get from a demon about his home. I didn't want her to be off so much and only guessing on where it was. Step two of our training will be to send cameras to random locations. We don't really know if she needs to bring them to the location herself or not, which is why we decided to do this one first.

A few times, TK took her to places in outer space. I only knew that because of how she responded. I had a program that allowed me to know the distance they were from me and TK was drawing on a board that would display his image onto my screen so I always knew where they were. She was still off by a mile or two, though I bet the view was still amazing. Even though I wanted to yell at TK for doing so, it was actually beneficial that he was since I could tell that Ceres wasn't strong enough to go to such places with her own powers. I could tell that she was fine, but she couldn't go to like Neptune or anything like that. That was too far for her powers to reach. Though, TK tried this, and the farthest she got was to the asteroid belt. I really wish we had another dimension or world that we could try. TK took her back to Earth, spent two more trials there before drawing a place that I thought I should know. It wasn't a place in the Digital World and it wasn't a place on Earth, either. She couldn't get there, though, since she tried to go to a place on Earth for it.

"Go to phase three." I said, wanting to move on from this. I figured she should have a taste of what we planned for the step two. It would also give her a chance to practice this on her own. Of course, she was getting these all wrong. She wasn't landing in the spots at all, but wherever they ended up, she was able to respond to it correctly.

"So now we know what she needs to work on." Wormmon said. Patamon had stayed with me as well.

"Maybe her powers would work best if they were in the Digital World. It is a Crest power, after all." Patamon suggested.

"We'll have that be step three." I figured that that was a good thing to know.

"Make it step two." I looked at Patamon, "We know she can handle herself in any environment, so it would be better to know if she needs the Digital World or not. If her powers can't even open portals to other dimensions while there, then this plan isn't very helpful, is it?"

"Good point." I turned back around, seeing that they were on the last image, "Okay, return back here."

TK didn't need to draw anything for this one. They came back to the same spot. I could tell that Ceres didn't know how well she did. "So, how was it?" She seemed really excited.

"You did well in the environment testing. I was really impressed at how quickly you were able to respond as well."

"What can I say? I'm good with my magic." She smiled with pride.

"Though, you have to rely on the image itself. You shouldn't be guessing so much." I then realized that she was carrying her bag with her, realizing that that was probably why I didn't notice IceThormon. "You were off by a mile for phase two and completely wrong for phase three. It also appears that you have a limit while on Earth, since you could only reach the asteroid belt, and not Saturn. We're going to try this again while in the Digital World for the next step to see if that's any better." She nodded, not liking the fact that she has to work on something, "Also, there was an extra layer of light around you when you went to space. It seemed to come from your body naturally, but you didn't show it to me before so I was wondering what it was."

"Didn't know I had one, so I won't be able to tell you… I'll see if I can get back to you on that one."

"Okay." I looked at the time, seeing that it was passed eleven pm. "I'm going to be heading to bed." I started to pack up. I'm getting used to the weights, but since I'm going to be training with Date-san all day tomorrow, I figured I should get my rest. "Are you guys going to go over to where they are?" I asked once I got all my stuff together.

"I am, since I don't have anything else to do." TK said with a pout. He knew that I was going to be with Date-san tomorrow, which is why he would be staying here the night. Of course, this wasn't really known to Matt, yet, but that's okay. I told him that he should be with Kari, but he figured that her mother would mind if he was there. I also didn't want her to know that he was leaving my side to be near her because he couldn't be near me. I figured that that piece of information would get her mad at me again.

"I'm going to bed. Reacting took a lot out of me." She said as she headed up to her room.

"You really shouldn't stay here." I said when I heard her close her door. "You might as well try. I mean, you are going to be married soon."

TK sighed, "I'll try, then." He smiled at me, though it was also telling me that he wasn't all that happy that he couldn't be near me. "Have fun with Date-san tomorrow."

Seeing this made me wonder if the antidote made his feelings more visible or if I was able to see his expressions clearer. I lightly punch his shoulder, "I'll try to be done before dinner, okay?"

I was glad that this made him happy, "Okay." He's smile was a lot more like a kid's right now.

"See ya tomorrow night." I said as I headed out of the door.

"It's like spoiling a child." Wormmon said as we were walking over to my house.

"Yep." I said with a smile, liking the fact that TK was this attached to me for some reason.

[Damon]

Once everyone got used to transferring energy to each other, we were then doing so while fighting each other. As we got better, we were even doing it faster and faster. The Digimon were gathering it as quickly as they could, evolving, then fought with that energy for a bit before releasing it. Arsmon was directing our pace, since everyone else was in teams. I was with Don; Nereida was with Neon; Tim was with Ryan; Panther was with Lily Dawn; Davis was with Cody; Kari was with Mimi; and Matt was with Izzy. It was actually kinda cool that we were able to be this coordinated so fast. I mean, even Izzy, Mimi, Davis and Cody were right on time with our flow. I can understand how we all could be this amazing, since we've been training all this time so we all have a sense of timing with each other, but it was still cool to see it all play out.

Then, out of no where, TK and Patamon appeared in the sky and landed near Kari and Gatomon. Everyone stopped, since we weren't really sure what he was doing here. "Kari!" TK said while hugging her.

"Okay, practice is over." Matt said, "Thanks, Arsmon."

Arsmon looked a bit disappointed, but nodded, "You should now have no problems with Super Levels."

Izzy was talking to Matt as Don and Neon were heading over to their babies. "Are we done for the day?" Don asked as he picked up Krypton. They were on a blanket that separated them from the sand. Since they couldn't crawl, no one was worried about them going to the ocean and Arsmon was making sure that nothing got near them.

"Yeah, see everyone later." Matt said with a smile.

"Are you staying?" Nereida asked Arsmon, her arms already around his.

He nodded, "Yeah." It was weird to see a soft smile on his face, considering he's evil and all.

"I have something to say." Don said as Neon went on ahead of him. He looked stern with Arsmon, "If you ever go after my kids, I'll made sure that you'll regret it ten fold." He then walked away.

I looked at Arsmon, seeing that he was kinda hurt by that, "He doesn't mean that you can't touch his kids." I said, having Arsmon look at me, "He's very protective of his kids, because he had a dream with them dying in front of him and he couldn't protect them. I'm sure he never got over it. You're allowed to play with them, I promise." I smiled at him.

"We'll go over to their house tomorrow and you'll see, okay?" Nereida said with a smile.

He didn't seem to like the idea, but didn't object to it either. "Okay, we're heading off." Tim told Matt before we walked up the path. "If you're worried that you might one day have to go after them, just tell your master what he said and how you feel about the subject. She doesn't seem to mind changing her plans when it comes to you, so it might work out. That way, if another one of her henchman sees something with them, or if you see something with them, then she can dismiss it as something that doesn't interest her."

I was glad that took away some of his worry.

[Ryan]

"Hey, dad." I said once we got through the door. He was sitting in the living room, reading over some paper and having the news on. I noticed the mail that we had gotten, "Any letters from my sister?" I normally ask, because I figure that she would try to contact me at least once.

"Of course not." He said with a heavy sigh. He looked at me, "How was today?"

Something didn't feel right. He normally doesn't sigh like that when he answers me. I mean, I've been asking ever since they left. What made this time so different? "What's up?"

He looked at me, "Hm?"

"Did she contact you? I won my art contest. I'm sure that if she saw it that she would know that it was me and try to find me."

"Do you still pretend to be a kid?" He looked away, "You shouldn't be living in a fantasy world."

"How is trying to find my sister a fantasy world?" A thought came across my mind. _Sorry dad, but I have to know._ I took hold of my Jewel, "Where are they?"

"I…"

"You've known along?" I said before he finished. I could see it clearly that he had visited my mom out on the town before. "I thought she left us…" I could see then that dad had let them go, but they weren't separated. I took off running, knowing that Breomon was right beside me (the ones that weren't at their normal stage were by the end of the practice because of how much energy they were receiving). I headed towards the train station, since I wasn't about to let this chance slip through my fingers. I was going to find her, no matter who wanted to stop me.

[Panther]

I thought it was weird that TK was going with Kari since I figured that he would be with Ken. I didn't really want to ask why either, since Kari looked happy to have him around. Kai was asleep in my arms as we were heading back. "Is there something wrong with putting TK on the spot like that?" I asked, since I could tell that Arsmon was going to have us do so. I noticed that I wouldn't have minded since I knew that it would be funny. Matt and Izzy were both worried when they realized that could've been the next command.

"It was getting close to midnight so I thought we should stop." He said with a smile, meaning that he can't tell me the reason.

I sighed, "I can see things as well."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"I know that something is going on with TK mentally that's causing him to not be like he was before. Ken is the one that you, Izzy and Cody are entrusting to keep him in check. The others can't know about it since TK probably doesn't want everyone to worry about it. I also noticed that Ken and TK are on a different battle pattern than the rest of us and that Ken is being trained by someone else." I looked at him with a sly smile, "And I'm not the only one that sees this, by the way."

Matt laughed, "You two have good eyes, so I wouldn't be surprised. Anyone else in the group?"

"Everyone has caught on to more or less the same things."

"That's good."

"Why's that?" I wasn't expecting him to say that.

"That means that you've all grown to know each other deeper. You don't even need to express what's been going on since everyone can see it. I think it means that everyone can see the truth in everyone's actions. Now, everyone just has to work on their honesty and everything will be fine."

"Ryan would like that every much." I said with a smile, knowing that he always liked to have an honest and open friendship. "Oh, in case you couldn't read, I'm not foolish enough to mess with someone's heart. I'm going to go on a date with Stan tomorrow to see if I really want to date him."

Matt nodded, "Let us know the outcome, then." He smiled at me. I could see very clearly that he didn't want to let me go. I wondered what I would've thought that expression if I hadn't known that he has a sense that he's my father. I could see that he didn't want to let his baby girl leave his side.

"I will, don't worry." I smiled at him, letting him know that I wouldn't abandon him. He's my family, after all.

The house was quiet when we enter. I put Kai in his cradle before heading to mine. I was thinking about what I should wear tomorrow as I opened my door. I could feel something from within, though considering that it wasn't threatening, I figured that I should just ignore it. I closed my door, noticing that Plantmon noticed it too. I walked normally, knowing who it was now since it was about to attack.

I quickly had my dagger at my sister's neck, smiling wickedly to her surprise look. "You knew, didn't you?"

"I had dulled my senses once we got Don and Neon." I put my dagger away as Plantmon got the light. "I decided that I probably should upkeep them now that we're dealing with demons. So, what's up?" I sat on my bed, "How did it go?"

"I have to work on it since I can't land accurately if it isn't a clear image. I think Ken wants me to use my Jewel Power in combination with a mind reader. Oh, but Ken did notice something about me. We did go into space…"

"I thought I said no." I narrowed my eyes at her.

"I couldn't refuse. TK did it, not me." She put her hands up, "Besides, I can use my soul jewel to create a space that will allow us to be alive even in space." She touched the one on her stomach. "He noticed that I had a thin layer of light around me in addition to what I had produced."

"You are of the light… What about TK?"

"He didn't have one on him, but I did place him in my bubble."

I looked at my hand, wondering what it could be. I knew it had something to do with our elements, that much was clear. Then the thought of Kai came into my head when he had shot those fire birds at things. Could our elements be a protection thing as well? I wondered if they protect us when we couldn't defend ourselves. "Have you ever been in a position where you couldn't protect yourself? Like you were totally defenseless and you would've been killed if something didn't happen that prevent it?"

"I don't ever let myself get in situations like that.. You?"

"I normally save people in that kind of situation… But, Kai was in that position. When he was, fire was produced for him."

"You mean during New Years."

"Yeah… and if he's of the element fire, I'm wondering if that fire won't come up and protect him. That's the only thing that I can think up for why you have a thin layer of light while in space. It's an environment where you would've died otherwise."

"But I protected myself."

"Maybe that's what's different about light and darkness from the others. You can't tell when it happens since it doesn't allow it to be obvious." We heard the phone rang. I ran to it for some reason, getting the feeling that I should be the one to answer it. "Hello?"

"Panther, is Ryan over there?"

It was his father. I could hear the panic in his voice, "What happened? He's not here." I wondered why I didn't get a sinking feeling.

"He ran away from home. I don't know why, but I think I know where he's going. I don't think he'll listen to me after this."

"Tell me what happened and where he's going."

"I think he found out that I knew where his mother was… I think he's heading over right now."

"I'll bring him back, don't worry." I grabbed a pen, "What's the address?" He gave it to me. I was surprised that they weren't that far away. It would take a train to get to the town, but otherwise, it wasn't that far. I also remembered that Ryan's father once taking us over there for a parade. "Thanks. You'll see him soon." _How cruel…_ I called Lily Dawn's cell phone. We were going to meet at the train station to not waste any more time. I told her that I would explain everything after that.

"What's going on?" I looked at Ceres, seeing that she and Matt were out of the rooms and looking at me.

"Ryan went to see his mom." I said, "Can I have some cash so I can go bring him back?" I could tell from his father that there was a reason that his dad had never allowed Ryan to know. I could feel that Ryan was going to be heartbroken over this. Matt went into his room to go get it for me.

"What about tomorrow?" He asked as he handed me some money.

"I think Ryan is more important than Stan. Ceres, did you talk to that sponsor for him?"

She nodded, "Why?"

"He'll probably need something to cheer him up when we get back. If anything else comes up, contact Lily Dawn." I said as slide down the stairs and headed out of the door. I didn't want to know what was going to happen, since I wanted to be there for him when it did.

[Lily Dawn]

"That's too cruel." I said as I looked at the address. We went to that parade some time after Ryan's mother left. My mother had already left some time before Ryan's, and Panther's family was still alive. "And it sounds like Ryan's father had always been in contact with her as well… Does Ryan's feelings don't matter?"

"I don't think it's that." Panther said, looking at the reflection on the other window. "I get the feeling that Ryan's father couldn't tell Ryan the truth… I'm also wondering why Ryan couldn't pick up on his lies until now."

"Ryan's father probably knew the best way of lying to him." I said, curling up my knees to my chest, "By playing with words." Ryan had always been able to pick up on lies. Nowadays, he doesn't allow it to affect him as much as he did when we were younger.

"We never heard about your past together." Bellimon said, giving me a kind smile.

"Yeah, we want to know." Plantmon said from Panther's back.

"I met up with Lily Dawn first." Panther started, closing her eyes as if to remember better. I wondered if she was looking into our past. "I was already having problems with my family at this point, so I would often run out of the house and run wild around the neighborhood. That's how I met Lily Dawn." She looked at me, "You had run outside, crying your heart out because your mother was already deciding to leave, huh?"

I nodded, "I read that my mother was planning on leaving us. It was the first time that I saw that thought from her. It shocked me so much that I ran outside to find a place to cry. You found me and tried to cheer me up. Eventually, you took me home and my brother contacted your family to come pick you up." I said with a smile.

"Afterwards, we met up a bunch of times. I used to get us to go a bunch of bad things since we were both rebelling against our families. During that, we ran into Ryan. He was so determine to draw something, but we both couldn't determine what it was and made fun of it. He said that he wanted to do this for his sister, since she couldn't get out of her bed. We decided to help him, thinking that this was fun. We went back with him to his house before his parents called ours to come pick us up."

"We learned why Ryan had wanted to paint something for his sister." I looked on the floor, "His sister had a disease that made her very sickly. She never had enough strength to go anywhere on her own so Ryan had made it his duty to show her the outside world. We decided to help him, so this is what we did."

"After some time, his mother left with his sick sister. Ryan never understood why they left, but cried so hard afterwards. He got better at drawing since he wanted to show his sister magical places once he found her... Once this occurred, I met Killer. I got us into so much trouble that their parents were trying to prevent them from being around me. Lily Dawn just needed an outlet for her anger, but Ryan stayed since we had never lied to him since we became friends. The rest is already known."

"If his sister couldn't move without help, then how did they get her to leave?" Plantmon asked.

"Ryan was coming back from school to see the car pulling away. The crying face of his sister was the last thing we saw." I said. I looked at Panther, "Have you been looking to what's going to happen?"

"I want to be there for him while it happens." She said firmly, "I'm blocking things from coming to me for this reason. I don't want to know what's going to happen."

I smiled, leaning against her, "I'm sure Ryan won't ask even if you look."

"I decided this when his father called me. I don't want to know… I don't want to be prepared for it."

I nodded, "We're there for him, so he'll be fine afterwards, no matter what end comes."

We remained like this until the end of the ride. Panther had the strongest sense of protection than either me or Ryan. Ryan never had to protect his sister from the world. He only had to watch her and make her happy. I never bothered trying to protect anything since I didn't think that I needed to. I've only now gained that sense because of the Digital World, but Panther had always had it ever since joining the gang.

Though, I thought it was funny how just as we got out of the train station, we saw our friend, sitting on a bench with Breomon. "This is how far you can run?" Panther asked. He looked at us, surprised to see us here, "Your father called me saying that you would probably go see your mom." We walked to be in front of him, "So what's the wait up?"

"I didn't use my jewel on my dad, so I can ask anyone I want. I'm not waiting for the side affect to be over before I start my search." He looked annoyed.

We sat down beside him, both of us leaning against him. "Tell us when it's over then." I said, "We haven't gotten sleep yet."

[Ryan]

I was surprised that they wouldn't stop me. I wondered what my father had said to them, but I was also sure that they wouldn't ask too much. It felt really nice to have them here with me, since I wasn't sure what I would be facing while there. I mean, my father did keep it from me. I wondered why as I was coming over here.

"Are you wondering if you hurt him again?" Breomon asked as we were waiting for my side affect to run its course.

"Why would I care if I hurt him?" I asked, though it really meant that I thought I did. Breomon laid his head on my leg. I petted him, knowing that he understood.

"Once you have your answer, I'm sure you'll understand." I nodded, knowing that this is why they were here for me as well. We all knew that something was going to happen that was going to end in me being the sadness person in the world. Well, many not that extreme, but in our world, that would be true. I wondered what this was going to be. I didn't even know how to prepare for such an emotion.

As soon as the sun came up, I could feel the effect lifting. I looked at my friends, my best friends, to see that they were sound asleep. I was watching the rising sun, wondering what courage I would need for the day. I was surprised that I was able to move them without them waking up. I left Breomon with them to protect them as I got us something to eat and drink. When I came back, Breomon woke them up.

"I got breakfast." I said with a smile, handing it over to them. Lily Dawn got something more nutritious since she's having a baby.

"So it only last for a physical day?" Panther asked as she was eating her breakfast.

"I think it considers it a day from sunrise to sunrise since that's when it went away this time." I was sitting on the ground, "So, I only ran out of the house and knew to come to this city, do you have anything new?"

Panther pulled out a piece of paper once she was done, "This is the address your father gave me. I say, we'll look without asking anyone."

I nodded, probably to give us more time to prepare. I smiled to them, "I'll let you lead the way, then."

She nodded, putting it back in her pocket, "I've also not been looking at this event, so I don't know what's going to happen."

I nodded again, understanding that she didn't want to be prepared when I couldn't be. We were all going to learn together.

"We also know what happened in the past too!" Bellimon said.

"I knew way before." Breomon said with a smile, "Ryan told me all about when we first partnered up."

Their Digimon looked at their partners with narrowed eyes. I laughed, since they were never the kind of people to tell their past. After all, Panther wants to move past the gang and she did do things that weren't right. I knew that Lily Dawn never wanted to reveal what she had learned about her mother, since it affected her a lot.

Once Lily Dawn was done, we started our search. We first visited the place where the parade took place, "Why are we here?" I asked.

"I thought it would be a good thing to see if we can find clues to what has been going on." Panther said, "To get an understanding on why we were allowed to come here all those years ago."

"It was the only time you were allowed to be close to your sister and mother." Lily Dawn said, "There has to be a reason."

"Are you going to look? To see if we were close to them?" I looked at Panther.

She nodded, "If you want me to."

"Go ahead. You don't have to hear anything, just take a look around."

She blinked, but it gave such a weird feeling that I knew she had looked, "Your mom was showing your dad that your sister had been healed." She looked across the street, "They were standing over there the whole time, but a bit out of attention range. They had scheduled this meeting so that you two wouldn't realize that they weren't separated. Your mom doesn't look too happy, though."

"I didn't realize her disease was something that could be cured." I had never known what she had, but it made me happy to know that she's a lot better than when she was a kid. "I'm glad for that, then."

"Maybe she was mad because you were here?" Lily Dawn offered, "I'm sure that his dad had disliked what you made his son get into."

"I don't think so… She would be looking at Ryan's dad with anger if that was the case… Are you okay with going on?" She looked at me.

I nodded, "I at least want to know why now."

We started to walk again, though we stopped to have lunch. I knew that they were searching for the home, since I can sense honesty without my jewel. We also took some time to visit some sites, since we figured that we wouldn't come back here again any time soon.

"This looks to be right." Panther said in front of an apartment complex. "I guess they live somewhere in here." She looked up, seeing that it was six stories high.

"If they're not separated, then she should still have her husband name, right?" Lily Dawn offered, going towards the mailboxes. We went over with her, looking to see that my last name wasn't listed.

"Probably a ruse for his sister." Panther offered. She looked at Breomon, "His sister should have a similar scent to Ryan, right?"

"I can't smell genes." Breomon said.

"How about feeling for them?" Plantmon offered, "Panther and Lily Dawn can knock on the door since she probably wouldn't recognize them."

"Okay, we'll try that." I said, letting us get into the elevator to the first floor. The ones that I thought I felt something ended up us just bothering people. We waited on the ground floor to come up with a new plan when I noticed that someone was walking up towards the apartment.

I looked to see that my mother and sister were walking over with bags in their hands. They hadn't noticed us yet, though I could tell my sister anywhere. I was so happy to see her walking around. When my mother looked in front of her, seeing us standing there, I could tell that she was very shocked. My sister, though, didn't recognize me.

"What are you doing here?" My mother asked angrily.

"I found out that you were living here." I said, hiding my hurt since my hate for her taking away my sister has waned over the years, "So I thought that I should come visit, mom."

"Ryan!" My sister was very surprised. "Wow, I didn't even realize it was you." She came over to me, with my mom becoming worried by the second.

"Don't go near him!" She yelled, stopping my sister.

"Why not!? He came here to see us." My sister yelled back at my mother.

She didn't give a reason, and I didn't want to look all that hard to see the reason. "It's okay, mom." I said with a smile, wanting her to stop looking at me like this, "I won't stay for too long. I just wanted to know how my sister was fairing. I happened to win an art contest that was broadcast all over Japan. I figured that she would know it was mine if she looked at it."

"Oh! I know which art contest that was!" She looked at me happily, "I did notice it and was trying to get mom to let me to see you."

I looked at my mom, now wanting to blind my honest eyes. "Mom… Why are you so afraid of me?" I was trying to be strong in front of my sister.

"You're a monster…" She said, "You always were."

"Do you want me to say her thoughts?" Lily Dawn asked from behind.

I closed my eyes, not wanting to see right now, as I pointed to my head. Apparently, my mother never liked the fact that I was pointing out all her flaws. I had always exposed the truth whenever my parents were telling lies. My mother found this very annoying and got angry at me over the years. I then knew why she left, taking my sister with her. I was telling my sister the truth about her condition, the truth about what my mother thought about her own daughter. I do remember these days, but I never thought it bothered her since she didn't show a sign one way or another in front of me. I thought it was okay to tell them the truth they weren't saying. I didn't want to lie. I didn't want my family to lie to each other, especially after I got to know Lily Dawn's family.

I looked at my mom, "Sorry, I didn't realize it caused you pain." I looked at my friends, not wanting to be here anymore.

We started to walk away, "Wait!" My sister grabbed my arm, "Didn't you come to see us?"

"I did." I said with a smile, "I'm glad that everything is okay. Take care of mom for us." I pulled away, not wanting to be here anymore.

"Sorry." Panther said, placing her arm around my neck.

"I thought you would want the truth more than trying to guess." Lily Dawn said, wrapping her arms around me.

"I did… Thanks." I said with a small smile when we heard a sudden crash. We all looked to see that something was happening to buildings in the far distance. We all instantly took off. The battle was moving all over the place and whoever was doing this wasn't destroying the buildings. I would guess that dodging was involved because of this fact.

We got ahead of the battle, seeing that there were three Digimon that were fighting each other. One was a darker shade of gray for an angel, one was a black, cat girl and the other was an elf with sword. It seemed like the elf was fighting the other two as they were running.

"Was someone near us?" Lily Dawn asked us, seeing that they were busy with their own battle than what's around them.

"I didn't hear anything about someone coming here. We don't create portals, right?" She looked at me.

"As far as our knowledge goes. Should we interfere?" I didn't feel like getting into their mess.

"We should probably find a way to get them back to their world." Lily Dawn said, "I don't want to get involved either. This looks intense."

"Let's use our amulets." Panther said. She picked hers up and nothing came from it. "But I was able to use it to get out of the Digital World…"

"TK was the one that got us inside." Lily Dawn said. She took out her jewel, "So we have to figure out how to use these."

I looked at the battle, seeing that they were moving again. "We should probably stop them and have TK and Ken come over."

"That'll take time." Panther said, "Maybe we can mediate!"

"That's a new one for us." Lily Dawn said with a small laugh, "We can try. It's better than doing nothing." Panther and I brought out our jewels and sent energy to our Digimon. All three went to their Super Level forms, With G Plantmon quickly sending out her vines to wrap them to a stop. "Hey!" Lily Dawn called from our position, "Can we find out what's wrong? We don't want to fight you if we can avoid it."

"Hey! Are they the Neo Digidestined?" The black cat girl asked after they were looking at us for a moment. "I was wondering why the buildings looked weird."

"I must deal with all invaders." The Elf explained to us, since we decided to show our good faith by moving closer. I was also glad that there wasn't a bit scene. All the people had run away from their fighting, so the street was empty.

"We weren't invading." The angel said, "We were just taking a stroll and didn't look to where we ended up."

"Yeah, that's true." The black cat girl said.

"What are your names?" Panther asked, "My name is Panther, and this is G Plantmon."

"I'm Lily Dawn, and this is Ishmon."

"Ryan and this is Eemon."

"G Blacktailmon." She said in a sly, seducing way.

"EvilAngelmon."

"Fencing Elfmon and by the orders of my king, I must destroy them." She cut the vine that bound her.

"What did they do that warrants that?" I asked, getting in her way.

"We didn't do anything wrong." G Blacktailmon said. "We were just walking on their kingdom on accident."

"You tried to kill our king." She pointed her sword at them. "And if you're going to stop me from punishing them, I will treat you the same way."

"We're not looking for trouble." Panther said, "We're just trying to solve this peacefully."

She quickly swung her sword at me, having Eemon push me out of the way. The other two got out of the vines as well, avoiding her sword as well. I looked to where they were heading and saw my sister standing there. "Move!" I yelled at her.

EvilAngelmon pushed her out of their path, obviously not caring about the things in their way, and Fencing Elfmon had added some kind of power to her sword. She sliced the air, getting the buildings along the side and almost got my sister. Eemon blasted a fireball at Fencing Elfmon, who blocked with another swing of her sword. "So you're on their side." She said, stopping to face us.

I walked closer to her, seeing that my sister wasn't moving, "You almost killed my sister!" I yelled at her, "Don't you care about the bystanders?"

"If they're in my way.." She launched at me, but suddenly stopped as she was being lifted in the air. I looked at Eemon to see that he was going it, by the glow in his eyes. I took out my jewel, feeling for the same flow for when I opened a portal with my amulet. One opened to the side of us.

"If I see you again in our world, I won't think twice about getting back for what you did. And keep your petty fights out of our world if you can't think about the lives you're harming!" Eemon threw her through the portal, having me close it afterwards. I noticed that Panther and Lily Dawn had the other two in their hands. I went over to my sister, seeing that she was just knocked out. I went over to them as Eemon stayed with her. I punched both of them, "If I find out that you're causing more trouble here again, I'll make sure you'll get something worst than what they were going to do." I opened another portal, with Ishmon and G Plantmon throwing them inside.

"Is she okay?" Panther asked as we made our way back to her. I picked her up and we ran to a different part of the city so we wouldn't be caught.

"She looks to be unconscious." I said.

"I guess we know now to just send them back quickly. It was hard to tell which side was right." Lily Dawn said as we stopped on a bench.

"Yeah… I didn't think it was going to be that tough too." Panther said, "We probably need to know more about the groups that exist in there as well."

My sister started to moan, meaning that she was okay and she was waking up. She looked over at me, making me smile, "Hey, are you alright?"

"I think so… What happened?"

"Some punks pushed you." I helped her up, "But I made sure that they learned their lessons. Why are you here anyway?"

"I wanted you to take me to see dad." She rubbed her head. "I don't want to live with mom since she never told me anything about you."

I got up from my position, "But mom loves you a lot. She would be sad if you suddenly left."

"I don't care." She looked at me with her teary eyes, and it wasn't because of the knot on her head, "I want to stay with you!"

"Can you walk?" I asked after a moment.

"I can."

"Good." I took her wrist gently and started to walk back to their apartment. "I'm taking you back to mom."

"Why?!" She was now resisting, "You came to find me, right? You shouldn't let me go back to her since she doesn't want me to see you ever."

I didn't listen to her words as I led her back. Once we reached it, I looked at Lily Dawn to give me the number. She sighed, "306. We'll be here."

I nodded as I went to the elevator. Breomon was waiting with them, it seemed. "Do you hate me now? Is that why you're not letting me come with you?" She asked.

"I'm about to leave home. I came to make sure you were okay." I said, glad that my way of telling a lie was to say part of the truth. "Dad does come to visit, doesn't he?"

"He does, but he never allows me to see you either. So it's fine that you're leaving. We can leave both of them behind."

We reached her floor and we walked over to her door. I knocked on it and mom came straight to answer it. "Sorry for making you worry about her." I smiled at her. I let go of her wrist and walked back towards the elevator.

"Ryan!" She yelled as she was going to come after me, but mom held firm to her. "Ryan! Take me with you! Don't leave me here!"

I pushed the button and waved her a goodbye with a smile on my face. "Stay safe, you two." The elevator closed and headed down. When I got out, I didn't hear her anymore, meaning that they were probably inside now. Breomon was the first to reach me and tried to comfort me. I smiled as we headed back towards the train station. Panther paid for our way back.

"So, what's your reason, eyes of honesty?" Panther asked with smile on her face as we headed back on the train.

"She wouldn't know my art from De Vinci." I said, petting Breomon as I looked outside, "They just got into a fight and she just wanted a way to get back at her. I was hoping that our bond was stronger than time."

"So, she also abandoned you in the end." Lily Dawn summed up, "Plus, it'll probably be too dangerous if she starts to get curious about our activities."

"Yeah… I guess it's a good thing that I want to travel. It gives my dad a better excuse to go back to them."

Panther hugged me, "We're always here for you, thick and thin."

"Yeah!" Breomon said, rubbing my hand, "We won't ever leave you."

I smiled, "I know.. I know. What are you going to do about your date?" I looked at Panther.

Panther blinked before laughed, "I'll go tomorrow. You come first before a guy."

"I think Stan would understand." Lily Dawn smiled.

We walked as far as we could before they had to go to their homes. I was glad that they allowed me to have some time to myself before I faced my dad. "Are you worried?" Breomon asked.

"I did leave the house like it was his fault… I don't know what to do anymore about this, though."

"I can say one thing, for sure." I looked at him, "He loves you a lot more than your mom since he could've just as easily left you to defend for yourself."

I smiled, now realizing that was true. I could've been left all alone when my mom left with my sister. I don't know what my father was like afterwards, but I know that I started to stay away from home more often, developing my art so I could be somewhere else for long periods of time. When I got to my house, I opened the door to see that my dad was sitting on the couch. He quickly looked to see that I had returned. I walked over to him, sitting down next to him and hugging him, "Thanks dad, for never leaving me."

He hugged me back, "I had hoped that you would never see that. I'm sorry for keeping it from you for so long."

I nodded, just staying like this. I started to cry the tears that I didn't want to show on the train. I cried the tears I held all these years, though now with the truth behind them.

[Me]

"How did it go?" I asked once Panther came inside. She came over to me and Kai, leaning her head on my shoulder. "Panther?" I blinked.

"Where's Ceres?" She asked after a moment, though not moving from her spot.

"She's over at Ken's place. He was planning on testing her through the night."

"He got the truth." She closed her eyes, "But, he's glad he got that then not knowing at all. I'm sure he's grateful to his dad for not leaving him…" She looked at me, "And I don't know if I had ever said this, but thanks for saving me."

I smiled, wrapping my arm around her, "Always." Kai was moving as if wanting to be hugged as well.

Panther smiled at him, though just went back to closing her eyes, "Mediating is hard."

"Why did you have to mediate?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow." She then processed to go the sleep. Gabumon went to get us some blankets, since he knew that I wasn't going to move.

[Lily Dawn]

When I got home, Stan was still up. He looked at me, "Is everything okay?"

I ran to him, hugging him and crying on him. Seeing what Ryan faced reminded me of my mother. "Thanks for never leaving me." As I saw how Ryan handled his sister, it made me really grateful for Stan's behavior. Even though Ryan had his reasons for not allowing her to stay, since that would've been a very low blow to his feelings if he accepted her petty reasons for leaving their mother, I had hoped somewhere in my heart that he wouldn't leave her behind. I'm sure he would've taken her if she had a better reason than to get even with their mom.

Stan hugged me back, "Of course I wouldn't."

Awwww!!!! I'm very touched. I wondered what Ceres is doing right now...


End file.
